Browns HC Todd Monken was disgusted by how the Browns ended practice on offense Monday. A day later, he took ownership—of some of it. As a first-year head coach, he considered it a learning moment for himself as much as anybody. And as the unit continued to rack up demerits, he refused to pivot and finish out the drill.
“Unfortunately, we sent them back with their head coach being emotionally hijacked, which isn’t a good thing”, Monken said of how the Browns ended practice on offense, reporters noting that he appeared to throw something in disgust. “I told them that this morning, that can’t happen. I should have just gone to a different cadence and let them play out the drill”.
Monken said that part of his frustration in that moment was due to how good the Browns looked on offense during practice leading up to that. Then they had a series of false starts, missed assignments, a sack, and several other issues spanning two different quarterbacks trying to run things. Obviously, if the unit is struggling with the cadence, it would probably make sense to change it.
“I got fired up, I was pissed, and that was awful. That was shitty football”, Monken added. “That’s going to get me fired up, and I have to own some of that. Obviously, we haven’t coached it well enough”.
Of course, the Browns still don’t know who will lead the offense onto the field. Neither does Todd Monken, deciding between Shedeur Sanders and Deshaun Watson as his quarterback. As the calendar rolls forward, it seems less and less obvious that it isn’t because they’re both just so wonderful.
Not that the Browns don’t have some legitimate talent on offense, especially at the skill positions. They drafted wide receivers in the first and second rounds, and Denzel Boston has already been promoted to the first-team offense. Second-year RB Quinshon Judkins and TE Harald Fannin could be in for big years if everything around them goes well. But nothing will go as planned if they can’t clean up the most basic things about executing a play.
Not that that’s uncommon at this time of year, especially for a new staff. Like with Todd Monken on the Browns, Steelers HC Mike McCarthy has lamented the issues his own offense has had. He hasn’t thrown things, but perhaps he’s more used to seeing this.
Monken didn’t exactly land the cushiest job in the NFL. There are going to be plenty of growing pains for his team along the way, and the fact that he is a first-year head coach will be a part of that. Still, it’s fair to question whether he can be doing a better job. The Browns’ offense has enough issues right now without him making them worse.
