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CLEVELAND, Ohio - The Browns have made yet another offensive change, with head coach Kevin Stefanski handing over play-calling duties to offensive coordinator Tommy Rees. It’s a move that feels all too familiar to longtime observers of the team, and cleveland.com columnist Terry Pluto isn’t convinced it will make a meaningful difference. “I guess it falls under the heading of, ‘Why not?’ ” Pluto said on the latest Terry’s Talkin’ podcast. " I mean, it is kind of like your car isn’t running very well. But maybe we could change the rear bumper. I mean ... I don’t see it changing (for the better).” The comparison is apt for a Browns offense that has appeared fundamentally broken at multiple levels. The team’s offensive struggles extend far beyond who’s calling plays, as Pluto points out. From a struggling offensive line to underperforming receivers, the issues are systemic. One particularly rough statistic shared by co-host David Campbell reveals just how bad the pass protection has been: “The Browns are 31st in the league ahead of only the Dolphins in terms of true pass set grade,” he said, citing NFL data analyst Ben Baldwin’s research. This metric filters out plays with fewer than four pass rushers, play action, screen passes, or quick throws, focusing solely on true pass-blocking situations. What’s perhaps most frustrating for fans is the sense of déjà vu. The Browns have been through this exact scenario before, swapping out play callers last season without seeing meaningful improvement. The podcast also touched on another puzzling element: the disappearance of core Stefanski concepts that worked well for the Browns in previous seasons, like play-action passes and the “pin/pull” running plays, where the centers and guards pull to lead a running back around the end. “That’s the most confounding thing with me is what happened to this,” Pluto said. The Jets are up Sunday, which could provide an opportunity for improvement against a struggling team. But as Pluto suggests, the issues with this offense run much deeper than who’s holding the play sheet. “This is a car with a lot of things. The tires are blown out and the radiator shot and everything else. So I guess you could bring in a new mechanic to look at it.” Here’s the podcast for this week: If you have a question or a topic you’d like to see included on the podcast, email it to sports@cleveland.com, and put “Terry’s Talkin’” in the subject line. You can find previous podcasts below.
