#HeyTony: How will the Browns use Kareem Hunt with Nick Chubb?

Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland.

Hey Tony: How will our running back situation play out once we get up to full strength? Trading chip going into next season?

-- Bill, Plain City, OH

Hey Bill: The reinstatement of Kareem Hunt prior to Game 9 against Buffalo poses an intriguing possibility. Once Hunt is reacclimated to the offense, why not use Hunt and Nick Chubb on the field together? Maybe not in traditional two-back sets but in creative ways that could give the quarterback play options that defenses don’t normally see. I would think there is an innovative way to make this work. Hunt signed a one-year contract with the Browns and will be a restricted free agent after this season.

Hey Tony: Offense or defense? What side of the ball could we use the most improvement from to get on track and win this division?

-- Chad, Erie, PA

Hey Chad: It has to be the offense. That’s the side that has disintegrated and beat itself. Geez, if it just stops the penalties and turnovers that would be significant improvement.

Hey Tony: Keep hearing the Browns schedule gets easier after the Patriots game? I see five more possible wins and that would be 7-9. With the talent on this team, is 7-9 acceptable for Kitchens to keep his job?

-- E.K., Myrtle Beach, NC

Hey E.K.: Can we play out the season and ask this question in January?

Hey Tony: Is there any chance we have Kitchens because John Dorsey just didn't like the coaching pool? Kind of just watching how this year unfolds and then will make changes next season? This season just kind of seems like Dorsey may have a plan but doesn't want to execute it yet.

-- Burt, Los Angeles, CA

Hey Burt: Nice try, but no. Do you realize that no Browns GM has had the luxury of staying on the job through two head coach hires in the expansion era? Technically, CEO Joe Banner hired Rob Chudzinski and then Mike Pettine. But Banner was fired shortly after Pettine was hired. Every other GM since 1999 has not been given the chance to make a second coaching hire. Dorsey can’t assume that’s going to happen with him, either.

Hey Tony: I haven't seen it. Why is Antonio Callaway playing over Higgins? Damion Ratley? Can you please explain what I'm missing?

-- Matt, Canton, OH

Hey Matt: Kitchens is infatuated with Callaway’s speed. Plain and simple. For that reason, his ceiling is higher than Higgins’. But catching the ball forever will be the most fundamental requirement of the position. If you don’t do that, speed doesn’t matter.

Hey Tony: If we lose against the Patriots, like we all realistically think is going to happen, what realistic/hopeful perspective should we have going forward, knowing that the margin for error will be next to nothing for the rest of the season?

-- Joe, Galion, OH

Hey Joe: Winning the division, of course, is the objective – not going 10-6 and making a wild card. So if the Browns take care of business against Baltimore, Pittsburgh and Cincinnati, they will be in good shape. The Ravens’ win over Seattle was a surprise, to be sure, and their 5-2 record leaves them 2 ½ games ahead of the Browns. That would increase to three games with a Brown loss to the Patriots. Even still, with five division games to go – and five overall at home – the Browns do have a direct path to the playoffs in front of them. They just have to rally behind that perspective.

Hey Tony: Who would you say is to blame for Baker Mayfield’s regression over the first half of the season compared to last year?

-- Johanna, Sandusky, OH

Hey Johanna: Baker Mayfield. I mean, he’s throwing the ball to the wrong guys.

Hey Tony: Will Denzel Ward and Greedy Williams be back on the field this week?

-- Scott, Ottawa, OH

Hey Scott: Both say they will.

Hey Tony: Will the Browns make a trade for the O-line?

-- Jerry, Willoughby, OH

Hey Jerry: The Browns have tried to trade for Trent Williams, but the Redskins insist they’re not trading him. I’m not sure if John Dorsey has a Plan B offensive tackle in mind. The trade deadline is Oct. 29. We shall see.

Hey Tony: Were there any predictors things would go the way they have thus far during camp?

-- Ryan, Charleston, WV

Hey Ryan: Yes, I know some national commentators predicted the Browns would stumble through the first half of their schedule. I felt they would go 4-4 and then win seven of their last eight.

Hey Tony: Do you think getting Rashard Higgins back will make an impact on Baker Mayfield's play?

-- Vern, Altamonte Springs, FL

Hey Vern: I would think so.

Hey Tony: What would you have given up to trade for Trent Williams?

-- Ian, Twinsburg, OH

Hey Ian: No way would I part with a first-round pick. So I would have tried a second and something lower, or a second and a player.

Hey Tony: Do you think the Browns have been the most unfairly officiated team in the league since 2018? If not who’s had it worse?

-- Bryan, Cleveland, OH

Hey Bryan: There is enough incompetency in the NFL officiating ranks to spread around to every team. You don’t think the Saints have been hosed the last two years? How about the Lions? Believe it or not, it’s happening to most every team.