Daily Dawg Chow: Browns news (7/17/18) Cleveland

Browns:“Baker Mayfield working out with Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry” (Plain Dealer) - “Mayfield heads into camp No. 2 on the depth chart behind Tyrod Taylor Authentic Nick Chubb Jersey , but throwing to two Pro Bowl receivers before camp won’t hurt him at all.”“Browns training camp preview: Quarterback” (WKNR) - “The plan to not rush in the rookie quarterback was laid out by coach Hue Jackson at NFL owners meetings in April – weeks before Mayfield was chosen as the No. 1 pick.”“Twitter can’t figure out what Cleveland Browns QB Baker Mayfield’s personalized logo is” (WKYC) - “But it wasn’t the reigning No. 1 overall pick’s practice with a pair of Pro Bowl wideouts that caught the attention of social media.”“Former NFL DE Armonty Bryant announces retirement” (Browns247) - “Former Cleveland Browns, Oakland Raiders and Detroit Lions defensive end Armonty Bryant has retired from the NFL.”NFL:“Le’Veon Bell, Steelers fail to reach long-term deal ahead of deadline” (ESPN) - “Despite both sides wanting to finish a contract, Steelers players got used to life without Bell. They want him to get paid but also want him on the field with them.”“Earl Thomas: If you don’t want me, then trade me” (NFL.com) - “All-Pro safety Earl Thomas has ratcheted up the rhetoric in his quest for a new contract, once again placing his Seahawks future in question”“Dear Aaron Rodgers: Ask for a piece of the gross revenue” (PFT) - “I still would like to see him get much more than $22 million per year from the Packers, especially with the Falcons now paying Matt Ryan $30 million per year.”“Boomer Esiason leaving Monday night NFL radio broadcasts” (AP) - “Esiason was the analyst on Westwood One’s broadcast for 18 years, sharing the booth with Kevin Harlan and, before that, Marv Albert and Howard David.”Cleveland Browns Run Pass Options Various forms of Run Pass Options or RPOs have been the subject of NFL headlines since Doug Pederson and the Philadelphia Eagles rode them all the way to a Super Bowl victory last year. Though Pederson’s offense was mocked by NFL players as “High School Offense,” no one could stop them. Not even when starter Carson Wentz went down with an injury and Nick Foles stepped in. Not even defensive genius Bill Bellichick on the biggest stage of them all.Though they are derided by some as “gimmicky,” or a “phase,” I believe that RPOs are here to stay. Unlike the Wildcat (which was a fad and relied on an unprepared defense), defenses can’t tell what is coming based on the formation. And unlike the brief stint of QB runs and read option we’ve seen in the NFL, RPOs typically don’t put the franchise player in harm’s way. This is fundamentally sound football, and it works. And RPOs have a history of success in the NFL dating back to at least the Brett Favre New York Jets days, why would they suddenly stop working now?RPOs give the quarterback literally that; an option between handing the ball off on a run play Darren Fells Jersey , or passing the ball to an eligible receiver. The offensive line blocks for the running play immediately on the snap, and the back assumes he is getting the ball. Any receivers involved in the pass option run their routes like they normally would on a called pass. The quarterback chooses which play is best for the offense (usually by making a simple read of one or two defenders), and delivers the ball. It’s practice-efficient football, because neither the line nor the receivers are doing something new.A taste of their own medicineAgainst Pederson’s Eagles OC Todd Haley wasted no time introducing some RPOs of his own, calling for one on the very first play of the game:From a 2x2 Pistol formation, the Browns sent Jarvis Landry in motion to ID the coverage. As he saw the CB follow Landry, QB Tyrod Taylor could assume man to man coverage.The Eagles are in a single high safety look, which means they have an extra safety in the box to stop the run. The weakness of this defensive look is that with only one safety deep the Eagles’ corners are either going to play off coverage or they are going to really risk getting beat deep.Before the snap you can see the CB playing off of Landry, which is when Taylor makes his read. The ball is going outside.On the snap the line blocks for the outside zone running play to the left, as RB Carlos Hyde anticipates getting the handoff. Having made his read, Taylor delivers the ball to Landry, who runs a 1-step “stay” route.The ball gets to Landry for only a 1 yard gain, but with the corner closing hard and a shifty receiver like Landry in space, good things are bound to happen for the Browns.Landry makes a nice move and picks up 11 on the play. Getting the ball to playmakers in space like this is something any good offense does. With this type of RPO, you can ensure your playmakers are put in favorable positions when they get touches.Picking up where he left off in collegeLater in the game, Baker Mayfield got in on the action. Facing a 2nd and 10, Mayfield could be seen making a signal to WR Jeff Janis. He likely saw that the Eagles had stacked the box with 10(!) defenders Authentic Briean Boddy-Calhoun Jersey , making it almost impossible to run the ball. Sure enough, on the snap, the line and RB Nick Chubb are running inside zone to the right, as Mayfield throws a quick slant to Janis.This is a safe and relatively easy way to pick up 5 yards on 2nd and 10. Throwing this type of quick pass is probably a lot more reliable than running into a 10 man box, and if Janis is able to break a tackle he could legitimately take this in for a touchdown.Drew tooNot to be left out, QB Drew Stanton also threw to the pass option off of this look in the 4th quarter. Facing an 8 man front, Stanton knew that the Browns’ 7 available blockers likely would not get the job done in the running game. After sending WR Da’Mari Scott in motion across the formation, Stanton saw the same off coverage on WR Jeff Janis that the Browns had been seeing all night. On the snap RB Nick Chubb and the offensive line are still running the inside zone play, but Stanton fires the ball to Janis.Unfortunately on this play, Janis drops the ball despite it hitting him right in the gut. Running the ball is all about arithmetic. If you don’t have enough people to block all of the defenders on a given play, running the ball typically won’t work. When called intelligently and executed well, RPOs ensure that offenses have favorable numbers in the box for their runs. If they don’t, the quarterback simply goes elsewhere with the ball. And “going where the defense is not” is what good offense is all about.I counted no less than 7 of these RPOs in the Browns’ Week 3 preseason game. Not all of them worked as intended, but between Todd Haley’s use of tempo and these RPOs it will be very interesting to see how the offense coalesces in the regular season. Though this isn’t saying much, the 2018 Browns’ offense might be the most advanced and intelligent the franchise has seen since the return.