There is a theory that everything comes back into style eventually, and the Cleveland Browns are putting that axiom to the test.
Throughout the late 1950’s through the early 1970’s, the Browns featured a crushing running game. Starting in 1957, when Jim Brown was drafted in the first round, the brown and orange finally shifted from a passing team with Otto Graham at the helm, to a team that dominated on the ground.
They finished second in the NFL in rushing that year (the Rams led the league) and went to the NFL Championship Game, losing to Detroit.
The following season, Cleveland drafted Bobby Mitchell in the 7th round, and the combination of Brown and Mitchell, both Hall of Famers, vaulted Paul Brown’s team to the top of the heap running the football.
Mitchell was traded to Washington prior to the 1962 season, for Heisman Trophy Ernie Davis, who never played for the Browns due to leukemia, and Cleveland dropped in the running game. But outside of the ’62 season, Cleveland was in the top three in running the ball every year Brown was on the roster, until he was forced into retirement (by Art Modell) after the ’65 season.
Their record in that span was never worse than the 7-6-1 mark in ’62. They were always above the .500 mark, and won nine or more games (in a 14 game slate) five times.
When Brown retired, Leroy Kelly picked up the slack, and Cleveland led the NFL in running the football in 1966 and 1967, and finished third in the league in ’68. They won nine, nine, and ten games in those seasons.
That’s a 12 year period where the Cleveland Browns had a devastating ground attack. And they were winners.
Now, let’s flash ahead to 2020. The Browns are currently third in the league again in running the football, behind just the Patriots (2-1) and Green Bay (3-0). Note the Packers are running the ball even though they have perhaps the game’s best passer, Aaron Rodgers behind center.
Cleveland features Nick Chubb, who finished second in the NFL in rushing yards a year ago, and Kareem Hunt, who led the league in the same category with Kansas City in 2017.
Chubb trails the current leader, Tennessee’s Derrick Henry by 27 yards this season, despite the latter having 31 more carries in the first three games of this season.
Hunt is 13th in the NFL and none of the players he trails have less carries than he does, as Hunt only averages 13 carries per contest.
So, Cleveland has two of the top 13 runners in terms of yardage after three games. The only other team with two players in the top 20 is the Arizona Cardinals, who have Kenyan Drake (9th) and their quarterback, Kyler Murray (18th).
We know that new coach Kevin Stefanski has always been a proponent of running the football during his time as an offensive assistant in Minnesota, but the franchise is also reaching into its past as to what was successful when the Browns were an NFL power. And this may come as a shock to those under 30 years old, but they really were on of the best teams in the NFL from 1950-1972.
And let’s not forget where the Browns play. When it gets cold and the weather is less than ideal in November and December, this offense should still be effective, and it also takes pressure off the defense, because they should be able to control the clock.
People say you should learn from history. Finally, someone in the Cleveland organization looked at the proud tradition of running the ball in northeast Ohio and has decided it’s a good idea.
It may lead to winning football again, and that would be a welcome sight.
MW
Cleveland Sports Perspective 