Excitement about the Browns' Offensive Rookies | Barking Hard

Excitement about the Browns' Offensive Rookies

Alo

Alo

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Yesterday, Shep mentioned an OBR report about the team being pleasantly surprised with Colt McCoy.

Today, Mangini expressed his undying love for Montario Hardesty:

"(Hardesty) has had a really outstanding camp," Eric Mangini said. "For a young guy, he makes very few mistakes. His level of maturity is one of the highest that I’ve been around and that’s great.

"That’s exciting to see. Again, it’s with a big asterisk because we don’t have pads on and they’re not games and we haven’t done a full evaluation, but I really like what he has done to this point.”
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And Mary Kay Cabot says in the video at the top of this article that Carlton Mitchell has been "opening some eyes" at OTAs, including catching a touchdown on a post route today.

It'd be great if Hardesty and Mitchell could be solid contributors this year. And if McCoy could show enough in camp to inspire confidence in him as the team's QB of the Future.
 
Nice, I like to hear it.

I'm really anxious to see Hardesty in pads in a preseason game. RB is one of those plug n' play positions from college to the NFL. Hardesty can have a monster year if we let him.....
 
me too on seeing Hardesty play!

a term that seems to come up in interviews with coaches, presidents, gm's alot is, smashmouth.

too me that means running .
we have a the possibility of a better o-line this year with the simple fact they have been together another year.( two of whom are really young and have solid futures Thomas and Mack) You add in a guy who has mass potential like Shawn Lauvao and thats probably a good thing.
we ended up 8th in rushing last year. Sure , many people say it was against scrubs, sucky ass teams etc . Fact is, they KNEW we were going to run . KC stacked the box, as did Raiders, as did Pitts, as did Jacksonville. second fact is , we ran it anyway, and they didn't stop it.
I'm really up about adding Hardesty and Hillis, and see nothing but more stress on the opponents defense to stop them.

Now add in the fact our WO/s are in their second years( often breakout years) a new TE , and a QB that has experience....adds up to pretty damn interesting to me! :)

oh yeah my koolaid is ready (and I say that witha smile)(despite having my exhuberism smashed like a proverbial "joey under a ute" for years.. I still get excited :)

oh and did I mention that our D got heaps better? ( I like Ryans schemes)
 
Hardesty should be a major contributor early on, both as a power runner and a receiver out of the backfield.

Carlton Mitchell could provide a vertical threat to our offense, but he needs to be able to catch the ball on a consistent basis, something I didn't see when he was at USF.
 
Love the Hardesty stuff. Hard to get jacked up about rookie, late round WR's though. Hubbard caught some pretty balls a couple camps ago and is out of the league (or at least close ;) ).
 
OzDawg said:
me too on seeing Hardesty play!

a term that seems to come up in interviews with coaches, presidents, gm's alot is, smashmouth.

too me that means running .
we have a the possibility of a better o-line this year with the simple fact they have been together another year.( two of whom are really young and have solid futures Thomas and Mack) You add in a guy who has mass potential like Shawn Lauvao and thats probably a good thing.
we ended up 8th in rushing last year. Sure , many people say it was against scrubs, sucky ass teams etc . Fact is, they KNEW we were going to run . KC stacked the box, as did Raiders, as did Pitts, as did Jacksonville. second fact is , we ran it anyway, and they didn't stop it.
I'm really up about adding Hardesty and Hillis, and see nothing but more stress on the opponents defense to stop them.

Now add in the fact our WO/s are in their second years( often breakout years) a new TE , and a QB that has experience....adds up to pretty damn interesting to me! :)

oh yeah my koolaid is ready (and I say that witha smile)(despite having my exhuberism smashed like a proverbial "joey under a ute" for years.. I still get excited :)

oh and did I mention that our D got heaps better? ( I like Ryans schemes)
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Nice Post OZ.. I love smashmouth... Punch the other guy in the mouth, knock him down and put you cleats right in the middle of his chest as you run right over the top of him. I believe that is what we may be getting with Hardesty.. with Harrison as the smaller quick guy.. should be a good combo.. I think we will run the ball well. As for everything else.. I'll wait and see.
 
Merged Post

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Rookie Hardesty Getting Plenty of Chances

By Zac Jackson
Fox Sports Ohio
Posted Jun 3, 2010

Browns rookie running back Montario Hardesty is receiving the bulk of carries at the OTAs and he is making the most with that opportunity.

BEREA — Whether or not there's a reason Jerome Harrison dodged the media after Thursday's Browns OTA practice, it's fair to wonder if there's a reason Harrison changed course last week, signed an injury waiver and returned to work.

The starting job he waited so long to get very well could be at stake.

The guy who ran like crazy at the end of last season entered the offseason as a restricted free agent. Harrison got a second-round tender worth about $1.75 million, but no long-term contract.

In late April, the Browns moved up in the draft to select Montario Hardesty. When the team took to the field for practice sessions in late May, James Davis -- whose promising rookie season was cut short by injury last year -- was also back in the mix.

Harrison was not present, an absence that presumably can be explained by his unhappiness with his contract situation. But after missing the first week of the OTA sessions, he signed an injury waiver and returned to work.

He's still there this week, but Hardesty was getting the bulk of the reps with the first-team offense in Thursday's practice, the only one this week open to the media. And the head coach who's consistently praised Hardesty since rookie minicamp did so again Thursday.

"(Hardesty) has had a really outstanding camp," Eric Mangini said.

"For a young guy, he makes very few mistakes. His level of maturity is one of the highest that I’ve been around and that’s great.

That’s going to give him the best chance to not only play, but to play a lot if he continues along this path.

"That’s exciting to see. Again, it’s with a big asterisk because we don’t have pads on and they’re not games and we haven’t done a full evaluation, but I really like what he has done to this point.”
Harrison is the only one of the Browns' unsigned restricted free agents to be with the team, and that seems like a smart career move given the number of other young players getting reps they likely otherwise wouldn't be getting.

Interestingly, it also seems the race for carries -- maybe even the first carry of the 2010 season -- seems to be just beginning. Despite
Harrison's 286-yard performance in Kansas City last
Dec. 20 and subsequent back-to-back big (just not as big) games to close the year, the Browns enter 2010 looking for long-term answers across the board-- and extending Harrison a one-year tender certainly provides the Browns no long-term risk.

Like Davis did last week, Hardesty shied away from a question about whether he believes the starting job is open.

"That right there is not my decision," Hardesty said. "I’ve just got to come out here, work hard and continue to show what I can do on the field. If I continue to do that, then a role for myself on the team will come from doing that.

"This is just OTAs. I've got minicamp and I've got training camp. I’ve never done that before. I’m not really sure what to expect. I just know I’m going to come out and push myself hard every day and we’ll see what comes from that come season time."

On Harrison, Mangini said “he’s looked good. It’s really hard to evaluate where guys are (in OTA practices). You’re looking at it more in terms of assignments, technique, things like that. He’s made very few mistakes, which is excellent. He looks similar to the way he looked (last year). It’s just hard to project too far down the road without pads on.”

Mangini said he's pleased with his running back situation, also mentioning the addition of Peyton Hillis and the return of Chris Jennings, who did some nice things after Davis went down. A week
before Harrison's record-setting three-game run started last December, it was Jennings (and Joshua Cribbs) getting the bulk of the carries.

With Cribbs' specialty roles, last summer's star Davis getting back to health and the new additions, Harrison is going to have to earn every carry he desires. And though it's just early June, it appears he has a rookie nipping at his heels.

"I’m happy to be getting these chances," Hardesty said. "I’m going to definitely try to take the opportunity and make the most of it. I'm relishing the opportunity, but I don’t know if it means anything or not.


Scout.com: Rookie Hardesty Getting Plenty of Chances
 
Alo said:
Hardesty should be a major contributor early on, both as a power runner and a receiver out of the backfield.

Carlton Mitchell could provide a vertical threat to our offense, but he needs to be able to catch the ball on a consistent basis, something I didn't see when he was at USF.
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I know you've said this before, but was he really that bad? I've friended him on FB but I don't want to get my hopes up for another Glue hands Hubbard.

Either way, he's got to be at least a lot more refined than Ole Glue Hands, that dude had no idea how to play football. I like Mitchell's potential and desire to be good a lot, but the hands thing I hope isn't that bad.
 
Mitchell's got some hands issues, but I think he's got a better work ethic than Hubbard.

During the draft process, he told NFL Draft Bible that he was catching 1,000 balls from a JUGS machine every day...probably a bit of an exaggeration, but it shows that he's working to correct the issue.

The athleticism's definitely there: he ran a 4.49 40 at 6'3", 215 lbs., and posted a 36" vertical. He just needs some refinement, which could happen very quickly if he's willing to put in the work.
 
I liked the Hardesty and Mitchell picks a ton. And after digging around... I'm loving Lauvao, too. Kid's strong and they love his footwork. If anything, I'm wondering why he didn't go earlier.
 
I'm very excited for Montario (we going to give this kid a nickname soon or what?) and I really hope he can be a premier back for this team. I really hope we don't put too much on his plate too soon, maybe a 60/40 split with Harrison. Running Montario in, and Harrison outside? I don't know.

I just think that whoever impresses the most in the pre-season, that should be the guy we go with. If James Davis comes out of nowhere and has a monster pre-season, let's give him the snaps!

It's good to hear about Mitchell working hard to improve his hands. He's got crazy athleticism and I'd like to see us get a wide-out with some promise that DID NOT have some issues with catching the ball in one form or another. It seems whenever we get a WR to be excited about, he has a problem with drops.

Maybe it's the H3 attitude adjustment (with Mangini partially to thank for that as well) and maybe it's throwing out some of the trash (Braylon, DA, Quinn, etc) getting an aroma of hard work and dedication onto our team. This year feels different, maybe I'm just trying to be insanely positive but I have a good feeling about 2010. I think we will be competitive, even in our difficult division.
 
Smashmouth is great if your rb can hold up to the punishment.

If he's all that and i hope he is, let's not burn him up in preseason garbage games. Rookies are not used to an nfl schedule. Let's get him to the regular season without being nicked up.
 
When the pads come on I have a dream that Geathers becomes a starter and the kid from Zaire/Zimbabwe/Wherever who can bench a Limo pushing for playing time. And I want Lauvao starting. Screw all the position players I want breakthroughs from the unheralded fatties. :D
 
Enigmatic Evil said:
I'm very excited for Montario (we going to give this kid a nickname soon or what?) and I really hope he can be a premier back for this team. I really hope we don't put too much on his plate too soon, maybe a 60/40 split with Harrison. Running Montario in, and Harrison outside? I don't know.

I just think that whoever impresses the most in the pre-season, that should be the guy we go with. If James Davis comes out of nowhere and has a monster pre-season, let's give him the snaps!

It's good to hear about Mitchell working hard to improve his hands. He's got crazy athleticism and I'd like to see us get a wide-out with some promise that DID NOT have some issues with catching the ball in one form or another. It seems whenever we get a WR to be excited about, he has a problem with drops.

Maybe it's the H3 attitude adjustment (with Mangini partially to thank for that as well) and maybe it's throwing out some of the trash (Braylon, DA, Quinn, etc) getting an aroma of hard work and dedication onto our team. This year feels different, maybe I'm just trying to be insanely positive but I have a good feeling about 2010. I think we will be competitive, even in our difficult division.
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I really like that idea. I think the first half of all 4 preseason games, a different back should be the feature back, so we can get a good idea of how they handle the load.
 
Smashmouth is nice... as long as you're ahead. The reality of our league and all the high-scoring passing offenses is that a lot of teams that run the ball really well also lose a lot of games. The Rams were one of the best rushing teams in the league, for instance.

It sounds good -- "smashmouth." It sounds like you're beating the other team into submission. But not if they're scoring more and faster. And as Holmgren said, the days of the long, slow drive seem to be dwindling. Too much can go wrong in 15 plays, a penalty, turnover, or just a really smart defensive play.

It's mostly used AFTER the lead is achieved these days. Teams knowing we can run is a very good thing for the passing game, but any belief that we're gonna run our way to victory in 2010 is misguided, I think.

EDIT: Here are some teams that didn't make the playoffs and their rush offense rank...

2. Titans
3. Panthers
4. Dolphins
8. Browns
10. Jaguars
11. Chiefs

Keep in mind that the Jets (#1) made the playoffs as the last seed after both the Colts and Bengals sat their starters... or the top four rushing teams would have all missed the playoffs.

And what do all six of these teams AND the Jets have in common? They were not among the better passing teams in the NFL.
 
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Yeah Shep, you've posted those numbers before, but that's still just ONE season.

If you combine a great running game with a really good defense you CAN win more games than you lose. Yes, the margin of error is much smaller, but if our defense can force turnovers.....a lot of turnovers.....then we can stay in the drivers seat for much of the game. It can be done, it's been done. Just because a lot of teams have gone one way with it doesn't mean the other way has been locked out as a possibility.
 
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