Browns players already gelling for upcoming season

Stump Mitchell, running game coordinator and running backs coach for the Cleveland Browns, made a recent appearance at Shenanigans in Dover.

Shenanigans is the new headquarters for the Tuscarawas County Browns Backers club, and the group will meet there to watch games together this season.

Mitchell said Browns fans are outstanding, and he hopes to thank them.

“Unfortunately, we haven’t really been able to produce the way we know we can. I think in 2020 we were pretty decent. But the last couple of years, we haven’t fared as well as we thought we would have,” Mitchell said. “But this is an exciting time for us. We had an excellent spring; I think everybody seems to be gelling.

“And we’re excited about getting started next week with a couple of days with the quarterbacks and rookies, and then we’re going off to Greenbrier to establish ourselves and be ready for the Hall of Fame Game. I know the coaches are excited. The players are excited, and we’re just looking forward to having a great season.”

While the fans will miss former Browns running backs Kareem Hunt and D’Ernest Johnson, opportunity is the name of the game for other players to step up.

“Someone’s going to fill that role. I’m excited about the guys that we have in the room. I think it’s going to be fantastic. Of course, we have Jerome Ford, but I’m really, really, really, really, really excited about John Kelly. I hope he gets the opportunity because he can play. I mean his contact balance is just unbelievable. And if given the opportunity, you’ll hear about it,” Mitchell said.

Mitchell had high praise for Nick Chubb.

“He’s been nothing but fantastic. I’m excited about the offense because people just think Nick is a guy who can carry the ball. Well, he’s had some receptions. He works extremely hard at that part of the game. He hasn’t had the opportunity to do it as much. But now I think Nick will probably be a first-, second- and third-down guy,” Mitchell said. “I don’t really anticipate him coming out on third downs like he’s done in the past. And he was in on third down more this past year than he was because of some injuries to Kareem. So I’m excited about it.”

Mitchell sees Chubb being more involved in the passing game this season.

“We just had Kareem as that third-down guy last year, but Nick could have easily been the third-down guy. So I’m excited about the opportunity that Nick is going to have to be that third-down guy. He can run routes. He can catch the ball. He can do all of that stuff. And if we’re explosive, as we think we’re going to be in the passing game, I’m loving the opportunity for people to see what Nick can do in the passing game,” Mitchell said.

Mitchell credited the work of the other offensive coaches and players who will make it easier for the running backs to produce.

A former running back himself, Mitchell played in the NFL from 1981-89 with the St. Louis/Phoenix Cardinals. He had some help along the way.

“I learned how to play and also how to coach from Ottis Anderson, who was a starting running back at the St. Louis Cardinals when I came into the league,” Mitchell said.

Mitchell has had a long career as a coach, working at the high school and college levels and in the NFL. He said he is blessed to be with the Browns and all the running backs he’s been able to coach have been exceptional.

“It’s my job to view and harp on the things that they don’t do extremely well. And that’s not a whole lot,” Mitchell said. “That’s my job to identify what they don’t do so well and to work on those things and try to get improvement in that area. And I think whenever a coach can do that, I think he’s done a tremendous job.”

It’s better not to mention the word fumble around a football coach, but it’s something they work on continually to prevent.

“Fortunately for us, we haven’t had that problem. But we do fumble drills every day to try to protect the ball. The defense, that’s what they’re trying to do — get takeaways — so we practice that against the defense,” Mitchell said. “Each skill position group practices that in their individual group as well. We start practice out both on the defensive side of the ball and the offensive side of the ball — defense emphasizing getting takeaways and offense emphasizing ball security so we protect it.”

Chubb has only had one fumble each year for the past five years, but it’s still something they will work to prevent. Perfection is a goal of Mitchell, and Mitchell is on the same page as Browns fans when it comes to the Super Bowl.

“I’ve always wanted to be a part of a Super Bowl championship. I got a chance to coach in the Super Bowl with the Seahawks against the Steelers. Unfortunately, we were on the short end of that game. But now I’m hopefully going to get a chance to go there and be successful with the Browns,” Mitchell said.

Information on becoming a member of the Browns Backers Worldwide is available on the group’s Facebook page at Tuscarawas County Browns Backers. It is free to join.

The local group also holds fundraisers for the Claymont Foundation’s Spencer Monticelli Fund, which gives scholarships to Buckeye Career Center students to help buy the tools they need to start their careers.

The local Browns Backers group was chartered in 2016 by Richard Christmas of Dover. Christmas was in attendance at the event and is happy to see the group growing.

Browns fans from far and wide, young and old, were in attendance for the Mitchell visit including Mark Krebs of Coshocton, who is a member of the Fresno Browns Backers, and young Browns fan Oaklyn Gibbs, 5, of Port Washington, who attended with her father Tory.