A Closer Look at Brian Daboll

[slowburn]

BEREA —

 

Brian Daboll, who calls plays for the Browns and has his name called by irate fans now and then, can relate to Braylon Edwards.

 

Daboll coached him last year. Daboll also can relate to Sheldon Brown, who was leveled when Edwards lowered his helmet into him during the recent Browns-Jets game.

 

Daboll was 20 years old when his playing career ended in a helmet-to-helmet collision in the final game of the Rochester Yellowjackets' 1995 season.

 

It was a lesson on how quickly football fortunes can change. In his first game that year, playing safety against a Cleveland school, Case Western Reserve, Daboll preserved a win with his third interception of the game.

 

Now 35, Daboll already is in his 11th NFL season. His play-calling with the Browns has taken some hits, but his boss, Eric Mangini, believes in him, and likely will lobby to retain him if he makes it out of this choppy season with his job.

 

As the Browns head into the home stretch of the Mangini regime's second season, here is some of what Daboll is saying, and one man's view of what it means:

 

• Daboll's take:

 

Overtime against the Jets, 1:35 left, first down Browns from their own 3. Risking a safety, Daboll asks Colt McCoy to pass out of the end zone, which he does — incomplete — freezing the clock at 1:30 and ultimately giving the Jets time they would need.

 

"We had a good little play," Daboll said. "They were expecting the run. We had Ben Watson down the pipe, and we just missed it. It would have been nice to hit it."

 

• Our view: Daboll isn't beating anyone over the head with a campaign to keep his job, but there is a sense of urgency about him. He knows he is getting hammered by some fans. He knows the big guy, Mike Holmgren, has said the Mangini way of offense and the Holmgren way aren't quite the same.

 

The interpretation of what he's saying here: It turned to do-do, but the idea was to play it bold, take a shot at winning, and here was a play that caught Rex Ryan's team off guard.

 

So much of the mood going into Game 11 hung on that play call.

 

• Daboll's take;

 

On sometimes taking a beating from fans:

 

"You have a firm belief in what you've learned. I've got to work for some pretty good ones ... people have been critical of them, too. Some of them have three Super Bowl rings as a head coach.

 

"You can't let anything affect you. You have to believe in a certain system, in the fundamentals that you've been taught, in the players. You have to coach them. You have to teach them, and that's all you can do. You present it to the players and then go out there and make them do it."

 

• Our view: His 2009 offense ranked 32nd, averaging 260 yards a game. His 2010 attack is 28th, producing a bit more than 300 yards a game. The Browns averaged 313 yards during last year's 4-0 finish, though, when their quarterback situation was no more chaotic than it has been this year amid a rash of high ankle sprains.

 

There would be a lot more applause if games ended after three quarters. The Browns have been outscored 86-43 in fourth quarters, indicative of inadequate adjustments by both coordinators.

 

• Daboll's take:

 

Joshua Cribbs missed the game at Jacksonville after mangling a foot at the end of a 37-yard gain that nearly went for a touchdown midway through the second quarter against the Jets. Did his absence for 2 1/2 quarters have a big impact on the game plan?

 

"Yes," Daboll said. "In the bottom left hand of our call sheet each week, we have about 20 plays specifically designed for Josh, whether it be WildDawg or specific passes ... you saw him run the reverse.

 

"You can't replace a Josh Cribbs, so ... some of those plays we won't have available."

 

"It's different, if Peyton (Hillis) is getting into a rhythm or Colt (McCoy) is getting into a rhythm. Those are kind of intermixed. If it kind of gets slowed down ..."

 

• Our view: Opponents respect Hillis but fear Cribbs as the Browns' most dangerous playmaker. It is odd that his touches are left to chance "if it slows down." Why does an offense ranked near the bottom not find whatever means necessary to give Cribbs at least 10 touches a game?

 

Daboll was moving in that direction last year, when Cribbs got 75 rushing-receiving touches. In the four previous years combined under Romeo Crennel, he had just 56 rushing-receiving touches.

 

Through eight games this year, Cribbs was on pace for about 70 touches. The only two times he got the ball against the Jets, he gained 14 and 37 yards. There must be a way to use him more.

 

• Daboll's take:

 

Colt McCoy's brightest moment, a 59-yard drive that forced overtime against the Jets, wasn't perfect. Four incomplete passes kept Browns Stadium on edge, but the end result was a touchdown.

 

"Colt was calm on the sideline, which he's been since he's been out there," Daboll said. "He kind of geared everybody up and said this is what we're going to do.

 

"He felt comfortable with the plays we had for that package for that game. He missed a couple throws in that drive, (but) he was very stoic ... calm, cool and collected. It was nice to see.

 

"(A long third-and-10 completion to Evan Moore) was something he liked to run at Texas. We had a (different) play called, and they gave us a look that would have gotten us with pressure. He just calmly, with the clock running down, eased it up, changed the protection, changed the route and threw it pinpoint to Evan — a tight end — with Revis Island on him. He has the tools to do that. It happened very quickly. It was good to see."

 

• Our view: If McCoy winds up as the Browns' long-term quarterback, this sort of trust could sell Holmgren on retaining Daboll.

 

Daboll's play-calling a week later didn't work, perhaps as a result of the coaching staff failing to learn not to keep injured quarterbacks on the field. The Browns are 0-3 in games they led at halftime and stuck with quarterbacks playing most of the second half with high ankle sprains.

 

What's the old saying?

 

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me three times, good grief.

 

• Daboll's take:

 

(On Delhomme's only full game, Sept. 12 at Tampa Bay)

 

"We were in no-huddle most of the time. He executed the plays, made some accurate throws, and then he's a really good leader. Obviously, we all wish we had that one play back at the end of the half, but he had the team going in a nice rhythm.

 

"He was completing passes, going to the right guy, and he was getting us into a right run. He did a nice job."

 

Our view: Delhomme will play his first game in seven weeks when he starts against Carolina. Sure, he'll be rusty, but it's not as if he's Brian St. Pierre, the quarterback who started for Carolina last week after being an out-of-the-league, stay-at-home dad the previous week.

 

The season was off to such a good start, with Delhomme going 11-of-17 for 106 yards and the running game producing 87 yards in the first half. Then, with 38 seconds left in the half, with the Browns leading the Bucs 14-3, he, took the chance that changed everything. He hurried a throw before he got blown up by John Abraham. He was sprawled on the field while Ronde Barber returned an interception 64 yards.

 

Daboll probably has made some bad calls this year, but that was some very bad luck for him.