NFL Droughns seeks more carries in Browns' offense

He's averaging just 17 carries per game.
BEREA (AP) -- Despite a light workload so far this season, Reuben Droughns is still in line to become the Cleveland Browns' first 1,000-yard rusher in 20 years. He just wishes the pace would pick up a little.
"Every running back will tell you they would love to run the ball more," Droughns said. "But I'm not greedy. I'll take what I can get."
Through five games, Droughns could handle some more.
He has rushed for 331 yards on 86 attempts, an average of 3.8 yards per carry. But Droughns has only gotten the ball an average of 17 times per game, and the Browns have called an AFC-low 104 running plays -- a surprisingly scant number for a team searching for an offensive identity.
They may soon find one.
Forced to abandon their running game the past two weeks when they fell behind early, the Browns are hinting at trying to ground out a victory Sunday when they play host to the Detroit Lions. With rain and chilly weather in the forecast, running the ball might be their best option anyway.
And that would be fine with Droughns, who ran for 1,240 yards last season for Denver, and is itching to break out.
"Sometimes you get started slowly, but during the cold weather season the backs usually get the ball a lot more," he said. "You don't know what's going to happen during the game. The emphasis is always running the ball, but you never know what's going to be the game plan, but you hope you're going to see more runs."
Last season
A year ago, Droughns began the season as the Broncos' primary kick returner when an injury to Quentin Griffin thrust him into the starting lineup in Game 5. In his first start, Droughns ran for a career-high 193 yards on 30 carries against Carolina and never looked back.
The following week he rushed for 176 yards on a franchise-record 38 carries, and posted his third consecutive game of at least 100 yards the next week at Cincinnati. In all, he went over 100 yards six times in a seven-week stretch.
Droughns is hoping to get on a similar roll this season, and thinks all he needs is that one big game to get him going. But he needs the ball first, and it might be time Cleveland offensive coordinator Maurice Carthon gave it to him.
"It's never too late," he said. "I'm not saying you have to be dedicated to the run, but you can't shy away from it. It's going to take running the ball to get those kind of yards. If the coaches are committed to it, and I'm sure they're going to be now or sometime in the future."
Droughns has added incentive Sunday. He was drafted by the Lions in 2000, waived by them in 2001 and signed again before leaving as a free agent in 2002.
He says he's not carrying a grudge, and the punishing runner insists he's not focused on any kind of payback.
"That whole regime is pretty much gone that got rid of me," he said. "It was more that I wasn't their type of back. They wanted more of a shifty type of guy."
Lions keep fighting
Droughns still has some friends on the Lions, who despite their quarterback dilemma have a solid defense. Two of Detroit's losses are by a total of five points.
"It's not like they're a terrible team or anything like that," Droughns said. "They're the type of team that can be dangerous to anybody. They never stop fighting."
Along with having the 30th ranked rushing attack, the Browns have also not scored a rushing TD this season. They haven't crossed the goal line on the ground since Nov. 21 last season -- a span of 10 games.