Identity Crisis: The Cleveland Browns Offense

Since returning to the NFL in 1999 the Cleveland Browns have been called a lot of things, however an offensive dynamo is not one of them.

Since that time the Browns have been ranked, 31st (twice), 32nd, 30th (twice), 19th, 25th, 27th, 29th, and a high of eighth in 2007.

Looking back at the 2008 Browns and their offensive rank of 30th in the league, the 2007 season looks like a fluke.

What worked for those 2007 Browns was that they caught teams by surprise. Quarterback Derek Anderson and his gunslinger mentality was a perfect fit for Offensive Coordinator Rob Chudzinski's pass first offense. The deep ball was a huge part of that offense, and it worked until teams adjusted, and Chudzinski did not.

Therefore, in 2008 Anderson's numbers slipped from 29 touchdowns in '07 to only nine touchdowns in '08, and the Browns record went from 10-6 to 4-12.

The only consistent stat over the past two years on offense is that when the Browns feed running back Jamal Lewis the ball more than 20 times a game, they win. Over the two seasons Lewis has been a Brown he has carried the ball 20 times in 14 games. The Browns record in those games, 11-3.

In with the new Mangini regime comes new Offensive Coordinator Brian Daboll. He is given the responsibility of trying to do what Chudzinski, Chris Palmer, Bruce Arians, Terry Robiskie, Maurice Carthon, and Jeff Davidson could not. Give the Cleveland Browns an offensive identity.

Daboll comes to Cleveland, from New York, after spending the past two years on Head Coach Eric Mangini's coaching staff, as the Quarterbacks coach. Before moving to New York, Daboll spent seven years as an assistant with the New England Patriots.

He began as a defensive coaching assistant before Bill Belichick promoted him to wide receivers coach. As the wide receivers coach, Daboll worked under current Notre Dame Head Coach Charlie Weis.

Given his relationship and experience under Weis, Daboll will more than likely run a version of the west coast offense. This system will best suit quarterback Brady Quinn, who studied the system while at Notre Dame while working with Weis.

The system will allow receivers to run shorter routes and gain more yards after the catch. This definitely favors Quinn. Quinn's arm strength will never rival that of Anderson's, but in a short dink and dunk offense it won't need to.

Also, the system will give the Browns more of a ball control type identity, than the pass happy offense of the past few years. This will favor Jamal Lewis' running style. Look for Lewis to see the ball a lot more, and on a more consistent basis which is what he needs as a runner.

Quinn and Lewis will surely show improvement under Daboll's system, and if the offensive line can come together and show consistency, so can the 2009 Cleveland Brown's offense.