Bleacher Report - Articles by Will Maltby

Jerome Harrison: The Ghost in Cleveland's Backfield

Will Maltby — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 13:55:59 -0400

This is bad. This is very bad! They don't have enough men on the field!

But wait, No. 16 is in at quarterback!

When the Cleveland Browns lined up with wide receiver and former Pro Bowl kick returner Joshua Cribbs in the shotgun at quarterback, you could expect a big play on the ground.

You got one.

The only problem is that the ball wasn't in Cribbs' hands when the play was finally whistled dead 33 yards later.

But he didn't pass the ball either.

Cribbs took off toward the right sideline, causing the New York Giants' defense to bite, giving Cribbs just enough time to execute the reverse.

He handed the ball off to backup running back Jerome Harrison, who proceeded to tear across the field and up the left sideline for a 33-yard gain. It wasn't what you'd have expected from the "Flash" package, a series of plays designed around Cribbs, but it got the job done.

Aside from Cribbs' brilliant execution of the play, the play itself begged one question: Why doesn't Harrison get the ball more?

When Harrison touches the ball, whether he's getting a handoff or catching a pass, he's making plays. His 33-yard run off a reverse in Monday night's big win over the New York Giants is just one of them. He also has a 19-yard touchdown catch, which came against the Pittsburgh Steelers, in addition to long catches of 23 and 18 yards.

On the season, Harrison has 10 carries for 75 yards—a 7.5 yards-per-carry average. He's also caught five passes for 73 yards (a 14.6 yards-per-catch average) with a touchdown.

Harrison is the perfect back to complement the ferocious power running game established by starter Jamal Lewis. Lewis is a power back and uses his strength to break through tackles and pick up tough yards. And the more carries he gets per game, the more yards he's going to pick up in late-game situations.

Harrison, on the other hand, is a finesse back, who relies on quick cuts, jukes and stutter-steps to elude would-be tacklers and stay on his feet.

So, really, why doesn't he see the ball more?

Sure, Jason Wright is a good back. He's been reliable for the Browns for the past three seasons. But he'll never be more than a third back, which is what his role on this Browns team is. Wright should only be seen in late-game situations when the game has either been put away or is completely out of reach.

Harrison shouldn't lose carries to him, especially since he's outperformed him in every aspect this season.

Lewis carries the load for the Browns. He's touched the ball 109 times this season (not counting his 11 catches so far) for 403 yards, a decent 3.7 YPC average. But the Browns need to do more to keep defenses off balance.

Harrison can open things up for the Browns. He's got good hands, so he can line up as a receiver when he's needed out there. And he's good at deceiving defenders as to which way he's going to take the ball.

So let's put Harrison and Lewis in the backfield at the same time and confuse the defense. They won't know which back will get the ball, and by the time one of them is running past them all, it'll be too late for them to decide which one to go after, because they'll have no choice but to go after the one with the ball at that point.

Look at teams like the Carolina Panthers and the Dallas Cowboys. Their offenses are thriving on two-back systems.

The unexpected offensive explosion from Panthers RB DeAngelo Williams, combined with the power running style of rookie Jonathan Stewart, has propelled the Panthers into the forefront of playoff talks this season.

And with Cowboys RB Marion Barber the clear starter in Dallas, he's seized every one of his opportunities to punish defenses, and when rookie Felix Jones touches the ball, he just outruns the defense that Barber ran over.

The Browns need a system like this. They've got the power back in Lewis, who can be compared to Stewart and Barber, and they've got the finesse back in Harrison, who can be compared to Williams and Jones. Why not expand the running game a bit, especially when the passing game is a dud so far this season?

Harrison has been affectionately dubbed "The Ghost" by Cleveland media this season, and for good reason. Every time it looks like the Browns could use him, he disappears, just like a ghost.

Maybe it's time for the Browns to let the ghost out of the trap more often.

It couldn't hurt.

Is Kamerion Wimbley the Answer?

Will Maltby — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 06:05:52 -0400

Cleveland Browns outside linebacker Kamerion Wimbley had an excellent rookie season in 2006, recording 11 sacks to set a franchise rookie record.

For the 2007 season, Wimbley set a new goal for himself: Record one sack per game.

No one thought that this goal was laughable. It seemed well within reach.

So much for that.

Wimbley recorded only five sacks in 2007, six fewer than his rookie season. Opposing offenses double-teamed Wimbley, which led to the decrease in sacks.

Prior to the 2008 season, people believed that Wimbley would adjust his game to beat the double teams.

The Browns traded cornerback Leigh Bodden and a third-round draft pick to the Detroit Lions for defensive tackle Shaun Rogers. Not to mention, they swapped a second-round draft pick and defensive lineman Corey Williams with the Green Bay Packers.

Wimbley seemed destined for greatness.

Heading into Week Seven, Wimbley has only one sack.

Teammate Alex Hall has three sacks, but is used only in special packages. Wimbley is on the field nearly the entire game.

So what gives?

I believe the Browns got shafted. Unless Wimbley plays better, it’s safe to say that he’s a bust. And Wimbley should become expendable after the season. Keep in mind that Hall is there to replace him.

At least Hall gets to the quarterback once in a while.

Is Brady Quinn The Next Aaron Rodgers?

Will Maltby — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 01:33:56 -0400

Cleveland Browns quarterback Derek Anderson is the team’s starting quarterback for at least another week. But how much longer will Browns fans have to wait before their true savior takes the field and leads the team to the Super Bowl?

Browns general manager Phil Savage became great friends with Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones during the 2007 NFL Draft last year when Savage traded what might as well have been a dozen draft picks for the rights to the 22nd selection of the draft.

And with that selection the Browns took Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn.

It seemed like the logical choice: The Browns needed a quarterback and Quinn wanted to play for the Browns. You couldn’t find a better win-win situation if you made one up.

But, a holdout during the preseason kept Quinn from seriously contending for the starting quarterback job. When he finally showed up to training camp, he found himself listed fourth on the team’s depth chart—behind Charlie Frye, Derek Anderson and Ken Dorsey.

It wasn’t a situation that Quinn was used to.

Quinn had started all four years at Dublin Coffman High School in Dublin, Ohio. He then went on to start—and star—for four years at Notre Dame.

To be a fourth-string quarterback was… well, strange.

However, Quinn saw a lot of playing time during the preseason, and when Dorsey was cut following the team’s final preseason game, Quinn became the team’s third-string quarterback.

That’s not much better than being a fourth-stringer, but it’s better than not playing at all—figuratively speaking, of course.

Less than two weeks later, Quinn found himself second on the team’s depth chart. Savage traded Frye to the Seattle Seahawks for a sixth-round draft pick and named Anderson the starter. Quinn was just an injury to Anderson away from quarterbacking his favorite team growing up—a dream come true.

However, Anderson would go on to have the best season by a Browns quarterback in more than two decades, passing for more than 3,700 yards and throwing 29 touchdown passes—one short of the team record held by Brian Sipe.

And while Anderson was lighting up defenses, Quinn was holding a clipboard on the sidelines.

When Anderson was having a bad game, Cleveland Browns Stadium would erupt with a chorus of boos followed closely by a chant that’s become all-too-common in Cleveland these days: “Brady! Brady! Brady!”

And although Browns fans wanted to see Quinn, head coach Romeo Crennel wasn’t about to bench Anderson in favor of Quinn.

Ultimately, he made the right decision, based on what Anderson accomplished for his oft-beleaguered Browns.

Quinn didn’t see his first game action until the team’s season finale at home against the San Francisco 49ers. He entered the game near the end of the second quarter after Anderson left the game with a hand injury.

And how did the fans at Cleveland Browns Stadium feel about that?

“Brady! Brady! Brady!”

The stadium erupted into a chorus of cheers despite the fact that Anderson—not Quinn—had led the Browns to a 9-6 record at that point.

Offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski must have wanted to prove to the Browns faithful that he and the rest of Crennel’s staff were confident in Quinn’s abilities. Despite only being in the game for one series, Quinn was allowed to drop back eight times.

Quinn completed only three passes, but his numbers should have been more efficient. Tight end Kellen Winslow and wide receiver Braylon Edwards both dropped passes in the endzone—which would have been Quinn’s first touchdown of his young—and promising—career.

Anderson came back later to finish the game, giving the Browns their first 10-win season in more than 15 years. The Browns missed the playoffs, however, because Indianapolis Colts head coach Tony Dungy didn’t want his starters hurt before the playoffs—allowing the Tennessee Titans to win the game and clinch the final AFC playoff spot.

Browns fans were disheartened and some even hated Dungy, but you can’t fault him for not wanting his best players hurt heading into the playoffs—despite what actually happened in the playoffs.

During the offseason, many calls were made wanting to let Anderson to walk; the Browns tendered him a contract which would have awarded them first- and third-round draft picks if any other team matched their offer.

No one took the bait.

The Browns awarded Anderson with a three-year contract valued at $20 million—the same amount of money the team signed Quinn for.

This begs the question: Why would any team pay two quarterbacks a starter’s salary?

The answer is because the Browns wanted to stick with Anderson, who proved he could be a valuable quarterback in this league.

But they also didn’t want to give up on Quinn, whom they sacrificed so much—perhaps too much—for.

The Browns entered their offseason training programs knowing that Anderson would be their starting quarterback for the 2008 season unless something absolutely terrible happened to him. Quinn saw a lot of time during the preseason, but ultimately didn’t impress coaches enough to award him the starting job.

Fast-forward to Week Five of the season—the Browns’ bye week. The Browns were sitting at 1-3 and fans wanted Anderson benched in favor of Quinn. Anderson hadn’t passed for more than 166 yards in a game all season and threw just three touchdowns with six interceptions—not exactly good fantasy numbers.

However, Crennel and his staff stuck with Anderson, feeling that their best football was ahead of them.

Quinn took extra snaps in practice all week and even practiced with the first team. He was ready to step in if Anderson was pulled during the team’s upcoming Monday night matchup with the defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants.

And wouldn’t you know it? Anderson came out firing.

He didn’t look like the same No. 3 that had played in the team’s first four games. If I had bet, I would have said the team replaced Anderson with someone who looked just like him, but actually completed passes and made good decisions with the football.

After Anderson’s 22-yard touchdown pass to backup tight end Darnell Dinkins, the camera panned the Browns' sideline.

And there was Quinn, looking as though he’d just been shot in the face.

He was excited to be winning, of course. Anyone would be. But Anderson’s stellar game meant that Quinn would be holding a clipboard for at least another week.

So where does Aaron Rodgers fit into all this?

The Green Bay Packers drafted former California quarterback Aaron Rodgers with the 24th selection of the 2005 NFL Draft.

What happened could be called nothing but… well, complete misery.

Rodgers was expected to take the reins from long-time Packers starting quarterback Brett Favre. Most people figured he had only one more good year left in him.

Favre played the 2005 season with Rodgers behind him. He then contemplated retirement, but came back for the 2006 season. It wasn’t much of a shock.

Once again, Rodgers was behind Favre on the depth chart, seeing game action here and there when Favre would be injured for a series or two.

Following the season, Favre contemplated retirement again. But he had one of the best years of his career in 2007, breaking just about every passing record there was to break.

Rodgers saw some game action, but again, it wasn’t enough to satisfy him—or the fact that the Packers had used a first-round draft pick on him.

When Favre officially announced his retirement following the 2007 season, the Packers named Rodgers their starting quarterback.

What ensued could have only been described as a soap opera, which eventually culminated in the Packers trading Favre to the New York Jets for draft picks.

And Rodgers remained the Packers’ starting quarterback.

Though the Packers are struggling a bit this year, Rodgers has been an efficient and effective quarterback.

Could the same thing happen to Quinn?

He’s been holding a clipboard for the first season-and-a-half as a professional football player, just like Rodgers. Only this time, Quinn doesn’t have a surefire Hall of Famer in front of him on the depth chart. Quinn has Anderson in front of him who is prone to mistakes—and prone to causing Browns fans to chant Quinn’s name when Anderson throws an interception.

So could Quinn be the next Rodgers? Could he sit the bench for the first three years as a professional quarterback, only to be named the starter and lead the Browns to glory?

Ultimately, only time will tell. But if Anderson continues to struggle this season—his stellar Monday Night performance against the Giants aside—then we’ll see Quinn before the season ends.

And you can bet there won’t be any chants of “Derek! Derek!” when Quinn throws an interception.

Fans will see it as “growing pains.”

And when Quinn leads the Browns to their first Super Bowl championship ever—and Cleveland’s first championship in more than 40 years—you can bet he’ll be hailed as Cleveland’s savior more than Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James ever was.

And that’s saying something.