Freddie Kitchens was grilled by the media after his Cleveland Browns fell at home 20-13 to the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday night over some of his decisions that failed to work out. The most notable questions he faced had to deal with the playcalls at the end of the game.
The Browns had the ball first-and-goal at the four-yard line in the final minute and called four straight passes but failed to connect.
Apart from the condensed set on 2nd down (sprint-right), every single play:
11 personnel
Empty sets
Chubb always on the left
No motion
5-man protections
Baker predictably under pressureNo pick/rubs, just hoping a WR runs open & Baker has time. Not ideal. pic.twitter.com/svhRpe6OWp
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) September 23, 2019
Kitchens admitted after the game he should have tried at least one running play.
“I should have run it one time,” Kitchens said. “I should have, that’s why I’m kicking myself in the a– right now.”
The first-year head coach answered other questions, such as his call for a draw on 4th-and-9 earlier in the quarter, which he said was simply a bad call.
“I wouldn’t say anything’s missing. It takes time to develop offensively. I would say I gotta do a better job during the course of the week putting these guys in better situations, and then on game day. If you’re looking to blame somebody, blame me. Don’t blame any of our players, don’t blame any of our other coaches, just blame me, because I can take it.”
Probably the biggest issues for the Browns is that despite all their flashy offseason moves, they failed to address their offensive line. It was a weak unit in the preseason and continues to be an extremely weak unit in the regular season, and it’s no coincidence Baker Mayfield’s stats have plummeted while under duress. Barring an upgrade in that department, it’s hard to see the Browns going too far this year, though they should be playing better than they are now.
