Peyton Hillis making an impression
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http://www.cleveland.com/browns/index.ssf/...ng_back_11.html
Browns running back Peyton Hillis is drawing some pretty lofty comparisons following his 144-yard outburst against the Ravens last week.
Ravens nose guard Kelly Gregg compared him to Tampa Bay mauler Mike Alstott, a six-time Pro Bowler. NFL Network's Steve Mariucci likened him to five-time Pro Bowl bruiser Larry Csonka. Browns defensive coordinator Rob Ryan thought of Csonka and "Earl Campbell, when he was running with those tear-away jerseys." Others have said Hall of Famer and Super Bowl MVP John Riggins.
"It's a complete honor to be mentioned in the same breath as those guys," said Hillis, who has rushed for a TD in each of his first three games. "I've always watched stuff from Larry Csonka and John Riggins back in the day, and I watched Mike Alstott growing up. I don't know if I'm as good as those guys, but I do think the sky's the limit for me."
Granted, it's only been one blockbuster game, but Hillis figures to get more opportunities, beginning Sunday against the Bengals.
"If Peyton is running the ball well, we're going to keep giving it to him," said offensive coordinator Brian Daboll.
During organized team activities in May, Hillis proclaimed that he wanted to be "the big steal" of the Brady Quinn trade, in which the Browns also received a sixth-round pick in 2011 and a sixth-rounder in 2012 that can improve to a third based on Quinn's playing time.
"I don't look at that as being cocky," said Hillis. "I like to be humble. It's just having confidence in myself."
It seemed outlandish at the time, given the fact Quinn planned to challenge for the Broncos' starting quarterback job and Hillis ran the ball only 20 times last year. But now, with Hillis plowing through defenses and Quinn on the bench, he may have been onto something.
"Peyton's obviously had a huge, immediate impact here," said left tackle Joe Thomas. "He's got a ton of talent and I'm shocked that anyone would let him go."
A seventh-round pick of the Broncos out of Arkansas in 2008, Hillis began as a fullback but was pressed into service as the Broncos' starting tailback midway through his rookie year following a rash of injuries. In six starts, he rushed for a team-high 343 yards (5.0-yard average) and five TDs. He quickly became a cult hero with his punishing style, his nose for the end zone and his post-TD Hulk impressions.
But the Hillis hysteria quickly came to an end when he pulled a hamstring and was placed on injured reserve Dec. 9. When Josh McDaniels took over for Mike Shanahan in 2009 and drafted running back Knowshown Moreno at No. 12 overall and added some free agent backs, Hillis was relegated back to fullback. Some say fumbling away the opening kickoff against the Browns in Week 2 did him in, but no one knows for sure. The Broncos won, but Hillis was mostly overlooked thereafter.
"What you see is what you get," said Hillis. "I don't think there was any mystery behind it. I didn't get many chances. But I came back to be a better man and a better football player because of it."
Shanahan, now with the Redskins, wasn't surprised by Hillis' 144-yard game.
"He's a tough, downhill runner, very intelligent, and probably had the best hands on our team," he said through the media relations department. "When he got the opportunity, he took advantage of it and was one of the main reasons we won four of our last five games. He was the difference between us going up or down that season."
Hillis still credits Shanahan for giving him a chance.
"Coach Shanahan kind of put me on the map," he said. "He was an amazing coach, a Hall of Famer. He knows what he's doing and he's a terrific offensive coordinator. I give a lot of thanks to him."
Ryan still remembers the pain Hillis inflicted on his Raiders defense in 2008.
"I saw him do some things that made me shake my head," he said. "I couldn't believe he ran Lawyer Milloy over one time, who I have the biggest respect for. Then he broke our kid's shoulder on a tackle, Michael Huff. I was a fan ever since and I was like, 'Man, this guy is pretty good.' "
Ryan was so impressed that he called New York Jets coach Eric Mangini, who were facing Hillis and the Broncos the next week.
"I said, 'Hey, watch out. They've got a back back there. He isn't pretty, but he hurts people,' " recalled Ryan.
The heads-up didn't help. Hillis dropped 129 yards on Mangini's Jets and helped prevent them from making the playoffs that year. It was the first of four losses in New York's last five games. Hillis was also the first back to rush for 100 yards on the Jets that season, in Week 12.
"Kill the guy with the ball? He's out there collecting his own hides," said Ryan. "He's fun to watch, God, he is."
For Hillis, becoming a featured back is a dream come true. He grew up idolizing Emmitt Smith and Barry Sanders. His dad, a huge football fan, named him after Walter Payton. But because of his 6-1, 240-pound frame, coaches often pegged him as a fullback. In college, he paved the way for back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons by tailbacks Darren McFadden and Felix Jones, who were drafted in the first round. But Hillis started more games than either of them his rookie year.
"I never thought I had any less ability than those guys," he said. "I'm a smashmouth, throwback style of back. I always thought I was a running back [not a fullback] and I always thought I could do a good job."
The Ravens found out the hard way that he was right. He hopes to show the Bengals, too.
"I'm usually not easily impressed, but he impressed me," Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs told the Carroll County Times.
Added Thomas: "You can see the defense doesn't want to tackle him. They don't want to come up in the hole and put their nose in there. I've seen where Csonka ran right through people. That's Peyton."
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It's early yet, but I believe the praise will be validated. Hillis is that rare combination of power runner who also is gifted as a receiver.
He was a tremendous pickup & I love seeing his blue collar, smash mouth style of play return to Cleveland. He is the type Running Back Cleveland has always embraced & needed.
Mike
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I like Hillis as much as the next fan but let's slow down with the comparing a guy that was just traded for Brady Quinn to Hall of Famers. Truth be told, most NFL RBs would look good behind that line. This is just the usual short term hyperbole that the media runs with now-a-days.
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^^^ Dude, Hillis had ravens players backpedaling as he was gonna initiate contact with them Sunday. I havnt seen that in a while.
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^^^ Dude, Hillis had ravens players backpedaling as he was gonna initiate contact with them Sunday. I havnt seen that in a while.
^^^ Dude, Hillis had ravens players backpedaling as he was gonna initiate contact with them Sunday. I havnt seen that in a while.
Again, I like Hillis but let's not enshrine him just yet. You guys realize that you are comparing a guy that didn't handily beat out a mediocre back in training camp to guys that had Hall of Fame careers? Let's get real.
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^^^ Dude, Hillis had ravens players backpedaling as he was gonna initiate contact with them Sunday. I havnt seen that in a while.
Again, I like Hillis but let's not enshrine him just yet. You guys realize that you are comparing a guy that didn't handily beat out a mediocre back in training camp to guys that had Hall of Fame careers? Let's get real.
Again, I like Hillis but let's not enshrine him just yet. You guys realize that you are comparing a guy that didn't handily beat out a mediocre back in training camp to guys that had Hall of Fame careers? Let's get real.
This is true, but what hasn't told you that he won't keep it up? Besides the fumbles in Tampa he's been dominate everytime he's touched the ball this year.
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^^^ Dude, Hillis had ravens players backpedaling as he was gonna initiate contact with them Sunday. I havnt seen that in a while.
Again, I like Hillis but let's not enshrine him just yet. You guys realize that you are comparing a guy that didn't handily beat out a mediocre back in training camp to guys that had Hall of Fame careers? Let's get real.
Again, I like Hillis but let's not enshrine him just yet. You guys realize that you are comparing a guy that didn't handily beat out a mediocre back in training camp to guys that had Hall of Fame careers? Let's get real.
Keep in mind that the only reason the training camp competition was close is for 2 reasons:
1) Harrison's stats in the last 4 games of 2009.
2) Harrison's faster "top end" speed.
Harrison usually goes down upon initial contact. Personally, I do NOT believe the actual competition was that close.
I agree that the comparisons to Hall of Famer's ACCOMPLISHMENTS should wait, but certainly there should be no problem in comparing his "style" (as we have seen thus far) to any of a number of backs.
Mike
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Nice Read thanx
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He reminds me of Craig Heyward more than anybody else. He just runs into people. Alstott had better feet. Iron Head just put his head down and sped up. I love all the praise though. Like coach Ryan said, the dude is really fun to watch.
"Chances are, if you think Jay Leno is funny, I don't care for you as a person" - Peter Griffin -
Watching Peyton Hillis play has given me a new spark to the game of football. If he is properly utilized, he will wear defences down. Before long the other teams are going to be forced to "game plan" around him. I have already seen how some of the defensive backs try to avoid him head on.
It's good to see a player like Hillis busting up a defence.
Here's to a long a prosperous career!!!
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^^^ Dude, Hillis had ravens players backpedaling as he was gonna initiate contact with them Sunday. I havnt seen that in a while.
Again, I like Hillis but let's not enshrine him just yet. You guys realize that you are comparing a guy that didn't handily beat out a mediocre back in training camp to guys that had Hall of Fame careers? Let's get real.
Again, I like Hillis but let's not enshrine him just yet. You guys realize that you are comparing a guy that didn't handily beat out a mediocre back in training camp to guys that had Hall of Fame careers? Let's get real.
Agreed. I hope he can keep it up. Hope you noticed he sent two Bengals to the sidelines today? Personally, I'm thinking John Riggins, he's faster than Jerome Bettis.
That pile be moving in a forward direction for a change. How many times last year did we have first and goal inside the five and get stuffed on three consecutive plays? It may be jumping the gun, but in reverse- this may be the best move the Browns made since the ill advised trade of Earnest Byner for Mike Oliphant.
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Hillis is just getting started, he is not that fast, but he is not slow. He is the complete back! If he can stay healthy and Harrison can spell him for about 10 carries a game, he will be putting a hurting on some folks come late Nov and Dec. I love the guy and I am proud to see a white dude dominate as a RB.
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Hillis is just getting started, he is not that fast, but he is not slow. He is the complete back! If he can stay healthy and Harrison can spell him for about 10 carries a game, he will be putting a hurting on some folks come late Nov and Dec. I love the guy and I am proud to see a white dude dominate as a RB.
Hillis is just getting started, he is not that fast, but he is not slow. He is the complete back! If he can stay healthy and Harrison can spell him for about 10 carries a game, he will be putting a hurting on some folks come late Nov and Dec. I love the guy and I am proud to see a white dude dominate as a RB.
Someone needs to hit that point home to the staff. I don't think Hillis can run the way he has been and stay healthy. It looked like he was going to fall over and pass out after that last run he had. I'm just glad we didn't need him to run the ball after that. I just hope he can rest up this week and be 100% for next week.
We need him to carry the load but we need to protect him a bit also. I think he was the only back that got a carry today... (cribbs ran it a few time)
They don't even have to give it to Harrison or Davis, if they want to stick with the power running, hand it to Vickers a few times for a few yards up the gut.
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Hillis is just getting started, he is not that fast, but he is not slow. He is the complete back! If he can stay healthy and Harrison can spell him for about 10 carries a game, he will be putting a hurting on some folks come late Nov and Dec. I love the guy and I am proud to see a white dude dominate as a RB.
Someone needs to hit that point home to the staff. I don't think Hillis can run the way he has been and stay healthy. It looked like he was going to fall over and pass out after that last run he had. I'm just glad we didn't need him to run the ball after that. I just hope he can rest up this week and be 100% for next week.
We need him to carry the load but we need to protect him a bit also. I think he was the only back that got a carry today... (cribbs ran it a few time)
They don't even have to give it to Harrison or Davis, if they want to stick with the power running, hand it to Vickers a few times for a few yards up the gut.
Someone needs to hit that point home to the staff. I don't think Hillis can run the way he has been and stay healthy. It looked like he was going to fall over and pass out after that last run he had. I'm just glad we didn't need him to run the ball after that. I just hope he can rest up this week and be 100% for next week.
We need him to carry the load but we need to protect him a bit also. I think he was the only back that got a carry today... (cribbs ran it a few time)
They don't even have to give it to Harrison or Davis, if they want to stick with the power running, hand it to Vickers a few times for a few yards up the gut.
I agree, and on Hillis looking sluggish at the end, any back is going to be exhausted after 27 carries with no real help. I really don't think they should limit themselves to power running...If Hillis is a bit drained, why not stick Harrison in to give him some relief, we didn't do it once today. Sure he may go down easy but if our blockers can get excited blocking for the little guy and create a hole, that opens the opportunity for a quick speedy gain, not to mention it would give a huge momentum boost to the whole team, including Hllis.
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The main difference between Hillis and Harrison is that the LB's absolutely cannot arm-tackle Hillis -- whereas they can usually do that with Harrison. Hillis is just that much bigger. This allows for the run blocking to only need to get a chip on the LB and Hillis is gone. With Harrison the LB could usually be half blocked but just reach out and arm tackle.
Go back and watch the last quarter of the Ravens game. It's fun. They could not stop him - even the Ravens safety ran up and instead of trying to knock him down, simply grabbed his pads and held him up, waiting for his teammates to come tackle Hillis.
Even if Harrison is faster, Hillis will be more productive in the NFL.
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The main difference between Hillis and Harrison is that the LB's absolutely cannot arm-tackle Hillis -- whereas they can usually do that with Harrison. Hillis is just that much bigger. This allows for the run blocking to only need to get a chip on the LB and Hillis is gone. With Harrison the LB could usually be half blocked but just reach out and arm tackle.
Go back and watch the last quarter of the Ravens game. It's fun. They could not stop him - even the Ravens safety ran up and instead of trying to knock him down, simply grabbed his pads and held him up, waiting for his teammates to come tackle Hillis.
Even if Harrison is faster, Hillis will be more productive in the NFL.
Even if Harrison is faster, Hillis will be more productive in the NFL.
Absolutely, but it would be nice if Hillis didn't turn out like Eddie George did and be retired in a couple years from being so beaten up. I just thought it was a little weird that Hillis was the only RB to touch the ball today.
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Hillis cannot carry the ball 27 times each game, that would leave him with over 400 carries plus receptions. Larry Johnson owns the record with 416 brutal carries in 2006. I remember Bettis talking about how difficult 300 carry seasons were. Bettis's career high was 375 carries. Bettis was a down hill runner but didn't go out of his way punish defenders, that can take it's toll. If he is gassed he is much more likely to get hurt. Let's keep him relatively fresh all year so that we aren't playing harrison an entire game later.
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"Hillis was not as impressive in the 23-20 victory against the Bengals as he was last week against the Ravens. Even still, he had 83 more rushing yards than his former team. Hillis bowled his way to 102 yards, while the entire Broncos team amassed a whopping 19 yards.
After Denver's Week 4 win, the Broncos are now averaging 55 yards rushing per game; Hillis is averaging 80.5 yards. The Broncos have three rushing touchdowns; Hillis has four."
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/481230-...lish-every-week
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Bottom line: Peyton "Dozer" Hillis is Da Man!
As a life-long Broncos with a deep hatred for our new little dictator of a head coach, Josh "McStalin" McDaniels, I couldn't be happier for Hillis or for the hard-luck Browns. Congrats on your win today, and nice job sticking it to McStalin with the trade of Brady Q-ster for Peyton Hillis.
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