POSITIONAL ANALYSIS: RUNNING BACKS

PAST: William Green started the 2003 season as the workhorse, as he seemed to come of age during the latter half of his rookie year. But despite all his skills on the field, he sorely lacked the maturity and judgment necessary to deal with the various pressures of his extraordinary young life. The tendency of Butch Davis’ Browns to underrate the importance of character issues has consequences. In this case, Green’s mid-season arrest, suspension, and stabbing became glaring distractions during this failed season. The Browns went 3-4 with Green, then 2-7 without him.

Aside from his myriad personal problems, Green’s on-field exploits showed promise if not polish. On the plus side, he hits the hole very hard and shows great effort throughout his runs. His pass blocking improved from his rookie year. He can wear down a defense, as he did to the Steelers in October. However, he did fumble five times in seven games. And for a primary back, he is underused as a receiving option. Still, he led the team in rushing despite playing less than half the year. While not yet an elite player, Green has shown that, when his life is under control, he can make an impact on the field.

Third-year Miami product James Jackson took over the backup role from Jamel White in training camp. Emerging from his 2002 home in the coach’s doghouse, JJ performed fairly well behind a damaged and deficient offensive line. However, his two fumbles at home against Pittsburgh painfully negated his 143 yards from scrimmage. Like several of his teammates, he ended the season on the injured list, but the knee problem should not affect his future.

Jamel White’s season was an enigma. In previous years, this undersized, undrafted speedster made exciting plays. He also showed good hands and an excellent work ethic. A restricted free agent after 2002, the Browns deterred other teams from signing him by tendered him a high contract, then agreed on a multi-year deal. White came into camp with about 15 pounds more bulk on his 5’9″ frame. He suffered a concussion and hamstring injury in training camp, and he seemed at odds with the coach and with his role: third downs and two-minute situations. While he made some contributions (played in all 16 games, 27 first downs, 140 yards from scrimmage against the Rams), White never broke free for the big play, dropped more passes than usual, and seemed least able to make the best of bad blocking, with many rushes for negative or little gain.

A ray of hope came in the form of fourth-round pick Lee Suggs, who was injured before the draft and inactive until the latter half of the season. His 186-yard breakthrough in the year-ender at Cincy bodes well. He showed decisiveness, elusiveness, and breakaway speed. While the jury’s out on his durability, blocking, and receiving, Suggs may prove to be the best draft steal of the new Browns era.

PRESENT: Green is in rehab, which is a good sign, though coercive treatment tends to be less effective than voluntary. He’ll need to focus on the fundamentals of adulthood during the offseason, and while football ought to be part of the solution, it must remain in the background for the time being.

All four backs are under contract for next year at least. The team also has Nick Maddox, a rookie free agent, and three fullback possibilities: Billy Blanchard (practice squad), R.J. Bowers (who caught a TD pass this season between injuries), and Ben Miller, a lineman at Air Force and local product who’s scheduled to end his military service in August.

FUTURE: The emergence of Suggs should allow the Browns to focus on other positions during the off-season while not assuming that Green will be back in action.

There’s plenty of talk that White will not return next year. He wants to be a feature back. Davis doesn’t think so. It would be a shame to lose this veteran gym rat and durable play-maker, but this looks like another case where Davis is failing to manage the human side of the game: getting talented players to buy into his system and play roles as part of a cohesive team. It may be too late for White. Perhaps the best we can hope for is to trade him and at least get some value in return. But he is under contract, and with Green’s status uncertain, it would be wise to hang onto White. My fear is that if Green comes back for training camp, the Browns might — finding no suitable trade offers — just cut White. Like KJ, half of the NFL will try to claim him.

I’d prefer that the Browns keep three or four runners (depending on Green’s status), and abandon the concept of a “feature” back. Look at what the Eagles did this year. Such a scheme mitigates the effect of injuries and egos. Done right, it keeps defenses guessing, allows you to play the hot hand, rests a back who’s gassing or dinged, and keeps the focus on team goals rather than a star’s stats.

And this too is no secret: when you put your best tackle in the backfield, you need a fullback. When you run a reverse on fourth-and-goal from the one, you need a fullback. When your offense can’t score a touchdown in five games, you need a fullback. Maybe Blanchard, Bowers, or Miller will cut it, especially if they prove to have strong special teams value. But I doubt it. And a veteran is preferred. These are the potential unrestricted free agents: Sam Gash, Obafemi Ayanbadejo, Dan Kreider, Greg Comella, Reuben Droughns, Chris Hetherington, Stanley Pritchett, and Terrelle Smith. The Browns ought to be evaluating them, pronto.

Next up: the receivers.