Would Dez Bryant help the running game?

By Steve King

The long and short of it is that the Browns have only the short of it.

And because of that, they will come up short in their attempt to take some major strides both offensively and, in effect, as a team overall this season.



Therein lies the reason why the Browns are so interested in signing free-agent wide receiver Dez Bryant.

Indeed, that’s the precarious position the Browns find themselves in as they get ready to play the Buffalo Bills on Friday night at FirstEnergy Stadium in their preseason home opener.

The Browns are expected to have a good short passing game in 2018 after the offseason trades to acquire quarterback Tyrod Taylor from the Bills and wide receiver Jarvis Landry from the Miami Dolphins. Both are proficient in the pitch-and-catch-type passes that keep the chains moving.

But the Browns can’t throw the long passes. Oh, sure, they can try, but no one will take them seriously. After all, who’s going to run down the field and catch the ball?

And before you open your mouth, don’t say Josh Gordon. Thinking that Gordon will come back – and stay – is silly. He’s never been able to remain on the field consistently because of his inability to be clean for any length of time. The fact he hasn’t been with the team all training camp as he gets himself straightened out in some sort of way — and there is no definite timetable for his return – is not some kind of abnormality. Rather, it is the norm.

Whatever the case, the lack of a deep passing attack will kill the running game that, when you get right down to it, will be the bread-and-butter of the Cleveland offense. Not having to worry about the ball being thrown over their heads – and completed – with any regularity will allow the safeties to creep up into the box and, with the linebackers, form a human chain that will make it impossible for the Browns to run the ball effectively.

Again, that the Browns really struggled to do anything on the ground in last Thursday night’s 20-10 victory over the New York Giants in the preseason opener was not a surprise. It will keep happening over and over again until the Browns get a deep threat.

That threat would be Bryant. His presence would make the opposition completely re-think the way it defends the Browns.

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