BEREA, Ohio - When the Cleveland Browns finally got going last week after a nightmarish first half, they got going fast.
It sounds like the up-tempo, no-huddle offense that sparked the second-half comeback in Pittsburgh will stay, but only on a part-time basis.
"The up-tempo stuff, it's a weapon but it's not our lifestyle" Browns coach Mike Pettine said. "It's something we can use as a change up. We're still running the same plays, just at a faster pace."
The switch to the no-huddle offense in the second half helped Brian Hoyer go 15-for-20 passing for 173 yards in the second half and allowed the Browns to make up a 24-point deficit in four series. The Steelers looked part shocked and fully gassed, and Hoyer and rookie running backs Terrance West and Isaiah Crowell took advantage.
Speeding up the game was all part of the plan, Browns offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan said Thursday, but the Browns didn't get enough chances to use it until they came out of the halftime locker room down 27-3.
"It was a little better than anticipated," Shanahan said. "It was something that got them off balance, tired them out a little bit. It tired us out too. When you do it that much, you get a little sloppy on both sides of the ball, but it ended up working out well for us. We got some points, (it) got us going.
"You've got to do whatever it takes to score points. I think it's different based on what fronts and coverages you go against every week. It's different based on what you're trying to accomplish with the no-huddle. I thought we did a really good job running the ball. It opened up a lot of bootlegs for us and things like that, which got us some easy completions. I think going to it in the second half made us avoid third down a lot because our first and second down plays were so good."
Now, it's on film for future opponents to see. Shanahan doesn't see that as the issue, but rather the Browns just continuing to move the ball and avoid third-down, must-pass situations where defenses know what's coming.
"To me, what helped us wasn't necessarily the success of the no huddle," Shanahan said. "It was the success of running the ball to where we didn't have to face third down because we struggled on third down all game."
The Browns are going to run to set up everything else, even with starting running back Ben Tate out with a sprained knee. This week, running the ball and running clock may be even more important as the Browns try to keep the Saints off the field. The Saints missed a bunch of tackles and gave up 568 yards of offense last week; the Browns will make them prove they can tackle Terrance West and Isaiah Crowell.
"We're not an up-tempo all the time team," Pettine said. "That's not the way we built this roster. That's not the way we worked from the beginning. Just because we had a good half of it doesn't mean that we need to junk what we're doing and go to a no-huddle offense and not work on our base stuff."
Both Pettine and Shanahan said it's more execution than presentation when it comes to putting together drives.
"Everyone thinks the no-huddle offense is 'boom, boom, boom, boom, (fast),'" Hoyer said. "but if you get to the line with 25 seconds to go (on the play clock) you don't have to snap it at 20. It doesn't have to be (a University of) Oregon pace. But it was working and that's what we went with.
"As long as its working you can mix it in and catch the defense off guard. Now it's out there that we can run it so teams will be prepared for that. To me the best time to do it if you get a good play on first down you push the tempo and see how it goes, and go from there. That's up to Kyle. I think Kyle has a good feel about when we should use it and when we should back off."
