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Browns should follow John Dorsey’s quarterback philosophy

By Elliot Kennel

BEREA, OH - AUGUST 5: Quarterback Baker Mayfield and General manager John Dorsey of the Cleveland Browns talk after practice at the Cleveland Browns Training Camp on August 5, 2019 at the Cleveland Browns Training Facility in Berea, Ohio. (Photo by Don Juan Moore/Getty Images)
BEREA, OH - AUGUST 5: Quarterback Baker Mayfield and General manager John Dorsey of the Cleveland Browns talk after practice at the Cleveland Browns Training Camp on August 5, 2019 at the Cleveland Browns Training Facility in Berea, Ohio. (Photo by Don Juan Moore/Getty Images) /
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Cleveland Browns. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports /

Case Keenum is a world-class backup in the Stefanski Offense

How could there be a better backup quarterback for the Kevin Stefanski offense than Case Keenum? Keenum went 11-3 in 2017 and led the Minnesota Vikings into the playoffs with Stefanski as the offensive coordinator. The following year he started for the Denver Broncos and threw for 3,890 yards but his won-loss record was only 6-10, the same as Baker Mayfield’s record last season. Keenum played for the disaster in our nation’s capital last season and went 1-7.

There’s a persistent buzz that Kevin Stefanski loves Case Keenum (true) and cannot wait to start him over Baker Mayfield (false). Remember that in Minnesota, despite Keenum’s excellent work, the team decided it would rather sign free agent Kirk Cousins to a much more expensive contract.

Keenum’s main attributes are that he is a smart, highly accurate pocket passer, great at the dink and dunk but also has more arm strength than people think. However, he’s not very big at 6-foot-1 and 215 lbs, and not very fast and so the thinking is that Keenum may last longer as a backup quarterback than as a starter.

Most importantly, Keenum is in his second year with Stefanski and is completing a full year with the Cleveland Browns. Familiarity with the personnel gives him a major. Thus, any other quarterback who might be brought in to compete with Keenum is immediately two years behind in his development. That may seem confusing to casual fans whose experience is limited to fantasy football, because players can be traded and immediately perform for their new team.

Hardcore fans that make up the readership of Dawg Pound Daily, however, are probably better able to understand that the extra thousands of practice reps with the same teammates do provide an edge, especially if the game is precision passing and exact ball placement.

If the Browns were interested enough in a quarterback to try to develop him to match Keenum’s ability level, they should be thinking, realistically, of a two or three-year commitment to grow into that level, rather than expecting instant results. The Browns may have had a player of that caliber in Garrett Gilbert, although that experiment was interrupted by the Dallas Cowboys, who were able to sign him off the Browns’ practice squad.

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