Today’s reports out of Berea have clinched it for me. Peyton Hillis is on my radar as the “under-the-radar” player for the Browns this year on offense. During practice, Peyton Hillis did damage to the Browns’ defensive unit on a 30-yard play and a 40-yard play. I didn’t see them, but they were reportedly short passes that Hillis converted into giant amounts of YAC (yards after the catch.) When I brought his name up this morning, the fine folks at Denver’s Mile High Report concurred with my hopes by saying, “I always thought Denver could have used him as an H-Back, in the Chris Cooley mold…” Obviously aiming for Chris Cooley type production might be aiming a bit high, but if Hillis can even be “in the mold” of Chris Cooley, he will be a welcome addition to the Cleveland Browns.
Hillis doesn’t have much to show for the 2009-10 season as he got lost on the bench when Mike Shanahan lost his job in Denver and Josh McDaniels took over. For the season, Hillis only had 54 yards rushing and 19 yards receiving. That level of production is a clear indicator of why the Broncos were willing to include Hillis in the deal for Brady Quinn. [Read more...]
The Browns take on the Denver Broncos tomorrow at 4:15 at Mile High. The defense was impressive in the first half against the high powered Vikings attack and then crumbled in the 2nd half as Adrian Peterson lit up the Browns. The offense failed to achieve any rhythm and scored one touchdown at the end of the game during garbage time when the Vikings went into a soft defense. Jamal Lewis was perhaps the bright spot on the offensive side of the ball but that may have been the case only because the expectations for Lewis were set so low after an unimpressive showing in the preseason. James Davis is still having shoulder issues after taking a big hit in the flat last week only 24 hours after being involved in a car accident. Jerome Harrison was listed as fully participating in practice on Friday and should be ready to play tomorrow afternoon. With more questions than answers coming out of week one, both DC Rob Ryan and OC Brian Daboll addressed the media yesterday as they head into a realistically winnable road game in Denver tomorrow afternoon.
Maurice Clarett will always be known around these parts for helping deliver one of the happiest moments in my sports life. His performance at Ohio State in driving them to a win in the National Championship game over Miami will always be the thing about him that I remember most. I know that isn’t the case for most other people in the world. Most people will remember the man who was armed to the teeth, and had to be subdued with mace, and tasers while wearing kevlar.
