Kitchens: “Sunday, Receiver Ran A Route Not In The Playbook”

The Browns Sunday loss to the Seahawks was frustrating for fans and players.

They have struggled much of the year to find an offensive identity and continue to be among the league leaders in penalties.

Browns head coach Freddie Kitchens has spoken frequently this week about proper execution in key moments of the game.

Many have criticized Kitchens this year as this being one of his biggest problems.

However, he offered an interesting tidbit this week where he seemed to call out one of his wide receivers for running a route that was not in the playbook at all.

Freddie Kitchens indicated a WR ran a route yesterday not even in the play book. Would not elaborate further. #Browns

— Daryl Ruiter (@RuiterWrongFAN) October 14, 2019

Kitchens was pressed further to give more information on the mishap, but would not elaborate.

He also would not name the receiver but emphasized that the team needs to play as a team and not a group of individual players.

It was very interesting that Kitchens gave this information to the press.

After all, players that do things on their own and disregard play calls are a major sign of lack of trust in the coaching staff.

Espn’s Stephen A Smith gave his take on Freddie Kitchens after Sunday’s loss on First Take:

“What you’re seeing is a talented team who has the ability to explode, make noise, make things interesting. But when it comes to finishing the job, there’s always a play here, an individual that was ignored, a particular play that should’ve been called, the discipline of the team, the focus, the mindset coming into the game– all of these different things that veteran coaches that have been around long enough can help alleviate. You don’t have that because you have players learning how to play with another for a coach who literally is learning on the job.”

Smith also added that he sees potential in Kitchens, but doesn’t think he’s the right coach at this time for the Browns who want to win now.

“They would’ve been better off keeping Gregg Williams,” he said.

While it may be easy to discount former Browns OL coach Bob Wylie’s comments, the red zone offense, protection schemes, and offensive game planning cannot be ignored.

If there is indeed a rift between some players and the coaching staff, this certainly does not bode well for the Browns moving forward.