Tag: Kevin Stefanski

How Joe Flacco brings out the best parts of Kevin Stefanski’s Browns offense

Joe Flacco has maximized every part of Kevin Stefanski’s playbook, and he’s become the franchise quarterback the Browns have been seeking for years.

Who would have thought that the Cleveland Browns, a franchise that has been searching for a definitive franchise quarterback since *checks notes* Bernie Kosar in the early 1990s, would finally find that guy in the person of Joe Flacco, who will turn 39 on January 16, and was sitting on his couch without an NFL team less than two months ago? That’s exactly what’s happened, and Flacco has become one of the league’s more improbable and satisfying stories in the league this season.

Since Flacco became the Browns’ starting quarterback in Week 13 — the fourth starting quarterback head coach and offensive shot-caller Kevin Stefanski has had this season — he leads the league in passing attempts (175), he’s second in completions behind Jake Browning of the Cincinnati Bengals with 104, he leads the NFL in passing yards with 1,321, and some of the throws he made against the Houston Texans last week in a 36-22 win were just ridiculous for any quarterback of any stripe. 

Let’s start with Flacco’s 75-yard touchdown pass to Amari Cooper with 12:16 left in the first half. Cooper set a franchise record in this game with 265 receiving yards, and this is where it all began. Cooper was the backside iso receiver, Houston’s defense went mostly with the passing strength to the right side, Cooper was one-on-one with cornerback D’Angelo Ross, and Flacco zinged the ball right where Cooper could come down with it.

Flacco’s 21-yard pass to Cooper with 1:37 left in the third quarter from a similar concept. This time, the Browns motioned to four-strong to the right, putting more emphasis on that side, and it was Cooper against cornerback Stephen Nelson for the win.

But the Flacco throw of the day was his 21-yard touchdown pass to tight end David Njoku. The Texans were in 2-Man to one side of the field and Quarters to the other, and Flacco had two defenders converging on his target when he made the throw. But Flacco also knew that he had Njoku on linebacker Denzel Perryman as the primary defender, and the middle of the field was open, and Flacco would have no problem making that throw.

Let’s go back a week to this 51-yard touchdown pass to Cooper against the Chicago Bears with 3:18 left in the game. This was a similarly preposterous throw — you don’t see many quarterbacks threading it deep into three defenders like this, and coming out with a positive result. Cooper ran a deep crosser between two verts in a reduced split, and Flacco somehow got it in there in a way that was more than medium rare.

“Yeah, that’s what he can do, and that’s a tough coverage to beat in that scheme for us,” offensive coordinator Bradley Van Pelt said. “There’s a Cover-2 corner on the backside [Terell Smith] that almost got underneath of that. In the quarterback room, we’ve always referred to that as the steak dinner throw. So if you throw an interception to that corner, you owe the whole room a steak dinner at the Marble Room. So I’m glad it didn’t happen for us, but that’s tough coverage, and his arm strength got that ball there.”

In this week’s “Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar,” the guys get into what Flacco brings to the Browns’ offense, and how he’s able to maximize every part of Stefanski’s playbook. A tough go for the New York Jets on Thursday night. For all of Gang Green’s defensive excellence, they struggle against deep passes out of play-action, which has been Flacco’s game. This season, the Jets have allowed four deep completions on 10 attempts of 20 or more air yards for 160 yards, three touchdowns, no interceptions, and an opponent passer rating of 127.1 – sixth-worst in the league.

You can watch this week’s “Xs and Os,” featuring tape and advanced metric analysis of all Week 17’s biggest NFL matchups, right here:

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You can also listen and subscribe to the “Xs and Os” podcast on Spotify…

…and on Apple Podcasts.

WATCH: Kevin Stefanski, Amari Cooper deliver fiery locker room speech after Browns’ win vs. Texans

The Browns believe they can beat anyone

The 2023 season has been a crazy and wild ride for Cleveland Browns fans. With all the injuries and the highs and lows, right now it is fun being a Cleveland fan. And head coach Kevin Stefanski and wide receiver Amari Cooper had some fun in the locker room after the win over the Houston Texans.

Joe Flacco is playing like he is in his prime despite being 38 years old and only having been with the team for about a little over a month. But this roster knows that when they play to the level they are capable of they can stand against anyone. After the decisive win in the locker room, Cooper said exactly that.

“When we play our brand of football, nobody can play with us.”

It has been fun to see Stefanski’s post-game locker room speeches as he has his team bought into what he and the other coaches are preaching. This team has their head coach long term and with every game and every win that becomes more and more apparent.

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Kevin Stefanski ties Bill Belichick’s mark for career wins as head coach of the Browns

Stefanski is moving up the team wins rankings

The NFL Coach of the Year campaign continued for head coach Kevin Stefanski and the Cleveland Browns as they grabbed their tenth win of the 2023 season in a dominant win against the Houston Texans. With this week’s win that is 36 overall wins which ties him with the great Bill Belichick when he was in Cleveland.

They are almost a lock to make the playoffs and if they beat the Jets at home on Thursday they will be back in the playoffs again. This is just further proof that the Browns finally got it right and have their head coach for the foreseeable future already with the team. The offense he has built around Joe Flacco has started to consistently throw the ball for a ton of production and success.

Right now the Browns believe they can play with anyone in the league and there isn’t any reason to think they are wrong. Now the Browns return to Cleveland with a chance to punch their postseason ticket against the Jets on Thursday Night Football.

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Browns Twitter reacts to Christmas Eve victory over the Texans for win 10

The Browns, behind historic showings from Joe Flacco and Amari Cooper, beat down the Texans. Here is how Browns Twitter reacted.

What a day for the Cleveland Browns on the road in Houston as they secured a decisive victory. The game wasn’t nearly as close as the score at the end would suggest with two late scores against backups for the Texans. Quarterback Joe Flacco continues to tell Father time to leave him alone with another 300-yard passing game, with over 250 going to wide receiver Amari Cooper.

You could tell from the first play that Cooper and Flacco were in sync as the pair created big play after big play. It feels like we have not had a quarterback playing at a level like this consistently for a month since the return, it has been fun to watch.

The defense heard all of the noise about being unable to perform at a high level on the road. Though Myles Garrett didn’t get home Za’Darius Smith and company took care of that. The passing defense had one of its best coverage days to get the win, here is how Browns’ Twitter reacted.

ESPN’s Mina Kimes praises Kevin Stefanski and Joe Flacco for Browns’ aerial success

The coach and quarterback are working well together

The job that head coach Kevin Stefanski and his coaching staff have done this year with the Cleveland Browns has been nothing short of fantastic. With so many star players carrying large amounts of cap hits out, the fact that they are 9-5 is truly impressive. Especially while being led by a 38-year-old quarterback in Joe Flacco who was not playing football four weeks ago.

ESPN’s Mina Kimes spoke on the job Flacco and Stefanski have done despite all the injuries.

On her show, they talked about how despite the offense line being banged up Stefanski has been able to scheme up some great play-action concepts to negate the line struggles. First, they did it under center and then out of the gun last week as Stefanski and Flacco continued to confuse opposing defenses.

Now it’s time for the offense to continue to grow and limit turnovers for the home stretch. The Browns look to hit double-digit wins this Sunday in Houston.

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Browns HC Kevin Stefanski reacted just like us to the end of Bears game

Pure joy on the face of the Browns head coach

This week, it was a nail-biting last-second win for the Cleveland Browns over the Chicago Bears at Cleveland Browns Stadium. And head coach Kevin Stefanski reacted to the anxiety-provoking situation just the same as the fans, with complete relief and extreme happiness.

After the offense was dormant for most of the game they came alive in the fourth quarter to take the lead with less than a minute left. Then came the final play Hail Mary as the Bears heaved one into the end zone that was nearly caught for a Bears touchdown.

The players and coaches enjoy the ride just the same as the fans with their never-quit attitude. It doesn’t seem to effect the team when more adversity is put in front of them, the next man up steps in and plays their heart out. There are only three games left with the Browns holding a full-game lead in the wildcard race.

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Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski praises team’s fight in locker room speech

Stefanski praised his team for not giving up

It was another emotional win for the Cleveland Browns this week in a thrilling last-second victory over the Chicago Bears 20-17. Cleveland guaranteed a winning season for the second time in four seasons after they snagged victory number nine, and head coach Kevin Stefanski cannot stop praising his players.

This came in a game that the Browns lost another starter to injury as Joel Bitonio left early and never returned to the game. Stefanski’s group however laughs in the face of adversity as they continue to find ways to win games. It wasn’t pretty the offense was ugly most of the game before they turned it on in the fourth quarter.

During his post-game locker room speech to the team, Stefanski praised the team’s fight as they do whatever it takes to get it done. Never giving up is the theme of the 2023 Browns and it has them staring down the barrel of the playoffs with just three weeks left in the regular season.

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Kevin Stefanski of the Browns is a legitimate Coach of the Year candidate

Kevin Stefanski of the Cleveland Browns deserves serious consideration for NFL Coach of the Year.

When considering the NFL’s Coach of the Year candidate, voters (and I’m honored to be one) will often consider the head coach who has done the most with the most adversity. At this point, you have to consider the case of Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski.

After their 20-17 win over the Chicago Bears on Sunday, the Browns are 9-5, right on the heels of the Baltimore Ravens for command of the AFC South. And they’ve done this with a ridiculous number of injuries — right now, a full 25.8% of the team’s salary cap is on injured reserve, the highest such rate in the NFL. That includes alleged franchise quarterback Deshaun Watson, and running back Nick Chubb, the team’s best offensive player. The Browns’ walking wounded has also included large parts of their offensive and defensive lines and secondary,

With Joe Flacco, who Stefanski picked up off the couch a couple weeks ago, the Browns are now on their fourth quarterback this season. But on both sides of the ball, Stefanski (the primary offensive shot-caller) and defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz have done everything possible to maintain excellence. Coming into Sunday’s win, the Browns ranked 12th overall in DVOA — first on defense, and 28th on offense. But in the second half of the season, once Flacco became The Guy, they’ve risen from 28th to 21st with a bullet.

Moreover, Stefanski and his crew are pulling wins out of the most improbable situations — that includes the Bears victory, because Cleveland was down 17-7 nearly all the way through the third quarter.

The Browns finish their 2023 regular season with games against the Houston Texans, New York Jets, and Cincinnati Bengals, which gives them a very good chance of a double digit-win season. And if that’s the case, Stefanski could get a whole lot of votes for Coach of the Year.

He’ll certainly have my consideration.

Browns DE Ogbo Okoronkwo has torn pec but hopeful to return for playoffs

Stefanski is hopeful the defensive end can play through the injury

The injuries just keep coming for the Cleveland Browns as defensive end Ogbo Okoronkwo has a torn pec muscle. This likely means that he will miss the remainder of the season but Kevin S[anyclip-media thumbnail=”undefined” playlistId=”undefined” content=”dW5kZWZpbmVk”][/anyclip-media]tefanski is hopeful it won’t end his season. This comes after the team already lost Maurice Hurst II and Grant Delpit for the rest of the year.

Both Delpit and Hurst have already had surgery though there is a chance Delpit could return during the playoffs. The hits just keep adding up in a year where the Browns can’t seem to go a day without another major injury. And yet the team is still 8-5 and in control of the wild card race in the AFC.

It speaks to the job Andrew Berry has done building this roster and the job Kevin Stefanski has done having his team prepared regardless of who is on the field. Time will tell if the Browns can survive the latest hit as they host the Bears on Sunday in Cleveland.

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Browns: Not a matter of if Kevin Stefanski gets contract extension, but when

Set your expectations appropriately.

The Cleveland Browns are going to give head coach Kevin Stefanski a contract extension.

The 2020 NFL Coach of the Year has seen his struggles over the past two seasons, but as he gets set to enter the last year of his contract this offseason, Stefanski has turned into something the Browns have needed him to become.

A leader.

No other head coach in nearly a decade has found a way to cater a gameplan to four different quarterbacks and find a way to win with them all in the same season. One would be hard-pressed to find another coach who could rally a team that has lost all of their starting quarterback, star running back, three offensive tackles, a veteran leader in the secondary, and more to injury this year.

Yet, despite losing 14 key players to injuries this season, Stefanski has his Browns sitting at 8-5 on the season and with a firm grip on the top wildcard spot in the AFC. This is a testament to Stefanski and the coaching staff he has put together in Cleveland.

Safety Juan Thornhill tweeted out his love to Stefanski after the win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. Thornhill stated, “Despite all of our injuries this season Coach Stefanski still find a way to put us in position to win each week. Love that guy.”

Another defensive player in star pass rusher Myles Garrett has appreciation for the job Stefanski has done as well. “He’s coaching his (expletive) off,” Garrett said as the Browns have fought, clawed, and dragged good football teams through the mud this season.

The Browns sit with the most wins against teams with a winning record this season despite everything that continues to be stacked against them. And now with four games left to go, the Browns have an opportunity to continue to stack wins down the stretch.

NFL Coach of the Year betting odds are beginning to shift in Stefanski’s favor as well according to BetMGM, as they have now skyrocketed to +1200 with four weeks to go. There are just five head coaches with better odds than him at this point in the NFL season, and two of them (San Francisco 49ers’ Kyle Shanahan and Indianapolis Colts’ Shane Steichen) have been defeated by Stefanski and the Browns this year.

The markets have adjusted, and so should the expectations around Northeast Ohio:

Stefanski is here to stay in Cleveland and is going to see a new contract on his desk. It’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when.

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