I know we’re piling on with the criticism of Maurice Carthon, but he keeps giving us more amunition.
As a former fullback, Carthon seems to be obsessed with proving that fullbacks can and should do more than block. I remember reading an article last year in the Plain Dealer in which Terrell Smith was expressing his enthusiasm with Carthon’s goal to get him more involved in the offense. Terry Pluto addresses the now infamous Vickers pass last week and sums up the problem very well:
This play highlights a problem with Carthon’s approach, one that coach Romeo Crennel must address. In the end, the play calling is the responsibility of the head coach. He put Carthon in charge a year ago, the first time the former fullback has ever called plays.
He must tell Carthon, “If you want to get a couple of inches for a first down in the key part of the game, don’t give the ball to a fullback.”
You might recall that Vickers was tackled for a loss in a similar situation during the opening loss to New Orleans.
Crennel also needs to say, “Hey, Maurice, fullbacks are here to block. We don’t need them running sweeps. We don’t need them throwing passes. We don’t need them split out wide as a receiver (as they sometimes do with Smith).”
In fact, it’s absolutely ridiculous to have two fullbacks on the field at the same time, especially since Droughns (now a tailback) was a fullback early in his career and has some blocking skills.
I’m gald someone else noticed the fact that the Browns sometimes split out the fullback as a receiver. That’s just idiotic.
