Current Roster Makeup:
Brown, Thomas RB 5-8 200; Collins, Jed RB 6-1 249; Cribbs, Joshua $$ 6-1 215 Davis, James RB 5-11 218; 35 Harrison, Jerome RB 5-9 205; 34 Jennings, Chris RB 5-10 219; 31 Lewis, Jamal RB 5-11 245; Vickers, Lawrence FB 6-0 250
Breakdown:
Perhaps the brightest spot on the Cleveland Browns this season could be found in the backfield. No, it’s not Brady Quinn being thrown to the ground for yet another sack. I’m referring to the Browns’ running backs. Jamal Lewis had what “some” might call another down year. Although he was able to rejuvenate his career somewhat when he came to Cleveland in 2007, he clearly was never the same as he was with the Ravens. Jamal did however show us some beautiful dance moves behind the line of scrimmage. Lewis said he planned to retire after the season. Let’s hope he makes good on that promise.
The real story of the Browns’ backfield was the Ghost, Jerome Harrison. The 2009 season started much like the 2008, 2007 and 2006 seasons for Jerome Harrison, riding the pine. Just like Coach Grimace Romeo before him, Eric Mangini seemed to favor bigger backs for his running scheme. Harrison was again overlooked and seemed likely on his way out in the offseason. In training camp and the preseason, it was James Davis that garnered most of the attention, showing the ability to find a hole or cutback lane and hit it full speed. Davis showed major potential before being lost for the season when Mangini decided a game of smear the queer would be fun at the end of walk-throughs. Regardless, I’m not sure he could carry the load as a feature back as he shared carries with C.J. Spiller for most of his collegiate career. But, I digress.
Harrison finally got his first shot against the Bengals’ solid defense that finished the season 4th overall. Harrison rushed for 121 yards on 21 carries and finally seemed to earn his shot to tote the rock. Instead, he found his way back to the bench where he stayed until Week 15, when he rushed for 286 yards, 3rd most in a game EVER! Harrison finally broke through and carried the load for the rest of the season, rushing almost 40 times in each of the last two weeks of the season. Hopefully Mangini and Holmgren notice this kid has some special skills and give him a legitimate shot next year.
Chris Jennings had some memorable runs, the touchdown against the Steelers in the Thursday night game and that crazy run against the Jaguars in the final game where he started running left, bounced it outside to the right and then cut back and ran across almost the entire field to the left, juking a couple defenders on the sideline and almost making it into the endzone. Chris Jennings has some power and quickness but is a good 3rd running back at best.
Josh Cribbs needs to be included in the discussion of running backs when he lines up in the flash package or wildcat. Josh seemed to get first down after first down on 3rd and long from this formation. Not much else to say about Josh Cribbs other than he is by far the most exciting player on the Browns and maybe in the entire league. He continues to make plays that keep the Browns in games. As Deion Sanders says, “Pay the Man!”
Finally, speaking of overlooked, Lawrence Vickers continues to play at an elite level amongst fullbacks in the NFL. He is one of the best blocking backs in the league but unfortunately does not get credit in the national media because the team isn’t winning. Vickers is one of the best lead backs in the game today and should be on this roster for years to come.
Bottom line, the Browns have a handful of talented backs, each in a different mold. This group has potential but in my opinion the carries will be spread too thin to really make an impact. It will be interesting to see how the new regime of Holmgren and Heckert value the backs, particularly Harrison, who’s contract is up, or whether they want to go in a different direction.
Free Agency Outlook:
In my opinion, the primary focus of free agency should be to lock Jerome Harrison up with a new deal. He has relatively fresh legs for a back entering his 5th season. The question will be whether he can forgive the previous regime and coach Mangini to a degree for not playing him sooner. Looking outside of Berea for help, it looks like if we went after anybody in free agency it might be a bigger back to replace Jamal Lewis and compliment our smaller, quicker backs, like LenDale White. He had a down year, losing carries to Chris Johnson and will probably look to move on to a team where he has a chance to get more carries. White rushed for 15 touchdowns just a year ago. There are several big names that are restricted free agents, such as Ronnie Brown and Pierre Thomas, but I wouldn’t bet on them joining the Browns in 2010. An interesting free agent is Leon Washington. Although he’s a smaller back, he was one of the most explosive players in the NFL before he injured his leg and landed on IR this past season. It’s unclear whether the Jets will give Washington a new deal with the emergence of rookie Shonn Greene and Thomas Jones still running well. Certainly, they will not offer him more money than they did going into 2009.
Draft Prospects:
This draft has some talented backs that will be available in the first 3 rounds. CJ Spiller might be the Chris Johnson of this draft; he is very quick and shifty and can take it to the house on any given play. As I mentioned before, Spiller and James Davis shared carries in 2008 making for a dynamic 1-2 punch at Clemson. Maybe Heckert and crew decide to bring that same attack to Cleveland. However, I doubt they would take Spiller at 7, as most of us believe they will go defense with that pick. Backs to consider in the 2nd Round are Georgia Tech’s Jonathan Dwyer and Cal’s Jahvid Best. Heisman runner-up Toby Gerhart from Stanford will be available in the middle of the draft. A sleeper to keep in mind is Noel Devine out of West Virginia, a very electrifying runner.
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