FROM PAUL BROWN TO THE PRESENT
By STEVE KING
One of the most interesting – and most telling, and crucial – things to come out of the Browns’ trip to the NFL Combine in Indianapolis last week was Executive Vice President of Football Operations and General Manager (whew, that’s a long, long title!) Andrew Berry and head coach Kevin Stefanski stressing the importance of movement as they evaluated offensive linemen.
“We want guys who can move. We want guys who are athletic to run wide zone,” Berry said. “That doesn’t preclude us acquiring guys that have a little bit more power and snap at the line of scrimmage and at the point of attack, but certainly movement is a priority.”
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Added Stefanski, “When it comes to offensive tackles and offensive line in particular, we value movement skills.”
Quickness, quick feet, movement and speed.
Hmmm.
Where have I heard all that before?
It’s from Paul Brown.
When Brown was building, coaching and then, from time to time, re-tooling his great offensive lines during the early days with the Browns, he talked endlessly about – and stressed strongly – the importance of all those things. Up until Brown came along, pro football offensive linemen were big, hulking guys who muscled up with their defensive counterparts at the point of attack and then stood right there and watched the play unfold down the field.
Again, it’s from Paul Brown. He wanted linemen who would win at the line of scrimmage and then run downfield and make one or two more blocks. He wanted guys who were light on their feet. He was more than willing to sacrifice pounds for prancing, as it were.
I couldn’t help but to think about all this as I read Berry’s and Stefanski’s comments. The more the game changes, the more it stays the same, and so the game is now going back to what it was 70 years ago.
They call Paul Brown “The Father of Modern Football” for all the innovations he brought to the sport, and now we have yet more proof of why that is so.
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