Trent Richardson Will Change Losing Culture of Cleveland Browns

Trent Richardson will turn the Cleveland Browns franchise around, period.

The Browns haven't had a legitimate consistent franchise running back since Mike Pruitt, who hit over 1,000 rushing yards in four of his eight seasons with Cleveland. And before him there were a slew of ball-carries like Greg Pruitt, LeRoy Kelly, Jim Brown and Marion Motley.

However, Mike Pruitt's last season in Cleveland was 1984 and after him came minimal success from Earnest Byner, Kevin Mack and Eric Metcalf.

So, it's been roughly 25 years since the Browns had a backfield presence that can really take over a game at any point. Trent Richardson has the ability to go above expectations and really make an impact in Cleveland.

Let's take a look at why and how Richardson's addition will change the Browns' fortune.

Dual-Threat

With his combination of size and speed, it's easy to see why Trent Richardson will be such a bruising back in the NFL.

The man explodes through running lanes and bowls over would-be tacklers every time he receives a handoff. The underrated aspect of Richardson's game though, is his ability to make plays out of the backfield.

In three seasons at Alabama, Richardson compiled 730 receiving yards on 68 receptions and scored four touchdowns. He has the lateral agility and quickness to beat linebackers in single coverage and the wherewithal to adjust his check down route against zone schemes.

Provided that Richardson remains his usual Brahma Bull-self on the ground, he'll see a lot of balls thrown his way in the flats and over the middle off play-action.

Consistency

During the 2009 and 2010 seasons, Richardson was the No. 2 running back behind Mark Ingram. So, that alone was going to put a ding in production as well as the gauntlet schedule of the SEC.

However, during those years Richardson still accounted for a total of 1,800 yards combined and scored 18 touchdowns. Richardson averaged almost six yards per carry in those two seasons and once taking over in 2011, his numbers weren't shocking.

Richardson enjoyed a Heisman finalist campaign with over 2,000 total yards and 24 touchdowns. It was his only season as the full-time No. 1 ball-carrier and the Crimson Tide won a second national championship under Nick Saban.

With no standout receivers to stretch defenses in 2011, Richardson dominated despite opponents zeroing in on trying to shut him down.

Reliability

Much like Richardson, Alabama had a new quarterback under center in A.J. McCarron. Add that to the loss of receiver Julio Jones to the NFL and the Tide's offense was basically relying on new faces at the most important positions.

Well despite the SEC's rigorous schedule, McCarron was sacked just 13 times in 2011 and Richardson's backfield presence played a major role.

Possessing impressive strength, power and explosion, Richardson is quite reliable when it comes to pass-blocking. In the AFC North, the Browns face some of the NFL's best and most aggressive defenses.

And running a balanced offense is needed to be effective; otherwise disappointment ensues. Richardson's ability to slam the trenches will set up play-action and his field awareness provides extra pocket protection against blitzers.

To that end, Cleveland can incorporate delayed screens and bootlegs to get a defense's zone moving to open up the middle of the field. Then it's back to the ground game between the tackles to control the tempo.

All of these areas work together in Richardson's game and Cleveland solves a lot of offensive issues with his addition for the 2012 season and beyond.

John Rozum on Twitter.