Droughns is on verge of reaching 1,000 yards

He will become the first Cleveland rusher to reach the plateau since 1985.
BEREA (AP) -- There have been 257 NFL running backs who have rushed for 1,000 yards in a season since 1986.
Not one of them has worn an orange helmet with two brown stripes down the middle. But Reuben Droughns is on the verge of ending the Cleveland Browns' embarrassing drought.
The Browns, whose rich history was built on the broken tackles and breakaway runs by some of the game's greatest backs, have gone 0-for-19 since both Earnest Byner and Kevin Mack topped the 1,000-yard barrier in 1985.
Every other team in the league has done it at least once. Fullback Terrelle Smith says it's time the Browns joined them.
"We're just getting back to what we used to do," Smith said.
A matter of tradition
How true. From 1958-84, the Browns produced a 1,000-yard rusher in 17 seasons, including 10 in a span of 11 years by Hall of Famers Jim Brown (eight times) and Leroy Kelly (twice). Greg Pruitt and Mike Pruitt also went over 1,000 before the '85 season, when Mack and Byner combined for 2,106 yards.
Droughns enters Sunday's game against Jacksonville with 941 yards, 59 shy of the milestone. At his current average of 85.6 yards, Droughns, who has already rushed for the most yards by a Browns back since '85, probably will hit 1,000 at some point Sunday.
Smith wasn't ready to make any predictions.
"You never know," he said with a laugh. "It could be one handoff or five games."
In his first season with Cleveland, Droughns, who ran for 1,240 yards for Denver a year ago, has been the club's MVP and the one player coach Romeo Crennel identified on his roster as having Pro Bowl talent.
It hasn't taken long for Droughns to become that way, although he doesn't see himself that way.
"I'm not a star at all," he said. "I'm just an Average Joe Schmoe. In fact, I'm thinking about getting on that show, what is it, the 'Average Joe?' "
Diminished accomplishment?
There was a time when 1,000 yards was considered the benchmark for a great season. However, since the league expanded from a 14- to 16-game schedule in 1978, a 1,000-yard year has been viewed as not such an overwhelming accomplishment.
Droughns doesn't agree.
"Anything over 1,000 is good, even though you hear about the two extra games, and that with two more games it shouldn't be that hard," " he said. "Old cats say that, like Jim Brown, 'Oh, it shouldn't be that hard to get.' But it is. It's a difficult thing to get."
Has Droughns ever expressed his point to Brown?
"I'm not going to tell Jim Brown that," he said, cracking up.
Since coming to Cleveland, Droughns has gotten to know Brown and said he often speaks with the great back before games. Does he ever ask No. 32 for any pointers?
"Nah," he said. "He just tells me to stay positive in there and keep working hard."