The Cleveland Browns have a tough matchup as they prepare to face the Baltimore Ravens. They are particularly bullish on their offense, with the thrilling, if for now unpredictable, emergence of sharp-passing tight end rookie Harold Fannin Jr. His seemingly superhuman performance in the season opener finally gave the team the offensive freedom to really unlock the 12 personnel formation. This extreme strategy was a foundational tenet of head coach Kevin Stefanski’s offense through his first three seasons. This formation, which is often known as 12-personnel, was a major factor in the Browns’ monstrous offensive night against the Cincinnati Bengals.
During the Browns’ Week 1 victory over the Bengals, they used 12 personnel on 50.7% of their offensive plays. That was the most use of this formation in a single game since Week 16 of the 2020 season. Fannin Jr. continued his stellar debut with an impressive game of seven receptions for 63 yards. This milestone marked the most receptions by a rookie tight end in Week 1 since the NFL merger, back in 1970. His contributions fueled the offensive juggernaut. In doing so, they led the league with a 75% down set conversion rate, a whopping number and the best performance by any game last season.
With veteran quarterback Joe Flacco focusing on the good things Fannin Jr. added to the offensive mix. He told them firmly, “Yes, but there are things we can measure, and things we can compare ourselves to, and things we can look at and say, ‘Look how successfully we did that!’”
Fannin Jr.’s debut couldn’t come at a better time for the Browns, as they look to improve their third down and red zone offensive efficiency. The offensive line did a great job, and they threw them off with their use of two tight ends. They were abysmal on the ground, rushing for only 49 yards total and two yards per carry. Flacco said that when players lose their one-on-ones at this position, it can kill everything else.
In fact, those problems run deep enough that head coach Kevin Stefanski called the issues impacting the running game “multifaceted.” He emphasized that the coaching staff must better prepare players to capitalize on one-on-one matchups, which are essential for offensive success.
Stefanski said the Bengals were deserving of praise for delivering a complete game. He went on to stress that the coaching staff needed to do better by giving these players a better game plan. There’s just one-on-one matchups that we got to win, and that’s the run game. If you’re not winning in that one area, that individual can escape and go make a play. More importantly, if you do win your one-on-one matchup, those are where the big yards can be accrued. So, we’re going to be rolling up our sleeves again over in that space.
The Browns’ offense absolutely sparkled on Sunday, led by strong efforts from other rookies including Fannin Jr. That points to a potentially promising new development in their offensive landscape. As we wrote about here, tight end David Njoku emphasized just how much their fellow tight end’s impact extended beyond the field. They’re not young, they’re playmakers, if you will.
Looking forward, the Browns should get another boost with the expected return of rookie running back Quinshon Judkins. His presence alone should give a boost to an offense that’s been overall stuck in neutral with standard early-season woes. Fannin Jr. has been on fire, giving the Dawgs a glimmer of hope. They’re looking forward to a positive divisional matchup against Baltimore despite the running game woes.
Leave a Reply