I’m a big Hue Jackson fan.

I really am.

In fact, I have been ever since he got hired as head coach of the Browns in 2016.

Despite saying that, I’m not blind to his shortcomings. Every coach has them, even the greatest ones of all-time.

Among Jackson’s shortcomings – and it’s a real big one — is his refusal to stick with the running game, to make a commitment to it even when it doesn’t work right away. He drops the running game like a bad habit and goes to the pass, which puts extra stress on the quarterback, particularly a young one.

As such, then, that has to be taken into consideration when evaluating quarterback DeShone Kizer.

All of this is why it was so refreshing to hear, during his introductory press conference last Wednesday, Browns offensive coordinator Todd Haley say – in no uncertain terms – how much emphasis he puts on the running game.

“I think you have to run the ball. The key is you have to run the ball when the other team knows you are going to run it.

“As far as an overall philosophy, I will do whatever gives us the best chance to win. I think you saw that over the past six years. There were games we threw it 45 times to win and games we ran it 35 times to win. Whatever gives us the best chance to win, that is what we are doing.

“If we need to make adjustments, we will make adjustments. We will play to our strengths. (In) Kansas City, we led the league in rushing one year, and that was definitely a strength of ours. We were handing it off a bunch.

“Until I know exactly what we have and who the players are all going to be, that will remain a question mark because I am going to always do what gives us the best chance to win. But in this division, you better be able to run the ball at some point in games when they know you are going to run it, whether it is running out the clock when you have a three-point lead or having to run it because the weather is bad and it is snowing sideways or whatever your variables are.”