BROWNS Green turning around career

The running back has made good decisions since last year's suspension.
BEREA (AP) -- William Green had two choices: run out of bounds and settle for a good gain or fight for extra yardage and maybe a first down.
On a simple swing pass last Sunday against Baltimore, Green made a decision symbolizing the Cleveland running back's ongoing NFL comeback from a personal nightmare.
Green elected to stay on the field -- one he never wants to leave again.
"Ninety-nine percent of the time a back will get hit like that on the sideline and just kind of step out," said Browns left guard Paul Zukauskas. "But he made a negative into a positive, and that's what he's been doing."
For months now, Green has been making the right decisions about his life and career. Last year, both were a mess.
He was suspended for failing the league's substance-abuse policy and missed the final eight games. In addition, Green served a three-day jail sentence for a DUI conviction, went through alcohol rehab and was involved in a domestic incident in which he was stabbed by the mother of his two daughters.
More than a game
So Sunday's opener against the Ravens was much more than just his first regular season game since Oct. 18. It was another beginning for Green, a former Boston College standout whose parents both died of AIDS when he was growing up.
"It was a good feeling just to get back out there," Green said. "But I really don't think about that [past] stuff. I think about it like, 'OK, this is my job, this what I got to go do.' I'm not looking back into the past. I'm looking forward."
Starting in place of the injured Lee Suggs, Green rushed for 65 yards on 22 carries and made four receptions for 27 in Cleveland's 20-3 win.
Green's numbers weren't flashy, but they hardly mattered. He was back doing what he does best, making linebackers miss with a hip swivel, powering through defensive linemen or stiff-arming an oncoming cornerback.
His return has inspired teammates, who have never wavered in their support of the 24-year-old.
"You can't help but respect a guy like that, a guy who has a lot of pressure on his shoulders and he comes in and holds his head up every day," linebacker Andra Davis. "He answers questions with actions. He takes the criticism that fans and opposing teams deliver, and he goes on about his business."
Following Sunday's win, Green was visited in the locker room by Hall of Fame running back Jim Brown, in town as part of a weekend celebration for the Browns' 1964 NFL championship team.
"I'm proud of you," Brown said, grabbing Green's hand.
Green smiled at the praise, words he had longed to hear again.
"It was a great feeling," Green said.