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RB Position


Orion

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25 RB 5-11 202 23 R Tulane
 
Carlos Hyde 34 RB 6-0 229 27 5 Ohio State
 
Nick Chubb 31 RB 5-11 227 22 R Georgia
 
Duke Johnson Jr. 29 RB 5-9 210 24 4 Miami (Fla.)
 
Matthew Dayes 27 RB 5-9 205 23 2 North Carolina State
 
               

 

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So Carlos Hyde, Nick Chubb and Duke are all pretty much locks to be on the team.

Mathew Dayes and Donttell Hilliard need at least one of the other 3 to get injured.

Basically it's Hyde & Chubb replacing Crow.  In this way if Hyde or Chubb get dinged, Duke doesn't absolutely have to come in and run a 3rd and 1 or 2 play.  -  I see our backfield as having been upgraded with sufficient talent for the position.   I hope our OL can open holes that any back can run through :)

 

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Remember RB Dri Archer from Kent State? Well, Todd Haley liked the other guy undrafted from Kent State. A better piece to line up with L.Bell to block..FB Roosevelt Nix who was playing arena football with the Cleveland Gladiators. Haley helped Nix to a pro bowler last season with 3 rushing attempts,1 TD,6 catches 27 yards,1 receiving TD. And a 4 year contract extension this past Feb. Vitale maynot be Juszcyk nor Develin? So we added a UTFA FB in Marquez Williams. Dayes or Hilliard may have to hit the PS waiting on a rotational RB to get nicked? Leaving Hyde,Duke or Chubb's better field vision playing a game of follow the fat man with a gameday active FB..#fearfatbacks  

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25 minutes ago, gumby73 said:

playing a game of follow the fat man with a gameday active FB..#fearfatbacks  

lol

40 FB 6-1 245 24 3 Northwestern
 
Marquez Williams 42 FB 5-10 260 24 2

Miami (Fla.)

 

I don't see us carrying 2 FB's  &  3 RB's.

We're probably going to have a bunch of TE's too.

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17 minutes ago, Orion said:

lol

40 FB 6-1 245 24 3 Northwestern
 
Marquez Williams 42 FB 5-10 260 24 2

Miami (Fla.)

 

I don't see us carrying 2 FB's  &  3 RB's.

We're probably going to have a bunch of TE's too.

not sure you were around when Pettine thought rostering 6 useless H-Back TE's was a good idea? this board went nutz. But if Huejax keeps 2 FB's for 3 carries a piece? lets try finding a head coach with hair on his head next time..Bald & brainless ain't working :o 

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8 hours ago, gumby73 said:

not sure you were around when Pettine thought rostering 6 useless H-Back TE's was a good idea? this board went nutz. But if Huejax keeps 2 FB's for 3 carries a piece? lets try finding a head coach with hair on his head next time..Bald & brainless ain't working :o 

Well said Gumbs.  I like the old fashion FBs that had Coaches wanting to give them the ball perhaps even more than they wanted them blocking at times.

If I'm gonna say such a thing - I better give some examples.  Here goes:

  1. Jim Brown (Anyone ever see him block anybody?) Well, he does have 9 years without missing a start/reps to injury to show for it).
  2. Larry Csonka (Poor Jim Kiick had to do more blocking for Larry and Mercury Morris when they both rushed for over 1000 yards in 14 games.) 2 Syracuse guys?   I wish I could add Moose Johnston but he needed to be an All Pro blocker for his backfied mate in Dallas.
  3. Kevin Mack (who rushed for over 1000 yards with is backfield partner Earnest Byner in 85). If Earnest was 3" taller we would have been asking "okay which one one's the FB?" To further confuse things Mack was the one running 4.5s at 240 lbs while Byner was the one running about a 4.67/4.68.   Greg Lloyd is getting another round of smelling salts as we speak...
  4. Mike Alstott (I think he did most of his blocking on 3rd downs when they threw passes to Warrick Dunn out of the backfield). That said, they often took Alstott off the field when it wasn't 3rd and short.
  5. Franco Harris (While Rocky Bleier was the RB - Franco was the one that liked to run out of bounds to avoid contact). Why do I get the feeling Ghoolie is going to put on his Lancelot armor to defend his favorite team again? All that said, Lydell Mitchell's former blocking back at PSU had a HOF career running behind the Stee-roids up front.

Not that any of us will mistake Hue Jackson for looking like Olivia Newton-John in air tight spandex; but his version of "Let's Get Physical" had a very similar lack of intimidation to it.  More specifically, it wasn't coming from Marty's #1 pupil Bill Cowher on the sidelines attempting to re-invent the Mack & Byner down your esophagus approach.  And all those blades of grass tackling Crow brought back memories of Owen Marecic getting knocked on his dumpster by the blade of crab grass our grounds crew missed.  Looking at the builds of Hyde and Chubb - these guys look like they can provide some ideal dual purpose (resembling that of Mack and Byner). If everyone stays healthy, it should be fun watching it unfold... 

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20 hours ago, gumby73 said:

not sure you were around when Pettine thought rostering 6 useless H-Back TE's was a good idea?

 I wasn't on this board then.....but I hated everything about Pettine era.  The players called him the Ghost...'cuz he walked around the practice field with his dark glasses on saying nothin' to nobody and teaching nobody nothin'.

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1 hour ago, Orion said:

 I wasn't on this board then.....but I hated everything about Pettine era.  The players called him the Ghost...'cuz he walked around the practice field with his dark glasses on saying nothin' to nobody and teaching nobody nothin'.

Pettine had this team at 7-4 and playing as well as any Browns team had since coming back... He had the rug completely pulled from under him by Ray Farmer between horrific drafts and being undermined DURING games by the front office. Pettine might have not been a great coach, but he deserved better than the trainwreck that was running the team above him. 

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On 7/14/2018 at 7:06 PM, Orion said:
25 RB 5-11 202 23 R Tulane
 
Carlos Hyde 34 RB 6-0 229 27 5 Ohio State
 
Nick Chubb 31 RB 5-11 227 22 R Georgia
 
Duke Johnson Jr. 29 RB 5-9 210 24 4 Miami (Fla.)
 
Matthew Dayes 27 RB 5-9 205 23 2 North Carolina State
 
               

 

-------------------------------------------------------

So Carlos Hyde, Nick Chubb and Duke are all pretty much locks to be on the team.

Mathew Dayes and Donttell Hilliard need at least one of the other 3 to get injured.

Basically it's Hyde & Chubb replacing Crow.  In this way if Hyde or Chubb get dinged, Duke doesn't absolutely have to come in and run a 3rd and 1 or 2 play.  -  I see our backfield as having been upgraded with sufficient talent for the position.   I hope our OL can open holes that any back can run through :)

 

We should have a running game to give opposing defenses a sore assshole. As long as we no longer are the most predictable offense in the NFL.

 

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1 hour ago, Dutch Oven said:

Pettine deserved better than the trainwreck that was running the team above him. 

Reason I had one issue with Pet and none with Shanny..my big one with Pet was his HS buddy Jim O'Neil (O'nelly). Soon we became the worst arm tackling team in the league. Then they blew Shelton up like a helium balloon character🎈(with no ropes) to somehow float to the parade to the sidelines with numerous sub packages..I still can't believe Chucky in Oakland signed O'Nelly as a defensive assistant..Good on Pet to let that dead dog land in Oakland & not with Pet in GB..    

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1 hour ago, Dutch Oven said:

Pettine had this team at 7-4 and playing as well as any Browns team had since coming back

The man tried a 60 yard FG with Devon Hester standing in the end zone.  The dipshit Atlanta coach called TO just before the snap so we ALL got to see Hester catch the ball in the end zone.  So, whew, we dodged THAT bullet.  BUT NOOOoooo.  Pettine tries it again.  No!  Really!  He tried it again!  Like the exhibition that just happened never happened.  And we all know what almost happened.  He ALMOST returned it for a TD.  You KNOW that a FG attempt is NOT like a punt right?  There's no guys running down the field to COVER a FG.  Pettine was a dope.

And as Gumby said, O'Neil was a terrible coach too.

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O'Neils defensive alignments and personnel requirements always struck me as.... dumb.  

Prime example - taking a good rotational lineman like Billy Winn and asking him to put on weight for a position he was not suited for. 

 

Even my amateur eye could see he was in over his head. 

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I don't know.  Most kick-off guys never even get to return kicks.  Plus we can go Calloway or Peppers or anybody.  I read where Hilliard returned kicks and he is a Dorsey pick-up.   If Dayes makes it IMO it is because he makes it as a back.  In the end we probably keep 4 backs and Vitale at FB.

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13 hours ago, ballpeen said:

I don't know.  Most kick-off guys never even get to return kicks.  Plus we can go Calloway or Peppers or anybody.  I read where Hilliard returned kicks and he is a Dorsey pick-up.   If Dayes makes it IMO it is because he makes it as a back.  In the end we probably keep 4 backs and Vitale at FB.

I understand that Dayes contributes on the special teams, even if he is not returning kicks.  I think he may also be one of the gunners.  But yes, 4 backs and a fullback...so Dayes likely stays at this point....unless, as you say he is passed over for Hilliard because he is Dorsey's guy. All things being equal, a GM will rather keep "his guy".

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Browns running backs as we continue our position-by-position analysis of the roster heading into 2018 training camp.

THE RUNNING BACKS

Carlos Hyde,   Nick Chubb,   Duke Johnson Jr.,   Matthew Dayes,   Dontrell Hilliard

What we know: The Browns brought in two new faces to take the lion’s share of carries in 2018. Hyde, who spent his first four seasons with the 49ers, came to Cleveland shortly after Isaiah Crowell, the team’s most active ball-carrier since 2014, signed with the Jets. Chubb, an old-school, “violent” runner from Georgia, landed with the Browns early in the second round of the NFL Draft. The returning constant is Johnson, who signed a contract extension during OTAs. The presence of Hyde and Chubb should allow Johnson to thrive as a change-of-pace option who has amassed more receptions (188) and receiving yards (1,741) than any running back since 2015. It’s a triple-threat the Browns hope to utilize early, often and all the way to the finish one year after the team tied for third-best in the NFL in yards per carry (4.5) but ranked 18th in total rushing yards.

Biggest question: How will the Browns distribute the carries between Chubb and Hyde? New running backs coach Freddie Kitchens indicated he’ll ride the hot hand throughout the season. What was clear in June was he hadn’t seen enough to determine who would even take the first carry of the first preseason game. “If they are having success, why would you change? It may be somebody new from week to week,” Kitchens said. “As far as duties with carries and stuff like that, we are nowhere close right now. Things can change. We were talking about it this morning, things can change in a heartbeat. In one play, everything can change. That is the approach we have to take. Go with what you see.” Splitting the carries would be nothing new for Chubb, who shared duties at Georgia with Sony Michel, who was drafted a few picks earlier than him by the Patriots. Hyde, who battled injuries but is coming off his best season yet in the NFL, was the bell cow in San Francisco.

X-Factor: Everyone knows what kind of pass-catching threat the Browns have in Johnson, but there’s optimism in Berea about what Hyde and Chubb can do through the air. Hyde caught just 50 passes in his first three seasons in San Francisco but amassed 57 in 2017. Chubb was sparsely used in Georgia’s passing game, but Cleveland wasted little time getting him involved throughout OTAs and minicamp. Simply put, the Browns believe both downhill runners can make an impact beyond what they do on the ground. “I think they’ve got better hands than a lot of people feel like they have,” Kitchens said. “They didn’t have very many dropped balls in OTAs and minicamp. You evaluate what you see on tape. What I see on tape is they’re consistently catching the football. Now, we’ve got to get them to the point where they get open more. That comes with repetition and them actually doing it.”


Stat tracker: Chubb finished with more than 100 yards in more than half of his 47 games at Georgia. He cleared 200 on three occasions.


Says it all: “Those guys know we’ve got great competition in that room. It starts on an individual basis from within. You’ve got to compete with yourself and we’ve got guys that do that very well. Then compete inside our room and compete offensively and compete as a team. That’s how it’s organized. We don’t have anybody in the room that’s going to back away from competition at all. That’s a good scenario to have.” -- Kitchens

How many were kept at last year’s 53-man cutdown? 3

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On 7/16/2018 at 9:25 AM, ballpeen said:

 Dayes or Hilliard make the team.

And it's a coin flip. There college stats mirror one another but Hillard's athlete numbers from his pro day vs Dayes combine numbers may still give Hillard a slight advantage..a good old fashion camp battle 

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34 minutes ago, gumby73 said:

a good old fashion camp battle 

And I still say neither makes the 53.  I just don't think we're gonna keep 5 guys for the backfield.

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9 hours ago, Orion said:

And I still say neither makes the 53.  I just don't think we're gonna keep 5 guys for the backfield.

agree, 3 rbs/1fb active gameday 46 players should surfice..Practice squad should see the winner of Dayes/Hillard. Dayes was a late 7th rounders/Hillard UDFA.No great loss if a team picks them off our PS. Terrence Mcgee was plucked from our PS last season. So we brought back Brandon Wilds.Watch this FB Marquez Williams kid? Vitale has the better athlete numbers at combine. But if Haley is looking for the next Roosevelt Nix as a blocking back, he left in da'berg? Williams goes the same size as Nix at 260lbs.  

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I recall being fairly impressed with Dayes in preseason last year. 7th round gem, l thought. Optimism was unreasonably high right around then though, 4 and 0 and all.

Was kinda surprised when he became the disappearing man once the season started. It seemed at the time the talk was finding Crow’s eventual replacement and l thought he was at least worth taking a closer look at during the regular season, but that didn’t really happen. 

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18 minutes ago, Ibleedbrown said:

I recall being fairly impressed with Dayes in preseason last year. 7th round gem, l thought. Optimism was unreasonably high right around then though, 4 and 0 and all.

Was kinda surprised when he became the disappearing man once the season started. It seemed at the time the talk was finding Crow’s eventual replacement and l thought he was at least worth taking a closer look at during the regular season, but that didn’t really happen. 

No, it didn't happen and many of us were wondering why. Of course, we don't get to see what happens during practice, so perhaps Dayes wasn't cutting the mustard. What we do know is Crowell was driving Hue Jackson crazy due to his lack of vision and inconsistencies. At times Crow would literally miss the hole, and other times he wouldn't have the vision to make the cut (especially going left....hardly ever cut left). I forget which game it was in 2017, but Crowell literally cost us a possible victory by hitting the wrong gap on a 3rd and goal run. I believe we either kicked a FG or didn't get it on 4th, but we lost the game and it wasn't by much. To be fair to Crow, he should've had at least three more touchdowns last year on pass plays in the red zone. Kizer just flat out missed him or didn't see him for easy scores. And these are just the ones I can think of (same thing goes for Higgins. Kizer completely screwed him out of so many scores). 

I cannot wait to see this team play. I'm under no false illusions that we're going to "bust out of the gates" and dominate people. My expectations are those of any fan for basically any team: To be competitive and bring home some wins, especially at home. I want to see us really develop a home field advantage like we used to have. It starts game 1 against our most hated rival. A team that has beaten us basically every time in the past 18 years. What better way to announce a changing of the guard than to win? (I wouldn't BET on it....but a guy can dream) 

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I want to see plenty of two back sets with Chubb and Hyde. Smashmouth football. Who's getting the ball? Who's going to lead block?! Nobody knows! They are both built like a M1 Abrams. I think I just achieved an erection contemplating the potential devastation our backfield shall achieve. I must digress for a few. 

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10 minutes ago, GuNNerGatSKi said:

I want to see plenty of two back sets with Chubb and Hyde. Smashmouth football. Who's getting the ball? Who's going to lead block?! Nobody knows!

Jim Brown / Ernie Green.....Leroy Kelly / Bo Scott....Mack / Byner.   ---   Those days are pretty much long gone.  And they ain't commin' back.

9 hours ago, jiggins7919 said:

I want to see us really develop a home field advantage like we used to have.

Well, that was back at the 'old' stadium where due to it's design, it held the sound inside the stadium.  The new stadium allows the sound to escape...plus the play of the team has allowed our fans to escape so that the stadium fills up with fans of the opponent.  (quite embarrassing actually)

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This may sound like a Matthew Dayes fan? but my daughter took some classes at NCST that Dayes attended. Yes! real classes of NC Law. So were both big fans that started back to spring football games. #1) If your looking to replace Crow(upgrade/looking contract) or Duke(several concussions when Dayes was drafted) The pick before Mr.Irrelevant maynot bring you Chuck Foreman. But Dayes was a solid 5th to 6th round projection so we can now start to see the value..But than comes the part why Vets like Hue Jackson. A)The way Duke bounced back last season proving his contract worth Dayes was not taking snaps from Duke. B.) Spineless Hue gave Crow every opt to Crow to show his contract worth. Thought maybe when Crow bitched about carries Hue would insert Dayes. All for not. Crow still saw few carries. Dayes got put in Tabor's dawghouse early for missing assignment in punt block for TD week 1 last season. Been working his butt off on ST's just like many rookies get their start..Dayes is one of the most solid dudes that you'd ever meet. Dayes won't bitch at this point in his career. Matt puts his head up and out works the next guy. I'd expect Dayes to handover his job to no one..#27Woof!pack   

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2 hours ago, gumby73 said:

Dayes is one of the most solid dudes that you'd ever meet.

Well then, Good luck to him!  Tabor is gone and Haley calls the plays.  A fresh start of sorts.  Still though, it's the numbers game that's in his way.  In front of him stand a Big free agency signing....a New contract for last year's most productive player....and the 35th pick in the draft.  How do ya crack that lineup?  Without an injury they'd have to keep 4 RB's and a FB.  Somebody would be sitting on the floor in THAT position room.

 

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I think the most appealing aspect of our running game is that we might be able to USE it more often. If our defense is any better (should be), and we score a few more points (we will), then possibly we won't perpetually be down 2+ scores and we'll be able to incorporate the run more and not have to pass it all the darn time. I think THAT'S what appeals to me the most. Should we have run more last year? Probably. But there's no denying it was difficult to mix in the run while being down most every game (well, I guess we were eventually down EVERY game, seeing as we didn't win one). 

I do believe the fans have to prepare themselves for a little bit of "3 yards and a cloud of dust" style. In other words, be careful what you wish for kind of thing. We're going to play to our QBs strength, which is taking care of the ball. We're going to run more on 1st and 2nd down so we can get a manageable 3rd down distance. Heck, you might even see running on 1st, 2nd, AND 3rd downs. Will we have more than our fair share of punts? I think so, at least until our offense really gets cooking. I also believe our defense will be much better at giving up FG's instead of touchdowns, so we won't be down as many points as quickly, allowing us to still run it. 

These are just some rambling thoughts I have on our team, but I really see us as an infinitely improved squad. We're going to be different from last year in many ways, and that's obviously good. Our biggest challenge is overcoming the nasty beginning part of the schedule. This team is so fragile and can't withstand an 0-2 start to the year. Unfortunately, we start off with two playoff teams, so that's cool (eye roll). Winning on the road against the Saints is a tall order, and unfortunately winning a home opener against the Steelers is probably taller. Game 1 is pivotal for so many reasons. To exorcise the Steelers demons, the game opener demons, and to wash away all the filth from the last two years. We win that first game and everything changes. We lose the next week, no big deal. We come right back on a super short week and dispatch the Jets. Boom. 2-1. That would mean everything, AND give us two home wins. 

 

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15 hours ago, Orion said:

Jim Brown / Ernie Green.....Leroy Kelly / Bo Scott....Mack / Byner.   ---   Those days are pretty much long gone.  And they ain't commin' back.

I don't agree.  If you have two big guns you can still shoot them...if you choose and are patient.  But, yes, because of the rules now the emphasis is on passing....and having a Duke Johnson in the backfield helps.

Well, that was back at the 'old' stadium where due to it's design, it held the sound inside the stadium.  The new stadium allows the sound to escape...plus the play of the team has allowed our fans to escape so that the stadium fills up with fans of the opponent.  (quite embarrassing actually)

I think it is far more the latter than the former. I mean, I don't know about audible logistics, but I can't see how the old stadium was better for keeping sound in than the new one.  I would have to see some engineering report on that.  I think it was more the fact that we had a winning team and 80,000 ravenous fans in there, more than the stadium design.  The new stadium does hold fewer people....only 72K compared to 80K+ .

And lets face it....the new Millenial fans just are not as rowdy and boisterous as the old Baby Boomer fans were.  Fair to say?  :P

 

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