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Cleveland Browns: Projecting Trent Richardson's Role Against Eagles in Week 1

Tuesday, September 4, 2012 6:21

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ClevelandBrowns.com

By Kris Knox
Senior Writer

Browns rookie running back Trent Richardson made his long-awaited return to practice on Monday, an encouraging sign that the No. 3 overall pick in April’s draft will participate in Cleveland’s season opener on Sept. 9.

Richardson has been away from the practice field since undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery on Aug. 9, and missed the entire preseason.

However, head coach Pat Shurmur is “very optimistic” that the former Alabama star will play against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.

The question on the minds of the Browns faithful is: exactly how much will he play?

“This kid is a little different cat,” general manager Tom Heckert said last week. “I think he’s ready to go pretty quick compared to some guys I’ve been around. Shape-wise, you do not have to worry about that at all.
“Obviously, we’re not going to say he’s going to touch the ball 50 times, I doubt that’s going to happen. I think there will be some, but hey if he’s ready to go, he’s ready to go. I know it’s not the best situation where he hasn’t played in the preseason, but if he gets a whole week of practice in, we’ll see how he is.”

With Richardson at practice on Monday, it appears that the rookie running back will indeed get a full week of practice in, meaning he could be on pace to start Sunday’s contest.

As Heckert said, however, it is unlikely that Richardson will see an extensive workload in his NFL debut (though considering his elite conditioning, work ethic and drive, it wouldn’t be entirely surprising). It is more likely that he will share backfield duties with Montario Hardesty and Brandon Jackson, who have both experienced their fair share of issues this preseason.

Hardesty fumbled twice in four preseason games–which obviously makes ball security a concern–and averaged just 3.2 yards per carry.

Jackson was more effective, averaging 4.0 yards per carry for the preseason. However, he also appeared inconsistent, averaging just 2.5 yards per carry against the Packers, but 6.9 yards per carry against the Bears.

The challenge for the Browns on Sunday will be finding the right balance that allows Richardson to have an impact on the game, while also protecting him against injury. 50 touches certainly seems unlikely, somewhere between 15 and 25 snaps should not be out of the question.

Expect the Browns to work Richardson into the offense slowly during the first half, with an increasing workload as the game progresses, if he proves effective and does not experience any notable effects from last month’s surgery.

Richardson’s presence alone should help take some of the pressure off of rookie quarterback Brandon Weeden, who found himself under constant duress against the Eagles’ Wide Nine defense during the teams’ Week 3 preseason matchup.

Philadelphia will have to game-plan for Richardson, which could prove difficult as they did not get a look at the talented running back at all in the preseason. If the Browns can find a way to properly utilize Richardson and the running game, it should slow the Eagles’ pass rush and give Weeden at least a chance of success in his regular season debut.

For the Browns to come away victorious, it will take a concentrated team effort. However, few would argue that Cleveland will not be a better team with Richardson, and having No. 33 in the backfield should be a welcome sight for the Browns and for Cleveland fans, alike.

Follow Kris on Twitter: @Kris_Knox

Cleveland Browns: Trent Richardson’s Status Still Unclear, But Expect Him to Play Week 1

2012-09-04 06:15:01

Source: http://www.nationalfootballauthority.com/2012/09/cleveland-browns-projecting-trent.html

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