Brandon Weeden's Snaps in the Shotgun Set to Increase

This should not be much of a surprise, considering the offensive philosophy of our coaching staff, but the number of snaps that Brandon Weeden takes from Shotgun this year should increase dramatically. When minicamp started last Tuesday, Weeden spoke to the local media about being able to "let it rip" more often this year and being in an offense that is more similar to what he ran at Oklahoma State:

"I think this offense possesses a lot of the strengths that I have," Weeden said. "Throwing the ball downfield, throwing deeper routes. I think I’m gonna be in the shotgun a little bit more. You look at (Turner protege) Philip Rivers, he was in the shotgun over 70 percent of the time. Stuff like that, stuff that I’ve done in the past."

Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Dealer investigated how much the offenses of Rob Chudzinski and Norv Turner operated from Shotgun, compared to Pat Shurmur's offense a season ago:

2. But talking about how new offensive coordinator Norv Turner likes the shotgun may matter. Weeden said Turner had San Diego QB Philip Rivers in the shotgun "about 70 percent" of the time. It was 77 percent. Chudzinski used it on 79 percent of the passes for Carolina's Cam Newton.

3. The NFL average for shotgun passes was 66 percent in 2012. Weeden was at 42 percent. He threw eight TDs compared to seven interceptions for a 79.1 rating in the shotgun. Under center, it was six touchdowns, 10 interceptions and a 67.7 rating. He had 295 attempts under center, 222 in the shotgun.

Weeden's numbers aren't exactly impressive from Shotgun in 2012, but it still seems like a formation he'd be more comfortable in, given his background.