The Cleveland Browns need a way to take the game off of Brandon Weeden's shoulders. After the second-year quarterback threw three interceptions in the first half of the team's loss to the Miami Dolphins, a new offensive formula must be made. All eyes now turn to running back Trent Richardson.
Fans expected to see a lot from the running back during Week 1 except that the Browns coaching staff opted to limit his carries to just 13. They called 59 passing plays in the loss as Weeden struggled to throw 289 yards and one touchdown, completing just 49.1 percent of his passes. Those type of numbers are forcing offensive coordinator Norv Turner to re-think his strategy and hand that ball to Richardson more often.
Richardson expected a bigger workload on Sunday. He even spoke with Turner about increasing his impact on the field and allowing him to have more touches, but something made Turner look to the air more than the ground.
"I think we stopped it ourselves as far as just we were behind and stuff like that and we've just got to keep fighting and know that no matter what, we've got to stick to our gameplan. I guess coach had another gameplan and it went that way,'' Richardson said, via the Cleveland Plain Dealer. "I just thought we were going to run the ball. I thought it was going to be a real good day. I just knew that if we could run the ball on any team, I feel like it's going to be a fight down to the finish and we're going to win.''
It now looks like Richardson might get his wish. Turner said during the offseason that he wanted Richardson to carry the ball at least 300 times this season, noting the running back could be a real game changer. 13 carries a game will not get him to that goal. Against the Baltimore Ravens, Turner plans on handing off to Richardson at least 20-plus times.
This game plan makes sense The Baltimore Ravens will likely bring a heavy pass rush with their talented defensive front. This could make for a long night for Weeden if he is not smart. Putting the weight on Richardson could make the game much smoother for the team.
Turner must get the pass-run ratio under control. Weeden might have a strong arm, but it is not accurate enough to throw the ball 59 times. Richardson is reliable and when given time to get in a groove, he can be very deadly.
