Some Really Interesting Stats
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Got these stats from my local Browns Backers weekly email. Interesting stuff...
"Taking a closer look inside the numbers I have to admit I’m totally confused about what head Coach Pat Shurmur is trying to do on offense. So far the Browns have completely reversed their offensive philosophy compared to last season. After years of stressing a rushing offense the Browns are now the fourth most pass happy team in the NFL. Through their first four games the Browns have thrown the ball on 70% of their plays from scrimmage. Yes you read that right after spending the third pick in the NFL draft on running back Trent Richardson the Browns are throwing the ball 70% of the time on offense. They are averaging a staggering 42 pass attempts per game this year 7 more attempts than last season. Only the Saints and Raiders throw more than the Browns. On the ground the Browns are averaging almost 19 rushing plays per game, 7 fewer attempts than last year. So far this year they are averaging 5 yards per offensive play, a half yard more than last year. The team is gaining 4.1 yards per rush and 6 yards per pass attempt, both slight improvements over last year’s averages. Even looking at these numbers it’s hard to appreciate how much the Browns have come to rely on the pass in Pat Shurmur’s second season as head coach. So far this year the Browns have gained 75.5% of their total yards through the air, fully 73% of their first downs come on passes. Now some of this may be the result of the Browns having to play from behind for so much of the time in their first four games. They are averaging only 1.5 points in the first quarter while giving up 5.2 points and averaging only 6.8 points in the first half while their opponents are averaging 12.4 points in the opening half. But even this doesn’t totally explain what going on here. Last year in Shurmur’s first year with admittedly inferior running backs the Browns ran the ball on more than 40% of their offensive plays. This year with Trent Richardson they are running the ball on less than 30% of their plays, despite gaining 4.1 yards per rush, good enough for 13th in the league. Only 3 teams in the NFL rush the ball less than the Browns. Now I like Brandon Weeden at quarterback but come on, is it really a wise move to put this much pressure on a rookie NFL quarterback, especially when he has what looks to be a potentially great running back playing along side of him. Now after the week of the season the Browns have gotten better at getting the ball into Richardson hands, currently he leads the team in plays touching the ball 79 times for 344 total yards gaining 4.3 yards per touch. But when you have a back averaging 4.1 yards per carry and your team is 29th in yards per pass attempt you have to give the ball to Richardson more than 30% of the time.
Further adding to the confusion on offense is the fact that Brandon Weeden is throwing to what has to be the worst group of receivers in the NFL. It hard to exaggerate just how bad the Browns receiving corps is. Not a single Browns receiver ranks in the top 40 in the NFL in receptions or receiving yards. As a matter of fact Mohammad Massiquoi is the only Browns receiver to rank in the top 20 in any receiving category ranking 20th in average yards per reception at 16.1 yards per catch . Currently the Browns are 2nd in the AFC in dropped passes with 11 and of course Greg Little leads the way with 4 drops of his own placing him second in the NFL. In addition to being one of the league leaders in dropped passes, Browns’ receivers seem unable to run with the ball after they catch it. By running a west coast passing offense the Browns are forced to depend on their receivers to gain yards running after the catch. However the Browns receivers have huge problems gaining yards after the catch (YAC). After four games the top two Browns in gaining yards after the catch are Chris Ogbonnaya with 82 YAC and Trent Richardson with 73 YAC. They ranked 43rd and 50th in the NFL. After those two the Browns have Mohamed Massaquoi ranked 97th in the NFL with 50 total YAC and Josh Gordon ranked 128th with 39 YAC. Amazingly Greg Little is ranked 257th in the NFL with 9 total yards after the catch. I’m not sure how a 6’2” 220 pound converted running back like Little manages to gain only 9 total yards after the catch on 11 receptions. For those of you counting that’s an average of less than 1 yard per catch. That’s a lot of falling down after you catch the ball and at 6’2” Little should be able to gain 2 yards per catch just by falling forward. To give you a little more perspective on how ineffective Little is at running after the catch, team mate Brandon Jackson has 26 YAC on only 2 receptions. In addition to dropping the ball and not running with it after they catch it, Browns receivers have real problems just catching balls thrown toward them. Of the eight wide receivers and tight ends used by the Browns only Josh Cribbs 4 of 5, Alex Smith 4 of 5 and Ben Watson 12 of 17 have caught more than half of the passes thrown their way. Josh Gordon and Mohamed Massaquoi have caught half of the passes thrown in their direction, while Travis Benjamin has caught 5 of 15 passes, Jordon Cameron 6 of 14 and Greg Little has caught 11 of the 25 passes thrown toward him. BTW Running back Chris Ogbonnaya is 7th in the NFL catching 11 of 13 passes and Trent Richardson has caught 15 of 21 passes thrown his way. With receivers like these is it any wonder that Brandon Weeden is ranked next to last in quarterback rating in the NFL at 60.4."
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That is one massive wall of text.
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I don't think it's a reversal of philosophy inasmuch as it's just training.
They will for sure run more often as Richardson approaches 100% on his knee. In the meantime, why not let Weeden air it out?
Eventually defenses will expect that from the Browns and that's when Richardson will completely gash them on the ground.
At least...I hope.
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That is one massive wall of text.
That is one massive wall of text.
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The reason we pass so much is because we are always losing.
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The reason we pass so much is because we are always losing.
The reason we pass so much is because we are always losing.
pics or it didn't happen.
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