WE NEED A RUNNING BACK

[Riffer X]

It's time to start looking for backs because there is no way Lewis is going to lead this team anywhere. Regardless of what Davis ends up doing, we are woefully thin at RB right now.

 

How about Edge?

[RestinPeace]

Disagree. The RB situation is fine right now.

[NW Ohio Brownie]

Disagree. The RB situation is fine right now.

 

 

Wow. Really? Could you please elaborate for us?

 

Is that you, Jamal?

[RestinPeace]

Wow. Really? Could you please elaborate for us?

 

Is that you, Jamal?

 

It is what it is. Jamal will be playing by September. Basing your comments after 1 preseason game isn't worth it.

 

We have a project in Davis and a change of pace back in Harrison. You keep on looking for magic bullets, when in fact, there are none to be had.

[Gips]

We are indeed hurting at the RB position and we are hurting just as bad if not worse for run blocking muscle up front steiny sucks and the right side wont hold up for long...both of our lines lack any umph we just flat look and are weak in the trenches..

[NW Ohio Brownie]

It is what it is. Jamal will be playing by September. Basing your comments after 1 preseason game isn't worth it.

 

We have a project in Davis and a change of pace back in Harrison. You keep on looking for magic bullets, when in fact, there are none to be had.

 

Restin,

 

You assume too much. The Lewis I saw last night was the Lewis I saw all last year in the REGULAR season. That's to say a back who looked too indecisive at the point of attack and one who lacks the ability to bust it to the outside or go back across the grain when it's there.

 

If I was basing everything I said on one preseason game, I would already be checking the mock drafts to see who's going to go #1. After last night's game, I really am only truly worried about what I saw from Lewis. On defense, playing without Rogers makes a world of difference so I'll wait to pass judgment there and I thought Quinn looked very good and Cribbs was a pleasant surprise at receiver. But Lewis, el stinko my friend.

 

I agree with the second part of your post, but you are the one who claims our RB position is "fine". A project and change-of-pacer don't get it done in December in the AFC North.

 

That being said, if Davis develops quickly he could be our feature back by that time. We can only hope.

[Guest Aloysius]

Browns work out Maurice Hicks

 

Running back Maurice Hicks had a workout today with the Cleveland Browns, according to a league source.

 

Hicks worked strictly as a kick returner last season for the Minnesota Vikings, averaging 23.8 yards per return, but the Browns were looking at him as a running back. The six-year veteran worked as a backup in San Francisco for four seasons and had a career-high 96 carries in 2004.

From one of JD's more prophetic posts:

 

if we're going to sign a back who's likely going to suck no matter what (considering who's available), i'd rather have it be noah herron or maurice hicks.

He posted that back in March.

[ITHIKA]

No offense guys but this is what most of us were begging for in the second round! McCoy looks to be a stud and Im sure Greene will be a great back as well. Did we really need Muhamed and Robo both? Come on one of those picks could have gone to a stud RB, like one of those guys! Or a great LB arguably! Vekuine who?

 

On another note just saw for the first time the DVD "History Of The Cleveland Browns" and it made me remember even STRONGER how much CLE football depends on the running game, it was our bread and butter! We really need a big strong stud RB not an old washed up on who's best years are behind him(one of the lowest YPC for attempts all of last season)! I said it last year and I'll say it again JL is done and we've got no one to carry the load consistently behind him. All we have is a few third down backs and thats a HUGE problem! Sorry folks but even 6-10 looks very bleak with this team, they have no identity whatsoever and in my opinion our draft was awful and definitely wont pay dividends in this season if any.

 

In another opinion the Bengals had a great draft but reached for character flawed players so we'll see how that pans out...

 

Just my two cents...

[choco]

god, i need to stay outta these threads.

[Alendor]

we should be happy we got both robo and mo mass. seing as how both our 1 an 2 recievers from last year probably will not contribute. 1 is suspended, and the other can't catch.

[Legacy Fan]

Well our O-line didn't exactly open any holes for anyone, and JL isn't going to be much more than a between the tackles guy at this point (something I think he will excel at if our line gets a push - lets face it, even Brandon Jacobs needs a slight opening). Harrison - our get to the outside and break one guy - was a game-day decision, and didn't see the field until DA's series. We weren't exactly dominating time of possession (40min vs 20). So of our 15 running plays, we split between 6 guys with JL getting 7 touches.

 

If we want to compete this season, we need to cut this horseshit QB competition, and go out and run a fcuking offense for a quarter or so to let these guys gel & get comfortable in almost gamelike situations, and then send in the mop-up crew for each of the 3 remaining preseason games.

[ballpeen]

That will happen soon enough Leg. Game 3 will give the 'starters a half or more of work, and I think Gini will go against the grain a bit and work the 'starters" longer in game 4 then a coach normally would.

 

I wouldn't pull them until they scored 17 points.

 

As for the backs...i agree, but I also agree there aren't any magic bullets out there. I also feel the biggest problem with our backs is with the O-line...it consists of a bunch of guys who get pushed around.

 

I agree on the Steiny comment....he just isn't a good run blocker. Mack is going to take some time, and the right side stinks. As long as the O-line is made up of weaklings, left overs, and rejects, people are always going to be looking for better backs and qbs.

[Legacy Fan]

Well I understand this current regime had nothing to do with 4-12 last year, but there are some players who did. There's no time like the present, imo, to get both of our systems (O & D) working.

 

Waiting til game 3 & 4 and playing them longer is like cramming for a test. Injury risk also increases. I'm clearly not an NFL anything but 3 quarters of play over 3 games vs 3 different opponents (with potentially different schemes/ looks) would be a lot better for the season than 3.5 quarters over only 2 games. I guess this has to do (partly) with the fact that I feel the competition is already over, and I'm now focused on winning the season, rather than winning a QB competition.

 

Just my 2 pennies.

[ballpeen]

I do understand, but right now, we are trying all sorts of combination's. I don't think there is any way to do what you want.

 

Waiting 1 more week isn't going to change much.

 

We will begin to settle some camp battles this week and next, then the team can get down to working the units on a regular basis through the remainder of camp and the 2 preseason games.

 

At this point, it is more about drilling the basis of the offense, and that doesn't matter who you are playing with. It's more about lining up properly and doing what you are supposed to do.

 

As long as that is progressing, we are as far along as we can be. Getting the timing down isn't that hard.

 

I guess bottom line is doing what you want at this point isn't IMO going to equate to more wins this season.

 

Right now it is pretty important for the staff to get a feel for what they have, and the only way to do that is to mix it up a bit.

[Guest Masters]

We are indeed hurting at the RB position and we are hurting just as bad if not worse for run blocking muscle up front steiny sucks and the right side wont hold up for long...both of our lines lack any umph we just flat look and are weak in the trenches..

 

So if CLE can't run block, what good does another RB do? There still won't be holes to run through. Changing RBs doesn't make wholes suddenly open.

 

Lewis may or may not have something left in his tank. I didn't see anything against GB that made me question what Lewis has left. What I saw was an Oline that didn't open any running lanes. Most times while there was no hole or crease to run through, Lewis still managed to fight for a few yards instead of taking a loss like it should have been.

 

I hear the comments of happy feet for Lewis, but what exactly do you expect him to do when there are zero holes opened up by the OL to run through? Stand still and wait?

[pl4tinum]

Stop acting like this is new news.

 

Jamal was done 3 years ago in Baltimore.

[Legacy Fan]

Most times while there was no hole or crease to run through, Lewis still managed to fight for a few yards instead of taking a loss like it should have been.

 

Bingo. And he's done that since he's been in Cleveland. There is always a roster spot for a back that can do that.

 

[hammertime]

Bingo. And he's done that since he's been in Cleveland. There is always a roster spot for a back that can do that.

 

Lewis is the one guy we shouldn't be tearing apart, if more of our players emulated his conditioning and work ethics we'd be that much closer to succeeding.

 

You don't last in the NFL running into people head on like a truck w/ no steering.

[Greythan]

magic bullets

I'm a huge user of mixed metaphors.

 

Loved this one.

 

Magic beans or silver bullets? You decide.

 

(No offensive Restin, just struck me as funny.)

[hammertime]

I'm a huge user of mixed metaphors.

 

Loved this one.

 

Magic beans or silver bullets? You decide.

 

(No offensive Restin, just struck me as funny.)

 

 

Well then

 

beans and franks or bullet ridden

[Timugen]

I'm a huge user of mixed metaphors.

 

Loved this one.

 

Magic beans or silver bullets? You decide.

 

(No offensive Restin, just struck me as funny.)

 

 

Perhaps he was alluding to the "magic bullet" of JFK fame.

[Guest ATENEARS]

Did you see Ahmad Bradshaw last night in the Giants game? Damn, he looks better than anything we have. The Giants are loaded at RB, we need start our search there.

 

Bradshaw looks like Jamal Lewis back in his prime.

[Guest Masters]

From what I saw, it has me saying did you see the holes the Giants offensive line was opening for their backs last night? You could put any back in the NFL, inlcuding the Browns RB and they'd look like that. The Browns need their oline to play like that.

[Guest ATENEARS]

From what I saw, it has me saying did you see the holes the Giants offensive line was opening for their backs last night? You could put any back in the NFL, inlcuding the Browns RB and they'd look like that. The Browns need their oline to play like that.

 

Valid point, but the guy shook off some would-be tacklers like they were rag dolls. He ran hard and looked hungry.

[Zombo]

Our running back position scares the hell out of me like no other.

 

Scares the hell out of me.

 

What a risk Mankock took by not bringing in somebody to challenge for the starter's role.

 

They really are putting a lot of faith in Lewis at an age where the odds are stacked against him.

 

30 year old running backs with lots of tread and declining ypc are not a good stock for your portfolio.

 

And Harrison, while impressive in his spotty action last year, is really just another guy who has never started in the NFL. Again, I like him ... but odds not good he breaks through like a Willie Parker et al.

 

And the 6th rounder ... worst odds of all.

 

I'm not saying one of these guys won't have a great season ... but we are really not stocking up the position where so many other teams have two explosive guys that can play every down and produce.

 

I don't know who is out there at this point ... Edge James maybe if Lewis were to get injured ... otherwise why have two old guys?

 

But I have a lot more faith that the guy that comes out of the QB derby is capable of a big year than I am of the guy that emerges as our top back.

 

It's the one position that Mankock seemed to handle in "rebuilding year" mode and decided to just try getting by with what we've got instead of big improvements ... like they'll take care of RB next year or something.

 

If you can't run in this division you are toast. I hope my gut is wrong about this ... but I see our run game as a huge achilles this year.

 

Zombo

[Legacy Fan]

Valid point, but the guy shook off some would-be tacklers like they were rag dolls. He ran hard and looked hungry.

 

Right, and again, I've never seen JL go down at the 1st contact. Meaning, getting shoulder bumped by a DB or LB and falling over, he's certainly been tackled by a guy who's made the contact. If he put's his shoulder into someone, he isn't going backwards (and hasn't).

 

 

Can we give up on the notion that every RB has to be LT or AP? Who's the last "Magic" back before Tomlinson? Emmit Smith? Bo Jackson? Sweetness? Those are the 3 that stand out in my mind. 1 per era, just about.

 

Make your line open holes (or just at least push the LOS), and utilize the backs for their talents: Harrison outside the tackles, Lewis inside & short yardage. Outside of AP & LT, are there any single back systems that are successful?

[hammertime]

Our running back position scares the hell out of me like no other.

 

Scares the hell out of me.

 

What a risk Mankock took by not bringing in somebody to challenge for the starter's role.

 

They really are putting a lot of faith in Lewis at an age where the odds are stacked against him.

 

30 year old running backs with lots of tread and declining ypc are not a good stock for your portfolio.

 

And Harrison, while impressive in his spotty action last year, is really just another guy who has never started in the NFL. Again, I like him ... but odds not good he breaks through like a Willie Parker et al.

 

And the 6th rounder ... worst odds of all.

 

I'm not saying one of these guys won't have a great season ... but we are really not stocking up the position where so many other teams have two explosive guys that can play every down and produce.

 

I don't know who is out there at this point ... Edge James maybe if Lewis were to get injured ... otherwise why have two old guys?

 

But I have a lot more faith that the guy that comes out of the QB derby is capable of a big year than I am of the guy that emerges as our top back.

 

It's the one position that Mankock seemed to handle in "rebuilding year" mode and decided to just try getting by with what we've got instead of big improvements ... like they'll take care of RB next year or something.

 

If you can't run in this division you are toast. I hope my gut is wrong about this ... but I see our run game as a huge achilles this year.

 

Zombo

 

What part about the Browns do you like? Or are you having a bad day/week.

[Guest ATENEARS]

Make your line open holes (or just at least push the LOS), and utilize the backs for their talents: Harrison outside the tackles, Lewis inside & short yardage. Outside of AP & LT, are there any single back systems that are successful?

 

That sounds great Legacy, but you also need a back that can hit a hole and frankly Lewis seems to have lost that explosiveness and he dances in the hole before even being touched. Harrison runs sideways, he won't explode through a hole, he will lean toward the outside looking to run to daylight and he gets tripped up if there isn't a clean open field to run to.

 

Yes, Bradshaw had holes last night, but he also exploded through them making the task look easy as the D-Line was always in his rear view mirror, then he shook off DB's like they were boys.

 

Lewis also can't change direction like he use to, he can't shoot for one gap, and glide through another on a whim anymore. Harrison hasn't ever proven he can even run between tackles. I'm hoping to hell that Davis steps up, he's as shifty as anything we have, but will probably have durability concerns, and that dreaded rookie lapse in picking up the blitz.

 

 

 

[Guest Masters]

Valid point, but the guy shook off some would-be tacklers like they were rag dolls. He ran hard and looked hungry.

 

Agreed.

 

But if you look closely at CLE game against GB, Lewis shook off tacklers as well. But it is a lot easier to shake off a single guy in the open field than in a mass crowd of DL and LBs, along with your own OL.

 

No doubt the G-men have some nasty backs running and the run hard/hungry. But you usually see that when a OL is as dominant as the G-mens is. RB's have a great appreciation for the work their OL does for them, and the best way they can reward them is by running that way.

[Chicopee John]

Donald Brown from UCONN would look real nice in Orange and Brown right now.