A little bit of this and a little bit of that:
*The Browns and their former head coach during the Kardiac Kids era, Sam Rutigliano, have a small storyline in the Jacksonville Jaguars’ stunning 45-42 upset of the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday in the AFC divisional playoffs at Heinz Field. The Jacksonville offensive coordinator who came up with that great gameplan is 38-year-old Nathaniel Hackett. He’s the son of Paul Hackett, who got his long NFL coaching career started when Rutigliano brought him in as quarterbacks coach for the 1981 and ’82 seasons. Paul Hackett took over for Jim Shofner, who left after the 1980 season to return to his native Texas and become the offensive coordinator of the AFC Central rival Houston Oilers. Hackett’s and Shofner’s star pupil was, of course, Brian Sipe.
*The Jaguars provided the gameplan – on both sides of the ball – for beating the Steelers for all teams not named the New England Patriots, who have pounded Pittsburgh like a drum over the years. The Jaguars played physical against the Steelers, running the ball on them, getting up in Ben Roethlisberger’s face with their pass rush and playing bump-and-run against their talented group of wide receivers. That’s exactly how the Jaguars played the Steelers when they came into Heinz Field during the regular season and pole-axed them to the tune of 30-9. How much will that unbelievable – and thorough – beating on Sunday affect the Steelers going forward? We’ll see. And by the way, the Patriots had better bring their A game when they host the Jags next Sunday in the AFC Championship Game.
*And finally, Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday is a Browns day in many respects. The Browns permanently broke the color barrier in pro football coming out of World War II when Pro Football Hall of Famers Bill Willis and Marion Motley played in the franchise’s first game on Sept. 6, 1946 against the Miami Seahawks at Cleveland Stadium. Head coach Paul Brown had no problem playing African American players. He didn’t care about the color of a player’s skin. He cared only about the player’s football ability. That’s the essence of what Dr. King preached, that people should not be judged on their race or ethnicity.
