The Opening Drive 8/12: Scheme Insight from Training Camp Day 12
Two scheme wrinkles that stood out from Berea yesterday.
Back on the fields in Berea, the Browns once again put in the work at Training Camp in their 12th official day. It was obviously a closed session but media was granted access to the full practice and the Browns got after it for a good amount of 11-on-11 sessions during a day they were full speed but without pads. The offense had one of their strongest days with several plays downfield including a few spectacular catches from the tight end group.
We also learned Myles Garrett still loves driving too fast for his own good. Hopefully the life lessons on those mistakes hit home soon enough for the star defensive end as the Browns can ill-afford to imagine life without him and he can hopefully value his own a bit more. Outside of speeding violations, the Browns made a slew of “end of the roster” move all of which is covered for you in the latest BFB Podcast you can find via direct link below.
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Whenever I’m unable to make it to Berea for a practice session, I’m always glued to Twitter seeking those taking videos of the session. I love to peel back the grainy footage and see what schematic things Kevin Stefanski and the offense are up to. I’ll find myself zooming in, restarting, and scrolling a video five times or more, and all just to provide and insight or two for you guys about what the will all look like in 2025.
We got some more insights from video that comes from Camryn Justice of WEWS Cleveland. Everyday she cuts up the Browns quarterbacks reps from practice that are well worth your time for whatever small insight they provide. While these two are not quarterback specific, they did stand out to me.
First is this “hook and ladder” design that involves throwing a quick screen to Harold Fannin Jr. who then tosses the ball backward to running back Dylan Sampson sprinting past him. It’s a great trick play wrinkle that works to fool the defense directionally down in the red zone. Keep your eye out for that one.
I spent an entire segment in yesterday’s Opening Drive on the anguish that JET sweeps have caused me over the last two years and how welcome a sight it was to see the Browns pull one off correctly in the first preseason game.
It appears we’re only getting started, folks. Watch as the Browns use 12-personnel and go back to the scheme but this time with Fannin taking the handoff and turning the corner. I like it.
While not a super common usage scheme, it’s not unheard of to use a tight end on these sweeps. It’s a nice scheme wrinkle in the low red zone, as the Browns used above, and in situations where teams fail to react well to tight end flat motion.
While not quite as popular as giving the ball to wide receivers and running backs in those alignments, for obvious reasons, it’s a nice tendency breaker and one that can pop if your tight end is athletic enough. Brock Bowers broke one for 12 yards against the Browns just last year.
I’m excited to see Fannin in this role as he’s more than athletic enough and did these things in college and high school. Let your football players play football, as they say.
The last scheme of note is just a fantastic throw and catch from Shedeur Sanders to Sal Cannella during the team portion yesterday.
I really enjoy when a quarterback process the safety rotation and throw the ball into a tight window that helps shield the receiver from punishment awaiting. Sanders does that here and Cannella does a great job holding on with one hand. Exceptional all around, and certainly wasn’t the only exceptional catch from the tight end group on the day as evidenced below.
I promise to have some film on Mason Graham and Carson Schwesinger for you, so keep your inbox refreshed throughout the day. If you’re not with us in a subscriber capacity you’ll want to rectify that asap. Don’t miss out. Catch you guys soon. I appreciate you.
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Thanks Jake, the content has been unbelievable lately. I am excited to see what you have in store for us next..