Last year, watching the Cleveland Browns try to move the football was painful. The offense resembled a chorus line. One, two, three kick. Over and over and over. Cleveland had no passing game and, until the final four games of the season, no running game. But that was last year.
With every new season comes renewed hope if you are a Browns fan. Gone are quarterbacks Brady Quinn and Derek Anderson. Jamal Lewis is no longer with the team. In their place are Jake Delhomme, Seneca Wallace, Colt McCoy and Montario Hardesty. Running back Peyton Hillis and tight end Ben Watson, from Denver and New England respectively, were also were added to the team. The Browns are hoping rookie Carlton Mitchell will help the receiving core.
On the offensive line, Cleveland must replace veterans Hank [...]
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Mike Holmgren continues to rebuild the Cleveland Browns front office with his guys. The hiring of 66 year old Gil Haskell, who will serve as an adviser to Holmgren, could mean a lot more.
In Holmgren's 17 years as a head coach in the NFL, Haskell was one of his assistants for 15 of those years, including the offensive coordinator when Holmgren was in Seattle. Could he be an in house replacement for Brian Daboll, should the Browns offense struggle?
It is a strong possibility that Cleveland will run a West Coast offense this year. Neither Eric Mangini or Daboll has any experience with the West Coast. Having both Holmgren and Haskell to bounce questions off of as well as evaluating the talent needed, can't hurt.
Finding the right quarterback to lead the offense is the first step [...]
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Mike Holmgren is close to hiring former Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator, Gil Haskell, as an adviser to Holmgren. Haskell who's 66, has worked for Holmgren in both Green Bay and Seattle as both a position coach and an offensive coordinator. It is assumed Haskell will have a lot of input regarding the Browns off season decision making on the offensive side of the ball.
If Haskell does indeed join the Browns, it looks more and more like Cleveland will be running some version of the west coast offense. It also makes me wonder if current offensive coordinator, Brian Daboll, will be on a short leash.
It sure appears as if Holmgren fully intends to reshape Cleveland's offense, which ranked near the bottom of the NFL in every offensive statistic except rushing yards. Both Daboll [...]
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