Skull Session: Jones Looks to Improve, Hyde's Cleveland Carries, and Samuel Looks to Rebound

By D.J. Byrnes on July 19, 2018 at 4:59 am
Johnnie Dixon leaps for the July 19 2018 Skull Session
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Been telling Steelers fans for the last seven months their reign over the AFC North is at an end. They didn't believe me.

Yet not even those scumbags can deny there is a new thicc boy atop the AFC QB rankings:

And no, I ain't no fan of this Ninja joker. I formed a caucus with baby boomers to destroy the nefarious video game lobby.

That said, I look forward to watching Mayfield bring that caboose through Pittsburgh in Week 17.

ICYMI:

​Word of the Day: Chiliad.

 DRE'MONT ANSWERS THE BELL. Dre'Mont Jones could be a millionaire right now. Instead he chose to return to The Ohio State University.

Even more surprising is he won't rest on previous accomplishments.

From 247sports.com:

"He did not come into this spring to try and get through it like a lot of guys would that have the talent and have had the kind of season he had last year. He came into the spring really trying to improve his game and he did it," defensive coordinator Greg Schiano said of Jones.

"He came back and tried to get better in the spring, and he did get better. Not only in the spring, the winter program."

Jones came to Ohio State as a top-10 defensive end coming out of high school. Like big defensive ends of the past for the Buckeyes, Jones eventually made the switch to defensive tackle. His playing time came quicker than he expected, as Tracy Sprinkle was lost for the year in the first game of 2016 and Jones was asked to step in. All he did was lead all defensive linemen, a line that included four future NFL Draft picks, in total tackles as a redshirt freshman.

I follow Ohio State for a living, and it's been all bad news for opposing offensive lines this offseason. And that's no exaggeration, I've seen nothing that would lead me to believe the Buckeyes won't have the best defensive line in the country. (Sorry, Clemson.)

 PATH TO THE SUPER BOWL. Non-Browns fans aren't aware of the Super Bowl contender being assembled in Cleveland.

One question about the war machine is how Hue Jackson, cerebral football assassin, and his trusted brainchild Todd Haley will distribute carries between Nick Chubb, Carlos Hyde, and Duke Johnson.

From clevelandbrowns.com:

Biggest question: How will the Browns distribute the carries between Chubb and Hyde? New running backs coach Freddie Kitchens indicated he’ll ride the hot hand throughout the season. What was clear in June was he hadn’t seen enough to determine who would even take the first carry of the first preseason game. “If they are having success, why would you change? It may be somebody new from week to week,” Kitchens said. “As far as duties with carries and stuff like that, we are nowhere close right now. Things can change. We were talking about it this morning, things can change in a heartbeat. In one play, everything can change. That is the approach we have to take. Go with what you see.” Splitting the carries would be nothing new for Chubb, who shared duties at Georgia with Sony Michel, who was drafted a few picks earlier than him by the Patriots. Hyde, who battled injuries but is coming off his best season yet in the NFL, was the bell cow in San Francisco.

People who haven't had El Guapo on their fantasy teams don't realize how good he has been when he's healthy. If Hyde's body cooperates, he will be a key cog in a Super Bowl champion. That math is rudimentary.

 ANOTHER BUCKEYE BACK LOOKS TO BOUNCE BACK. Speaking of former Buckeye backs looking to prove their worth in THE NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE, Curtis Samuel wants to rebound from a disappointing freshman campaign.

From panthers.com:

3. Can Curtis Samuel get back on track?
Samuel’s rookie year didn’t go as planned. After nagging injuries forced him to miss the bulk of training camp, Samuel had a lot of catching up to do. Once it looked like he had finally caught up, Samuel suffered a season-ending ankle injury in Week 10. Rehab has gone well, and the former second-round pick showed some encouraging signs during the spring. If he can stay healthy, the speedster should be able to carve out a valuable role in his sophomore season.

What I meant last summer by "Cutis Samuel will score more fantasy points in 2017 than Christian McCaffrey" is Samuel would score more fantasy points than McCaffrey in 2018.

A simple slip of alien fingers.

 FEEL GOOD VIDEO OF THE DAY. Looking for a 15-second reprieve from the grind of everday life? Look no further.

Just wait until Braxton throws! Defenses won't know what to do.

 WUT? I assume every American involved with this fiasco was forced to burn their passport and walk home:

Dwayne Haskins would have never let that happen.

 THOSE WMDs. A fake military village... Every Shakespeare play summarized by quotes from The Office... We might have been looking for D.B. Cooper in the wrong places... Marion's Piazza: The story behind Dayton's famous square-cut pizza... Why read the classics?

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