No need for Rice – let the Crow fly

Cleveland has reportedly emerged as a possible landing place for embattled RB Ray Rice. I don’t think they need him.

The answer to the Browns’ running woes is on the roster now just as he was last year. Will someone please tell Mike Pettine to free Isaiah Crowell?

I know Crowell comes with some baggage. I also know he had some fumbling issues that got him in hot water with the coaching staff.

But he’s got some burst – far more than Rice showed in 2013, his last year with Baltimore. That year, Rice put up 660 yards on 214 carries – a 3.1 yards per carry average. Maybe a year away has done him some good. But … for a young, growing team, Crowell remains a better fit.

Let’s look at the 2014 season, during which it was clear to most outsiders that he was the best runner on the team, despite being constantly rotated with Terrance West and Ben Tate.

Here are the stats for six games out of a seven game stretch toward the end of the season during which Crowell finally got to touch the ball at least 12 times:

Source: Pro Football Reference

This graphic leaves out a December 14 game against Cincinnati where Crowell got just seven carries. In these six games, he rushed 85 times for 328 yards and four scores. That’s a 3.9 average – certainly not mind-blowing, but keep in mind, by this time Cleveland’s offense had taken a substantial tumble following the early-season injury to center Alex Mack. The team was a mess, but Crowell put up solid numbers.

At the beginning of the season, the sample size was smaller. But before Mack got hurt, Crowell was also representing for himself.

Source: Pro Football Reference

It was after this point where Crowell become virtually invisible for two games. The second Pittsburgh game also is where Mack was hurt. But during that stretch, he averaged 5.3 yards per carry and scored four times. We’re not talking Jim Brown here, but in limited duties, Crowell certainly seemed to show that he had enough game to warrant an increased workload. And geesh, it’s not like they were sitting Crowell as they were fighting for a playoff spot … again. He’s a young developing player – give him a chance to show what he’s got.

I’m not saying he has to be an every down back. He does not appear to bring much in the passing game. And Cleveland drafted Duke Johnson to contribute specifically in that area anyway. I also know he had the aforementioned fumbling issues. But several good backs – see Tiki Barber and Adrian Peterson – dealt with that same issue early in their careers and overcame it to become very good to great running backs.

He showed some burst, a physical running style and a nose for the end zone. Rice … his last show of physicality wasn’t on the football field.

So if Cleveland is looking at Rice as a complementary player who can help show Crowell the ropes, maybe there is a role for him – though frankly, on a young, growing team I can’t understand why they’d want to take the publicity hit that could come along with this. But if the Browns are looking at Rice as a possible starter, I think it’s a mistake. Free Crowell. Rice is cooked.