With The First Pick
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Cleveland Browns all About Running

By Carl Cockerham

May 18, 2016; Berea, OH, USA; Cleveland Browns running back Duke Johnson Jr, (29) runs with the ball during official training activities at the Cleveland Browns training facility. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
May 18, 2016; Berea, OH, USA; Cleveland Browns running back Duke Johnson Jr, (29) runs with the ball during official training activities at the Cleveland Browns training facility. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports /
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A few Weeks ago, Cleveland Browns head coach Hue Jackson declared his love for his running backs. Yes, he’s talking about little known running backs Isaiah Crowell and Duke Johnson. And he had to be sincere because he didn’t take a running back in the 2016 NFL Draft.

He told Cleveland.com, “I’ve been getting so much mail or phones calls with people saying, ‘Well wait a minute, why don’t you guys have a running back?”’ he said. “I really think Isaiah Crowell is a really good running back. I think he’s going to have a sensational season, I really do.”

Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com also quoted Jackson from the Browns draft review show on 92.3 The Fan saying, “Those 2 guys are as good as I’ve seen in a while. Their talent is extreme.”

So while Jackson is working on building a passing attack behind quarterback Robert Griffin III, he feels like he has his running game set with Crowell and Johnson. And it is Jackson’s plan for the Browns’ offense to rely heavily on the run and for everything else to come off of that.

Running backs coach and run game coordinator Kirby Wilson told Cleveland Browns.com, “We are going to be a run-oriented football team. Everything starts with the run game, our offensive line and our backs. As coach told us, we are going to be a physically dominant, running football team.

“We call it ‘big boy football.’ It is all about attitudes and it starts with the run game. You have got to be able to run it, and you have got to be able to stop the run on defense. We are going to take pride in that, being physically superior than our opponent.”

In has last stop as a head coach with the Oakland Raiders, Jackson got the running game going. So there is reason to believe that he can and will get the running game going in Cleveland. RGIII can function well off of a good running game, running bootlegs off of it.

I will be interesting to see if Josh Gordon can get back in the NFL and team up with RGIII, 1st-round pick fellow receiver Corey Coleman and tight end Gary Barnidge to complete the offense. Stay tuned because I honestly don’t think the Browns will be as bad as many expect.

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