Thursday, July 31, 2003
The Browns have high hopes for the second-year running back this season.
CLEVELAND (AP) -- Unlike at quarterback, there's no raging controversy or open competition for the Cleveland Browns' starting job at running back.
It belongs to William Green. No ifs, ands or buts.
The Browns are expecting big things this season from the second-year back, whose emergence halfway through his rookie season was the biggest factor in getting Cleveland to the playoffs in 2002.
"If they aren't expecting a lot, they should be," Green said.
For much of last season, there were concerns that the Browns had made a crucial mistake by drafting the former Boston College speedster with the 16th overall pick in 2002.
Green struggled
Green looked hopelessly lost while rushing for just 161 yards in his first nine games. When he got the ball, he looked as if he couldn't wait to find a place to fall down with it.
"Everyone in America was doubting him," Browns coach Butch Davis said.
But following the Browns' off week in early November, Green broke out for the next seven weeks.
He gained 726 yards as Cleveland went 5-2 down the stretch to earn an AFC wild-card spot. Green capped his late-season spurt by gaining 178 yards and scoring two touchdowns in the regular-season finale against Atlanta -- a must-win game for the Browns to make the postseason.
Green sealed the win with a dazzling 64-yard TD burst in the fourth quarter when he broke two tackles near the line of scrimmage and outran three defenders.
"He's capable of going the distance every time with that breakaway speed," quarterback Tim Couch said. "We expect Will to be a 1,000-yard rusher for sure. He can carry the load for us."
Prepared
Green says he's ready. He spent the off-season working with weights and improved his explosive running through training sessions with Roger Kingdom, a former track star hired by the Browns to help players get quicker.
"I feel faster," Green said. "But at this point in camp, I feel sluggish. I don't feel like I'm running that fast."
The 6-foot, 215-pound performer has looked plenty fast so far, darting around and playing catch-me-if-you-can with a few of Cleveland's defensive backs who have no chance of running him down from behind.
Last summer, Green missed the start of training camp in a contract holdout, and when he finally took the field, there was rarely a moment when he sparkled in the summer sun.
Now, his teammates can't take their eyes off him.
"He looks good, doesn't he?" offensive tackle Ryan Tucker said. "From last year's camp to this year's, he is just a different guy. He's seeing the holes better, he's running through them better. You can tell he's a lot more comfortable."
Different
Green admits he struggled to learn all the nuances of the Browns' offense, and even after hours studying the play book, things looked much different once he took the field.
The holes he ran through in college didn't open until November. Now he knows why.
"I didn't know the job of the offensive linemen," he said. "Earlier in the year, I didn't know what they had to do on running plays. I knew I was getting the ball and had to run to that area.
"But I was just running. Now I know who's pulling. I know what kind of stunts are going on. I can wait for it [the play] to develop, and kind of go off that. It's a big difference once you know what's going on."
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