Can sufficient be enough against the Jets?
By Thomas Moore
Aug 13, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Browns running back Isaiah Crowell (34) runs the ball during the first quarter against the Washington Redskins in a preseason NFL football game at FirstEnergy Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
It wouldn’t be the Cleveland Browns if the team was not entering a season with at least a few question marks.
One of the biggest questions surrounding the team as they prepare to open the 2015 NFL season on Sunday against the New York Jets is how successful the Browns will be running the ball.
As of right now, the Browns have one healthy running back listed on the depth chart, second-year back Isaiah Crowell. Behind Crowell is rookie Duke Johnson, who was able to return to practice today after being out since suffering a concussion against Tampa Bay on Aug. 29.
“He needs the work and the actual reps of playing,” head coach Mike Pettine said of Johnson. “He is fully cleared to go, so it is not a matter of having to limit him that way. When you come out of the concussion protocol you are either cleared or you are not.”
Behind Johnson is Shaun Draughn, a current resident of the practice squad who, over four teams and four seasons, has accumulated all of 73 carries and 254 yards.
Those are the options the Browns will taking to MetLife Stadium to take on a Jets’ defense that finished last season ranked fifth in the NFL in rushing yards allowed (93.1 per game) and sixth in yards per carry (3.8).
“We are happy with the guys we have now. Moving forward, we are excited about it.” – Guard John Greco on the running game
So what’s the plan come Sunday?
“We’re confident that when we get to New York that the running backs that will be out there will be sufficient,” Pettine said earlier this week.
There has to be more than that, right?
“Isiah Crowell, I think, proved last year that he is a legitimate back in this league,” Pettine further explained.”We feel very good about where Duke is and our offensive line worked on a lot of things in this preseason and our tight ends. Understand when we get into game planning mode that we’re going to be able to do something schematically.
“I know that it’s easy to beat up the run game based on the preseason. Like I said, internally, we’re confident, and we’ll just have to wait and see.”
That’s more like it.
“I think we can be pretty good in the run game, as well.” – Tackle Joe Thomas
The Browns do have two things working in their favor, both of which could help the club be more than “sufficient” against the Jets.
The first is that New York will be missing defensive end Sheldon Richardson, the 2013 Defensive Rookie of the Year and a Pro Bowler in 2014, who is suspended for the first four games.
Secondly, and probably just as importantly, Cleveland’s offensive line is once again intact now that center Alex Mack has returned from a broken leg that put him on the sidelines after just five games in 2014.
It’s no coincidence that the Browns’ fortunes, both in the running game and overall, went downhill last year after Mack was injured. In the five games Mack started last season, the Browns had 165 carries for 732 yards (4.4 average) and eight touchdowns. In the 11 games Mack was sidelined with the broken leg, opposing defenses adjusted, limiting Cleveland running backs to 312 carries for 996 yards (3.2 average) and nine touchdowns.
“We had a pretty good run game going, teams committed to try and stop that, and then other teams copied each other to have success,” Mack said on Monday. “It’s kind of simple. The more people you have to block, the more challenging it becomes.”
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The Browns have also been down this road before.
At this point last year, the Browns were preparing to head to Pittsburgh to take on the Steelers with a backfield of Crowell, fellow rookie Terrance West and veteran Ben Tate as the running backs.
All that trio did that day against the Steelers was rush for 191 yards (with West gaining 100) and each of the three running backs averaged more than six yards a carry – Crowell at 6.4, Tate at 6.8 and West at 6.2.
Certainly no one saw that coming.
The success of the Browns’ offense is based around the team’s ability to run the ball. Even with the backfield situation currently a bit unsettled, the offensive line is good enough that the running game should be more than “sufficient” come Sunday.
And if not? Well, then it is going to be a long day for the Browns, even if they are going up against a team with a quarterback situation even worse than their own.
Do you think the Browns have enough to successfully run the ball this season?