Todd Monken finally gave Browns fans a glimpse of the offense they were promised

Even those who didn't have Todd Monken as their first option bought in quickly after the Cleveland Browns hired him as their next head coach. Regardless of his age and lack of head coaching experience, he's well known for being a savvy play-designer who adapts his offense to his personnel.

Monken had succeeded at every level. Granted, this would be his first tenure as the main guy, but there were reasons to expect some deception and creativity in Northeast Ohio.

It took longer than expected, but Monken finally gave Browns fans what they hoped for during Sunday's win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Monken drew up an absolute beauty to completely fool the Buccaneers defense for the go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter.

Todd Monken needs to make creativity the Browns’ offensive identity

Facing third-and-2 from the Buccaneers 17 with Tampa Bay leading by three points, Monken got in his bag with a spider pass to backup tight end Blake Whiteheart.

The heavier personnel — and the fact that top tight end Harold Fannin Jr. wasn't even on the field — signaled run before Whiteheart leaked out from a sea of bodies, caught the pass from Deshaun Watson, and raced untouched to the end zone.

The play showed the type of creativity that Monken brings to the table for Cleveland.

That said, Monken must be wary not to get too cute at times. He made a head-scratching decision when he decided to go for it deep in his own territory late in the second quarter. While he clearly wanted to send a message to his team about staying aggressive, being bold and taking risks doesn't necessarily mean being reckless.

It's all positive vibes in Cleveland, though, after securing the first win of the season. Monken likely bought himself some grace after an ugly display in the season opener and the unpopular decision to stick with Deshaun Watson as his starting quarterback.

Maybe this will give him the confidence boost to open up the playbook and start testing things out. Of course, it will also depend on the context and whether the quarterback can actually execute.

But after watching Monken field competent, explosive offenses at every previous stop, this should be the new standard in Cleveland. Let everyone else give up the play with the formation or personnel. The Browns should be able to keep defenses guessing and on their toes on every snap.

That's exactly what Monken was hired to do.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow