Which development deep into this year's NFL season is more astonishing — that the Cleveland Browns own a 9-3 record after breezing as a 5.5-point underdog Sunday or that their surge has vindicated a former San Diego Padres executive?
Beats me, but both are true.
Remember Paul DePodesta, the former "Moneyball" pioneer?
He worked in the Padres' front office between 2006-10 before joining the Browns nearly five years ago as their chief strategy officer.
A whole lot of on-field misery ensued, but DePodesta seems to have striped one big decision through the uprights: Under rookie head coach Kevin Stefanski, an open-minded former Minnesota Vikings offensive assistant long sought by "DePo," the Browns have taken off.
The football part of Cleveland's best 12-game start since 1994 is fairly simple. The Browns, unlike many NFL teams, have a reliably sturdy offensive line.
Sunday, for instance, as Cleveland built a 31-point halftime lead against the Tennessee Titans (8-4) before winning, 41-35, Browns blockers enabled quarterback Baker Mayfield to match Browns Hall of Fame quarterback Otto Graham by throwing four touchdown passes in a half.
Stefanski hired one of the NFL's better line coaches in Bill Callahan, under whom rookie left tackle Jedrick Wills Jr. has evolved into a steady pass protector and former Buffalo Bills guard Wyatt Teller has thrived.
The head coach, who last year apprenticed under former Broncos Super Bowl-winning coach Gary Kubiak, installed an offense that uses two or three tight ends on many plays, improving the overall blocking and ability to create favorable matchups.
The Browns can run the ball, too, not only because of the versatile blocking but because Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt form perhaps the best running-back tandem in the NFL.
Titans defenders looked uncomfortable, trying to counter Cleveland's balance. Respecting a ground game that's on pace to give the franchise its first team-rushing title since Leroy Kelly ran wild in 1967, the Titans let pass-catchers run free.
So Mayfield, 25, stands as the No. 1 beneficiary of Stefanski's arrival, having rebounded from a poor sophomore season to come on lately. The quarterback has only one interception the past six games, five of them victories.
Stefanski's expertise on offense overlaps with the quarterback-friendly system mastered by coach Kyle Shanahan, under whom Kirk Cousins (Washington), Matt Ryan (Falcons) and Jimmy Garropolo (49ers) made big gains. Immesion in a similar system coincided with Jared Goff turning his career around under Rams coach Sean McVay.
