Week 8: Cleveland Browns (3-3) @ San Francisco 49ers (5-1)

• BR1986FB

  wes_mantooth;943056 wrote:I didn't listen to Holmgren's presser, but didn't he say that there will be an OC next year? At least I hope he did..lol

  Pretty sure Shurmur will still be calling the plays though. What kind of legit OC will want to come here knowing he's an OC in title only? They gave us some kind of bullshit before this year that "the right guy wasn't out there for the OC role." That's a load of monkey crap! Nobody wants to be an OC if they can't call their own plays.
• sportchampps

  Br19 maybe hes just like Todd Haley and after a year he learns he needs an oc like Haley did.
• derek bomar

  

  sportchampps;943289 wrote:Br19 maybe hes just like Todd Haley and after a year he learns he needs an oc like Haley did.

  I want Daboll
• like_that

  

  What's the word on Hillis? Will he be able to play. If this game is close, having Hillis in the 4th quarter would be huge, especially if shurmur sticks to the run game all game.
• Writerbuckeye

  

  I want Hillis healthy again soon, but Hardesty and the kid from Texas showed flashes of ability that filled in admirably against a very good run defense, and a defense that was set up mostly to stop the running game.
  
  I will wonder this aloud: I noticed on more than a few running plays that Hardesty was just a step late hitting a hole or making the available cutback (there were lots of cutback routes open). If the Browns had a speed back like an Armond Smith to use with some regularity, it might pay off big against these teams stacking the line. All it takes is one crease and there's basically nobody behind on the defense...
• se-alum

  

  I don't know why, but Hardesty gets hit harder than any back in football. It seems like he is always getting drilled.
• Y-Town Steelhound

  

  Hardesty is an average running back, certainly nowhere near worthy of the 2nd round pick spent on him. He just doesn't have the vision which is something you can't coach.
• OhioStatePride2003

  Y-Town Steelhound;943578 wrote:Hardesty is an average running back, certainly nowhere near worthy of the 2nd round pick spent on him. He just doesn't have the vision which is something you can't coach.

  Interview for the Browns OC job next year! You can't call plays but I'm sure you can give your 2 cents worth of bull shit nonsense whenever the hell you'd like.
• DeyDurkie5

  

  hardesty seemed to hit the wrong holes every time. He runs hard, and has good quickness, but there was so many times when he went into a hole that was plugged by a linebacker when all he had to do was see the opposite cut and he is gone.
• OQB

  

  I died laughing when hardesty sprang a big (10 yds) run late in the 4th and got absolutely drilled! haha
• Mulva

  

  Hardesty is OK. I don't think he'll ever be anything close to a top back, but he's definitely at least serviceable if he stays healthy. I have 0 faith in him to stay healthy though.
  
  I'm still salty that Houston got Ben Tate the pick before the Browns selected Hardesty.
• Y-Town Steelhound

  

  OhioStatePride2003;943586 wrote:Interview for the Browns OC job next year! You can't call plays but I'm sure you can give your 2 cents worth of bull shit nonsense whenever the hell you'd like.

  Cool story bro, what exactly does that have to do with my assessment of Montario Hardesty's ability again? Anyways, Hardesty was a dumb pick...I said it then, I'll say it now, I'll continue to say it. Running backs with knee injury histories in college aren't worth the risk unless they're freaks (ex. AP).
  
  Someone want to tell me exactly what Montario Hardesty does at an elite level besides get injured? He's not fast, he's not shifty, he doesn't run people over, he doesn't have good vision, he has problems blocking, and he has well below average ability catching the ball (yet he's supposed to be their "west coast back of the future"). If the Browns think they can let Hillis go in the offseason and not miss a beat with Hardesty they're in for a rude awakening.
• Y-Town Steelhound

  

  On a positive note, this Browns defense is starting to look like it could be very good in a couple years with a few more good draft picks. We all know about Haden, Jackson, and Ward but the defensive line is really starting to impress me more and more each week. Great teams are built from the lines outwards and if the Browns can continue that philosophy over the next few years they'll be just fine.
  
  It's going to take time though. Right now you've got a QB with barely any protection and few serviceable receivers to throw to, a starting running back injured, and a young defense that still has plenty of holes/depth issues. All it takes is time. As for Shurmur it is pretty clear he needs some type of offensive coordinator. There is no reason why a FIRST YEAR head coach should be assuming both roles. I'm a fan of the west coast offense, but not the way Shurmur runs it. because of his lack of down the field passes the offense pretty much needs to be executed perfectly to work. It just doesn't leave much margin for error.
• BR1986FB

  Browns fans SHOULD be excited about the future of this defense. It looks like over the next few years the Browns & Bengals defenses will be on the rise while the other division opponents defenses will decline. A killer LB (Burfict?), another rush DE and a corner (Minnifield?) opposite of Haden and this D will be stacked.
  
  I see where they (defense) were now ranked 4th. Now are they a top 5 defense? Hell no, but they are top 15, maybe top 10, IMO.
  
  As far as Hardesty's production yesterday, bitch about his "vision" and "not hitting the holes" as much as you want but I bet the slow, plodding Hillis doesn't go for 95 yards against that D.
  
  That's not as much a testament to Hardesty's ability as it is to Hillis' "Jamal Lewis-like" hitting of the hole. Hillis is good when he gets his shoulders squared and can bowl someone over. He's not a home run threat though.
  
  Keep in mind that Hardesty is just coming back from that injury. They may say he's "100%" but I guarantee that his speed/explosion is nowhere near where it can/will be.
• Y-Town Steelhound

  

  BR1986FB;943869 wrote:Keep in mind that Hardesty is just coming back from that injury. They may say he's "100%" but I guarantee that his speed/explosion is nowhere near where it can/will be.

  Great if that happens but I just don't see it. You look at film from him in college and he doesn't look like anything special. Speed doesn't usually just magically appear, you either have it or don't. What I do know about Peyton Hillis is that he can actually catch the football and he has deceptive speed for his size. The fact is that there is no speedy shifty back on the Browns roster right now. Sure wish Brandon Jackson didn't get hurt :thumbdown:
  
  Hillis would of done better against that defense especially from an all-purpose yards standpoint (they were having problems covering the RB out of the backfield all game. Hillis + open space=Good for the Browns). Also, Hillis would've trucked that safety and scored on that play Hardesty got owned on. I don't hate Hardesty, I just don't think he was ever good enough to waste a 2nd round pick on (especially with so many other needs) and I don't see him ever becoming more than a Pierre Thomas/Maurice Morris type of back.
• BR1986FB

  Y-Town Steelhound;943878 wrote: The fact is that there is no speedy shifty back on the Browns roster right now.

  Not so sure about that. That's solely why they brought in Colt's college teammate, OBY-Alphabet or whatever his name is.
• Heretic

  

  BR1986FB;943869 wrote:As far as Hardesty's production yesterday, bitch about his "vision" and "not hitting the holes" as much as you want but I bet the slow, plodding Hillis doesn't go for 95 yards against that D.

  Even if he gets 33 carries? That was the thing I noticed most when I saw the box score. Because Cleveland led (or was tied) the entire game AND because Seattle's offense is about as impotent as it gets (so they didn't have to worry about them blasting down the field in no time flat), they were able to focus on the run and keep feeding him the ball. But 2.9 yards per carry isn't impressive. He got yards, but it was more because the team was in a good position to keep giving him the ball to eat clock.
• Y-Town Steelhound

  

  BR1986FB;943883 wrote:Not so sure about that. That's solely why they brought in Colt's college teammate, OBY-Alphabet or whatever his name is.

  You mean Chris Ogbayanna? The 220 pound former college backup/fullback that runs a 4.6 forty and was called up because he was available and probably one of the only guys Shurmur could name off the top of his head? THAT'S the speed back!?
• Y-Town Steelhound

  

  BR1986FB;943869 wrote:As far as Hardesty's production yesterday, bitch about his "vision" and "not hitting the holes" as much as you want but I bet the slow, plodding Hillis doesn't go for 95 yards against that D.

  Maybe not but I think he would assuming the Browns control the clock a similar amount of time and have a similar amount of carries. Dude, any team that has Hillis run at them 33 times over a 40+ minute overall period is going to be worn down and more susceptible to big plays. That was the dimension the Browns were missing on Sunday without Hillis.
• like_that

  

  BR1986FB;943883 wrote:Not so sure about that. That's solely why they brought in Colt's college teammate, OBY-Alphabet or whatever his name is.

  Sadly he was the highlight of that offense yesterday.
• like_that

  

  Y-Town Steelhound;943890 wrote:Maybe not but I think he would assuming the Browns control the clock a similar amount of time and have a similar amount of carries. Dude, any team that has Hillis run at them 33 times over a 40+ minute overall period is going to be worn down and more susceptible to big plays. That was the dimension the Browns were missing on Sunday without Hillis.

  I agree about Hillis wearing defenses down. He is definitely a good 4th quarter closer, especially when the Browns have a lead.
• BR1986FB

  Heretic;943884 wrote:Even if he gets 33 carries? That was the thing I noticed most when I saw the box score. Because Cleveland led (or was tied) the entire game AND because Seattle's offense is about as impotent as it gets (so they didn't have to worry about them blasting down the field in no time flat), they were able to focus on the run and keep feeding him the ball. But 2.9 yards per carry isn't impressive. He got yards, but it was more because the team was in a good position to keep giving him the ball to eat clock.

  Oh, I didn't say Hardesty's performance was impressive, by a long shot, but you're not going to get much better than 2.9 ypc against that Seattle defense. They are built to stop the run. I've actually soured a bit on Hardesty but not as much as Hillis. The book is out on Hillis. Teams know how to defend him.
• BR1986FB

  Y-Town Steelhound;943885 wrote:You mean Chris Ogbayanna? The 220 pound former college backup/fullback that runs a 4.6 forty and was called up because he was available and probably one of the only guys Shurmur could name off the top of his head? THAT'S the speed back!?

  Yep. Looks like the most explosive back they have right now. Shurmur brought him in specifically to be that 3rd down guy.
• BR1986FB

  like_that;943893 wrote:I agree about Hillis wearing defenses down. He is definitely a good 4th quarter closer, especially when the Browns have a lead.

  Hillis will wear down defenses later in a game but my issue was if ya thought Hardesty was getting stuffed in the backfield quite a bit, it would've been x's 10 with Hillis' slow, plodding ass.
• Y-Town Steelhound

  

  BR1986FB;943897 wrote:Yep. Looks like the most explosive back they have right now. Shurmur brought him in specifically to be that 3rd down guy.

  I will say he certainly offers a lot more than Hardesty in the passing game. His reception on I believe 3rd down late last game helped keep the Browns drive alive.