I like Browns head coach Hue Jackson and have praised him any number of times for his honest, up-front answers to reporters’ questions, even on controversial subjects.

But what he said Friday concerning running back Isaiah Crowell does not earn him any praise at all, only condemnation. It defies logic.

Crowell had a 59-yard run early in last Sunday’s 27-10 loss to the Baltimore Ravens and touched the ball only once afterward, which did not make him happy. And he said so.

Jackson, who acts as his own offensive coordinator and calls the plays, said earlier this season that a running back has to perform in a way to inspire him to call more runs for him. So what gives? Why didn’t Crowell get more carries? Didn’t that run inspire him?

“Just because you run for 59 yards doesn’t mean that,” Jackson said on Friday.

He added, “No, me and you, all five of us could have run through that hole. Go back and look at the play so I’m not saying that.

“Inspiring runs, just so we are all on the same page, are when you break tackles. It is the tough runs. It is when everybody is knocking the crap out of you and you find a way to still make four or five yards. That is running in the National Football League.

“When everything is blocked pretty and you can just run down up through there, that doesn’t happen but once or twice in a game. I’m not saying that Crow doesn’t do that. He does it well for us, but I’m just saying you guys are talking about a run that – I’m being very honest – we all could have run through.

“What I’m looking for is more of the grunt, tough-type of runs that I know that you have to have in the National Football League from our runners, period. I think they gave us some. We have to continue to do more and that is where we are.”

Yikes!

I don’t care how Crowell ran or what the hole was like. Running 59 yards is running 59 yards. It’s a big deal, and an even bigger deal for a winless, offensively-challenged team such as the Browns.

So for Jackson to say that is just stupid. It really is.

Is Jackson losing it – his mind, I mean? Is he trying to make Crowell look bad?

What’s going on?

The more Jackson talks lately, the less sense he makes. That’s troubling. It does nothing to help his job security.