The LabThe fingerprint of every playbook

Cleveland BrownsScheme DNA

Most shotgun rate, most outside runs in the league. Their closest twin is Broncos (64% alike), then Texans and Colts. 538 offensive snaps read, 478 of them charted.

League map Browns verdict JSON

Shotgun rate76.8%100th percentile · league 61.5%

Outside runs30.9%90th percentile · league 23.4%

Play action17.7%16th percentile · league 23.1%

Screen rate11.5%84th percentile · league 9.0%

Bottom lineTheir loudest habits: shotgun rate (76.8%, 100th percentile), outside runs (30.9%, 90th percentile), play action (17.7%, 16th percentile).

How to read this chart

The flower:: each petal is one play-calling habit, labeled around the edge. Petal length is the team's rank among the 32 (long = does it more than most; for tempo, long = fast). The dashed ring is the league middle.
The bars:: the same habits as a list: the bar is the rank (the tick in the middle is the league middle), then the real value and the percentile (90 = more than 90% of teams). Jargon: pass rate over expected = how much more or less they throw than the situation predicts; RPO = run-pass option; men in the box = defenders near the line against the run.

Offense

The playbook

Pass rate over expected−2.0%48

Early-down pass rate51.3%61

Shotgun rate76.8%100

No-huddle rate3.9%23

Pre-snap motion56.1%39

Play action17.7%16

Screen rate11.5%84

RPO rate6.7%74

Deep shots10.9%58

Middle of the field19.7%32

Outside runs30.9%90

Tempo38.4s26

Defense

The defense

Blitz rate25.1%23

Five-plus rushers25.1%23

Men in the box6.403

Stacked boxes3.3%10

Pass rate faced−4.6%13

Deep shots allowed16.6%97

Defensive twins: Raiders (90%), Titans (83%), Cowboys (81%).

Twins

Offenses most like theirs

Solid shape: Browns · outline: the twin

Bottom lineBrowns and Broncos, 64% alike. Both run outside more and throw more screens than most of the league; Browns and Broncos differ most in throws over the middle (19.7% vs 9.8%) and shotgun rate (76.8% vs 65.2%).

How to read this chart

Each card is one twin:: an offense that calls games like Browns. The colored shape is Browns's fingerprint, the white outline the twin's. Where the two match, the habits match.
The %: is how alike the two are across all offensive habits: 100% would be identical, 0% the most different pair in the league.

#1 twinBroncos64%Both run outside more and throw more screens than most of the league; Browns and Broncos differ most in throws over the middle (19.7% vs 9.8%) and shotgun rate (76.8% vs 65.2%).

#2 twinTexans60%Both line up in shotgun more than most of the league; Browns and Texans differ most in screen rate (11.5% vs 6.6%) and throws over the middle (19.7% vs 26.5%).

#3 twinColts59%Both huddle more than most of the league; Browns and Colts differ most in play action (17.7% vs 27.6%) and shotgun rate (76.8% vs 62.9%).

Run game

Where they run

Arrow size = share of carries · color = EPA per carry

Bottom lineTheir favorite lane: middle, 25% of runs, -0.14 EPA per carry.

How to read this chart

Seen from behind the offense:: the line at the bottom is the line of scrimmage, with seven running lanes from the left end to the right end.
Arrow size: and the % above it = share of the team's runs that go there.
Arrow color: = how well those runs work, in EPA per carry (expected points added: above zero helps the offense). Green works, grey is average, red hurts.

Pass game

Where they throw

Share of targets · EPA per throw

Bottom lineMost targeted zone: short left, 42% of throws, +0.02 EPA per throw.

How to read this chart

The field from the quarterback's eyes:: left, middle and right; the bottom row is short throws, the top row deep throws.
Each box: shows the share of throws that go there (more solid = more throws) and its color the EPA per throw: green helps the offense, grey is average, red hurts.

Formation Tell

What the formation gives away

How to read this chart

Two dots on one line from 0% to 100%:: how often they throw when the quarterback is under center, and how often from shotgun, on neutral downs.
The gap between them: is what a defense learns from the formation alone: a wide gap means the alignment tips run or pass.

Under center31%pass rate, neutral downs

Shotgun67%pass rate, neutral downs

A 36-point gap: one of the hardest to read offenses in the league (28 of 32). See all 32 →