alex van pelt – Page 7 – Syndication Server

Kevin Stefanski needs to quickly decide who is calling the Browns offense

Head coach Kevin Stefanski needs to quickly decide who is calling the plays in the Browns offense

In 2018, rookie quarterback Baker Mayfield had three different play-callers in the Browns offense. The battle between head coach Hue Jackson, offensive coordinator Todd Haley and interim OC Freddie Kitchens was a confusing maelstrom of divergent voices in young Mayfield’s ear.

Flash forward to 2019 and once again the play-calling shifted on Mayfield. Kitchens as the head coach and offensive coordinator Todd Monken struggled to find the right balance of power, and it cost the Browns in the win column and stunted Mayfield’s development.

Now it’s 2020 and the Browns have another new head coach in Kevin Stefanski. The offensive-minded head man is installing his version of the base offense he ran in Minnesota and others in the Gary Kubiak/Mike Shanahan offensive scheme tree have implemented. But there is also a new coordinator in Alex Van Pelt, who comes from a different coaching tree.

So it’s troubling when Stefanski said in his last Zoom session with the media that he wasn’t really sure who was going to call the plays.

“That really remains to be seen,” Stefanski said when asked point-blank who would be the authority. “I’d like to get everybody back in the building, get out there practicing and get together before we make that decision. That decision will be made before September 13, I promise you that.”

One of the ways in which rookie head coaches often struggle is in finding the balance between running the entire team and being devoted to just one side of the ball. Many successful coaches do call their own offensive plays, including both headmen in last season’s Super Bowl, Andy Reid and Kyle Shanahan. It can take time for a greenhorn like Stefanski to find that balance, however.

It’s easy to appreciate that Stefanski wants to get all his offensive coaches together in person before deciding, but it’s a critical decision that needs to be made quickly.

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Browns OC Alex Van Pelt likes the detail of teaching by video

Alex Van Pelt is making it work. Learning how to coach over video exchanges and conference calls during the COVID-19 pandemic has been a novel concept for Cleveland’s offensive coordinator.

Teaching via video instead of working hands-on with the players is a different kind of challenge. Van Pelt has found he likes certain aspects of learning a new way to coach. The new OC talked about one of the unexpected benefits in an interview with Cleveland Browns Daily this week.

“It’s a hell of a deal,” Van Pelt told host Nathan Zegura. “You get to actually slo-mo down and really zoom in and highlight just the quarterback’s feet and be able to show him what you’re looking for.”

Overhauling Baker Mayfield’s footwork on his dropbacks is one of Van Pelt’s primary offseason projects. They are trying to change the positioning and sequencing for Mayfield’s feet on his drops.

Browns OC Alex Van Pelt sees ‘the sky’s the limit’ for Jedrick Wills at left tackle

Jedrick Wills is moving from right tackle for the Alabama Crimson Tide to left tackle for the Cleveland Browns. Wills is making the transition in one offseason, and it’s an unconventional offseason at that thanks to the coronavirus pandemic and quarantine restrictions.

New Browns offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt is the latest member of the team’s staff to talk up Wills and his potential to make an immediate positive impact on Cleveland’s rebuilt offensive line. Van Pelt gushed about the team’s first-round pick during the coach’s Zoom session with the media.

“Jed going over to the left side, I think the sky’s the limit for him,” Van Pelt told reporters. “Expect him to be a left tackle for a long time in this league for the Browns. We’re excited to have him.”

Wills has been “dialed in” during their remote meetings and training sessions, according to Van Pelt. Coach Van Pelt also noted the experienced coaching staff is a big asset in helping Wills transition from right to left and from the SEC to the NFL. OL coach Bill Callahan and assistant OL coach Scott Peters have already been working closely with Wills and have ample experience developing young talents.

“Having coach Callahan and coach Peters on board, that will only accelerate his growth and expect him to be a left tackle for a long time in this league for the Browns.”

New Browns OC Alex Van Pelt praises Baker Mayfield’s extra effort, work ethic

Browns offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt is the lastest assistant coach to step up to the Zoom camera and host a teleconference with reporters. The new OC covered a variety of Browns offense topics in his amiable chat.

The big focus, as is invariable in any discussion about Cleveland’s offense, was on Baker Mayfield.

So far, better than so good with the team’s starting quarterback, according to Van Pelt.

“He’s done everything I’d expect from him as a starting quarterback,’’ Van Pelt said Wednesday. “His work ethic is great. He jumps into other meetings that aren’t required, and he’ll sit in the receiver meetings when they have them and will sit in running back meetings from time to time, as well.”

Van Pelt also noted how Mayfield has leaned on veteran backup Case Keenum. He’s impressed with how well they’ve communicated and questioned what they’re being taught.

“Baker has been asking every right question that we have,’’ Van Pelt continued. “At the end of the day, we get together for live meetings. There are some recorded portions of the installation that go out, and you always get feedback from Baker, from Case and the quarterbacks … they do a good job. Anything that’s not clear to them, they get it cleared up in that meeting before the end of the day is over and then they move onto the new information that we’re installing in the next day. So far, it’s been good.’’

Van Pelt is a former NFL quarterback himself, and he’s worked with a wide variety of QBs in his decade-plus of coaching in the league. It’s a positive development that he and Mayfield appear to be clicking, but it still needs to show on the field in the fall.

Kevin Stefanski will let Alex Van Pelt call plays in preseason on a trial basis

Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski will let OC Alex Van Pelt call plays in preseason on a trial basis

One of the more pressing questions for new Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski is, who will call the offensive plays for the team? Stefanski is a former offensive coordinator who earned the job in part because of calling the plays for the Minnesota Vikings. Yet new offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt has also had success calling plays in the NFL.

At his scouting combine press conference on Tuesday, Stefanski didn’t provide a clear answer as to who will call the plays. But the rookie coach did indicate that Van Pelt will get a chance to prove himself as a play-caller during practices and the preseason.

Stefanski referred to the decision as a “fluid situation” and that a determination might not be made until late in the preseason, depending on how the trials with Van Pelt calling the plays worked out.

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New Browns OC Alex Van Pelt is changing up Baker Mayfield’s feet

Van Pelt wants Mayfield to lead with his left foot instead of his right

“The feet never lie.”

That’s the most telling quote to take away from new Browns offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt’s introductory press conference. In speaking about quarterback Baker Mayfield’s two feet, Van Pelt believes he can help the young passer thrive with a tweak to his footwork.

Van Pelt wants Mayfield to change which foot leads when he catches the ball in the shotgun and drops back from under center. Mayfield uses his right, but Van Pelt — a former QB — has already told Mayfield to work on leading with the left instead.

It’s worth the try. Mayfield had issues setting his feet properly in a subpar second season, struggling with accuracy and velocity on throws he routinely nailed in his stellar rookie campaign.

Former Bills QB Alex Van Pelt named Browns offensive coordinator

Former Buffalo Bills QB and coach Alex Van Pelt named Cleveland Browns offensive coordinator.

The Cleveland Browns named former Buffalo Bills quarterback Alex Van Pelt on Thursday.

Van Pelt, 49, was a former player, coach and brief broadcaster for the Bills.

Prior to the 1994 season, the Bills signed Van Pelt after he had brief stints with the Steelers and Chiefs. He then spent the rest of his career in a mostly backup role with the team until 2003.

Van Pelt was on Dick Jauron’s coaching staff from 2006-2009, mostly as a quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator. Prior to joining the Browns, he was most recently the Bengals’ quarterback coach.

Cleveland named Kevin Stefanski their new head coach this offseason. Per Browns Wire, it is not immediately known if Van Pelt will call plays or if Stefanski will handle those duties.

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Report: Bengals losing QB coach Alex Van Pelt to Browns

The Bengals are losing a great coach to a rival.

The Cincinnati Bengals are a team perhaps ready to take a potential franchise passer at No. 1 overall in a draft.

It’s a bad development, then, to hear the team might be losing esteemed quarterbacks coach Alex Van Pelt.

According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Cleveland Browns are swooping in and grabbing Van Pelt and promoting him to offensive coordinator.

That’s a big loss for the Bengals, as Van Pelt helped Andy Dalton make big strides in his game when things broke down. Dalton improved in the improv sense briefly in 2018 after Van Pelt’s arrival. Prior to that, Van Pelt had earned leaguewide praise in Green Bay while working with Aaron Rodgers.

The Bengals don’t have a shortage of former quarterbacks or coaches with experience at the position still. But it speaks volumes that a division rival has swooped in and grabbed Van Pelt.

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