The Cleveland Browns, as they head back to Berea from West Virginia after a successful first week of training camp, flat-out need more from their quarterback Deshaun Watson in 2024.
While it looked like he may have been turning a corner after a come-from-behind win against the Baltimore Ravens a year ago before going on Injured Reserve the following Monday, the massive investment the Browns have made in their quarterback has not worked out to their advantage through two years.
They have since revamped their entire offensive staff, bringing in offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey, running backs coach Duce Staley, tight ends coach Tommy Rees, and offensive line coaches Andy Dickerson and Roy Istvan. The hope of bringing in Dorsey specifically is to marry Stefanski’s offense with some of Dorsey’s passing concepts that have made the likes of Cam Newton and Josh Allen successful.
There is one area specifically where Stefanski and Dorsey can improve the offense to help out Watson pre-snap as well: using more pre-snap motion.
Pre-snap motion can help a quarterback identify what coverage the opposing defense is in based on how defensive backs carry the man in motion. It can help an offensive line figure out defensive fronts as well if any shifts take place due to a change in balance from the offense.
And according to Football Insights, the Browns were near the bottom of the league in motion used on dropbacks in 2023.
Only the Arizona Cardinals, Tennessee Titans, Denver Broncos, Carolina Panthers, Philadelphia Eagles, New York Jets, and New Orleans Saints used less motion than Stefanski’s offense. Meanwhile, some of the hottest offenses like the Miami Dolphins, San Francisco 49ers, Kansas City Chiefs, and Los Angeles Rams led the league in motion usage on passing plays.
How often offenses used motion on dropbacks (before and/or during snap). Usual suspects at the top and some new play callers on the low end pic.twitter.com/rWbFseHcLQ
— Football Insights 📊 (@fball_insights) August 1, 2024
What is interesting, however, is the Buffalo Bills sit about middle of the pack. Dorsey, of course, called the Buffalo offense for the first half of the 2023 season. It would be interesting to see the split in pre-snap motion used from the Bills under Dorsey vs. under Joe Brady.
As the Browns take the field on Saturday night against the Green Bay Packers, do not expect to see much of anything new as they don’t want to tip their hand early. However, come Week 1 against the Dallas Cowboys, it will be interesting to see how much pre-snap motion Watson and the Browns use.
