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Joe Flacco joined the Browns in Cleveland right before Thanksgiving, and before Christmas, he did something that hasn’t been done in the franchise in the last 45 years: throw for 212 yards in the fourth quarter of Cleveland’s roaring comeback win over the Chicago Bears to stay in the No. 5 spot in the AFC playoff picture.
Flacco is now 2-1 as Cleveland’s starter, but we all know, wins and losses aren’t typically a quarterback stat. However, Flacco isn’t a shell of his former self. He’s gone over 300 yards in back-to-back victories, and his 374 yards against a stingy Bears defense is his highest single-game passing yard total since 2016 (!).
It’s officially time to ask: How in the world is Flacco doing this at 38 years old?
Believe it or not, Browns coach Kevin Stefanski is not a Kyle Shanahan disciple, as it seems like just about every successful offensive coordinator in the NFL today is. But he is a Mike Shanahan disciple in a way. Previously a “lifer” with the Vikings, Stefanski’s mentor was Gary Kubiak, who was famously aligned with Kyle’s dad, dating all the way back to 1994 with the 49ers and was Mike’s offensive coordinator with the Broncos during the late stages of the Elway era from 1995 and through the early portions of the early 2000s.
Flacco has been operating Stefanski’s spin on the Shanahan offense, which generally features a zone-blocking scheme run game, bootlegs and heavy play-action usage to keep defenses guessing — is it a run or a pass? Through three games in Cleveland, Flacco’s play-action dropback rate is 29.2%, which if he had enough attempts to qualify, would rank fifth in the entire NFL.
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Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/joe-flacco-in-vintage-form-with-browns-and-kevin-stefanski-deserves-plenty-of-praise-for-veterans-success/
Author : Chris Trapasso
Publish date : 2023-12-18 15:57:21
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