Detroit Lions: Why Browns Reject Jerome Harrison Will Dominate in Detroit

In 2009, a running back for the Cleveland Browns smashed the single-game franchise rushing record previously held by the great Jim Brown.

No this back wasn't Jamal Lewis. Nor was it Peyton Hillis.

This back was Jerome Harrison.

Harrison registered the third-highest total of yards rushing in any NFL game with 286 yards on 34 carries. Thirty four carries is a huge amount, but Harrison's average for the game was an impressive 8.4 yards per carry.

The only two backs throughout NFL history that have rushed for more yards in a single game are Jamal Lewis with 295, and the record holder, Adrian Peterson, with 296. Peterson and Lewis are and were abrasive runners who could do it all and did for many years.

Jerome Harrison is...nobody.

Harrison was a free agent up until last week when the Detroit Lions picked him up as a potential replacement for rookie Mikel Leshoure along with Mike Bell. How did Harrison go from record breaker to competing for a job late in August?

Harrison never reached his record breaking mark once again but he did finish the final two games of the season with 100 yard rushing games. Harrison had four games where he went over 100 yards rushing during that season but has done little else during any other season in the NFL.

So what, the now 28 year old was just a one hit wonder? Not exactly!

Last year, Harrison was shipped out of Cleveland pretty harshly as the Browns brought in Peyton Hillis to replace him. He landed with the Philadelphia Eagles, who already had a feature back in LeSean McCoy, so he never really got an opportunity.

Harrison finished last season with 71 carries for 330 yards on a 4.6 average. He had season long rushes of 50 and 39 yards. This shows that he has a lot of explosion in his repertoire to go along with the 106 carries he had in the final three games of the season before.

Harrison spent most of his career on a poor Browns team in Cleveland and saw limited opportunities there. I for one can't understand why he has never been given a fair shot. He has a career average of 4.8 yards per carry. His receiving ability isn't spectacular but it's not terrible compared to most backs in the league.

He has a career long of 72 yards with only five fumbles in 411 career touches. Those five fumbles may be an issue for some people but when you consider he was sporadically being thrown into football games the likelihood is some of them could be attributed to him being cold from doing nothing for an hour or two before being asked to go in the game.

It would make sense to me if Harrison had reached the heights he did in 2009 and then had a drop-off, but he never had a chance to drop off.

He finished that season as a starter and received a few carries with the Browns before being shipped out after only a few weeks of the season. It's not like he is declining physically at 28 years of age. Whenever he has been given a chance he has seized it.

This year he is probably getting the best chance that he has ever received in Detroit.

While he hasn't massively impressed in the preseason, Harrison should be the team's bell cow. Jahvid Best is not durable or anywhere near imposing enough to be anything more than a scat back while Mike Bell simply isn't as explosive.

The Lions offensive line has seemingly hindered all of the team's backs during the preseason so I'm not going to read much into his lack of an impact. Once the regular season begins that offensive line should show more intensity because it is not as bad as it is playing right now.

Harrison's 5'9" and 200-plus pound frame is not huge but he hits the hole hard on the offensive line and has a great burst of speed. He can repeatedly run the ball inside or burst it to the outside and outpace defensive backs.

The Detroit Lions need someone to hitch their running game to. For the life of me, I can't figure out why they wouldn't hitch it to Harrison.

Serial tweeting about everything and anything   @Cianaf.

I also write for Irish Central and Fantasy Football Life.