Cleveland Browns: 3 Things to watch for in Preseason Week 2
By Randy Gurzi
3. Can the running game improve?
The biggest knock for the Browns in Week 1 of the preseason was easily their inability to get the running game going. The majority of the carries went to Nick Chubb, but the rookie wound up with just 11 yards on 15 carries.
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He seemed as though he struggled to see the field and wasn’t making quick decisions, however, the majority of the blame doesn’t fall on his shoulders.
The offensive line has to take a lot of that blame. With Joel Bitonio playing left tackle and Kevin Zeitler out with an injury, the interior of the line wasn’t at 100 percent. Rookie Austin Corbett wasn’t terrible but could have been better. Spencer Drango, on the other hand, was a problem at right guard.
There’s hope it can get better in Week 2, especially if the Browns move Bitonio back to guard and start Greg Robinson at left tackle. The former second overall pick out of Auburn had a good showing off the bench and earned first-team reps this week because of it.
In Week 2, the line shuffles could help, but so too could the team using their top backs more often. Both Duke Johnson and Carlos Hyde hardly saw action in the first game and then getting more reps could also help beef the run game up.