Browns left guard Joel Bitonio has been in Cleveland since 2014, so he’s spent time in a variety of different offenses during his time in the NFL.
The first of those offenses was coordinated by current 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan and Bitonio sees great similarities between it and the the one that head coach Kevin Stefanski has brought with him from Minnesota this year. Bitonio notes that the offense keeps defenses worried about stopping the run when things are going well, which opens up different opportunities in the passing game.
Bitonio thinks that works well for the skills that quarterback Baker Mayfield brings to the table.
“There’s definitely a chance to do some things on offense that we’re excited to do,” Bitonio said, via Cleveland.com. “Baker, I think he works in this offense great. He’s going to be able to sell those runs and set up in the pocket. It’s not just drop-back passing 50 times a game, which is benefit to the O-line, too. If you can sell the run and play action, boot and run keepers off the run game, it is going to give Baker another second or two to have guys get open and run routes.”
The expectations for the Browns and Mayfield were high coming into last season and they failed to reach them. If Bitonio’s right about the offense, they may be able to finally make some progress in 2019.