All we need is a little smoke about someone else wanting #1 and it will get done ...
John 3:16 Jesus said "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."
Not so sure about the Giants, EO. Might roll with Eli and Webb - take Barkley at 2.
Colts trade back to one of Jets/Broncos for a QB or take Chubb.
In your scenario, who do the browns take at 4 if Giants move up to 1 and we get Barkley at 2 - you risk someone jumping us to 3 and not getting the QB of choice.
I live in NY and thats all any body talks about any body as in the 500 sports journalists here...
What QB are the Giants taking in the draft. Do they keep ELI and let him play out another year or start the new QB...the convo is will it be Rosen or Darnold.
I don't think I have read or heard one word about Barkley or Minkah...
Defense wins championships. Watson play your butt off! Go Browns! CHRIST HAS RISEN! GM Strong! & Stay safe everyone!
Clearly less INT's and WR's catching balls that hit them in the hands would have helped. None of the "haters" are claiming none of that stuff doesn't matter.
No, I don't know much about the X's and O's either.
But it doesn't take a broadcasting hall of fame football analyst to see Hue come out and call 2/3 of his offense as pass plays versus a top ranked passing defense to conclude that the play calling in a macro sense... sucked.
Oh, But Devil, they stacked the box and therefor neutralized our run game.
Ok, it still doesn't take a broadcasting hall of fame analyst to see that Hue had zero answers this past season for when a team neutralized a part of our offense.
Little to no in game adjustments, refusal to stick to something that is working forcing the other team to stop it before abandoning it, limited game plans going in to the game from the get go... it was all there on display.
These reasons are why the Haley hire has me encouraged. Yes, I get the Steelers have some uber legit talent, but it doesn't change the fact that they seemingly always had an answer, something else to turn to when one thing stopped working. And when something is working, or a player has the hot hand, they aren't afraid to ride that horse until it collapses.
"Hey, I'm a reasonable guy. But I've just experienced some very unreasonable things." -Jack Burton
-It looks like the Harvard Boys know what they are doing after all.
I have to do something here that none of the haters would dare to do, admit that I know too little about play calling to make an educated grade on it. The reason it appears that I seem to be saying that play calling was not a part of the problem is because I'm protesting the haters who know nothing, but carry a big mouth.
I hear ya ... I IGNORE them ... cant have a convo with a brick ...
Quote:
Hue sucks and Haley's the bomb. I wonder how Hue would do with Ben, Bell, Brown and maybe the best OL in football.
I would imagine even better than he did with Dalton, Hill, Bernard, AJ Green, Marvin Jones and Tyler Eifert ...
Once we get some talent hue would improve ... no doubt .... with even a below average QB this year we would have been much better and won 4 - 6 games ...
That doesn’t excuse the mistakes he made ... i dont go by a play by play basis ... like U, thats really tough .... unless its something obvious like Haley’s wide pitch on 4th down against a REALLY REALLY FAST D .... that was MORONIC ... my beefs are as follows .... and i know u agree with one so i wont spend much time on it ....
- We agree he handled Kizer HORRIBLY ....
- abondining the running game in almost every single game ...
- under utilization of Duke .... he should have played split out more .. a WR screen to him doesnt sound so stupid to me .... 2 back sets with crow ...
- mis usage of the WR’s ... Duke should have played WR a handful of plays a game ... especially with the crap we put out there ... more two tight end sets with DeValve and Njoku ... take one of the WR’s off the filed and go 2 backs with Duke and Crow .... our WR’s STUNK til Josh and Coleman came back and Hifggins stepped up then ... til then .... we should have had as few WR’s on the field as possible ...
- our pass/run ratio was ATROCIUS when u look at our qb and recievers and then our OL and backs .... HEAD SCRATCHING bro ...
If u disagree with any of the above ... please explain why u disagree with what I perceive as his weaknesses as a play caller last year ...
I agree with almost all the rest of what u said ....
I would also like to point out ... it is about the execution ... 100% ... its also the OC’s job to call plays that put the players on his O in the best possible position to execute the plays .... Hue didn’t achieve that IMO for the reasons above ...
ultimately its up to the players to execute but lets not pretend the play caller doesn’t shoulder some of the blame or get some of the credit when it goes well ..... we can’t give Hue credit for what he did before he got here and then not put some of the O problems on his shoulders especially considering the points I made ....
Hue was also the HC and not just a play caller .... thats tough enough .... u have way MORE RESPONSIBILITY as the HC/OC then u do as just an OC ..... then throw our YOUTH into the mix and Hue had his hands full .....
Make no mistake either bro .... I am fine with the fact Hue is still here ... i get it ... I haven’t asked for his head one time .... sometimes folks on here put words in your mouth u never said and lump U in with people because u agree with a few things they say on a subject .... thats happening to me now ... i’ve never once asked for or hoped Hue got fired ... NOT EVEN ONCE .....
I have said that if we did fire him I’d be fine with it cause of his off field antics and plain flat out BS .... it has ZERO to do with what he’s done on the field ..... thats a big stretch going from what I said to being accused of wanting Hue fired ...
Just wanted to clear that up ...
Now that i know your motives when posting to the dolts ... i’ll Mind my own business ...
I live in NY and thats all any body talks about any body as in the 500 sports journalists here...
What QB are the Giants taking in the draft. Do they keep ELI and let him play out another year or start the new QB...the convo is will it be Rosen or Darnold.
I don't think I have read or heard one word about Barkley or Minkah...
Lol. I used to live on Long Island. Lynbrook. NY fans and media were a craziness I'd never heard. It was humorous listening. Loved it.
Let's say this. The NY Giants will be IRRELEVANT for the next 5 years unless they take who's left of Darnold and Rosen at pick 2.
QB'S are going 1 and 2. Bank it. That's GOLD this year. This isn't a year of Locker, Bortles, Ponder, Smith.
Darnold and Rosen are far and away better prospects than any of those.
If NY doesn't go QB, or they trade down from 2, they will be ROASTED and deserve it.
Since Diam and a few others turned this into a Hue thread, we can add this here:
Quote:
Why the Browns Made the Right Decision To Not Fire Hue Jackson
By JOE THOMAS January 23, 2018
In 2016 and ’17, the Cleveland Browns went 1–31. One win in two seasons. When you look at the record on it's own, it’s abysmal. Horrible. Monumentally poor. But I’m glad that the Browns, a team I’ve proudly spent my entire pro career with, decided to retain Hue Jackson as head coach after two awful seasons in the standings. It wouldn’t be fair to judge Hue based on his record after just two seasons because few NFL teams have put themselves at such a disadvantage in order to save assets and focus on winning three or four years down the road.
When Hue was hired as head coach, he had no understanding that management was going to trade all their good players and current draft picks for future picks. The front office’s strategy was to save as much cap space as possible over two years, get rid of almost all the veteran free agents and compound draft picks for future years. The guys in charge realized that if the team was willing to accept two really horrible years, we could get some top-five picks, and if we trade one to somebody else, were going to get two first rounders in the future and so on. As the head coach, Hue was expected to hold the team together, develop players and get them to play hard—when everyone in the building knew the front office put us in the best position to lose. It’s hard to split hairs on that comment.
Ultimately the degree of losing became simply unpalatable, and the guys who enacted the plan couldn’t see it through. The team realized that while some of those strategies may work to rebuild baseball teams, it doesn’t quite work the same way in the NFL; the pain of losing is so much greater in the NFL, and fans, management and coaches struggle to tolerate it.
But the wheels are in motion, and I believe the original plan will work. I’m more excited about the team’s direction than I’ve ever been before in Cleveland, because many people in the building understand what it means to truly tear down a football team and start over.
Think about when a new coach comes to a college football team. He runs off all the older players and develops the players he recruited. At the end of the first four years, they're better players than they would’ve been had they sat behind the veterans for two or three years. The strategy: Play all these rookies, see what you got, then when those players are hitting their stride, you have all this cap space to spend money in free agency and you give yourself the best chance to win in the third and fourth years.
MARK ALBERTI/ICON SPORTSWIRE Welcome to Year 3. The Browns added three first-round picks in the NFL draft last April and have 12 picks in this year’s draft, including four picks in the first 35 and the No. 1 and No. 4 overall selections. And more importantly, in spite of playing with half a deck of cards, Hue kept the team together, kept the players focused, kept the coaches motivated and continued to develop players through two of the worst seasons ever. I don’t think many coaches could do that.
When Hue said, “nobody could have done the job that I did,” he took a lot of heat for it because it was perceived he was talking about the record. But he was talking about the way this team fought to the end, the way the players prepared and went out and played with as much passion and toughness and intensity as they did. There was nothing on the line, there was no reason to do it, but they still gave their best effort to the last play.
But the media turned on Hue, and I worried the team would be influenced into the wrong decision. Stay around the league long enough, and you realize there’s a big difference between team owners who grew up in the NFL and those who didn’t. The lifers in many cases have more patience; they understand that media and fans have roller-coaster mood swings. When the team is doing well, they heap praise, and when you’re doing poorly, they’ll criticize to no end. The coach has to be somewhere in the middle, with a steady approach, and it’s important not to listen to what they’re saying about the team, because those words and comments go into your head and start to affect the close decisions.
I understand that hirings and firings stir up controversy, which is great for the media—that makes the job fun and easy. What’s hard to communicate is nuance. It’s so much easier to say, ‘well, they've won one game in two years—time to fire the coach.’ The reality is there are plenty of bad coaches who have made the playoffs with good quarterbacks and plenty of good coaches who have never made the playoffs because they don’t have the quarterback, the supporting cast or the defense. It’s important not to throw the baby out with the bath water.
Most players on the team think Hue’s a great head coach and really like him, but I’m sure there are some guys who don’t like him. When I was a younger player it was easy to either fall in love with the coach if you’re doing well and hate the coach if you’re doing poorly without knowing why. And just like fans, players can judge the coach based on the record. But as a player who’s been around more coaches and GMs than most players and seen different ways of operation, I can look beyond the record.
John Dorsey and Jimmy Haslam looked at why the team hired Hue in the first place. He was the hottest coach on the market for several years, developed QBs like Joe Flacco and Andy Dalton and went 8–8 as a head coach in his only full season. He’s a great leader, a great manager of coaches and a great x’s and o’s football guy. Firing him based on the record wouldn’t have been the right move.
And now we get to the fun part. We got rid of everybody we had that was really good for two years because we knew that we would be ahead of all the other teams in year three or four. We have more than $100 million in cap space; we could sign three Kirk Cousins if we wanted to. We could legitimately add three Hall of Fame players in free agency if they're out there. We have an upcoming No. 1 pick who could transform the roster by himself. You throw an experienced quarterback in the mix and there’s nothing that says the Browns can't make the playoffs next year.
“We’re a game plan team,” Haley said. “Whoever the opponent is we’re going do what gives us the best chance to score points and score more points. When you look back at last season it’s easy to say we threw it too much here or there. At the same time, we’re going to go into games with an attack plan. Sometimes it might be running a lot and sometimes it might be throwing a lot.”
“That’s who I learned from, and it really stuck with me — no square pegs in round holes,” he said. “I’ve said it a million times. It’s what our guys do and what gives us a best chance to win. Whatever that is, we’re going to try to do it and not waste a lot of time with things we’re not in love with. We have a scaled-down playbook. Some guys have a million plays. We try to hone in on what we really love our guys doing and what we think gives us a chance to succeed.”
Q: Are your receivers doing enough to get open? HALEY: “Again, being a former receiver coach and that being an area that I always find a way to pay attention to a little bit, I’m probably never going to be happy in that area. I think I’m just going to set the bar high. That being said, I think our receivers are making progress. They continue to make progress. I would say that will never be good enough. I would say that if you win on nine out of 10 routes, I’m going to say win on 10. I’m not going to accept anything less. Another component of being a good receiver in the league is about blocking and I will speak individually about WR Dwayne Bowe in that area and I think that’s something that he has made such a big jump in and is a real good sign. Last week he had a couple real big blocks, one on a long, long play and then yesterday he continued that, though it didn’t necessarily lead to big, big plays, I think that’s a real good sign for the team. Like I’ve said, you earn the right to make plays, make the big spectacular plays or the plays that show up on the highlights and Dwayne and a number of those guys are really doing that in the run game, which I’m excited about the direction we’re going.”Q: Are your receivers doing enough to get open? HALEY: “Again, being a former receiver coach and that being an area that I always find a way to pay attention to a little bit, I’m probably never going to be happy in that area. I think I’m just going to set the bar high. That being said, I think our receivers are making progress. They continue to make progress. I would say that will never be good enough. I would say that if you win on nine out of 10 routes, I’m going to say win on 10. I’m not going to accept anything less. Another component of being a good receiver in the league is about blocking and I will speak individually about WR Dwayne Bowe in that area and I think that’s something that he has made such a big jump in and is a real good sign. Last week he had a couple real big blocks, one on a long, long play and then yesterday he continued that, though it didn’t necessarily lead to big, big plays, I think that’s a real good sign for the team. Like I’ve said, you earn the right to make plays, make the big spectacular plays or the plays that show up on the highlights and Dwayne and a number of those guys are really doing that in the run game, which I’m excited about the direction we’re going.”
Q: So they’re not good enough for you being a former wide receivers coach is that part of the reason that QB Matt Cassel had a 46 rating yesterday or is that because of Matt Cassel? HALEY: “I would say the passing game is always an 11-man operation. I would never put any kind of ranking of a performance, and I’m not ranking any performance, I would never put it all on receivers, tight ends, backs, quarterbacks or the line. I think it’s an 11-man…that’s part of earning the right to make plays. It’s an 11-man operation when you pass the ball well. There are so many factors of it that are critical, everybody doing the right thing and understanding what they have to do.”
John Dorsey and Jimmy Haslam looked at why the team hired Hue in the first place. He was the hottest coach on the market for several years, developed QBs like Joe Flacco and Andy Dalton and went 8–8 as a head coach in his only full season. He’s a great leader, a great manager of coaches and a great x’s and o’s football guy. Firing him based on the record wouldn’t have been the right move.
I'm sure Joe Thomas doesn't know as much about leadership, motivational coaches, and great X's and O's as geniuses like Diam, rasta, WSU, device, cfrs, jfan, Devil, etc......but at least there is another voice in the house.
And jfan........I agree w/you. I am so glad Diam got this thread "back on track." Good call, my man.
And in my dream situation Giants trade up to #1 to get Rosen and we can take Barclay at #2.
What do we do for a qb?
I'd understand Barkley at 4. I'd understand Minkah-Fitzpatrick at 4.
What I will NEVER understand is if Darnold or Rosen ARE NOT a Brown.
We CANNOT let this opportunity get past us. We're not sniffing the #1 pick again.
It's OBVIOUS to me that this is a 2 horse race.
I'm quite certain that we will never take a 6 foot Smurf at #1. Good.
Jackson is not even in the discussion. Good.
Hopefully we see Allen's Lack of Accuracy and PASS. Good.
Darnold or Rosen. Barkley or Minkah-Fitzpatrick.
It's the ONLY way to go.
We are a FS, and 2 CBs away from an Excellent Defense.
I'm curious who we go after in FA. If we sign Joyner and a Butler, Gaines, Fuller. I'm STILL taking Minkah-Fitzpatrick at 4. He'd be a STUD at CB. And fix our WORST problem. TE Coverage.
Damn we're LOADED.
Just decide on Darnold or Rosen and Mark it on the Card.
Maybe it's all of the hype at this time of year, but I am starting to come around on the idea of Allen at #1. I see no way we pass on a QB at 1 .... but I am just not sure which one we'll go with.
Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
John 14:19 Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live.
And in my dream situation Giants trade up to #1 to get Rosen and we can take Barclay at #2.
What do we do for a qb?
Going on the assumption that the Colts will not take QB considering they have Luck...So that would leave the same QB there at # 4 that would be there at #2. Colts might take Barkley not QB.
That was my thought process.
And this scenario is only if we are not sold on Rosen...if he is our guy we take him at #1 case closed.
Defense wins championships. Watson play your butt off! Go Browns! CHRIST HAS RISEN! GM Strong! & Stay safe everyone!
I hope they take Mason Rudolph but I don't see they having the courage to take him at #1 so I am like 70% it will be Darnold. Only way it changes is if they land Cousins in FA or they steal JG from San fran by offering him a contract they can't match and paying the penalty. I don't see the JG thing as likely though.
So it's either cousins or darnold who will be our starting QB.
You can't fix stupid but you can destroy ignorance. When you destroy ignorance you remove the justifications for evil. If you want to destroy evil then educate our people. Hate is a tool of the stupid to deal with what they can't understand.
Not sure why everyone keeps avoiding the obvious, but Mayfield is certainly in play for us at #1. If you don't like it or understand it that's fine, but it's very real.
I was thinking that we were always choosing between Darnold and Mayfield, but I think it might actually be between Rosen and Mayfield with Mayfield being the best option.
And in my dream situation Giants trade up to #1 to get Rosen and we can take Barclay at #2.
What do we do for a qb?
Going on the assumption that the Colts will not take QB considering they have Luck...So that would leave the same QB there at # 4 that would be there at #2. Colts might take Barkley not QB.
That was my thought process.
And this scenario is only if we are not sold on Rosen...if he is our guy we take him at #1 case closed.
Fair enough.
Gotta watch someone trading up over our 4 pick and snagging the QB. I don't see how we risk that. Missing out on our QB is much, much, worse than missing out on a RB. Even if we drop down to 2, we still got to take the QB, IMO. Don't risk it.
Not sure why everyone keeps avoiding the obvious, but Mayfield is certainly in play for us at #1. If you don't like it or understand it that's fine, but it's very real.
I was thinking that we were always choosing between Darnold and Mayfield, but I think it might actually be between Rosen and Mayfield with Mayfield being the best option.
Well it's true that ANYTHING is possible. It's just not likely. He doesn't fit the mold of a QB that Dorsey, Hue, or our new OC would prefer. They all prefer tall thick bodied QB's. So at #1 I don't think the Browns take Mayfield. If we trade out of one then I guess anything is possible.
While I would never draft Mayfield myself I can understand why people like him and I think he has a good chance to be a decent QB in the NFL.
You can't fix stupid but you can destroy ignorance. When you destroy ignorance you remove the justifications for evil. If you want to destroy evil then educate our people. Hate is a tool of the stupid to deal with what they can't understand.
And in my dream situation Giants trade up to #1 to get Rosen and we can take Barclay at #2.
What do we do for a qb?
Going on the assumption that the Colts will not take QB considering they have Luck...So that would leave the same QB there at # 4 that would be there at #2. Colts might take Barkley not QB.
That was my thought process.
And this scenario is only if we are not sold on Rosen...if he is our guy we take him at #1 case closed.
Sounds great until Denver or the NYJ trade with Indy for the #3 pick and take who we want
The difference between Jesus and religion Religion mocks you for having dirty feet Jesus gets down on his knees and washes them
I'm just glad that we have real football guys in the building instead of Sashi. They might not take who I want them to take but at least they recognize the importance of actually trying to field a competitive team.
Vers, Its amazing how NO ONE wants to comment on that Joe Thomas article. It was an account of what we have been saying for the last 2 years. Sashi applied a baseball team building philosophy to a football organization. Yes, part of it worked as far as grabbing picks and hoarding cap space but it required two years of pain!!
And the football people that have been hired saw that Hue was not the problem. Some of those picks during the pain years are young and have not evolved into to football players, yet!
Yes, Vers, you get to raise you head and others(myself included) tried to tell people that this plan was in place( although Sashi did tell everyone this) and that the Hue is not the problem.
I wonder what the sad Cleveland media will say now!
I'm just glad that we have real football guys in the building instead of Sashi. They might not take who I want them to take but at least they recognize the importance of actually trying to field a competitive team.
And THANKS to Sashi they have the draft picks and cap space to do that!
Could you help me out and explain the type of play that should be called on, say, 3rd and 6? Not just run/pass but the most likely to be successful play of its type. To make it easier since I know plays are called to get the best match-ups vs your opponents strengths and weaknesses go ahead and use one of our divisional opponents in the example since you should know them better than someone we rarely play.
Good play calls are the ones that result in yards and points, simple has that.
Bad play calls results in stalled drives, turnovers and losses.
Now, I can remember very bad play calls, the QB sneak, the lack of protection for the pass rush that ended in a fumble and a TD, etc.
I also have a vivid impression on Hue calling plays independent of the players he has, independent of the level of execution, independent of the moments of the game.
End of the first half, where it was clear we were melting down, and the best thing was to bring the game to the half and settle the team, and he persists on calling high risk, low reward plays.
66% passing plays against the best pass D in the league, and 40% running plays against one off the worst run D in the league.
Inability to read and adapt and help players, like Kizer, but not only Kizer, take the lack of help to Drango, the lack of use of Duke.
Any other team where the HC or OC called for more than 60% of pass plays with a rookie QB and a Backup LT, you wouldn't be doubting if the play calls were right.... yes we were that stupid this season...
Whats even more interesting is that we have of DC bragging about his ability to run the clock with the D...
Why the hell would you rung the clock on D and not doing it on O?
I've mulled over this article and I might come out with an take on here. Some I agree with, some I don't. A few things are very contradictory of points in the article and comments he has made in the past.
I will say one thing-- I respect Joe Thomas to the nth degree, but he doesn't have the best track record when it comes to having an opinion that has actually come out to be the correct one, not counting the Johnny Manziel stuff. Most likely because he was toting the company line.
At DT, context and meaning are a scarecrow kicking at moving goalposts.
Vers, Its amazing how NO ONE wants to comment on that Joe Thomas article. It was an account of what we have been saying for the last 2 years. Sashi applied a baseball team building philosophy to a football organization. Yes, part of it worked as far as grabbing picks and hoarding cap space but it required two years of pain!!
And the football people that have been hired saw that Hue was not the problem. Some of those picks during the pain years are young and have not evolved into to football players, yet!
Yes, Vers, you get to raise you head and others(myself included) tried to tell people that this plan was in place( although Sashi did tell everyone this) and that the Hue is not the problem.
I wonder what the sad Cleveland media will say now!
And what has the football building philosophy to do with the 1-31 result?
The poor coached, miserable excuse for a team we saw every Sunday?
Sashi was not the one calling the plays,running practices and drills,selecting the starters, etc
Sashi did his job, he's wasn't a great GM, but he wasn't that bad. The ones who didn't do their jobs were the coaching staff and football buys.
You can't ever have good coaches that use excuses in a sport,specially in a sport where any play can end in a career ending injury.
Hue is a loser and a mediocre Coach, and once you embrace that concept most of what happened has a logic explanation.
Cleveland Browns Head Coach Hue Jackson announced today that the team has named Todd Haley as offensive coordinator, Amos Jones as special teams coordinator and Freddie Kitchens as running backs/associate head coach.
“We’re thrilled to bring Todd Haley in as our offensive coordinator,” said Jackson. “I’ve known Todd for a very long time and have respected and admired the job he’s done as a play-caller in this league. He’s a coordinator that has been successful in every place he’s been. He has been a guy that has adjusted his offense to successfully complement and taken advantage of the skillset of his personnel. I’ve witnessed firsthand how prolific his offenses have been in the AFC North over the last six seasons. As I reflected after the season and contemplated adding an offensive coordinator to the staff, my first thought was obviously improvement. If I was going to turn over the play calling duties to someone else, it had to be to someone that was experienced and had a long history of success in this league. We were going to be patient about it because there is always a lot of movement in the early part of the offseason. When Todd became available, I jumped at the opportunity to meet with him. Once we sat down and talked, it became quickly evident that Todd would be a great fit. Adding Freddie Kitchens to our staff as running backs coach and associate head coach is also very important. First off, Freddie is a very good coach that has a bright future in this league. He has coached multiple positions and gotten a lot out of his players. Additionally, we’re going to be installing a lot of new concepts and elements to our offense. It’s important to have coaches on your staff that will know and understand the new system. Freddie has a history with Todd and that will make the process of installing the new elements of the offense much more efficient. Obviously, we have a lot of work to do this offseason. I’m excited about the additions we’ve made to our coaching staff, and I’m especially excited to work with Todd to put together a productive Cleveland Browns offensive system that will get us winning quickly.”
“Amos Jones is an experienced special teams coordinator that we think will do an outstanding job leading and improving our unit,” said Jackson. “We always talk about how the three phases must complement each other in order for team success to come. Amos has worked under really good coaches throughout his career and has helped develop some really good core special teamers. I’ve said this already this offseason, we have to get better in every area to become the type of team our fans deserve. Amos is going to be a part of that.”
“This is a great opportunity,” said Haley. “The Browns have a great history, great fans and deserve to have some fun and experience some winning. I want to help be part of that process. There is obviously a lot of work to do in order to get there, but I’ve always been excited about facing a challenge. There is no better feeling than when you can be a part of turning an organization around. Hue and I have had some good battles in competing against each other as coordinators and even as a head coach. We know each other well and I have a great deal of respect for him. He’s so competitive and winning is the only thing that’s important to him. You want to work with a coach like that. Hue and I share a lot of similar beliefs on how to be successful on offense. We have to score points, protect the ball, protect the quarterback and develop players. It’s not too complicated, but at the same time, it is a great challenge. We are really looking forward to getting to work on it.”
“I am so excited to be joining an historic franchise such as the Browns that has demonstrated a willingness and desire to compete for championships,” said Kitchens. “I look forward to the opportunity to work with Hue, John and the whole organization, while we work together to achieve the desired success.”
“I’m really excited about joining the Browns,” said Jones. “I got to know Hue from coaching against him in the AFC North and have always admired his passion and knowledge of football. I miss coaching in the AFC North, so getting back to this division is going to be very exciting for me. It’s obviously a highly competitive division where the margin for error is small, so you have to be extremely sound as a special teams unit. I think I have a pretty good feel for the Cleveland fans and look at this as a great opportunity to come in and help flip the organization. Working with John Dorsey is something I also look forward to as a special teams coach. His track record speaks for itself as a guy that knows how to put talent on a football team. As a special teams coach, it’s comforting to know the guy making those decisions about who is on your football team once had 35 special teams tackles in a season. I can’t wait to get to Cleveland to start working with the staff to help create a unit on special teams that will make a difference.”
Todd Haley
Haley has spent the past 21 years coaching in the NFL, including the past six as the offensive coordinator for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
With the Steelers, Haley oversaw one of the top offenses in the league. The Steelers led the NFL with six offensive players selected to the Pro Bowl this past season. Under Haley, wide receiver Antonio Brown led the NFL in receiving yards in 2014 and 2017 and led the league in receptions in 2014 and 2015. Brown also became the first player in NFL history to record five consecutive 100-catch seasons (2013-17). He was named to five Pro Bowls and selected as first team All-Pro four times. Running back Le’Veon Bell finished in the top three in the league in scrimmage yards per game in each of the last four seasons, including leading the NFL with an average of 157.0 yards per game in 2016. Under Haley, Bell was selected to three Pro Bowls and was named first-team All-Pro twice. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was selected to the Pro Bowl the past four years and tied for the NFL lead in passing yards in 2014. Haley also helped center Maurkice Pouncey and guard David DeCastro to multiple Pro Bowl selections.
Haley was the head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs from 2009-11 and helped the Chiefs capture the AFC West division title in 2010. He compiled a 19-26 record. Kansas City led the NFL in rushing yards per game (164.2) in 2010.
Prior to Kansas City, Haley was the offensive coordinator for the Arizona Cardinals for two seasons (2007-08).
During his tenure with the Cardinals, the team won its first division title since 1975 and advanced to Super Bowl XLIII. In 2008, Arizona set a franchise record with 427 points and became just the fifth team in NFL history to have three wide receivers eclipse 1,000 yards in the same season.
Haley spent time as wide receivers coach for the Dallas Cowboys (2004-06), Chicago Bears (2001-03) and New York Jets (1999-00), helping each team advance to the postseason. He began his NFL career as an assistant in the Jets scouting department in 1995, where he scouted regionally and assisted in player evaluations.
A native of Atlanta, Ga., Haley earned a degree in communications from the University of North Florida.
Amos Jones
Jones has 37 years of experience as a coach on the high school, college and professional levels. He has spent the past 11 seasons in the NFL.
During his five seasons at Arizona, Jones helped Justin Bethel (2013-15) and Budda Baker (2017) to Pro Bowl selections as special teams players. In 2014, kicker Chandler Catanzaro tied the NFL record for the most consecutive field goals to begin a career with 17 and set a Cardinals rookie record with 114 points. In 2013, punter Dave Zastudil tied for the NFL lead with 35 punts inside the 20-yard line.
Prior to Arizona, Jones spent six seasons in Pittsburgh. He spent his first five seasons (2007-11) as assistant special teams coach and 2012 as special teams coordinator. He helped the Steelers win Super Bowl XLIII. Jones helped develop Antonio Brown who set a franchise record in 2011 with 2,048 all-purpose yards with 1,062 yards coming from returns. Brown earned his first trip to the Pro Bowl as a kick returner following the 2011 season. In 2009, the Steelers led the NFL with a franchise record 1,581 return yards. In 2008, Pittsburgh had the NFL’s top kickoff coverage unit.
Jones spent three seasons with Mississippi State as special teams/linebackers coach (2004-05) and outside linebackers coach (2006). He was the tight ends and special teams coach at James Madison in 2003. From 1999-02, Jones served as the special teams and running backs coach at the University of Cincinnati. He helped Jonathan Ruffin earn the Lou Groza Award as the nation’s top kicker in 2000.
Jones also has collegiate coaching stops at Tulane (1995-96), Pittsburgh (1992), Alabama (1981-82, 1990-91,) and Temple (1983-88). He coached on the high school level in 1989, 1993-94 and 1998. In 1997, Jones was an assistant coach for British Columbia of the Canadian Football League.
A former player at Alabama (1978-80), Jones played safety and running back under head coach Paul “Bear” Bryant. He helped Alabama to back-to-back national championships in 1978-79 as the team recorded a 23-1 record during that span.
Jones earned bachelors and master’s degrees from Alabama. He is a native of Aliceville, Ala.
Freddie Kitchens
Kitchens spent the past 11 seasons with the Arizona Cardinals. He spent 2017 as running backs coach. He was also quarterbacks coach for four years (2013-16) and tight ends coach for six seasons (2007-12).
During his time as quarterbacks coach, Kitchens helped Carson Palmer establish multiple single-season team records, including passing yards (4,671), touchdown passes (35) and passer rating (104.6). Palmer also became the only player in Cardinals history to throw for 4,000 yards in multiple seasons (2013, 2015-16). In 2015, the Cardinals had the top-ranked offense in the NFL for the first time in team history and set numerous single-season team records including points (489), touchdowns (59), touchdown passes (35), total net yards (6,533) and first downs (373).
Kitchens began his NFL coaching career in 2006 as the tight ends coach with the Dallas Cowboys. In 2006, Kitchens worked with Jason Witten who was selected to the Pro Bowl.
Prior to the NFL, Kitchens spent seven years coaching on the college level with stops at Mississippi State (2004-05), North Texas (2001-03), Louisiana State (2000) and Glenville State (1999).
A three-year starter at quarterback for the University of Alabama (1995-97), Kitchens finished his playing career with 4,668 yards and 30 touchdown passes for the Crimson Tide. He finished his collegiate career ranked third in school history in career attempts, fourth in career passing yards and fifth in career completions.
A native of Gadsden, Ala,, Kitchens earned high school All-America honors and was named Mr. Football in the state of Alabama his senior season.
I've mulled over this article and I might come out with an take on here. Some I agree with, some I don't. A few things are very contradictory of points in the article and comments he has made in the past.
I will say one thing-- I respect Joe Thomas to the nth degree, but he doesn't have the best track record when it comes to having an opinion that has actually come out to be the correct one, not counting the Johnny Manziel stuff. Most likely because he was toting the company line.
Well, If I was one of the best paid LT's in the league, I for sure wouldn't like the GM that drafted a 5th round replacement that played the way Drango played.
But I understand JT's position on the plan(which by the way has always included Hue), I also never liked it, but I can imagine what the best player in his position feels when he's told he's going to play the last years of his career on a non competitive team.
If I were JT I would try not to get seriously injured, and either retire or sign with a more ambitious team.
We still have to ear what the players think about Hue, but that will take time.
Memphis, My only response is look up when Sashi first took over AND this quote from the article
Quote:
Ultimately the degree of losing became simply unpalatable, and the guys who enacted the plan couldn’t see it through. The team realized that while some of those strategies may work to rebuild baseball teams, it doesn’t quite work the same way in the NFL; the pain of losing is so much greater in the NFL, and fans, management and coaches struggle to tolerate it.
Add in the fact that Sashi brought in Depodesta and what do we have = a baseball type rebuilding strategy.
Memphis, My only response is look up when Sashi first took over AND this quote from the article
Quote:
Ultimately the degree of losing became simply unpalatable, and the guys who enacted the plan couldn’t see it through. The team realized that while some of those strategies may work to rebuild baseball teams, it doesn’t quite work the same way in the NFL; the pain of losing is so much greater in the NFL, and fans, management and coaches struggle to tolerate it.
Add in the fact that Sashi brought in Depodesta and what do we have = a baseball type rebuilding strategy.
If Hue didn't agree to the plan why didn't he take the Giants HC position, didn't they even offer him more money?
Rasta, if you have a team with little talent and are overloaded with rookies, you might have a losing team!! Add a rookie QB with accuracy problems + WRs who could not get open and CATCH with regularity = 1-31. Hey, How about the BEST WR we had came out of REHAB!!.. I know that makes it easy to call plays then right. Or that our QB liked to throw balls to the other team.
Players have to execute the plays!! How many times did the offense start first/10 or 20 due to penalties.. Or the Browns were down in the score due to Gregg's 11 on 10 defensive strategy??
Apparently, Dorsey and Joe Thomas think Hue was not the problem for a lot of our losing.
