Cleveland Browns: Play-calling criticism of Kevin Stefanski is misplaced

The Cleveland Browns offense has been a problem in recent weeks and many are blaming Kevin Stefanski and his play-calling which may be misplaced

Cleveland Browns fans just don’t know how to handle nice things.

In recent weeks, there have been several attacks from the fan base aimed at head coach Kevin Stefanski. The same head coach who led the Browns to their first winning season since 2007 in just his first year as an NFL coach. The same head coach who won the league’s coach of the year award in that same rookie campaign.

Despite the success he had in year one, fans are already growing tired of Stefanski as the offense has been inept as of late. They’re also tired of hearing him say “I have to do a better job” as if he’s supposed to instead go into some long breakdown of what the team is planning to do during the week to prepare for the next game.

Yes, it’s frustrating the team keeps losing but to act as if the coach’s words after the game is the problem is asinine. It’s also crazy to think that there are even calls for Alex Van Pelt to take play-calling away from Stefanski.

Such an idea — which many fans are throwing out there — makes very little sense. It’s not as if Van Pelt will come in with a whole new offensive scheme, which means there will be little to no change even with such a move. On top of that, this misguided criticism misses on the fact that the problems are much greater than being narrowed down to the wrong call.

What is the real issue for the Cleveland Browns on offense?

The real issue comes down to the players on the field — as well as the way defenses are lining up against those players.

For example, play-calling in the NFL isn’t like it is in Madden. Stefanski isn’t on the sideline sending one play to Baker Mayfield‘s headset and hoping it works. Instead, he’s sending in a series of plays — which is the norm in the NFL. And then, Mayfield and the offense have to figure out what to do based on what the defense then shows them.

To break it down more, a typical NFL play-caller sends more than one play into the huddle, and the formation of the defense dictates which one they actually run. This is why you often hear a quarterback yell “kill, kill” at the line — which is their way of saying the original call is dead so they will roll with the second. This is also why they point out who the “Mike” is as the location of the middle linebacker also has an effect on what the offense is about to do.

With that being said, it’s very likely that Stefanski is sending in running plays constantly — despite the claim that he “abandons the run.” The problem is, the Browns currently have no wide receivers capable of stretching the field which means defenders are crowding the line and daring them to throw.

From there, we have all seen what’s happening. The wideouts are getting no separation and Mayfield is having to fit every pass into tight windows just to complete a single pass.

Could Stefanski say “damn the coverage, let’s run the ball into a nine-man box?” Sure, he could. And while that might work a time or two, it wouldn’t solve the problem. Instead, that would be a temporary fix as they may gain a few yards here and there.

But the defenses still wouldn’t back off and the offense would still eventually bog down. If they want to have sustained success, they need to be able to move the ball down the field consistently and that means they absolutely have to get the passing game going. Without it, they’re not going anywhere.

Yes, the Browns are a run-first team and they need to be able to win on the ground to have success. But until their receivers can make defenses pay for selling out on the run, this offense is going to have a hard time finding any consistency.

While many fans have grown fond of the players on this team, chances are there’s about to be a massive overhaul with their pass-catcher this offseason as they aim to fix what ails this offense. Once that happens, maybe we can see that the problem in 2021 has not been the man calling the plays.