Should the Cleveland Browns be concerned about their offense?
The Cleveland Browns were again a popular topic around the football landscape on Thursday. Is the team progressing on the offensive side of the ball?
On Thursday, there were a pair of reports from NFL Network’s Mike Silver regarding the Cleveland Browns. The first focused on some concerns from some players regarding quarterback Baker Mayfield and his remarks regarding running back Duke Johnson’s “business” with the organization.
But that’s off the field, per say. There was another report from the longtime football writer that may have raised a different type of concern. Or does it? Submitted is the following:
I also reported that the transition to new OC Todd Monken has not gone as smoothly as planned, resulting in HC Freddie Kitchens playing a greater role in spearheading the offense than originally intended. We'll keep an eye on this as the season approaches
— Michael Silver (@MikeSilver) June 13, 2019
This offseason, interim offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens was elevated to head coach. He had earned the first title a year ago following the firings of Hue Jackson and Todd Haley after the team got off to a 2-5-1 start.
In the final eight games of ’18, quarterback Baker Mayfield would throw more than twice as many touchdown passes (19) as interceptions. And it was one reason that Kitchens would wind up being named the club’s 11th different head coach since 1999.
With that promotion came the hiring of Todd Monken, who spent the previous three seasons as the offensive coordinator of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Last season, that team led the NFL in passing yards per game. Of course, that can be a somewhat deceptive number.
And it’s also certainly worth noting that the Bucs led the league with 35 turnovers in 2018 – 30 of those by quarterbacks Jameis Winston and Ryan Fitzpatrick.
So what does all of this mean? There’s more than a month before training camp and nearly three months before the start of the season. It’s certainly understandable that with a new offensive coordinator comes transition and adjustment.
And keep in mind that the current head coach himself wasn’t elevated to that position a year ago until during the season. There’s a lot of learning going on here between a young quarterback and a change at coordinator.
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So is it any real surprise when a story as such surfaces at this time of the year? Common sense say no. And at least for now, there should be little reason for concern if you’re Monken, Kitchens, Mayfield or the Browns.
It’s called working out the kinks. Now if it’s late September, well…