Tag: Kevin Stefanski

Kevin Stefanski: ‘it’s a shame’ fans aren’t allowed to attend Browns camp

Stefanski feels like he’s missing out on not having fans in the stands

Friday’s first practice of 2020 Browns training camp was a different experience than ever before.

The large grandstands were empty. There were no fan-friendly features like the kid’s play area or concession stands. The popular Dawg Pound ped adoption area is not there either. That’s because there are no fans allowed at the team facility in Berea due to COVID-19 restrictions.

For rookie coach Kevin Stefanski, it’s a disappointing turn of events.

“It is going to be weird,” Stefanski said in his pre-practice Zoom session with the media. “That is a very unfortunate part of this. I have not experienced camp here with the Cleveland Browns fans, but just from what I have heard, it sounds like all of Northeast Ohio used to be here during training camp. It is a shame. We would love to have them out here.”

Stefanski’s tone here is important. He was not being hysterical or angry but said it with the longing nature of someone who knows he’s missing out on something for reasons out of his control.

The Browns are off on Saturday but return to the practice field on Sunday.

Kevin Stefanski: Browns will ‘continue to look at’ building OL depth after 3 opt-outs

Josh Kline is the best available free agent fit

After three reserves along the Browns offensive line chose to opt out of playing in the 2020 NFL season, the depth chart at guard looks perilously thin in Cleveland. New Browns coach Kevin Stefanski is acutely aware of the shortage of bodies after Drew Forbes, Malcolm Pridgeon and Drake Dorbeck all opted out.

Stefanski strongly hinted that the team will be making a move or two in order to bolster the roster for training camp and perhaps even the upcoming season. Coach Stefanski addressed the dearth of OL depth in a Zoom teleconference with reporters.

It’s certainly something that we’ll continue to look at,’’ the rookie coach said. “As it pertains to practice reps, you have to get your starters ready. You also have to get your backups ready this year. We have to be very mindful of how we divvy up those reps. I’ve sat down with the coaches already and we have a plan for that, but I don’t think it is a season where you just say, ‘Hey, I’m just getting my starters ready.’ I think that may not be smart.”

Stefanski later added that they’re not just looking for players that are easily disposed of after training camp usage.

“I think we need good players,” Stefanski stated. “I think (GM Andrew Berry) and his staff are going to work really hard at all of these positions. If we should have a need somewhere, we want to get a good player in here. We want to make sure that we are bringing guys in who have a chance to develop.”

There aren’t many players available who fit that criteria. One who is: former Vikings and Titans starter Josh Kline, who played under Stefanski in Minnesota last season. Other veteran options include Cordy Glenn, Ron Leary and Jon Halapio.

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Kevin Stefanski downplays the Browns need to have a “quarantine” QB

Stefanski trusts the Browns safety precautions and doesn’t see the need

The notion of having a “COVID-19 quarantine” quarterback is a popular discussion point on sports talk radio and message boards. As often happens, the concept filtered up and made an appearance in Browns coach Kevin Stefanski’s Zoom press conference this week.

There are two separate branches to the discussion. One is to keep the current QBs, or at least one of them, completely isolated from the rest of the team and pretty much anyone who could possibly infect him with the coronavirus. The other is to identify a veteran free agent QB and stash them in a quarantine version of “break glass if needed” type of situation.

Stefanski answered the question based on the first scenario, the idea of isolating Baker Mayfield or Case Keenum away in practices and not risking any possible COVID-19 outbreak that would leave the Browns shorthanded at QB.

“We are going to put a plan in place that we feel really confident in keeping all of our players safe. Obviously, I understand the quarterback position and a lot of people are discussing that, but I feel very strongly that the protocols that they have given us, we have adhered them to a tee,” Stefanski said confidently.

He continued while also laying out the practice plan,

“The truth is we have gone past them. We are doing things in an abundance of caution that we do not even have to do. For example, we are going to split the squad next week, and we are going to go with calling it a ‘brown’ and ‘an orange’ team. We are going to have a workout in the morning and a workout in the afternoon. We are going to do that just to limit the people in the building. We are not going to have in-person meetings until, I think, August 9. We are going to just stay virtual.”

He did not broach the idea of having an emergency plan on the outside in case Mayfield and/or Keenum, or third-stringer Garrett Gilbert, tests positive for COVID and needs to sit for an extended period. Some fans have suggested that Drew Stanton could be a good option. The veteran was the team’s No. 2 entering 2019 before he went on injured reserve, and Stanton remains unsigned. However, his skills do not match well with Stefanski’s offensive scheme.

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Kevin Stefanski describes the strange logistics of the Browns camp in the pandemic

Kevin Stefanski describes the strange logistics of the Browns camp during the COVID-19 pandemic

Training camp in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic is a very different experience. Aside from the lack of fans and media crowding the practice fields at the Cleveland Browns facilities in Berea, there are strict guidelines on player and coach interaction and contact in place.

Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski painted a picture of the odd logistics of the camp situation. He talked about the challenge of following the rules, wearing masks and teaching players in an anecdote from his Zoom press conference with reporters on Thursday.

“I should mention first of all that when I look out the window, I saw the players out there getting ready to do their conditioning and then I went back and sat down,” Stefanski said. “I am not allowed to watch them condition. That is just the strength staff. I just wanted to get the image and I wanted to see what that look like to see the Cleveland Browns on our practice field. I have not seen the guys yet physically do anything until the 4:30 p.m. walkthrough, which as you can imagine, it is a walkthrough.

It is hard to do a walkthrough, as you can imagine, with all the coaches are wearing their masks and the players are wearing their masks. The walkthroughs will really be more of a meeting on the field as we start to get going and have a real slow ramp up to this. We do not want to be doing too much too soon.”

Stefanski noted practice will begin to look more normal when the pads come on in a few weeks,

“I think once we start practicing, which is about the middle of August, practice will look very similar to how you know it.”

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Coach Kevin Stefanski: ‘I believe in this bubble’

While the Browns aren’t technically in a bubble environment, coach Stefanski says it feels like they’re in one

The Cleveland Browns are not in a bubble, not in the strict quarantine sense of the word. But Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski says the team’s current status and safety protocols definitely feels like they are in a bubble environment.

The rookie coach discussed the COVID-19 pandemic impact on the start of Browns training camp and how the team is adapting to the ever-changing protocols from both the league and the state of Ohio. His Zoom session on Thursday with reporters alluded to the “bubble” concept that the other professional sports leagues, including the NBA and MLS, have utilized to isolate the players and team staff.

The NFL isn’t doing that — the logistics of keeping an entire football team of 90 players and all the coaches, trainers, support staff and more is almost impossible to comprehend. But the Browns are doing their best to keep team members as isolated from possible COVID-19 infection as possible.

“I’m optimistic,” Stefanski said. “I believe in this bubble. You may say we’re not in a bubble but I feel like we’re in a bubble. “We’re wearing masks everywhere, staying away from everybody, I’ve got my Kinexon, which blinks when I’m within six feet of people, so it feels that way.”

Stefanski knows it’s a big task.

“We just have to make sure with that shared responsibility as you leave this bubble that you maintain and follow the protocols,” the coach continued.

Stefanski’s words came on the same day where punter Jamie Gillan was placed on the COVID-19 reserve list, joining Dontrell Hilliard and Jovante Moffatt. Going on the list does not necessarily mean a player tested positive, but it helps protect against a more widespread exposure.

Browns hire Kevin Rogers as senior offensive assistant coach

Rogers was Stefanski’s boss in Minnesota during the Vikings’ Brett Favre era

Kevin Stefanski’s coaching staff just got a little more robust and experienced. The Browns have hired Kevin Rogers to join Stefanski’s crew as a senior offensive assistant coach.

Rogers and Stefanski worked together in Minnesota for several years. In fact, Stefanski served part of his career with the Vikings as the assistant QB coach under Rogers, who was the team’s QB coach from 2006-2010.

“It’s great to add someone with Kevin’s expertise to the staff,” Stefanski said via a media release from the Browns. “He has seen so many offenses on every level of football and the knowledge he brings will be invaluable at every position.”

Rogers will work with the full offense in Cleveland under Stefanski and offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt. He is not the official QB coach even though that role remains vacant, but expect Rogers to work closely with Baker Mayfield. The 68-year-old Rogers has worked with Donovan McNabb and Brett Favre among the many QBs under his tutelage in over 45 years of coaching.

He last coached at William & Mary, his alma mater, serving as the Tribe’s offensive coordinator and QB coach before he resigned after the 2017 season.

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Shortened preseason is a big loss for Kevin Stefanski and the Browns

Shortened preseason is a big loss for Kevin Stefanski and the Browns

The NFL has decided to lop off the first and last preseason games in 2020, the latest victim of the coronavirus pandemic and the precautions to try and prevent the spread to players and fans. While it was a predictable and probably necessary move, it’s not good for the Cleveland Browns and rookie head coach Kevin Stefanski.

Preseason games are generally unpopular with fans, but the games are not designed for fans. The exhibition season is all about building the team, sorting out roles, gaining some continuity and getting longer looks at players fighting for roster spots. It’s the only time many young players get any real game experience, something critical for development.

Stefanski is a rookie head coach. He’s never managed a game script before, never handled the responsibility of lording over the offense, defense and special teams. He’s never created a full game plan. Every bit of experience matters for those new skills, and now Stefanski gets denied the opportunity for half of those experiences.

Browns fans saw the perils of game management and preparation inexperience last year with Freddie Kitchens. That’s not saying Stefanski will have the same pratfalls, but the more chances Stefanski gets to prove otherwise, the better.

Stefanski and QB Baker Mayfield still have yet to work together in person. Mayfield and his receivers, which includes new tight end Austin Hooper, haven’t had a single practice together in Stefanski’s offense. They’re not going to click quickly without reps, and there’s no better way to get reps than in preseason games.

In addition to the coaching, the Browns are breaking in two new offensive tackles. Prized free agent right tackle Jack Conklin and first-round left tackle Jedrick Wills are being counted upon to be ready to roll right away. Both are very talented, but they’ve not worked in Stefanski’s offense before. They have no experience playing next to the guards and tight ends that are their new teammates.

Ah yes, the guards. Joel Bitonio is a bedrock presence on the left side. Right guard? It’s the only real position battle on the entire offense. And now the audition period is half of what was expected.

The bigger concern is the defense. Both starting LBs are new, and both are second-year players who proved they need as much seasoning as possible during their rookie campaigns. Both starting safeties, or all three if the base defense under new coordinator Joe Woods is the heavy nickel, are new to the team too.

That’s a lot of moving parts that have never moved together before. Expecting it to function like a well-oiled machine with even less practice and game time together is a real stretch. The experience playing together that the preseason games offer is invaluable. And now it’s cut in half.

So bemoan the oft-tedious viewing experience that is the preseason with the understanding that those games are critical for the players and coaches. Losing two of them sets back the Cleveland Browns more than it hits many other teams.

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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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How Kevin Stefanski can turn Baker Mayfield’s slump around

Last season the Cleveland Browns limped to a 6-10 finish. How a lone bright spot for Baker Mayfield points to a rebound in 2020.

(In this series, Touchdown Wire’s Mark Schofield takes a look at one important metric per NFL team to uncover a crucial problem to solve for the 2020 season. In this installment, it’s time to look at where things went wrong for Baker Mayfield and the Cleveland Browns in 2019, and how a lone bright spot and a new head coach might make for a beautiful pairing in 2020).

Every offseason a champion is crowned.

For example, many are looking at what the Arizona Cardinals accomplished over the past few months and moving them up in their pre-season power rankings. (Touchdown Wire is no exception to this rule). After all, they acquired one of the NFL’s best wide receivers in DeAndre Hopkins and are pairing him with a rising, second-year quarterback in Kyler Murray and an offensive-headed head coach in Kliff Kingsbury.

Does that sound, in any way, like last summer?

Remember when the Cleveland Browns acquired Odell Beckham Jr., another of the game’s best wideouts? To pair him with a rising, second-year quarterback in Baker Mayfield and an offensive-minded head coach in Freddie Kitchens? The Browns were on the tip of everyone’s tongue as a team on the rise in the AFC, and were in the mix during the preseason as Super Bowl contenders.

Then, the games began.

Kitchens failed to live up to the hype as a head coach, showing that he was probably best suited at this point in his career as an offensive coordinator. Beckham had a solid season, with 74 receptions for 1,035 yards, but saw the end zone just four times, his lowest TD output since the 2017 season when he caught three touchdown passes in just four games.

Then there was Mayfield, who could not produce the kind of second-year leap as a passer Browns fans were hoping to see. He completed less than 60% of his passes for 3,827 yards and 22 touchdowns, along with 21 interceptions. His NFL quarterback rating dropped from 93.7 in 2018 to 78.8 in 2019. His interceptions soared from 14 to 21, and his Adjusted Net Yards per Attempt dropped from 6.77 to 5.27. That ANY/A of 5.27 placed him 27th in the league among qualified passers, behind Josh Allen, Sam Darnold and Lamar Jackson (the other starting quarterbacks who were drafted along with him in the first round in 2018) and behind the aforementioned Murray.

Cleveland finished 6-10, and Kitchens was fired.

So, where did it go wrong for Mayfield?

As the sage Doug Farrar pointed out recently, a glaring weakness for Mayfield in 2019 was his production when throwing from a clean pocket. Using charting data from Sports Info Solutions, Farrar found that when he was kept clean, Mayfield posted these numbers: “When he wasn’t harassed, Mayfield still threw a league-high 16 interceptions on 394 attempts, and a league-worst 84.0 quarterback rating.”

Making matters worse for Mayfield, from a clean pocket Pro Football Focus charted him with an Adjusted Completion Percentage of 72.7.

That was dead last among 27 qualified passers.

To set the stage for how Mayfield and the Browns can right the ship in 2020, there is an area of his game that stood out in 2019: Play-action. Mayfield had an NFL passer rating of 102.5 in 2019 when using play-action, which put him 11th in the league in that category. Furthermore, Mayfield saw an increase in his completion percentage of 10.1% on play-action versus non play-action throws, and that increase was the biggest in the league. In terms of Yards per Attempt, Mayfield’s YPA of 9.0 on play-action throws was an increase of 2.6 over his YPA of 6.4 on non play-action designs, and that increase was the third-most in the league. Mayfield had a TD/INT split of 11/6 on play-action throws, but 11/15 on non play-action passes. Those 15 interceptions on non play-action throws trailed only Jameis Winston and Philip Rivers.

Enter Kevin Stefanski.

While Mayfield was good on play-action in 2019, there was a passer who was better: Stefanski’s former quarterback Kirk Cousins. As highlighted just yesterday when discussing the Minnesota Vikings, Cousins led the league with an NFL passer rating of 129.2 on play-action throws. Stefanski built an offense based on an outside zone running scheme, with play-action designs flowing naturally off of that structure:

This is your textbook flood design working off of an outside zone look to the left side. On this play the Vikings have 20 offensive personnel in the game, and after making his run fake to the left Cousins boots back to the right. The route he throws is a pivot route to Adam Thielen, who starts on the right side, shows the defense a potential slant route and then breaks back towards the right sideline to mirror his quarterback. The other two, deeper, options are an intermediate crossing route from left to right and a deep comeback route along the right sideline.

Stefanski also did a great job of showing the opposition plays like this, and then changing a route or two to hit them in the downfield passing game. Take this touchdown against the now Las Vegas Raiders:

Facing a 1st and 10 against the Raiders, Cousins lines up under center and the offense has 11 offensive personnel in the game. Thielen aligns in the slot to the left. Cousins carries out a run fake to the right and then boots back to the left. Given what we have seen, we might expect the Vikings to give him a three-level with Thielen running a deep corner route, drawn in with the black arrowed line. Instead, Thielen works all the way across the formation, and Cousins hits him on a deep throwback for a touchdown.

The elements are in place for the Browns, under Stefanski, to build an offense drastically similar to what Cousins was running last year with the Vikings. Cleveland still has Beckham and Jarvis Landry, two ideal wide receivers for this kind of system. The offensive line should be much improved, with the acquisition of right tackle Jack Conklin in free agency and the selection of potential starting left tackle Jedrick Wills Jr. in the first round. They also have a tandem of running backs in Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt that fit well in an outside zone running scheme. Finally, Austin Hooper, another acquisition this off-season, given Stefanski the potential security blanket of a tight end that this offense needs.

These are the ideal pieces to run such an offense, and as he showed at times in 2019, Mayfield is comfortable on such designs:

Cleveland shows the Buffalo Bills an outside zone running play to the right, before the quarterback boots back to the left. Mayfield has a flood design to choose from, but with Landry open immediately in the flat he simply takes the easy throw. His receiver bursts upfield for an easy 18-yard gain.

So, the pieces are certainly in place for Stefanski and the Browns.

Now it is up to Mayfield to deliver. But given what he did on play-action designs in 2019, even during a down season for him, betting on a rebound in 2020 might be a safe investment.

Examining the No. 3 WR role in Kevin Stefanski’s offense

Examining the No. 3 WR role in Kevin Stefanski’s offense he brings from Minnesota

The Cleveland Browns are in great shape with the top WR duo of Jarvis Landry and Odell Beckham Jr., two Pro Bowl standouts. While they’re coming off recent surgeries, the duo has the potential to be the best 1-2 punch in the NFL.

After that, the depth chart drops off dramatically at wide receiver. Rashard Higgins thrived in the role in 2018 but fell out of favor in 2019. Young Damion Ratley and rookie Donovan Peoples-Jones could also fill the role. But in the grand scheme of the Browns new offense under head coach Kevin Stefanski, it’s not a big role.

Simply put, expect the No. 3 wide receiver role in Cleveland in 2020 to be no higher than 6th in passing targets for the Browns, based on coach Stefanski’s history.

The 2017 season was the first year where Minnesota ran the offense Stefanski is expected to implement in Cleveland. Pat Shurmur took over full-time as the team’s offensive coordinator after succeeding Norv Turner halfway through the 2016 season, and the switch away from the importance of depth at wide receiver was instantaneous.

In 2017, Laquon Treadwell was the Vikings’ No. 3 wideout. He got exactly 35 targets while playing all 16 games, catching 20 for 200 yards. Jarius Wright caught 18 of his 25 targets as the No. 4 wideout.

The next season saw more targets for Treadwell as the No. 3. Adam Theilen got 153, Stefon Diggs saw 149, TE Kyle Rudolph got 82 and then came Treadwell at 53. RB Dalvin Cook was on pace to get many more than Treadwell with 49 targets in just 11 games, too.

Stefanski had just one season as Minnesota’s offensive coordinator. His impact on the targets for the No. 3 WR was stark. After Diggs and Theilen, the next WR on the Vikings target list was 7th-round rookie Olabisi Johnson. He had 31 receptions on 45 targets with a low 9.5 yards per reception.

Bisi Johnson’s receiving chart from Pro Football Focus is pretty typical for how a No. 3 receiver gets used in what we expect of a Stefanski offense:

Johnson ranked sixth on the Vikings in targets, behind Diggs, RB Dalvin Cook, Theilen and TE Irv Smith. It gets a bit of an asterisk as well with Theilen missing six full games and parts of two others with injuries that afforded Johnson more looks. Almost a third of Johnson’s targets came in his first two games (Weeks 10 and 11) filling in for the injured Theilen as the No. 2 wideout. In games where he was the third receiver, he topped four targets just once, the Week 7 win over the Lions where Theilen left in the first quarter with an injury.

The Browns have two very good receiving tight ends in Austin Hooper and David Njoku, both of whom have enough versatility to play as a de facto 3rd wideout in the formation. Kareem Hunt proved a fantastic receiving weapon out of the backfield in 2019, and he’s recently been sitting in on the WR positional Zoom meetings. Nick Chubb isn’t known for his hands, but he’s hauled in 56 passes in two seasons, too.

While it’s overkill to say that the No. 3 wideout isn’t important for the Browns, it’s certainly not a meaty role. If Landry and Beckham stay healthy, don’t expect more than about 40 targets or 200 yards from Higgins or whoever wins the spot.