The odd thing about being productive in any meaningful manner on the football field as an offensive player is that generally you need to have the football in your hands. Sure, you can do other things like block, and run decoy routes and such, but if you’re a marquee offensive player — or, say, the best offensive player on your team — having possession of a ball is much more favorable.
This was a problem for Trent Richardson yesterday during the Browns’ loss to Washington in a 38-21 game that didn’t really start to get out of hand until midway through the third quarter. Prior to yesterday Richardson was receiving 19 carries per game, which is actually a little low for a running back of his caliber, and especially a rare running back who was a top five overall pick last spring.
So what did he end up with yesterday then? 11 carries. Only 11, and if that doesn’t sound awful enough, I’ll then refer you to the second half, when Richardson was given only two carries. This is the part where I remind you again about Richardson’s normal high volume of touches, a workload that resulted in five straight games with 20 carries or more between weeks 8 and 13.
The move away from the Browns’ usual offensive tendencies went beyond Richardson, which was an odd trend for a young and developing team that had won three straight games, and is looking to build momentum to close out the season. Sometimes it’s nice to feel good about yourself during the long offseason, you know. In total, the Browns attempted 15 runs, and 35 passes.
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