Rough Start Shouldn't Dissuade Browns from Utilizing Jerome Ford
Cleveland Browns running back Jerome Ford largely struggled in the opener before finally breaking through with a 17-yard run in the fourth quarter. The inauspicious start to the season included a lost fumble in the red zone and a putrid 2.4 average per carry, but Ford is an important aspect of the Browns offensive plans and they need to keep giving him the ball.
One of the impacts of the terrible weather, the Browns ran the ball 40 times enroute to defeating the Cincinnati Bengals the first week of the season. 15 of those went to Ford while 18 went to Nick Chubb, who also had four receptions, bringing him up to 22 touches for the game. Ford had a whopping eight carries in the entire 2022 season, rushing for just 12 yards.
It's unrealistic to expect Chubb to be a Derrick Henry-type workhorse and have him be fresh enough to make an impact in the postseason, a clear goal for the Browns this season. It's imperative the Browns have someone else has to be able to take some of the workload.
Ford had a poor first game, but he's also a player that missed multiple weeks of practice with a hamstring injury and had only recently got back to practice. His feel for the game was clearly impacted. Beyond not protecting the ball well enough on his first carry that was ripped out by Germaine Pratt, Ford was hesitant and even ran into the back of his linemen a few times, though some of that may be due to Dawand Jones entering the game to replace Jack Conklin and either not executing the proper assignment or simply not being fast enough.
Regardless of the reason, the results weren't good. They also weren't problematic as the Browns were able to take control of the game in the second half when Ford got the bulk of his carries.
Before he finally broke a 17-yard run, providing a sigh of relief as well as helping to close out the game, Ford looked like Kareem Hunt did most of last season. Seemingly blind, not seeing the field and awkwardly slamming into blockers. Ford doing it as a second-year player with limited reps compared to a veteran who was mediocre at best is important context.
Hunt had two explosive runs (runs of at least 20 yards) all of last season. His season-high with the Browns was three, which occurred in 2020. Ford has the athleticism and ability to provide more and potentially provide a spark off the bench.
The Browns cannot afford to have Ford continue to struggle, but taking advantage of the opportunity to get him that many carries against the Bengals could prove valuable. Along with another week of practice, he could be far more comfortable when the Browns take on the Pittsburgh Steelers.
It helps that the Browns have more offensive threats in general led by Deshaun Watson at quarterback, but there are going to be games where it's prudent to keep hammering the opponent on the ground. The Browns had 40 carries for 206 yards against the Bengals and there will likely be another game where that's the best strategy to ensure another victory.
Ford was drafted with the idea that he could replace Hunt. He's strong and excels in short yardage and goal line situations and his best attribute might be his ability to catch passes out of the backfield. That's something he has yet to do for the Browns, but should be coming. The hope is that his kickoff return ability demonstrates better vision than Hunt along with perhaps offering more explosive ability.
So long as Chubb is with the Browns, he's going to be the feature back as he should be. A functional second back ensures the Browns get the best of what Chubb has and provides more high quality snaps, reducing his risk for injury and allowing him to maintain efficiency for the entire season.
Jerome Ford's ignominious performance against the Bengals might have been worth it just to break through with the 17-yard run. Against a Steelers team where the Browns might have an advantage keeping the ball on the Browns, the hope is that was the momentum he needed to play much better football.
