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I have to put this one out there. In discussion about the Browns offense with a buddy of mine (who happens to be a Bengals fan) I stated that I believe that Jamal Lewis will unfortunately NOT rush for 100 yards this year. Half way through the season it has not happened yet. Am I the only one that thinks that JL isn't playing with the chip on his shoulder that he had last year? He still has heart. That is not the question. It seems, though, that he has lost some of his attitude this year.
Is a replacement coming next off season?
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I think it has less to do with Lewis, and more to do with the poor run blocking and lack of a pasing offense. There really isn't too many lanes for him to hit. I think changing up to a quicker back will allow us to open it up more as Harrison seems to be able to squirt through a small seam, or cut back a little easier.
![[Linked Image from pic18.picturetrail.com]](http://pic18.picturetrail.com/VOL905/3216203/6567769/349897772.jpg) "The Browns' defense is kicking mucho dupa."
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Quote:
I have to put this one out there. In discussion about the Browns offense with a buddy of mine (who happens to be a Bengals fan) I stated that I believe that Jamal Lewis will unfortunately NOT rush for 100 yards this year. Half way through the season it has not happened yet. Am I the only one that thinks that JL isn't playing with the chip on his shoulder that he had last year? He still has heart. That is not the question. It seems, though, that he has lost some of his attitude this year.
Is a replacement coming next off season?
we've played some tough defenses...
dallas is in the middle of the pack, but we shot ourselves in the foot and took jamal out of the game, being down several touchdowns and all..
pittsburgh is #3 against the rush.
baltimore is #1 against the rush, we have played them twice.
washington is #5 against the rush.
that's 5 of our 8 games right there. in the giants win, he had 88 yards, but we also racked up 144 net yards. harrison had 41.
in the jacksonville game he had 81 yards. again against a tough jax d, even if they are banged up this yeard.
it's only my opinion, and it may sound kinda silly, but i don't think we'll effectively run the ball until we stop the run. it just seems like when you are plugging the line on defense, you can make the other team crack by running the ball more.
baltimore is a perfect example of that, it's what they did to us.
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I've noticed that the inside lanes haven't been there but the outside has been open off tackle but Jamal seems sluggish on the outside runs.
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even in defending jamal, i am on board for drafting another running back at some point next april. we don't have a ton behind him. harrison shows spots of being good, but i don't know if he can take 20-25 carries a game, or even 15 at that.
and i think wright, at best, is a few carries a game, and good special teams play.
it can never hurt to have another back. and the younger, the better.
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Quote:
I've noticed that the inside lanes haven't been there but the outside has been open off tackle but Jamal seems sluggish on the outside runs.
Yup, which is why I think they need to do 2 things:
1. Change up the playcalling a bit more
2. Change up the backs a bit more, with Harrison and Wright getting about 6-8 carries a game and Lewis 15-20.
"The Browns' defense is kicking mucho dupa."
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It seems like Harrison has been less involved these past few weeks compared to the MNF game where he converted some key first downs.
In fact, there was a third down play where we threw to Hright out of the backfield last week and he was stopped short of the 1st down. I think JH would have picked up that first down--he just seems to have a knack for making plays---more so than Jason Wright.
I wish to wash my Irish wristwatch......
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I really like what Harrison has to bring to the table. I don't want him taking over the offense, but I think he does need to get more involved, and not just coming out of the backfield.
I have been quite turned off with Chud's packages and playcalling this season. He had a couple games where he mixed it up, got creative, and made great calls, but a lot of the season so far has been pretty bland and questionable.
"The Browns' defense is kicking mucho dupa."
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nrtu
i've been struggling with lewis since sunday. the problem is that he "needs" 20 carries in order to be effective and he's supposed to increase in yards as the game gets later. the problem is when he's facing a good defense, he gets smothered in the first half of the game. if it's true that we're trying to establish the run, then we're putting our qb in 3rd and long situations too many times against the good defenses. we can't use the early downs to only try to get our rb in rythmn and not our qb so i question how useful he really is when we have two young qbs who need help getting it going yet we have an older rb who need the same thing. look at our prevent offense on sunday, we were up by 14, run, run, throw at 3rd and 6-8. 4 straight 3 and outs. i didn't watch the entire mnf game but in the first half at least (when it was still 6-0 washington), steelers knew portis was getting the ball and he still got significant yardage. i consider lewis an above-average back but not by much. i didn't like the resigning and i expect the position to be addressed through the draft but i would hope harrison gets some real chances (10-15 carries in the last 3 games or so) to see what we have in him.
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To be honest I think he will against the Denver D. If he can't muster 100 yards against that run defense that averages giving up 5+ yards per carry then we really need to take a look at a new RB next year...like 1st round pick
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Quote:
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I've noticed that the inside lanes haven't been there but the outside has been open off tackle but Jamal seems sluggish on the outside runs.
Yup, which is why I think they need to do 2 things:
1. Change up the playcalling a bit more
2. Change up the backs a bit more, with Harrison and Wright getting about 6-8 carries a game and Lewis 15-20.
That's what I was thinking. A good rotation would open up the run game by keeping guys fresh. I know the line hasn't played as well as last season due to injuries, which is a factor.
I due think that Lewis should be used in the role that Pitts used with Jerome Bettis. Lewis' leadership can not be replaced by youth and his presence is what is needed for the young guys. Does he have the personality to accept fewer touches though? He did speak up earlier this year when he was dissatisfied with the amount of carries he was getting.
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that's the thing, i completely agree. the issue, though, is we need those 80-100 yards, that 3-5 yards on one carry, against the GOOD run defenses. any scrub these days can get the yards with a decent oline and a bad run defense. heck, we had droughns break 1000 yards against our ...-poor oline a few years back. we could probably start wright or harrison tomorrow night and see 100 yards on that terrible broncos defense. the issue i have is that lewis can't crank the yards we need when we need them against teh good teams. it took him two carries to get 2-3 yards against the ravens, putting our qb in a bad spot. if this happens against the titans, it doesn't matter who our qb is, we're going 3 and out.
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I could definitely see a replacement coming next year.
I appreciate what J-Lew did for us last year but even last year I thought he left a lot of yards on the field. Granted, the O-Line hasn't played up to par with last year (Steinbach/Tucker injured, Joe Thomas regression, etc.) but even when the holes ARE there, he's slow to hit them.
Seems like he does a lot of "pitty patting" and isn't hitting the hole aggressively. Also seems like Wright and the Ghost, when we see him, hit it faster.
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Keep Jamal, (possibly) find a later round diamond in the rough, draft LBs & a safety, find more linemen. Draft a high round RB next year. JMHO
![[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]](https://i.imgur.com/hfMNC7T.jpg) "I am undeterred and I am undaunted." --Kevin Stefanski "Big hairy American winning machines." --Baker Mayfield #gmstrong
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Excuse me,
But the running game and passing game start with the O-line. Jamal wears defenses down by consistently hammering them until they wear down. Our O-line is shaky at best this year and has not been moving or blowing people off the line. When you cannot score from the 1 yard line, that is not Jamal.
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jamal lewis has been running very hard this year, have you not been watching the games? there's been a few where he's looked almost possessed out there
"All I know is, as long as I led the Southeastern Conference in scoring, my grades would be fine." - Charles Barkley
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I wouldn't say it's time for a replacement for Lewis, but it's certainly time for a Day 1 pick running back to be brought in this off-season, if nothing else to share the load and get ready to take over for the future.
Lewis runs hard as hell and his attitude is exactly what this team needs, but he's starting to wear down. He's going to be 30 going into next season (which is getting up there for a RB), he's averaging 3.6 YPC on the year and hasn't had a 100 yard game yet. While I certainly think he's serviceable for this year, he cannot be counted on as a feature back for next year with any degree of certainty. Remember, he's a guy who people thought was done before he came in last year, and it's very possible that he's running out of juice.
If we brought in a RB with our 1st or 2nd round pick next year, we could either use him to split with the Lewis (like Stewart, Johnson and Mendenhall had been doing) to provide a change of pace and keep him fresh... or... if the tires fall off or an injury happens, we won't be left without anything, we can simply plug him into the starting lineup (Rice, Forte, Hightower, etc.).
I really hope Phil is on this same line of thought because once a RB nears age 29 or 30, a guy can deteriorate in the blink of an eye (Dillon, Alexander, Rudi Johnson, James, Ahman Green, etc.). To not address the position with a high pick is far too risky IMO.
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Quote:
jamal lewis has been running very hard this year, have you not been watching the games? there's been a few where he's looked almost possessed out there
Whether or not he is running his heart out isn't a question. I know he gives %100 on every down. I just think that his career is on the downside here and his age and body are getting the best of him. He has lost his step. He breaks one occassionally because he gives so much on every play, but those are becoming fewer and fewer.
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Lewis runs hard as hell and his attitude is exactly what this team needs, but he's starting to wear down. He's going to be 30 going into next season (which is getting up there for a RB), he's averaging 3.6 YPC on the year and hasn't had a 100 yard game yet. While I certainly think he's serviceable for this year, he cannot be counted on as a feature back for next year with any degree of certainty. Remember, he's a guy who people thought was done before he came in last year, and it's very possible that he's running out of juice.
Before we even signed Lewis, I expressed an opinion that it wasn't Lewis who had lost it, but rather his offensive line had lost it. They went from having pro-bowl caliber players to a bunch of stiffs, and if we signed him, we'd see a guy that still had something left in the tank.
Fast forward to the end of last year.
He looked good behind a good line. He didn't have the extra gear that he used to have, but he was still an excellent runner. I questioned the extra year we gave him, but did say he was worth a two-year deal.
Fast forward to now.
Like his time over the last couple of years in Ratville, his yards and effectiveness are suffering not because he's slowing down, but because the line isn't doing it's job. We weren't a good running team against good defenses even last year, but could at least keep them honest. This year, our line hasn't played nearly as well, and in some cases, haven't been able to push around even the sorriest defenses (not that we've played that many).
So to summarize, even before this year started, we were going to need a young back to be our future, while Lewis could represent the present. His lack of production this year stems from our inability to push defenses as well as having a pretty bad passing game.
This isn't at you Spectre, but people, Lewis hasn't suddenly "lost it." The offensive line are the ones that's lost it. Rotating guards has a funny way of doing that.
***Gordon, I really didn't think you could be this stOOpid, but you exceeded my expectations. Wussy.
Manziel, see Josh Gordon. Dumbass.***
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I think the injuries to the line are certainly playing a role in the decline but I also don't see Lewis hitting the holes as quickly as he should or even as he used to... very similarly to how I thought Reuben Droughns looked the year before we sent him to the glue factory.  The power and desire is still there but the quickness is lacking which, combined with reduced line quality has made things difficult... at least that's how I've seen it.
We're... we're good?
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Rotating guards has a funny way of doing that.
Yup... welcome back to 2006 and prior, albeit with much better talent.
Browns is the Browns
... there goes Joe Thomas, the best there ever was in this game.
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Quote:
Quote:
Lewis runs hard as hell and his attitude is exactly what this team needs, but he's starting to wear down. He's going to be 30 going into next season (which is getting up there for a RB), he's averaging 3.6 YPC on the year and hasn't had a 100 yard game yet. While I certainly think he's serviceable for this year, he cannot be counted on as a feature back for next year with any degree of certainty. Remember, he's a guy who people thought was done before he came in last year, and it's very possible that he's running out of juice.
Before we even signed Lewis, I expressed an opinion that it wasn't Lewis who had lost it, but rather his offensive line had lost it. They went from having pro-bowl caliber players to a bunch of stiffs, and if we signed him, we'd see a guy that still had something left in the tank.
Fast forward to the end of last year.
He looked good behind a good line. He didn't have the extra gear that he used to have, but he was still an excellent runner. I questioned the extra year we gave him, but did say he was worth a two-year deal.
Fast forward to now.
Like his time over the last couple of years in Ratville, his yards and effectiveness are suffering not because he's slowing down, but because the line isn't doing it's job. We weren't a good running team against good defenses even last year, but could at least keep them honest. This year, our line hasn't played nearly as well, and in some cases, haven't been able to push around even the sorriest defenses (not that we've played that many).
So to summarize, even before this year started, we were going to need a young back to be our future, while Lewis could represent the present. His lack of production this year stems from our inability to push defenses as well as having a pretty bad passing game.
This isn't at you Spectre, but people, Lewis hasn't suddenly "lost it." The offensive line are the ones that's lost it. Rotating guards has a funny way of doing that.
But Toad, haven't you realized that the secret to success is winning with flash and not in the trenches? 
Blue ostriches on crack float on milkshakes between the sidewalk titans of gurglefitz. --YTown
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