Todd Monken was head coach at Southern Mississippi from 2013-15. (Kevin C. Cox, Getty Images)

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CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Browns hired Freddie Kitchens as their next head coach largely due to his ability to scheme and call plays for a successful offense. Kitchens played a key role in orchestrating a massive turnaround for the Browns since his promotion to offensive coordinator in Week 9. Kitchens deserves this opportunity.

An interesting subplot to the Kitchens story would be how his offense would be run as he took over head coaching duties.

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The meshing of offensive styles

The tracing of two popular concepts are vital to understand how new offensive coordinator Todd Monken will mesh with Kitchens. Both hail from heavy passing systems, Monken in the "Air Raid" and Kitchens in the "Air Coryell."

These systems were born from the early concepts of Sid Gillman, who expanded the passing game in football's earliest stages. Gillman's ability to work together many of the famous route concepts we have come to know today heavily influenced Bill Walsh's West Coast offense, which is largely predicated on timing.

But two other names took Gillman concepts and spent their careers tinkering with the concepts and forming their own systems: Don Coryell and Hal Mumme. Both systems put a huge emphasis on stretching defenses horizontally to go vertical.

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Air Coryell

This system hit its stride through the early 1980s in which Don Coryell pushed QB Dan Fouts and the Chargers through a great stretch of football, and was a key part of the Rams "Greatest Show on Turf" in the early-2000s led by Mike Martz and Kurt Warner.

It's predicated on the desire for large chunk plays down the field in the vertical passing game. This is the tree Freddie Kitchens hails from.

The "Air Coryell" is tough on an offensive line as it usually ditches quicker throws for longer developing vertical concepts, but Kitchens -- and several other smart offensive minds over the decades -- began helping their offensive line more through chip help from backs and tight ends and play-action to slow pass rush. The scheme is usually backed with a power running game to compliment the downfield attack.

The quarterback has to be willing to throw to open spots on the field instead of relying on open receivers. Timing is vital. A key staple of the concept is the Four Verticals concept in which your four wide receivers run vertical routes on land marks to stretch deep coverage and open windows for deep throws.

The "Air Raid' has some of these schemes. Almost all offenses in modern football share some of these concepts, but some insert some wrinkles.

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Air Raid

Born through Hal Mumme and Brigham Young University, the "Air Raid" is commonly known as a collegiate staple. The scheme that appeals to putting skill players in open grass, was learned and adapted by Mike Leach -- who is now its most famous designer.

The scheme predicates itself on putting as many receivers on the field as possible to stretch the defense. It uses quick throws, wide receiver screens, bunch routes, crossing (or mesh) patterns, and rub routes to stress the defense to cover sideline to sideline. The abundance of route concepts puts major stress on a defense.

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2017 Washington State running Mesh from Empty (Jet) 4x1



Field:

1️⃣Dig

2️⃣Mesh

3️⃣Wheel

4️⃣Flare



Boundary:

1️⃣Mesh



🛩Jet transitions 3x2 to 4x1 on the Snap



Dig from 1️⃣ and Wheel from 3️⃣ is a tough exchange for the Secondary. Dig window opens behind Mesh.@KlipDraw pic.twitter.com/QMTPbTPDdz — Coach Dan Casey (@CoachDanCasey) January 17, 2019

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Another beautiful aspect of the "Air Raid" is that it gives receivers options within a play based on coverage. Routes can be adjusted on the fly based on information both the quarterback and receiver learn. As a result, the same play can be run five times with the concepts looking different on each snap. The key is finding the open spaces in a defense.

When Dana Holgerson left Oklahoma State as offensive coordinator for his first head coaching job at West Virginia in 2011, Mike Gundy hired Monken to replace him. Monken had spent time in Jacksonville working with receivers. Oklahoma State, with Justin Blackmon and Brandon Weeden, went 11-1 and won the Fiesta Bowl with Monken directing the offense.

It was there Monken learned and exercised the principles of the "Air Raid" that he would carry to his first head coaching job at Southern Mississippi, where he transformed a program from 0-12 to 9-5 by just his third season. It's the same scheme Baker Mayfield and Patrick Mahomes worked to find success in their college careers. The "Air Raid" is all the rage these days, and for good reason.

From there Monken joined an "Air Coryell" disciple in Dirk Koetter in Tampa Bay and the two meshed the schemes into what Monken used exclusively in 2018 as the offensive coordinator.

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How it all works in Cleveland

Early down passing is a hot topic in the NFL. Traditional standards call for early down runs to get to third down and a manageable distance.

However, there is plenty of data that supports the more throwing, the better. Early down passing has become the best way to stay in front of the sticks and create advantages. More teams are going to this trend and the Browns did much of the same in 2018 under Kitchens.

Per Pro Football Focus, the Browns threw on first down at 58.2 percent of their snaps when the game was within one score, the third-most in the league. On second and long they threw 75 percent of the time. Good again for third in the NFL.

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Monken's 1st Down Deep Shots

This meshes perfectly with Monken's viewpoints. The Buccaneers attempted a first-down pass 55.7 percent of the time, seventh in the NFL. According to the same data point, the Buccaneers chose to drive the ball downfield more than anyone else in the league. They threw 10 yards or more on 30.9 percent of their drop backs.

A major misconception about the "Air Raid" usage in the NFL is that it has to come from the shotgun formation like most colleges apply. In the NFL it comes from under-center frequently. The Browns under Kitchens were in the shotgun only 59.9 percent of the time under, and Tampa Bay was at only 62.3 percent. Don't be fooled by the quarterback's alignment pre-snap.

They Bucs favored shots downfield to DeSean Jackson off play-action or staright shots you will see above -- all coming from under-center. They would also give plenty of attempts to Mike Evans as well. Just like the Browns, the Buccaneers would max protect many of those snaps -- giving their quarterback ample time to drive the ball downfield and step comfortably into the pocket.

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Monken's Vertical Concepts

Mayfield had far and away the best rookie passer rating on throws 10 yards down the field (ranking 14th overall). Monken is passionate about pushing the ball downfield. The vertical passing game that is a staple of the "Air Coryell" was carried into Monken's system.

The Bucs favored the four vertical package but they did so from bunch sets with receivers often trading landmarks (four verticals requires perfect spacing so receivers are given landmarks to run to stretch the defense horizontally and vertically).

This spacing often confuses zone coverage defenders' eyes, and it also makes man coverage tough as receivers are rubbing off natural picks -- a staple of the "Air Raid" system.

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Monken's Play Action

Monken is a fan of play action very much like Kitchens. The usage of play-action increased under Kitchens in the second half of 2018, and Mayfield led the NFL with a 115.3 passer rating on throws that took more than 2.5 seconds to deliver.

The scheme the Browns employed -- using their backside guard to sell counter action -- was also used by Monken and Tampa Bay. It calls for more players in protection and a higher chance of an accurately delivered ball.

Tampa Bay also used the idea of selling split zone with their tight end working down the line to help in protection. Both the Browns and Buccaneers also used timing short post type throws for Mayfield, Jameis Winston and Ryan Fitzpatrick.

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Run game impact

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Monken prefers his running game to work best into numbers and open grass. I expect this to be a place where he has a big impact. With Nick Chubb in 2018, the Browns ran into more 8-man boxes (nearly 30 percent) than almost any other NFL team. These runs are the most difficult to yield positive results.

There's no denying that Monken's rushing attack was one of the league's worst, largely due to all the success that they found in the air and a preference to go that route. But when they did run successfully it came when the attack was spread out -- eliminating box defenders.

Monken ran from three or more receiver sets nearly 60 percent of the time according to Sports Info Solutions, and that was good for a top-10 number. The Browns ranked near the bottom of the league. The Bucs ran into 8-man boxes less than 20 percent of the time.

When the Browns did decide to run from three or more receiver sets, Nick Chubb has one of the league's highest marks per carry. There's plenty to feel encouraged about with the Browns' power running game as Monken and Kitchens mesh their philosophies.

If you'd like to read another perspective on this, Ryan McChrystal of draftace.com posted some interesting analysis earlier this week.

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Final Thoughts

There is no denying that the concepts brought over from Monken in the "Air Raid" are quarterback friendly. That's what the modern football fan should want. The use of the schemes meshed with Koetter's Coryell schemes got the most out of Ryan Fitzpatrick, who finished with a top 10 passer rating in the NFL in 2018.

With Winston it boiled down to usage. Schemes that rely on high levels of accuracy and timing will never be Winston's strength, but his early season suspension didn't help his progress under Monken's play-calling.

From the beginning of the year it was clear Fitzpatrick was best fit for Monken's scheme, but the franchise wanted to give former No. 1 pick Winston another opportunity. Although the two didn't mesh well at the start, the second half of the season went much better as Winston threw 13 touchdown to just four interceptions.

Monken's meshing with Kitchens will be a fascinating case study. His offensive principles should mesh well with Mayfield's aggressive attitude entering his second year, when growth is expected even after a historic rookie campaign.

Monken will be heavily involved with game planning, and a constant presence on the headset when Kitchens is calling plays on Sundays. It's safe to expect he will be suggesting a few plays as well.

Expectations are high for a unit that performed at a high clip for the last half of 2018. That should mean Monken becomes a hot head coaching candidate come 2020.

Even if Monken stays for just one year, his impact will last with his scheme meshing with Kitchens, and what will likely be a close relationship with young QB coach Ryan Lindley and WR coach Adam Henry. This type of coach funneling with internal promotions can keep a franchise prospering for a long time.

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Jake Burns played quarterback at the collegiate level and also has coached at both the high school and college levels. You can read more X&O analysis from Burns at the OBR and VikingUpdate.com.