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During an NFL bye week, teams spend the week with no opponent as if they were preparing to play themselves. This self-scouting allows for coaches to often discover weaknesses or tendencies that they were not aware of but that other teams could potentially or oftentimes already have exploited. Let’s take a look at a couple of issues on the offensive side of the ball.
(The defense could take weeks).
Baker
Baker Mayfield has mostly continued his uneven play from 2019 with the exception of the last two games. Mayfield provided a magical performance against the Cincinnati Bengals and played well against the Las Vegas Raiders, but his weapons let him down frequently on a windy day in Cleveland.
Self-Scout: Change your coverages pre-snap to post-snap. Mayfield has a tough time deciphering where to go with the ball when teams can present one coverage before the snap and play a different one after the ball is in his hands. This approach is most effective against Mayfield when the defense can take away his first read. Often times defenses have shown blitz from one area of the field and then dropped linebackers or defensive lineman into the throwing lanes of Mayfield’s desired target.
Adjustment: There is no quick and fast answer for this issue. It’s something that Mayfield will have to get better at with time. However, the Browns can help him with pre-snap motion. Head Coach Kevin Stefanski has incorporated multiple pre-snap motions at times during the season but also strangely got away from it against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The more that the offense can make the defense move around pre-snap, the more likely they tip their hand to their intentions after the ball is snapped. Multiple players in motion before the snap can be an effective way to help Mayfield better diagnose the coverage the defense is playing.
Replacing OBJ
With Odell Beckham Jr. lost for the rest of the 2020 season, the Browns will certainly need a number of players to step up in his absence. There has been much discussion about what the loss of Beckham Jr. means for Mayfield’s game but there is no simple answer here. This is a topic that has multiple layers to it. What is evident is that the loss of Beckham Jr. will change how teams defend the Browns.
Self-Scout: With the lack of a deep threat with a pedigree like Beckham Jr., teams will be able to move an eighth man into the box to help combat the Browns run game. Beckham Jr.’s ability to threaten the defense vertically forced teams to keep two safeties deep in order to help guard against that threat. Teams will now be able to play more players closer to the line of scrimmage which can help in disguising defenses and stopping the run.
Adjustment: The Browns need to find the answer to this problem on their existing roster now that we have passed the trade deadline. A couple of names have been bandied about as potential deep threats in this offense including KhaDarel Hodge, Taywan Taylor and Donovan Peoples-Jones.
For me, the answer is Peoples-Jones. He has the size and speed to be a weapon down the field. It doesn’t have to be a staple in the Browns offense but they need to have a weapon that can take the top off the defense in order to keep defenses honest. All it takes is a couple deep throws a game and defenses will be forced to pay attention to it, which is enough for the time being. Strangely enough, Peoples-Jones only played three snaps against Las Vegas after catching the game-winner the week prior.