Don't believe the national hype that Odell Beckham Jr. wants out. Alex Van Pelt says the mercurial wide receiver is 'all in' on what the Browns plan on offense. (cbssports.com)
You must have an active subscription to read this story.
Click Here to subscribe Now!
Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland.
Takeaways from Zoom call with Browns offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt …
1. OBJ update: A year ago at this time, Odell Beckham Jr. was all over the map – everywhere except in Berea for Browns’ OTA practices.
And now?
Amid the virtual offseason program caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, Beckham has displayed a new commitment to the Browns.
“He is all in,” said new Browns coordinator Alex Van Pelt. “He has bought in. He has been there, and it is awesome.”
Beckham’s absence last year was excused by the club in an effort to ease the trauma of his trade to the Browns. “Let Odell be Odell” was the mantra. “We want him here in the right frame of mind.”
Then when Beckham reported to training camp, he acquired a core muscle injury, which kept him off the practice field most of the season. As a consequence, Beckham and quarterback Baker Mayfield never developed the requisite chemistry to be a productive duo.
Circumstances are different this year. The pandemic has relegated coaches and players to an offseason program of virtual classroom-learning. But new coach Kevin Stefanski had conversations with Beckham about his commitment before the pandemic hit in March.
“It is good to have him there,” Van Pelt said. “It is good for him. He obviously needs to learn this system, but to have him involved and everybody involved, everybody’s attendance has been outstanding and that is a tribute to Kevin and the guys that are buying into the program.”
Van Pelt had nothing but positives to say about Beckham.
“I have known of Odell, obviously,” Van Pelt said. “[Former Giants Head Coach and Jaguars quarterbacks coach] Ben McAdoo had Odell in New York, and everything that Ben talked to me about him, I have seen. He is a worker. He loves football. He is smart as hell. He has just been a model guy this offseason. I can’t wait to get him in the building and get him on the field. He has been outstanding.”
2. Baker’s footwork: Van Pelt continues to work on changing Mayfield’s footwork on his pass dropbacks, primarily from the shotgun formation. The coach wants Mayfield to line up with his left foot forward, rather than Mayfield’s customary right foot forward.
“Nothing was wrong with doing it [Mayfield’s way],” Van Pelt said. “It is just the philosophy of the offense and the way I coach the quarterback. That is what I am looking for. I have done them both. I have studied all three different types of [shot]gun footwork, and I have decided this is what fits the quarterback the best in the system that we are running, and that is it.”
Van Pelt said he is using an app that he first encountered in a golf lesson 10 years ago to assist in Mayfield’s training.
“It gives me the ability to share my screen with Baker, watch his feet and really you can zoom all the way into just the feet and you can talk about each step, the position of each step and the length of each step,” Van Pelt said. “It is actually a pretty cool tool. It is the first time I had really used it extensively to teach footwork, but it has been useful.”
Van Pelt also is altering Mayfield’s footwork from under center.
“We would like to take some of that giant stagger step he has out,” he said. “I think our philosophy is we want to be West Coast footwork. There is a way to teach that, and it is not with that giant stagger. Under center will change slightly for him, too, but I think it will ultimately add to the rhythm and the timing of the pass game.”
Times change. A year ago, Mayfield dismissively mocked needing anyone to teach him how to take a three-step drop from center.
3. Play-calling on hold: Stefanski’s initial plan was to allow Van Pelt to call plays in some preseason games. If Stefanski was comfortable with what he saw, Van Pelt would call be the play-caller on Sundays, freeing Stefanski to be a CEO-type coach on the sideline.
If preseason games are cancelled due to the pandemic, that plan might be aborted.
“It is actually something that we haven’t even discussed, to be honest with you,” Van Pelt said. “I think it is still a fluid situation. Until we get together and feel more comfortable with each other, and him with me more so, on the field in live action when there is no script and you are just calling offense against the defense, ultimately, until he feels comfortable with that, I think we are in the same spot as we have been.”
Most coaches I’ve encountered considered calling plays on offense the fun part of their job. Stefanski is the rare exception. He told me it’s not as fun as you’d think.
He’d have no problem handing it over to Van Pelt, but wants to make sure Van Pelt has a total grasp of Stefanski’s offense before entrusting him with the job.