Now, he tells us that he lost up to 20 pounds the week of that Miami game due to "a real bad stomach virus" which lasted about 10 days. And he believes the stress caused by the contract discussions, the virus and the criticism stemming from both caused him to enter a downward spiral. Once that got around, I didn't want to disappoint the fans, so I went straight back to practice after that week feeling the way I did, and the way I felt, I ended up pulling a hamstring.
I guess the Browns and the media, they're all connected, they were saying I'm holding out for a contract. So again, I get more stressed out and more frustrated because I can't do anything about it. And I keep on forcing myself back with the pulled hamstring and I keep on re-pulling it.
I just kept on hurting myself and people kept thinking I was holding out for a contract. Hillis did eventually return to put together some solid performances, including a yard effort in Week 16 against the Ravens. But in the locker room, the front office and the minds of many fans, the damage was done. The Browns, who are under new ownership and no longer employ any of the executives who would have negotiated with Hillis and his representatives, declined comment.
Tom Heckert, who was the general manager in Cleveland at the time and now works for the Denver Broncos, denied a request for a response through the team's media relations staff. It was really tough because the fans looked down on me, but they weren't on the inside.
If they were on the inside, they would have probably thought differently. When you really look at it hard enough, that's really what it was. But the bad optics went beyond the legitimacy of Hillis' sickness and injuries. In a scathing article from Michael Silver of Yahoo Sports, he took heat from several veteran teammates, some on the record. He also was criticized for messing around on the field before a game he apparently wasn't healthy enough to play in, for missing a charity function without explanation, for getting married while injured in October and for playing agent roulette when Hillis fired McGuire early the next offseason, he was moving onto his fourth agent in just over a year.
A year later, former Browns teammate Joe Thomas didn't hold back :. It was a terrible distraction. He crippled our offense. We were struggling to find anybody who could carry the ball after all the injuries we had. To have Peyton going through a contract dispute and basically refusing to play, it was a big distraction. But more than anything, he was our starting running back that was a good player who was going to help us be a successful offense.
When he's not there and you don't have anybody to turn to, it makes it hard to win. And that's the distraction, it's not being successful. He apologized publicly for missing that Halloween charity event, and h e also admits he shouldn't have kept firing agents.
The sad thing about my marriage was I was hurt during the process and I got married while I was hurt. But if I'd been healthy and got married, nobody would have thought anything about it.
So yeah, I regret that. He was a key figure there and he wanted his players to play, but I don't think he even fully understood what was going on at that point. One other factor to consider here is mental well-being, which of course complicates the narrative that aligns the Browns on one side and Hillis on the other. One of Silver's unnamed sources noted the formerly "positive and inspirational" back had become "a different guy" in Per Silver, who claimed players felt Hillis was "mentally fragile," Hillis also told the media that year he was having trouble getting his "mind right.
You'd walk the street and people would talk smack at you and say you aren't doing this, and you're a traitor, you're this, you're that. And that hurt, because I'm not that kind of guy.
I've always been a hard-nosed, blue-collar guy, just like the city of Cleveland. And it hurt me that I fell from grace so hard and so fast with a city that I can relate myself to. Hillis claims that season caused him to lose faith in football and robbed him of his drive to continue playing. Some people didn't look at you as the guy, so it just got really tiresome after a while.
And I got tired of fighting it, really. I was really heartbroken when I left the Browns because that was where I really needed to be. Each of Hillis' last two seasons ended with concussions, and he says doctors have advised him to stop playing football. But the way he talks, his heart is holding him back as much as his brain is.
I can start the reliable, yard Zach Miller, or the boom and bust Scheffler who can get me 90 yards, or If this was the regular season, I'd be going for the boom in Scheff, but since this is the playoffs, I'm thinking I want to get the safe points. Who do you play? Matthew Berry I play it a bit more conservative in the playoffs but it also depends on my team If I'm a top seed and rolling everyone If I lucked out and shouldn't even be in the playoffs, I go upside.
Matthew Berry Absolutely. Guy Ritchie hasn't made a decent movie since they hooked up. Quickly find the information that matters to you most by selecting your favorite sports to appear in your personal menu bar. Follow your favorite teams and not only will they appear in your menu bar, but they will follow YOU across the site! Once you've sworn allegiance to your favorite teams, watch how our scoreboards make sure your games are front and center! By following the sports you care about, in myESPN you'll have instant access to news and analysis that's most important to you.
Page 1 of 4. Welcome to The Show! You ask it and he'll answer. Matthew Berry 'Sup kids? By the way, you can see my rankings on all players so I won't answer any start sit unless it's a flex question. It was one of those situations where I think I knew I wanted to be in Cleveland. Still, Hillis has his regrets about not finding a way to stay with the Browns. He joined the Chiefs in March of but would play second fiddle to Jamaal Charles instead of being the lead back in Kansas City.
A record, a player committing suicide at the team facility, banners flying over Arrowhead Stadium. It all ultimately led to changes that brought Andy Reid to the Chiefs. Even my wife said we loved our time in Cleveland more than we loved anywhere else, even in Arkansas.
We just enjoyed Cleveland and every time we go back, we try to find an excuse to go back to Cleveland all the time even to this day. I was young and stupid, what can I say?
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