Cleveland Browns: Freddie Kitchens knows Duke Johnson is alive
By Dan Justik
After being frustrated with his lack of touches this season, Cleveland Browns running back Duke Johnson had his biggest game of the season against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Cleveland Browns offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens had a good first game as the play-caller, mainly because he knew the impact that Duke Johnson can make.
Being the running backs coach before Hue Jackson and Todd Haley were fired, Kitchens likely heard a lot of the problems Johnson was having this season.
After being the leading receiver and rushing for over 300 yards for the Browns last season, Johnson was merely a role player in Haley’s offense. He made it known to the media multiple times that he was not happy with the amount of touches he had been getting this season.
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In almost every press conference, Jackson would say the Browns needed to do a better job of getting Johnson the ball. If the reports are true that Haley was doing things in spite of Jackson, Johnson’s lack of use in the offense could have been one of the ways Haley was trying to make Jackson look bad.
In the first eight games of the season with Haley as the play-caller, Johnson caught 20 of his 29 targets for 203 yards. He also rushed for 107 yards on 22 carries.
With Kitchens calling the plays, Johnson caught all nine of his targets for 78 yards and two touchdowns. He only rushed the ball once for eight yards. But with the Browns down late in the game, they were not trying to run the ball much in the second half.
Now that Kitchens is the offensive coordinator, he may begin to put a greater emphasis on getting Johnson the ball. On third downs, Johnson seemed to be one of the main targets, whether it be on underneath routes or running wheel routes.
He still may not run the ball much, but he has shown flashes that he can be a great change of pace back when running the ball. If the Browns can keep games closer, do not be surprised to see Johnson see an uptick in carries.
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Since the Browns lack weapons, Johnson seems to be in line for more opportunities. He is a play-maker with the ball in his hands, and maybe all he needed was for the running backs coach to start calling plays to prove that how much of a play-maker that can be.