Backup plan

STEVE DOERSCHUK
Canton Repository

September 06, 2008 03:43 am

— BEREA — Perhaps it is unwise to mix sports and politics, but indulge an analogy.
The Browns are as eager to run against Dallas without Jamal Lewis as the political party that goes by “R” is to run against the “Ds” without Sarah Palin.
The “Rs” have their woman, and all indications are the Browns will have their man when the season kicks off Sunday at Cleveland Browns Stadium.
But what if Lewis, coming off a 1,304-yard season, runs into trouble with his hamstring?
“Then (Jerome) Harrison and (Jason) Wright ... they’ll carry the load,” coach Romeo Crennel said Friday. “Jason stepped in last year and represented himself very well. Harrison, when he’s had the opportunities to get in, has shown he can make some plays.
“Between the two of them, they might be able to live up to what Jamal gives us.”
It can be argued Dallas is the most imposing opponent on the 2008 Browns schedule. No one would debate that New England was the toughest foe in 2007. The Browns had to play almost the whole game without Lewis, who got hurt on his first carry, an 11-yard gain.
Harrison wasn’t even active, for reasons many Browns fans still don’t understand. Wright became the workhorse, fairing well, given the opposition. He rushed 15 times for 59 yards and caught four passes for 43 yards.
Harrison played a week later against the Dolphins as if he had a point to prove. He ran eight times for 57 yards and made a 15-yard catch-and-run.
Any debate about how much Harrison should be used is trumped by the team’s wish to ride Lewis.
He’s one of those anything-can-happen backs who scares every opponent. He has faced Dallas just twice in his eight prior NFL seasons.
The Browns want something like this to happen: As a rookie in 2000, Lewis rushed 28 times for 187 yards late in the season when the Ravens were going into Super Bowl drive.
They don’t want this: Against the Cowboys in 2004, he carried two times for 5 yards, then had to leave because of an ankle injury.
Lewis missed the final two preseason games and has had lots of time to rest that hamstring. He seems inclined to do some damage against Dallas after his team went 0-4 in practice games.
“There’s no excuse for not winning in the preseason, but at the same time, this is where everything is made, right here,” Lewis said. “We’re getting into the real season, so we’ll see on Sunday.”

Law still in order?
Potential Hall of Famer Ty Law is a free agent waiting to cash in with a team desperate for a cornerback.
Browns General Manager Phil Savage hasn’t been interested so far, and he won’t be if the Dallas game goes well. If not?
Savage has proven himself ready to do something drastic in a heartbeat. After all, he traded QB Charlie Frye virtually within hours of a poor 2007 opener against Pittsburgh.
In NFL terms, Law is older than Moses. He was a Michigan senior in 1994. He was a No. 23 overall draft pick of New England when Bill Belichick was coaching in Cleveland.
Law also was a member of all of Belichick’s championship teams, turning 31 a few days after the Patriots’ last Super Bowl win. He was the oldest starting corner in the league last year, playing in Kansas City.
At 34, what might he have left?
“He can still play,” Browns wideout Braylon Edwards said. “He’s probably more of a role player now, and I think he knows that, but he can still play.
“Ty is a smart football player. He keeps himself in pretty good shape. ... He’s got a lot of moxie. He understands routes. He understands receivers. I’m surprised he hasn’t signed yet with somebody.
“I think eventually, unless he just doesn’t want to play anymore, somebody’s probably going to pick him up.”

Extra points
n Travis Daniels, a recent arrival via trade with the Dolphins, apparently is ready to help. Crennel on a man who could become a key extra corenerback: “Travis is a heady football player. If things are in front of him, he does a real good job. He knows how to study the opponent. He can help our young guys.”
n Crennel said Antwan Peek’s surgery to repair a patllar tendon went well and the outside linebacker wants to play again. It’ll be a tough road back for a guy who turns 29 next month.
n Rookie Beau Bell is almost all the way back from a knee scope. “He could be up and play on special teams,” Crennel said.

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