Freddie Kitchens admits he’s been struggling calling plays

NFL: Los Angeles Rams at Cleveland Browns

Browns new head coach Freddie Kitchens gets a lot of the credit for the team’s success on offense last season, but it’s been nothing but issues this year.

And sure, maybe it’s a bit of regression from sophomore-year quarterback Baker Mayfield that’s been playing into it. But a lot of it is the playcalling, like dialing up a draw on 4th-and-9 during Sunday’s game against the Rams, for example.

Kitchens did admit that it’s been tough calling plays and serving as the team’s head coach, but hasn’t indicated that he’ll give the responsibility up to Todd Monken in the future, either.

“We are not panicking, but we also understand the shortcomings we have had,” Kitchens said, via Pro Football Talk. “I understand the shortcomings that I have had. I am going to get it better. Our team is going to get better.”

He continued.

“I do wish I would have given the ball to Nick [Chubb] one time, but it did not happen,” Kitchens told reporters. “As you move forward, and I have to understand this, I know our coaches understand this and I think our team understands this is that some of these situations are new for me. I understand that, but I also understand that I will get better from it and I understand our team will get better from them. Our team has not been in that situation before, so our team will get better. The next time that arises, we will be better because of it. The thing I want to stress to everyone is we are building this thing.”

That’s all well and good, but the clock is ticking, and the Browns are off to a 1-2 start, with a difficult schedule ahead of them.

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