Contrasting the Browns and Ravens Offenses: Process Over Product

One of the main reasons the Baltimore Ravens find themselves in a position where Lamar Jackson is deserving of the NFL's Most Valuable Player award and Jon Harbaugh warrants Coach of the Year consideration is their focus on process over product when it comes to offense, focusing on the details in execution. This is in stark contrast to the Cleveland Browns, who have spent 2019 focusing on the end product over the process, particularly as it relates to their passing game. When the Browns were focused on the process in 2018, they showed the potential to be special on offense, but for a variety of reasons, it hasn't carried over, has been a massive stumbling block.

Jackson has had an incredible season for the Ravens and there are times when he simply performs feats that only he's capable. He did the same thing as a rookie, but neither he nor the rest of the offense were ready to perform at the level they are now. This year, whether it's running or passing, they are unified in a sense of purpose, focused on the process of what their offense does, which yields an offensive product setting any number of franchise records and leading the NFL in points and point differential.

The Ravens have a quarterback that is in the great offense for him, they have a strong offensive line and their weapons are utilized effectively. Despite the gaudy number of Pro Bowlers, it's far more about what this group is capable of operating together as a group than any individual. Marshal Yanda is a tremendously accomplished football player at right guard that has been great for years, but players like Mark Ingram, who are talented, are performing at notably high levels because they have bought into the process to get there as opposed to being focused on the product. The offense so often looks like clockwork as they move down the field with a sense of inevitability.

The Browns are working at this backwards. Some of it is due to injuries. Odell Beckham suffering through a sports hernia, being unable to do much of anything in practice, forces the team to be focused on the product. It's difficult to be focused on the process because there isn't one, out of necessity. They don't have the reps banked away over a year or more, so they are forced to try to do this on the fly.

And Baker Mayfield is certainly not focused on any process when he's forcing passes to Beckham, often late and in bad situations. The players he has the most chemistry with are guys that either have reps banked or can practice. Jarvis Landry is far better with Mayfield for that exact reason. That is why so many (myself included) believed Rashard Higgins would have a great year with Mayfield because those two demonstrated so much chemistry last year and all the way up to the opening game of this season. With the exception of Damion Ratley, none of the other receivers have any kind of rapport with Mayfield, so their best plays tend to go to running backs and tight ends.

Transplanting a star is a factor if it becomes more about the star than about the offensive process. The offense should be developed in a way that it allows a player like Beckham to be maximized, but if he's taken away or he's dropping more balls that at any point in his career, forcing targets only exacerbates the issue. It has to be about the offense as opposed to the individuals within it.

Expectations and hype have been a factor as well. Overconfidence and the pressure to be great can make it easier for a team and players to forget the steps required to be great, the process that is required to be consistent.

The Browns passing game often has a feeling of trying to get a big play, as if hitting it will suddenly make everything click into place. Chasing after that has often produced some bad decisions and just ugly football. They are worried about getting the big play as opposed to executing what should be the bread and butter of the offense. And when those areas click, those plays can become explosive plays or lead to the big plays.

Compare that to the running game with Nick Chubb. The Browns wide zone scheme running inside, where Joel Bitonio, J.C. Tretter and increasingly Wyatt Teller trust in the process, Chubb executes plays and those fundamentals can generate big plays. Often times, those plays don't feel difficult. It just flows and Chubb can then do something special and create a huge run. There are occasionally moments where Chubb does get greedy and uncharacteristically get stopped shorter than he otherwise might.

With the exception of Teller, this group has so many reps banked together, they are talented, smart and they are receiving good coaching from James Campen and Stump Mitchell. It rarely feels forced and it can look like art on the field.

This is a difficult issue to correct midseason and it's more likely to snowball than it is to reverse itself. The best the passing game has looked this season was coming out of the bye week. It seemed at least in that moment, the coaching staff was able to slow down the passing offense down enough to focus the process to be successful.

As pressure and stress increased due to their record, their focus on the end product increased trying to get the win by any means necessary as opposed to trusting in the process of the offense. With two games left in the season, it's unlikely to magically fix itself, but if the Browns suddenly come out and pass the ball more effectively, particularly in their final game against the Cincinnati Bengals, that might be a reason for it.

This is something that gets addressed in the offseason, minicamps and training camp when there is time to take the time and focus on those details. And if the belief is that Freddie Kitchens and Todd Monken can take control, get them to refocus on the process, it makes sense why they could have people in their corners trying to keep them. Whoever the head coach is for 2020, that is a critical piece to the puzzle and if they can do that, then the Browns will not only be able to play to the talent they have, but rise above it.