Sep 07, 2024
The new name of the stadium where the Browns play was unveiled on Sept. 3. The new offense designed by Ken Dorsey but called by head coach Kevin Stefanski will be unveiled Sept. 8 when the Browns host the Cowboys in the 2024 season opener for both teams. Which event garnered more anticipation is up to those anticipating. Officials of Huntington Bank probably took enormous pride in the event christening Huntington Bank Field. Getting more from the Browns’ offense, specifically from Deshaun Watson, is why Dorsey was hired as offensive coordinator. The plays will not be radically different from what the Browns have used in Stefanski’s tenure, which began in 2020. But Dorsey plans to give Watson freedom to adlib in ways different from when Alex Van Pelt was offensive coordinator. Van Pelt was the offensive coordinator from 2020-23 — the last two years with Watson on the roster for a total of 12 games. Dorsey was not comparing his offensive philosophy to Van Pelt’s on Sept. 5 when he described his plans for Watson. “I’m excited to see him out there and excited to watch him kind of fly around and be himself,” Dorsey said. “And that’s all we want from him. No more, no less. Go out and make good decisions. Everything else will take care of itself. “The biggest thing that you want to do for these guys is not take away their instincts.  I heard a coach say one time that it’s like you have a box and inside that box is your footwork, your reads, you know, everything just in the playbook is in that box. “Well, some of the best quarterbacks who have been out there are the ones who step out of that box. Those are the guys who make those plays work when they step out of that box, either with a scramble or, ‘Hey, why’d you throw it there? That’s not part of the progression,’ versus, ‘Well, I saw this.’’ They just instinctively have that in them. So, there’s that balance of staying within the system while also not handicapping them from what they instinctively do best.” This is precisely why Watson is eager to be working with Dorsey. Watson did not take a snap in any of the three preseason games the Browns played this summer. He was inconsistent the first part of training camp, but his passes have been on target with plenty of zip in practice the last two weeks. Watson and Dorsey downplayed the fact Watson did not play in the preseason. The “choice routes” that are a staple of Dorsey’s offense, in which the receiver reacts to the defender to determine how to complete his pass route, would not have been used in preseason even if Watson did play. “It is a different scheme,” Watson said. “It’s a scheme that’s very similar to what I did before in Houston, coming from the same kind of similar background and just being able to have Ken, who played the position, being with some high-class quarterbacks and Cam (Newton) and Josh Allen and just being around a lot of football. “He’s very smart and he’s a very player-led coach just like Stefanski. He lets his players kind of do what they need to do for their talent to be shown.” Dorsey figuratively raised a caution sign when speaking about the offense. Do not expect a juggernaut in September. “I think you continue to grow as you go because there’s that element, especially early in the season, of making sure guys are comfortable, making sure guys can play fast. So things that, whether they’re new or things that we’ve done in the past, you want to make sure it’s stuff that we’ve repped in OTAs and training camp and things like that and continue to kind of grow it so that they feel supremely confident in what they’re doing.” And Dorsey added this teaser when referencing Watson: “He’s going to make some exceptional plays for us that no one else in this league can make. “The great thing about Deshaun is he can do that outside of this just normal system, and then he can get back and work a progression and rip it to an outlet or a third progression in the read, just as equal. So, I think it’s just a balance you have to strike with these guys and make sure you don’t put the handcuffs on them in too many ways.” Having a roster filled with veterans is a key element to making Dorsey’s plan work. • Don’t bet anything more than a chocolate milkshake on what follows, as the late, great Hal Lebovitz would have written, but here are my predictions for the NFL season ahead. AFC division winners: AFC East — Dolphins; AFC South — Texans; AFC West — Chiefs and AFC North — Ravens. AFC wild cards: Bills, Bengals, Browns NFC Division winners: NFC East — Eagles; NFC South — Buccaneers; NFC West — 49ers and NFC North — Lions. NFC wild cards: Cowboys, Packers, Rams. I am picking the Ravens to win the AFC, the Eagles to win the NFC and the Eagles to win the Super Bowl. Picking the Bengals to win the Super Bowl seems like a fad pick among some analysts, but I believe they have too many questions on the offensive line to keep Joe Burrow vertical for 17 games. Plus, Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins are unhappy receivers looking to strike it rich with another team next year. The Falcons are another fashionable pick because they signed quarterback Kirk Cousins in free agency. Baker Mayfield isn’t going to let the Buccaneers slide out of first place in the NFC South, even though their record as division winners a year ago was a modest 9-8. The Eagles will win the Super Bowl and erase last season’s miserable collapse. Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts will be the NFL’s MVP. Myles Garrett of the Browns will win his second straight Defensive Player of the Year award. I didn’t know that … until I read my Snapple bottle cap. Twenty-five percent of the bones in our bodies are in our feet. … Pigs can get sunburned, especially the white or lightly colored pigs. … Earth is the only planet where fire occurs. … On average, a person blinks about 4.2 million times a year. …Ocean algae produces about 70 percent of Earth’s oxygen. … The average raindrop weighs less than an eyelash.  
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