Todd Monken won't get a chance to call plays in the Browns' season finale. (Bleacher Report).
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland.
It’s become a rite of summer for the head coach to hand off play-calling duties in the final preseason game to one of his assistants.
That opportunity, in fact, led to Freddie Kitchens being a surprise choice as interim offensive coordinator when the Browns whacked Hue Jackson and Todd Haley in the middle of the 2018 season. Kitchens had impressed the front office with his play-calling in the final exhibition game that season in Detroit. It was one of the reasons cited at the time of his promotion by GM John Dorsey.
But a hand-off now to Todd Monken won’t happen in the final game of the season in Cincinnati.
Was the subject ever discussed this week?
“No,” the coordinator said tersely.
Kitchens said, “We’re going to always evaluate and do the best thing that I think gives us the best chance to win. So, no.
“I think Todd’s done a good job all year of keeping us on course during the course of the week. I just feel more comfortable calling the plays right now. Nothing against Todd. Todd would do an excellent job of calling the plays. But we’re focused on getting just better at what we’re doing.”
Really? What could it hurt?
Despite having the NFL’s leading rusher in Nick Chubb, the 11th leader in receiving yards in Jarvis Landry (1,092) and Odell Beckham Jr. (954) closing in on 1,000 yards, the Browns rank only 18th in offensive yards per game and 22nd in points, and have won six of 15 games.
If the Browns had the intention of keeping Kitchens and his offensive staff intact, it would seem logical to see if there is a positive difference in Monken calling plays.
Take a bow: Add the media’s player-of-the-year award to Chubb’s 2019 accolades.
The Cleveland chapter of the Pro Football Writers of America named the running back the team MVP, which was renamed the Joe Thomas Award last year.
Chubb’s 1,453 rushing yards are the fourth-most in franchise history and leads Christian McCaffrey by 92 for most in the NFL. If he holds on, he’ll be the Browns’ first NFL rushing champion since Leroy Kelly in 1968.
Last week, Chubb earned his first Pro Bowl berth and was named a starter.
“Nick obviously is certainly very capable in terms of taking what we have come together collectively as a gameplan and executing that and breaking arm tackles,” Monken said. “He has been ultra-consistent and durable. It is hard -- I think that is the biggest thing -- as often as he has carried it, to be durable and then continue his productivity even with Kareem [Hunt] coming on board. A tremendous football player and tremendous person. I can’t say enough about Nick, obviously, beyond even as a player.
“He has a great personality. He is awfully quiet, but again, anything you ask him to do, he does. A consummate pro – for as young as he is that he is consummate pro.”
Defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson was named the Dino Lucarelli Good Guy, for cooperating with media and understanding their job. Richardson was always available at his locker and provided some of the best quotes – funny and insightful – during some trying times.
“He has meant a lot to us not just as a defense but really as a team,” said defensive coordinator Steve Wilks. “His role as a leader, his performance on the field.”
Richardson leads all defensive linemen with 59 tackles. When Myles Garrett was suspended he spent time at right end. He leads the team with three forced fumbles and added three sacks. With one game to go, Richardson’s 42 solo tackles match his career high.
Richardson said he wasn’t always this cooperative with media. So what changed?
“I left New York,” he replied.
Richardson played his first four NFL seasons with the Jets. Since 2016, he’s been with four teams in four years. He is under contract for two more years with the Browns.
“If they want to keep me, I’m definitely staying,” he said. “I love it here. Just didn’t get the season we wanted.”
Must be in the Bayou water: The reunion of Louisiana boyhood pals Landry and Beckham has had its ups (more than 2,000 receiving yards) but also downs (a 6-9 record). What’s really odd is both have played the whole year with bothersome injuries that possibly could lead to off-season surgeries.
Beckham finally revealed two weeks ago that he has played through a sports hernia that will require post-season attention.
Now Landry says he has played all season with a fractured sacrum. He is planning to seek a specialist’s opinion soon after the season ends. It could result in surgery.
The sacrum is a very strong bone at the end of the spine.
Landry said he reported to OTAs in April with pain in the area, which caused him to be kept out of every day workouts through the preseason. He has played every game with the injury to keep intact his record of never missing a game in six NFL season.
“That was one of my goals before I even started my [pro] career,” Landry said. “That’s something that I just kind of value, playing through injury. It’s definitely easier said than done. But it’s the game I love and it’ll take more than this hip to stop it.”
Bengals coach Zac Taylor was an assistant coach with the Dolphins for two of Landry’s four seasons there.
“He’s one of the fiercest competitors I’ve ever seen in my life,” Taylor said.