At the moment, no one knows who the quarterback for the Browns will be next year.
But a former pupil of new offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan thinks he’ll be ready for anything.
Longtime NFL quarterback Sage Rosenfels, who played under Shanahan for three years in Houston, said he thinks the Washington experience will help how old boss in a new job.
From issues with Donovan McNabb to a possibly contentious relationship to Robert Griffin III to the looming presence of owner Dan Snyder, Shanahan’s seen it all in a short time.
“Washington, I think, has been a great learning experience for Kyle,” Rosenfels said, via Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal. “He dealt with [McNabb], a veteran at the end of his career, and then he dealt with [Griffin], a rookie at the beginning of his career, both superstar-type guys. I’m sure he learned a lot about himself in those situations.
“I had an excellent experience with Kyle. [Texans quarterback] Matt Schaub, I think, would say the same thing. I think there’s a lot of things that go into the Washington, D.C., experience from the owner [Dan Snyder] down to Donovan McNabb having a strong personality, RG3 having a strong personality. There’s a lot that probably nobody knows about in those situations.”
Rosenfels was optimistic that Browns wideout Josh Gordon would have plenty of chances for big plays, much like Andre Johnson did in Houston under his watch. But mostly, he’ll be responsible for whatever rookie they bring in.
“I think he’s perfect [for a young quarterback],” Rosenfels said of Shanahan. “One, he [went to the playoffs] with RG3, who has that superstar aura around him. Secondly, I think that his offense is very conducive for a young guy to have success and learn the game. Some offenses are really complicated and they have the quarterback go up there and coordinate all this stuff at the offensive line and call audibles. Kyle’s system, though it puts up big numbers, is fairly simple for the quarterback. You know exactly what you’re doing. It doesn’t make things too complex. It allows you just to play the game, and that’s what young players do best is just playing and not thinking too much.”
And if he’s not talking too much about his relationship with his passer, that’s probably better still.