Kevin Stefanski, the head coach of the Cleveland Browns, is a highly regarded offensive mind in the NFL. But what is an offensive genius? Outside of comedians, it’s hard to figure out. There are tons of different criteria to judge a coach on. At the micro level, it can be based on creative play designs. Falcons’ head coach Arthur Smith gained fame with his impressive play designs. Zooming out slightly would reveal that genius revolves around personnel groupings; coaches like Ken Dorsey are highly regarded for their ability to pass the ball with an extra tight end or fullback on the field.
Continuing to zoom out to the macro scale, discussions of strategy become more important in the discussion. The best offensive coaches are masters of disguise. Kyle Shanahan demands that every run play has a play action, bootleg, and waggle variations attached to it.
The variations force defenses to second guess what they’re seeing. The split second it takes to confirm a play for a defender is long enough to exploit that same defender. Offensive geniuses are like Chess grandmasters. Every move they make sets up an even greater move down the line. Rams head coach Sean McVay is famous for remembering every play that he has called. There are a ton of criteria that can make a coach an offensive genius, and it’s usually a combination of them that certifies a genius. Maybe a genius is simply putting players in their best spot to succeed as Dolphins’ head coach Mike McDaniel believes.
This series is meant to showcase what makes coach Kevin Stefanski so special on offense. I will be spotlighting various plays during the rest of the season in an attempt to get an answer. Today’s article will be about two separate plays. One is a run play called Crunch. The other is a snag concept with a swing screen attached to it. I will refer to the play as “Super Snag.” As nomenclature varies across the league, I want to keep the vocabulary simple.
Crunch
This play is called Crunch, an uncommon gap scheme run play. It’s a good change-up against aggressive defenses that get up the field quickly. The play combines the wham and trap play. The play involves multiple offensive linemen pulling, distracting linebackers long enough to allow blockers to hit them at the second level.
The run hits fast and makes it hard for the defense to diagnose where the play is going. The speed and misdirection of the play create a large running lane for the back. Stefanski and the offensive staff attached a motion to this play which helped sell the misdirection.
Crunch from '14 49ers Ohttps://t.co/YW59oFCyhU pic.twitter.com/3ADNlNZELj
— Shawn (@SyedSchemes) November 5, 2021
Browns running crunch vs. 49ers
Starting play-side, let’s analyze the crunch play. Tight end David Njoku does a great job of pulling toward the three-technique Arik Armstead (91) and pushes the 6-foot-7 defensive tackle out of the play. Right tackle Dawand Jones seals off the play side end effortlessly. This is one of the most important blocks of the play as the defensive end is the nearest defender to the running back. If the play only included the block combination between the tight end and offensive tackle, the play would be referred to as trap. Instead, there are two more pulling combinations.
The second combination is the play-side guard, Wyat Teller, pulling towards the 1-technique as the center, Ethan Pocic, sprints to block the middle linebacker. If Teller and Pocic were the only block combination in this play, the concept would be known as Wham. In this play, the defenders are in a perfect position to get blocked out of the play by the two linemen. The Browns use pre-snap motion and bring Elijah Moore across the field. Defensive tackle, Javon Kinlaw, and linebacker Fred Warner initially chase the motion man Moore away from the play, allowing Pocic and Teller to easily wall the two defenders off.
The final combination is repeating the wham-blocking concept on the back side of the play. Guard Michael Dunn pulls toward the defensive end as tackle Jedrick Wills sprints toward the linebacker. Dunn accidentally steps towards the wrong side, but quickly corrects himself and attacks Nick Bosa, the defensive end. Thankfully, Bosa was occupied by the motion as he nearly ran out of the play.
Last but not least, let’s examine Donovan Peoples-Jones’ block on the play side. Peoples-Jones’s assignment is to dig out the defensive back on the second level. The receiver does a good job of walling the defender out of the play.
All of the movement by Elijah Moore and the offensive line draws the defense toward the left side of the field. This allows the Browns to get a large running lane for running back Kareem Hunt. The 49ers have only a cornerback to fill the lane, setting the stage for an old-fashioned Oklahoma drill. Hunt is unable to make the cornerback miss, but the Browns still managed to get seven yards from the rushing play.
This was a great play design by Kevin Stefanski and the offensive staff. The wrinkle with the pre-snap motion was genius. As a result of the motion, everyone on the offense and defense was moving away from the play side a second after the snap. The Browns did a good job of isolating the cornerback and forcing the cornerback, instead of a safety, to make the tackle on this play. While the 49ers’ cornerback was able to make a tackle, that’s the exact matchup an offense wants to exploit.
Browns run Crunch pic.twitter.com/nG82TorJOZ
— Browns Alchemist (@BrownsAlchemy) October 18, 2023
Super Snag
The second play we’ll analyze is a twist on a classic snag concept. Here the Browns line up in 12 personnel (1 running back, 2 tight ends), which forces the defense to match the personnel with their base 4-3 defense. The Browns line up in a passing formation, and the 49ers try to disguise their coverage by bringing a safety into the box before bailing at the last second. The coverage looks like cover 2.
The snag concept creates a triangle read for the quarterback. Triangle reads are simple progressions for a quarterback. A horizontal receiving threat intersects with a vertical receiving threat to put one defender in conflict. The quarterback then throws the ball at whichever receiver the defender doesn’t cover.
The snag concept specifically involves a quick hitch, a flat route, and a corner route. The combination of hitch and flat is the horizontal conflict while the corner route is the vertical conflict. In this play by the Browns, the staff turns the flat route into a swing screen.
The flat defender is now responsible for both players slowly encroaching into his zone. The threat of the swing screen also forces the outside corner to stop gaining depth in his drop. P.J. Walker could let this play breathe for another second. Peoples-Jones isn’t out of his break before the ball is thrown. Peoples-Jones’ corner route is the perfect route to beat Cover 2. It’s easy for me to say such things from the comfort of my home. I don’t have Arik Armstead breathing down my neck. A hole shot, fitting the ball between an underneath corner and a safety playing Cover 2 over the top, is one of the most difficult throws a quarterback can make. Walker made a quick decision to get the ball to the swing screen and the Browns gained an easy 6 yards on first down.
A play is designed well when suboptimal decisions can still lead to a successful play. The Browns staff did a great job designing these two plays to take advantage of a great 49ers defense.
Browns running a snag concept with a swing screen to attack the flat defender pic.twitter.com/ew4IdMWCYp
— Browns Alchemist (@BrownsAlchemy) October 18, 2023
