For too many years, the plan has been flawed, incomplete, rushed, doomed or all of the above.In 1999, Terry Kirby was the Browns’ main running back only because an expansion roster had to get slapped together.
In 2000, OK veteran Errict Rhett signed, and a lucky-strike was tried in the draft with “Touchdown Travis” Prentice. One plus one added up to a bad foot and a bad pick.
The first serious shot at a real answer to a running game was tried in 2002 via a No. 16 overall draft. William Green’s rise and fall was faster than he was.
Drafts from 2001-06 brought James Jackson, Green, Lee Suggs, Adimchinobe Echemandu and Jerome Harrison.
They all sounded good in the training camp stories. Even Harrison was never more meat than mystery.
A no-name veteran, Reuben Droughns, was tried in 2005, followed by a somebody, Jamal Lewis, in 2007. Lewis faded in 2008, and by 2009 was a grumpy old man into whom way too much time had been sunk.
The plan now is different. Granted, the labor stink prevents the Browns from being able to carry it out, but ...
They finally have a long-term design to run the football like they mean it.
Sure, head coach Pat Shurmur was hired because he and Mike Holmgren are on the same passing page. Yet, when explaining the nuances of throwing the ball in a West Coast offense, Shurmur is quick to add:
“It’s also about being physical running the football. Most West Coast offenses that have success are high up there in rushing stats.
“I think passing is the best way to score points. But keep in mind we have Peyton Hillis, and a line that run blocks well. That is not lost on me, either.”
The plan does not call for messing with success. Hillis is being written into the most prominent role after ranking sixth in the NFL in rushing-receiving yards in 2010. Montario Hardesty will be the
No. 2 back. The extent of his workload is one of the biggest intrigues on the team.
Shurmur was impressed by the way Hardesty “attacked his rehab” from knee surgery prior to the lockout.
“We feel confident that when it’s time to practice, he’ll be in there battling for a spot,” Shurmur says. “He’s a very, very talented guy.”
General manager Tom Heckert thinks Hillis and Hardesty could be the 1-2 that helps the Browns punch their way up the stairs of the AFC North.
These factors enter into his thinking:
• Youth.
Hillis turned 25 in January. Hardesty turned 24 in February.
Good backs tend to reach their prime at about this age and stay there for three or four years.
The Browns thought they had a tandem for the future in 2003, when Green was coming off a strong rookie year and was just 23 years old. Suggs, also 23, was a rookie fourth-round pick.
Hillis seems much more stable than Green. Hardesty was drafted two rounds higher than Suggs.
• Style.
Hillis is a classic slammer with great hands and enough speed. Heckert says a rehabilitated Hardesty should offer more speed and quickness than Hillis.
Shurmur envisions using Hillis and Hardesty on the field together at times. Fullback Owen Marecic was drafted in Round 4 to play immediately and relieve pressure from both Hillis and Hardesty.
• Production.
Forget about the Madden Curse. What about the Browns Curse?
The only three decent seasons by a Browns running back from 1999-2009 were by Green in 2002, Droughns in 2005 and Lewis in 2007. Those guys began hitting the skids within a year.
What’s to say the Madden NFL 12 cover boy, Hillis, will be different coming off his beefy 2010?
A lot of that will depend on Hardesty and Marecic. They must fit into a scheme that keeps Hillis pounding himself and being pounded into oblivion.
Much depends on the line. From center to left guard, the Browns boast what could be a terrific trio in Alex Mack, Eric Steinbach and Joe Thomas.
For much of the expansion era, though, the right side of the line has been as erratic as the running back plan. But that plan is another story.
Article by:
Steve Doerschuk
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