QUITE THE QUOTE FROM COACH HUE JACKSON

By STEVE KING

Sometimes, quotes from head coaches in all sports say, in essence, absolutely nothing.

It’s just a bunch of gobbledy-gook.



Sometimes, in fact, they don’t even make sense. It’s doublespeak at its very best – or very worse, as it were.

Browns head coach Hue Jackson is usually great with his quotes in that he tries to answer each question fairly and honestly and, to his credit, works hard to do so by not throwing anyone under the bus. That’s a fine line to walk at times, but he does it.

Jackson’s quote about the goal-line situation in the first quarter of the Browns’ 5-0 preseason win over the Philadelphia Eagles last Thursday night at FirstEnergy Stadium had a little bit of all of the above – and more. In the three years Jackson has been here, it’s one of the oddest – and most revealing – quotes he’s ever delivered.

In fact, when you read between the lines, which is what I specialize in doing here, it says volumes – absolutely volumes! – about Jackson’s relationship with offensive coordinator Todd Haley and his feelings concerning his own job status.

Jackson, in a conference call with the Cleveland media last Friday, was asked to elaborate on the play selection at the goal line – the Browns, for whatever crazy reason, eschewed the run and threw four straight incompletion passes, the last of which nearly got quarterback Tyrod Taylor seriously hurt when he fell awkwardly as he got rid of the ball — after they had moved to a first-and-goal at the Philadelphia 1, and if he had approved those play calls.

Here’s what Jackson said:

“Absolutely. I mean, I stand behind Todd (Haley) 100-percent. Obviously, there were some things that we were trying to exploit, some opportunities we thought we had. I think when we look back at it—hopefully, next time we may do things a lot differently in that situation. But there is no question that I think the things that we are trying to get done – I think you saw (wide receiver) Jarvis (Landry) run through – we thought he was bumped. We thought it was a P.I. (pass interference) in that situation. The next time, we thought maybe we could have fought through a little harder.

“At the same time, as we get down there, we understand what we need to do to finish drives and how we are going to have to finish them. Sometimes, it is going to be that we throw it and a lot of times it is going to be that we are going to have to run the football.”

Again, why the Browns didn’t run it at least twice or perhaps even three times. is a great mystery. And Jackson’s ride-the-fence answer didn’t do anything to solve it. It served only to make understanding the reasoning a lot tougher.

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