Film review: Monken's schemes that kept Tennessee's defense guessing

CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Browns executed their gameplan at a high level on Sunday against the Titans. Head coach Todd Monken kept the defense on its heels with great designs in the run game, pass game and screen game. Let’s take a look at a few of my favorites.

When I studied the Browns extensively in 2021, their Keeper package stood out as the cornerstone of the offense. Keepers are a great way to create easy completions for the quarterback while complementing the run game.

Monken calls a Keeper concept early to help get Deshaun Watson comfortable. The run action fakes Counter away, while using the fullback to block the end man on the line of scrimmage. This block secures the edge for the quarterback to read out the three-level stretch working away from the run direction.

This play design is trying to open up the Z receiver on a “Staff” route (stalk flat). The receiver sells a block on the flat defender before breaking out after he takes a step or two toward the run.

Every defensive coordinator has studied Brian Flores and incorporates some form of a Mug front to attack offenses. Mug fronts challenge protections and force offenses to throw hot with the potential of unblocked rushers.

The Titans get into one on this third-and-7. Monken calls a Tunnel Screen into this look. Tunnels are great calls for Mug fronts because the defense does not have any defenders at linebacker level to pursue horizontally. These quick-hitting perimeter screens are a great way to offset this edge that defenses are spamming.

The No. 3 receiver will kick out the nickel. The offensive line sells run action away with a pulling guard. The playside tackle and center lead up for the screen.

The Browns are able to chunk off a nice gain attacking the C-gap in the Titans’ Under front in this outside zone variation. Using escort motion to get the tight end at the point of attack, with a slice block back on the defensive end.

The backfield action gives the Titans’ run fits a really hard time. From a two-high shell, the defense can’t account for the new gaps created on each side of the line of scrimmage.

In the clip, the offensive line has some miscommunication. Both of the combinations work for the playside linebacker (W in the diagram). With the Mike reacting to the fullback slicing back and the ball hitting front side, the miscommunication does not affect the outcome of the play.

Later in the game, we get another look at this concept. The center works back for the backside linebacker in that clip.

Expanding their Inside Zone package, the Browns utilize a back side “Lock” tag to create a 10 personnel RPO. Lock asks the backside tackle and guard to man block the defensive end and nearest interior defensive lineman. The Lock tag allows the offense to work 3-step concepts, in this case we get inverted Stick with a slot fade.

The QB is asked to read the backside linebacker (6th box defender). If he flows with the run action, the Stick route opens up. If he hesitates and stays back, the running back can hit the open gap and get going downhill before he reacts.

Against a two-high look, the ball is most often handed off. We get the exception to this rule here, with the Mike in the box leaving the Stick uncovered.

Low red zone run schemes are some of the hardest plays to design on the offensive side of the football. The defense will pack the box and always have an extra defender for the ball carrier.

The offense’s job is to scheme the unblocked players away from the point of attack. Monken shows us how to do this with the Spinner Counter scheme below from 12 personnel.

Selling an orbit sweep with the wide receiver, the backside defenders have some eye candy to hold them.

The defense still has a chance to get an unblocked player at the line of scrimmage. From a Cover 4 shell, the playside receiver blocks the more dangerous safety. The cornerback has to honor the release of the wideout before crack-replacing. This gives the offense just enough time to get the running back downhill.

Bobby Peters is the owner and author of Alert The Post (alertthepost.com). He has also published countless books breaking down NFL offenses. You can find the books on Amazon.