Cleveland Browns Hard Knocks Episode One Recap
*exhale*
Hard Knocks is finally here. For those who’re unable to watch, I will be providing a recap on key points in each episode to keep you guys in the mix.
Episode one opens up with mixed emotions. From taking down the LeBron James banner to head coach Hue Jackson jumping into Lake Erie after he declared the team would not be as bad as it was in 2016 (1-15). They were even worse at a record of 0-16.
Jarvis Landry was the biggest and most influential person. The extremely explicit speech he gave to the wide receiver room will give you goosebumps and have you ready to run through a brick wall. Landry lamented to them about not playing if they aren’t hurt because many guys were taking days off for minor injuries that you can play through. He insisted that they will never get better if they don’t get on the field to practice – he’s correct. The team definitely needed a guy like this to get it through their heads that this isn’t the same old Browns anymore.
Hard Knocks couldn’t have gone without discussing Josh Gordon. After trading Corey Coleman and rookie Antonio Callaway being busted for marijuana, the Browns need all the help they can get at wide receiver. Fortunately, they will be getting back their former pro bowler. Hue iterated to the offensive coaches that Gordon will be back: “Josh Gordon will miss the first part of Training Camp, but he will be back. I don’t want to give an exact date, because we don’t have that, but he will be back.”
A short, but a telling clip of Hue Jackson talking about giving players days off shows what the other coaches think about him. Much like Landry, Todd Haley told Hue that this team has players who haven’t done sh*t, doing sh*t. Hue doubled down and told him this team was his and that he drives this “bus”. The tension between the two certainly isn’t encouraging. Though, I support Haley in this instance, the hiring of him should’ve been thought through more because this is what can happen when you put two huge egos together. Most of the room seemed like they supported Haley’s comments.
One thing is clear – the Browns are serious about changing the culture for good and becoming winners.
