Two things remain constant in the NFL Draft: the Cleveland Browns have a top five pick and need a quarterback. They also have a new head coach in Hue Jackson. The 2016 Draft can be (another) fresh start for the Browns. With as important as the quarterback position is, many have pointed to Cal’s Jared Goff as the pick at 2nd overall to be Cleveland’s savior. The next step after pegging Goff to the quarterback-needy Browns is figuring out how Goff would fit the offense.
By: Derrik Klassen
Prior to accepting the job as Cleveland’s head coach, Jackson was the offensive coordinator for the Cincinnati Bengals for the past two years. Andy Dalton was the starting quarterback for most of Jackson’s tenure, only conceding snaps to AJ McCarron due to a late season thumb injury in 2015. Oddly enough, Goff has garnered a few comparisons to Dalton, making the marriage between Goff and Jackson look even better.
Jackson is a brilliant offensive mind that can adapt to any passer, but the selection of Goff would allow him to essentially replicate the offense he ran in Cincinnati. Goff is not any more dynamic than Dalton was, so Jackson wouldn’t be able to be more aggressive than he was before. What Jackson can do- and has been doing- is cook up plays that boil the success of the play down to a key decision made by the quarterback. There are a number of ways Jackson can do this, and they are all ways in which we have seen Goff win at Cal.
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High-Low Seam Attacks
High-low concepts of any sort do just as the name suggests. Two routes are ran on the same plane, but one takes a deeper path down the field. This can be done with digs, crossers, post routes; you name it. In this instance, Jackson uses Marvin Jones (slot) and Tyler Eifert (tight end) to create a high-low down the seam in the red zone to fool the vaunted Seattle Seahawks defense.
Jones gets manned up and jammed right off the snap just as the pre-snap coverage dictated. Jones runs a short slant/hitch and sits near the hash mark. The low safety sees Jones and assumes he has help from the other safety over the top, but the deeper safety is shaded to the right side of the field. With the low safety getting too aggressive to find the big play, Eifert is left to run over the top of him and haul in a touchdown without a single defender within five yards of him.
This concept is perfect for Goff. For one, it is a simple read that has been narrowed down to a very specific part of the field. Even better, throwing down the middle of the field is where Goff is at his best. Calling as many seam/hash throws as possible may be the best way to maximize Goff’s ability as a passer, especially with a solid tight end like Gary Barnidge.
Run-Pass Option (RPO)
RPO’s are a staple of many college offenses. In Cal’s Bear Raid offense, RPO’s were common and allowed Cal to be both simplistic and diverse in their approach. Goff is very familiar with the concept and will be able to execute them at a high level in Jackson’s offense.
This play is technically a 2×2 look, but left tackle Andrew Whitworth is split out like a wide receiver and a tight end is on the line of scrimmage as if he were the right tackle, giving the illusion of a 3×1. Here, the decision has to be made between handing the ball off or pulling it back and throwing the bubble screen. Since the defense showed a six man front w/ a low safety supporting them, the numbers advantage for the offense was with the bubble screen. The three Bengals players bunched out left had the advantage over the two immediate defenders that the defense had covering them, especially considering one of the Bengals players was one of the surest linemen in the league.
This is a concept Goff has already shown he can execute well and there is no reason to believe he can’t in the NFL. These plays allow Goff to win a play without having to test his physical abilities- a good strategy to use for quarterback whose arm is average. Goff also has enough athleticism for their to be a run option for him installed into these plays, too. A run option for Goff should not be in every RPO, but it can be sprinkled in to keep a defense on their toes.
Verts
More so than anything else, this is the concept that will do the most to bridge Goff’s collegiate game to the NFL. Verts was a huge part of Cal’s offense. The concept is rather simple in its nature. Multiple receivers (typically four, but Jackson opted to do without the “go” route on the weak side) run up field and bend their routes at different points. This floods a handful of receivers down the field and the quarterback has to quickly determine which has not been picked up and make that throw.
It looks like the Steelers are running a shaded Cover 3 w/ pattern matching tendencies on this play. AJ Green, the middle receiver in the strong side of the formation, should have been picked up by the cornerback playing over him, but the cornerback follows through with the zone as it was drawn up instead of manning up on Green. This creates a huge gap between the boundary corner and the deep safety. Hole shots like these are where Goff thrives and he should have no issue exposing defensive mishaps like this.
Overall
Hue Jackson is an outstanding offense mind and has had success with a quarterback like Jared Goff before. The problem is, Goff had a very good skill players cast at Cal. The Browns are largely lacking in that department, especially after losing Travis Benjamin in free agency. Their offensive line should still be a solid unit despite the loss of Alex Mack, but the Browns will need to draft a receiver at some point to give Goff another weapon, assuming he is the pick. Goff is not a dynamic or elite quarterback prospect, but there are few, if any, better fits for the Cal alumn.
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