The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Stump Mitchell sees 1K-yard seasons for duo
Running backs coach Stump Mitchell predicts 1,000-yard seasons for dynamic duo of Chubb and Hunt.
It is easy to imagine Stump Mitchell, with his long gray beard and glittering eyes, wearing a white lab coat and mixing bubbling, colorful chemicals in glass beakers in his office at 76 Lou Groza Boulevard on a Monday night long after everyone else has gone home.
In this case, though, instead of trying to come up with some magic elixir, the Browns running backs coach is working on ways to get even more out of Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt than the pair of friends produced last year.
Mitchell’s official title is run game coordinator. Chubb and Hunt were recognized as the best running back tandem in the NFL in 2020 when they combined for 2,362 rushing and receiving yards and 23 touchdowns — nearly half of the 50 TDs scored by the Browns’ offense.
Part of that plan to get more from Chubb and Hunt is to find innovative ways of getting them on the field at the same time. Back in minicamp in June, offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt said he, head coach Kevin Stefanski, Mitchell and the other offensive coaches devised schemes in the offseason to make that happen.
“The more toys Kevin has, the better he is as a playcaller,” Mitchell said. “You never know what’s going on in his mind. It’s always something creative to catch the defense off-guard.
“If you’ve got skill, Coach Stefanski finds a way to make it happen.
“You’re not just a receiver. You’re not just a back or a tight end, if there are some things that you can do. And I think that makes it exciting for the football players. It makes it exciting for the fans, and it makes it exciting for us as an offensive unit.”
Chubb rushed for 1,067 yards and 12 touchdowns last season despite missing four games with a knee injury. He caught 16 passes for 150 yards.
Hunt rushed for 841 yards and six touchdowns. He caught 38 passes — third most on the team behind Jarvis Landry (72) and Austin Hooper (46) — and five touchdowns.
Mitchell’s goal last season was to see Chubb and Hunt each rush for 1,000 yards — something the Browns haven’t done since 1985, when Kevin Mack and Earnest Byner were in the backfield together.
Only seven times in NFL
history has a pair from the same team rushed for 1,000 yards, most recently in 2019 when Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson rushed for 1,206 yards and Mark Ingram for 1,018 yards. The last time a pair of running backs each rushed for more than 1,000 yards was the Panthers duo of Jonathan Stewart (1,133) and DeAngelo Williams in 2009.
“There are some things we didn’t do so well last year that we have to improve upon,” Mitchell said. “They’re coming out every day trying to get better. We have to keep both those guys healthy, and if that be the case and we improve some of our reads from last year, it will happen.”
Stefanski credits Mitchell for using Chubb and Hunt to get the most from each player. That presents the question, if Stefanski is calling plays, Van Pelt is the offensive coordinator and Mitchell is in charge of the running offense, who decides which player is in the game on a particular play?
“We know that Kareem
is our third-down back, unless it’s third-and-1,” Mitchell said. “Then Nick will stay in the ball game. But other than that Kareem is our third-down back.
“But Kareem is also a starter. He can do whatever, so it doesn’t matter which one of those guys are in. Now, there’s a certain number of touches Coach Stefanski wants Nick to have, so I have to juggle that the entire game. I don’t want to be over that by more than two ’cause then I’m going to get chewed out.”
Stefanski was asked but would not pinpoint a limit to the number of carries he would ideally expect Chubb to have in a game.
“Stump has a great feel for that when a guy is breaking off a couple big runs and you can keep him in there,” Stefanski said. “There are other times when Stump can see (Chubb) and his body language that he needs a break.
“That’s where the next guy comes in. You’ll see that with Kareem as well. Kareem will get his opportunity
to break off a couple and then here comes Nick because Kareem needs a blow.”
Stefanski said with the NFL playing 17 games this season and in the future instead of 16 games as it did from 1978-2020 adds to the importance of monitoring playing time.
Notes
Safety Grant Delpit returned to practice Aug. 17 after missing most of training camp with a hamstring injury. He aggravated the injury Aug. 18 and had to leave practice early.
Wide receiver Ja’Marcus Bradley (neck), guard Michael Dunn (back), linebacker Tony Fields II (foot), defensive end Myles Garrett (hamstring), safety Sheldrick Redwine (ankle), cornerback M.J. Stewart Jr. (hamstring) and cornerback Denzel Ward (soreness) did not practice. Defensive end Jadeveon Clowney did not practice for an undisclosed reason. Defensive end Takk McKinley is absent for personal reasons.