Mid-week thoughts

Kareem Hunt is ready to show the National Football League he’s still  the player whose career was short-circuited temporarily a year ago by the league.

The big question, though, is whether he can be the same All-Pro running back who dazzled in Kansas City for nearly two seasons before being released late last season by the Chiefs and serving a league-mandated eight-game suspension for repeated violations of the league’s personal conduct policy.

Hunt, who played his high school football at suburban Willoughby South, will answer that question when he suits up for the Browns against the Buffalo Bills Sunday in the fourth home game of the season.

It has been 345 days and counting since the terrific running back, who compiled 2,151 yards in 28 games before his dismissal by the Chiefs on the last day of November last year, has prepared for a regular-season game.

Browns General Manager John Dorsey, who drafted Hunt with the Chiefs, threw the troubled young man a lifeline last February with the understanding he was expected to stay out of trouble.

There is no question Hunt, only 23, has a lot of gas in his tank, but one wonders how much the long layoff will affect his timing and feel for the game. The offensive side of the football is almost all about timing and rhythm. Rust and stamina also could factor in the number of reps he gets.

Coach Freddie Kitchens talked all week about being precise in practice, doting more specifically in execution. For someone who has been absent from the game for so long, that aspect of the game will be Hunt’s greatest challenge.

The coaching staff awill be challenged to come up with a game plan that features Hunt and fellow running back Nick Chubb. It will be interesting to see how Kitchens and offensive coordinator Todd Monken divvy up the touches between them. Both are game breakers and game changers.

Hunt’s versatility – he scored 25 touchdowns in 27 games with the Chiefs, 10 of them on pass receptions – gives Kitchens and Monken numerous opportunities to move his talents around. It’s almost an embarrassment of riches at the position.

Their creative juices must be overflowing this week with the distinct possibility of pairing both young men in several packages. Hunt, whose style of running is more of a slasher as opposed to Chubb’s bullish approach, is the better receiver and could line up comfortably anywhere from the slot on out.

Kitchens did not rule out the possibility of the Browns running out of the Wishbone as he did a few times last season. If nothing else, that would put extreme pressure on opposing defenses. So many possibilities from which to choose.

Owning a four-game losing streak in addition to losing all three home games this season kicks it into desperation mode against the Bills, who are unbeaten on the road.

On the realistic side, it won’t take Hunt long to find out playing behind the Browns’ offensive line is a whole lot different than playing behind the one in Kansas City, one of the best on the NFL. The holes close a lot quicker in Cleveland.

Hunt, who was signed by the Browns for only this season, is basically auditioning for the other 31 teams in the league, maybe even the Chiefs, who could conceivably – not necessarily will – welcome him back.

Hunt’s activation is definitely a plus move for the Browns, who could use a dose or three of good news. If all goes as they hope, his return could be a springboard to a more enjoyable second half of the season.

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When Kitchens mentioned precision in his remarks not only this week, but after Sunday’s loss in Denver, it sounded like a not-so oblique swipe at all aspects of his offense. 

“We’ve got to get some precision in our route running and our throws and our run blocking and double teams and stuff like that and just keep getting better at the game of football,” he said in what amounts to a blanket indictment. “That’s what I want to do.”

The red zone is where he wants to see most of the precision. It has been more like Death Valley inside the opposition’s 20-yard line. “Precision is of the utmost (there),” he said, “because the windows are so sisal. We have to be extremely precise.”

The windows in the red zone were tight last season, too, and Baker Mayfield thrived there. It’s got to be more than just that. It’s obvious the mystery remains unsolved with half the season gone.

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Mayfield can’t seem to make up his mind which hirsute look he likes the best. He arrived at the stadium in Denver with what appeared do be about a week’s growth on his countenance.

By the time he hit the field, the full-face look disappeared and a Fu Manchu mustache took its place. (He called it a handlebar. It was a Fu Manchu. Look up a picture of a handlebar and see the difference.)

At the post-game news conference, the Fu Manchu was gone, replaced by an ordinary small mustache resting over his top lip. Can’t wait to see the look for Buffalo Sunday.

Am I making too much of this? Yeah, probably. As one who has worn a Van Dyke beard for more than 40 years, here’s suggesting Mayfield try that look for good luck.