CLEVELAND — Yesterday we covered the 3 "keys to the game" for the Cleveland Browns defense going into Sunday's game against the Carolina Panthers, today it's time to flip to the other side of the ball.
All eyes are on Jacoby Brissett as he inherits an offense with a lot to brag about on paper. Will he be one of those bragging points before turning the offense over to Deshaun Watson after game 11? It all starts this Sunday in Bank of America Stadium.
Here are three offensive keys to the game going into this weekend:
1. Can Brissett make enough plays to keep the offense from being one dimensional?
Stefanski and Van Pelt certainly won't ask Brissett to engage in shootouts early in games, but the recipe for success isn't as easy as "throw the ball 15 times while handing the ball to Chubb and Hunt the majority of the game." Either back is good enough to carry a team on their shoulder over the course of games but Brissett will have to be able to make plays on third down against a really good Panthers defense that spent most of last year underrated by many due to poor play from the quarterback position and the loss of Christian McCaffery for most of the year. The Panthers defense finished the 2021 season ranked #2 in the NFL.
Now more than ever the focus should be on Nick Chubb as the workhorse of this offense. Since being drafted in the second round of the 2018 draft, the Browns are 16-6 when Chubb rushes for over 100 yards. It's a formula as old as the forward pass, but finding ways to get the 8 and 9 man boxes to respect the passing game will be important to keep drives alive and put Brissett in 3rd and short situations.
*Editor's Note: The video above is from an interview 3News' Nick Camino conducted with NFL Hall of Famer Tony Dungy on the Browns going into Week 1.
2. Can Njoku, Bryant and Jesse James help make up for the lack of depth at wide receiver?
As it stands before the start of the 2022 regular season, we've seen no reason to believe anyone behind Amari Cooper will stand out as a reliable #2 wide receiver for Brissett to throw to. Schwartz's drop problem is well documented and debated, Donovan Peoples-Jones (last year's receiving yards for the Browns leader if you can believe it) has shown flashes of brilliance amid inconsistency and rookies David Bell and Michael Woods round out a group that leaves a lot to be desired on paper.
Njoku got paid a lot of money in the offseason and will be relied on in the passing game more than ever and I would expect to see him lined up as a wide receiver often. Creating mismatches will be important for the Browns as they look for ways to ask Brissett to do less while he remains the starter and Njoku provides severe mismatches.
Harrison Bryant has yet to prove himself as a consistent target in the passing game but those famous 2-TE sets that Stefanski has loved since his days with the Vikings will provide Bryant every opportunity to shine now that Austin Hooper is out of the equation. Don't sleep on newly signed Jesse James as a red zone threat every now and again. He has traditionally been good for two to three TD catches per season in his seven-year career and that's perfectly fine from your #3 TE
3. How will Jedrick Wills bounce back from a disappointing 2021?
The team has all the confidence in the world in the 2020 first round draft pick coming off of a let down of a season that saw him earn a grade of 67.9 in pass-blocking and 61.5 in run-blocking with an overall ranking of 66.1 according to PFF. If you're not an analytics person, that means he wasn't very good last year. Not many things went right for the Browns offense to be fair, but a shaky left tackle situation is the last thing Jacoby Brissett needs when everything needs to go right for him to be successful in the first place.
Wills has yet to establish himself as worthy of the #10 overall selection even though the talent is clearly there. With the injury to center Nick Harris and Jack Conklin 50/50 to play this Sunday after rehabbing season-ending knee surgery all offseason, the Browns need a breakout year from Wills as they look to weather the storm with a backup QB for the first 11 games of the season.
Special Teams Note
The Browns made it official today that RB Demetric Felton will return both kicks and punts with D'Earnest Johnson the backup on kick returns and Donovan Peoples-Jones the backup on punt returns.
It may be the most obvious storyline going into week 1, but with the NFL and the quarterback position, often it is the only storyline that matters. We'll get a good glimpse into what Jacoby Brissett can offer this team while they wait for Deshaun Watson to serve his 11-game suspension. The talented, underrated Panthers defensive unit will likely demand that Brissett make plays to extend drives and put points on the board.
Buckle up Browns fans, these week 1 games are never easy.
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