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James Davis' 81-yard touchdown run earns praise from Browns teammates
By Marla Ridenour
Beacon Journal sports writer
Published on Monday, Aug 24, 2009
CLEVELAND: James Davis didn't dare take off his helmet.
After the Browns' rookie running back dashed 81 yards for a third-quarter touchdown in a 27-10 victory Saturday night over the visiting Detroit Lions, the Cleveland sideline became a Davis love-fest. Defensive end Robaire Smith cradled him to his chest like a mama bear with her cub. Davis' mentor, Jamal Lewis, gave him a high-five and a huge hug.
Then there were all those pats on the head.
''I was gassed, then all the guys were hitting on my head,'' Davis said. ''I thought about taking my helmet off so all the guys wouldn't hit me in my head, but I couldn't even get my arms up to take it off.''
On his other 11 carries, the sixth-round pick from Clemson totaled 35 yards. But there were signs that the 5-foot-11, 218-pounder could share the load this season with Lewis, who turns 30 on Wednesday.
The most impressive play for Davis was the touchdown, which he said was the longest run of his career, including pee-wee football. His longest at Clemson was a 70-yarder in 2007.
Going over left guard and
using what appeared to be a key block by George Foster, Davis made safety LaMarcus Hicks miss, then put his head down and took off as safety Stuart Schweigert gave chase.
''I knew the receiver was coming over to get the safety, but I had to wait on him, so I had to freeze him a little bit,'' Davis said. ''But then the receiver made the block. After that, I knew I had to make one guy miss. If you can make the safety miss, you know you can be a good running back in the league. After that it was off to the races.
''Once I put my head down, I got a feeling I might break it. I was just looking at the end zone. Hopefully no flags. I was just praying to God.''
After he crossed the goal line, Davis said he considered jumping into the end zone like Joshua Cribbs had done after an 84-yard punt return for a touchdown.
''But I was so tired, it looked like [the wall] got higher,'' he said. ''So I ran off to the sideline.''
Browns quarterback Brady Quinn was impressed.
''That was great,'' Quinn said. ''To have your first touchdown be an 81-yarder is incredible. He showed off his speed a little bit there. He can fly. He's faster than my car right now.''
That wasn't supposed to be the strength of Davis, who ran the 40 in 4.55 seconds at the combine. Pro Football Weekly did not envision Davis as feature-back material and ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. wondered whether Davis was ''fast or elusive enough to get the job done at a high level in the NFL.''
Splitting time with C.J. Spiller for most of his Clemson career, Davis set the Tigers' career record with 47 rushing touchdowns and led the team's ground game in 2005-2007.
He also broke Lewis' records at Frederick Douglass High School in Atlanta. The two kid each other about that frequently and Davis admits he had an edge because he started for 31/2 years and Lewis, only three. They also have trained together in Atlanta.
''I see something real special in him,'' Lewis said early in training camp. ''I see a burst out of him and an aggressiveness out of him. We're from the same neighborhood, so he's got some fight to him. I just try to help him out as much as I can because I see the ability there.
''There's a lot of stuff that doesn't work in the pros. Not let him learn later the things that I learned later, try to give it to him now. I think he has a bright future in this league.''
After his touchdown Saturday, Davis said Lewis told him: ''Those runs come all the time. Relax and get ready to go back in there.''
Davis also had an impressive blitz pickup of Detroit linebacker Ernie Sims, a Florida State product Davis said he played against in college.
''It was a big adjustment, blitz pickup,'' Davis said. ''The linebackers are bigger and stronger. That's key. You've got to be able to pass protect.''
Coach Eric Mangini praised Davis for the touchdown run, but said, ''I wasn't sure if he was going to get caught there at the end. He looked like he had his head down and his legs moving and that was good.''
But Mangini said Davis' contribution on special teams will be just as important.
''I think I improved from last week and that's what he wanted to see out of me,'' Davis said. ''I knew the eyes were going to be on me on special teams. I did everything in my power to try to improve.''
Notebook
According to WKNR radio, former Browns defensive lineman Shaun Smith, now with the Lions, gave Browns General Manager George Kokinis an expletive-filled tongue lashing in the stadium hallway Saturday night. The station reported that Kokinis said nothing and walked away. Reportedly on thin ice and told to ''shape up and shut up'' in the offseason, Smith was released Aug. 8 after a run-in with defensive line coach Bryan Cox.
Marla Ridenour can be reached at mridenour@thebeaconjournal.com. Read her Browns blog at http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/browns/. Follow the Browns on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/ABJ_Browns.
CLEVELAND: James Davis didn't dare take off his helmet.
Get the full article here.
Comments
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KOOKville, oh
Posted 06:01 AM, 08/24/2009
This is great, but don't forget, they were 0-16 last season.
Akron, Oh
Posted 07:43 AM, 08/24/2009
Lions hae a great shot at winning this year - come about Nov 22nd.
akron, oh
Posted 08:25 AM, 08/24/2009
Great run, don't forget to keep your nose clean. No guns, no parties, no tatoos. Lou Groza
Posted 09:50 AM, 08/24/2009
This is no great surprise to those of us who have been watching the "Thunder" roll in Death Valley for the last 4 years. JD is a great guy with a great talent and a tremendous asset for the Browns.
tallmadge, OH
Posted 12:48 PM, 08/24/2009
At least we know someone's worse than the Browns.
lima, ohio
Posted 12:52 PM, 08/24/2009
I think the kid will add to the overall depth to the running game . He sure is quick , and a very hard worker . I am hoping to get one more 1000 year out of Jamal Lewis . It might just happen with the kid coming in for change of pace . Not sure where Jerome Harrison comes in yet , but I am sure it will work out .
Kent, Oh
Posted 02:28 PM, 08/24/2009
The best thing we could have done was to get rid of Shaun Smith. Cry babies have no place in football. He couldn't tackle either.! James Davis is going to help us a lot this year. They better pay Josh Cribbs whatever he wants to keep him. Good game Browns!
cuyahoga falls, Oh
Posted 04:23 PM, 08/24/2009
The Godfather
wadsworth, oh
Posted 06:01 AM, 08/24/2009 This is great, but don't forget, they were 0-16 last season.
They were? It is BEST to forget a rocky past in sports and move on!
Posted 04:30 PM, 08/24/2009
Yes it was only the Lions. Yes they were without at least one top WR (Calvin Johnson). But the Browns played very well in many aspects of the game. Also don't forget those winless Lions did aleady win a pre-season game.
The Browns still had too many penalties. Some of the offense in the second half with 3 straight runs to get a better look at Davis seemed strange.
A huge improvement from the first pre-season game. That shows me we have a coaching staff that can make adjustments. Game 3 this weekend against the Titans should show us more.
Posted 04:58 PM, 08/24/2009
"but I am sure it will work out."
Not to be too negative, but why would anyone be sure that anything will work out w/ respect to the Browns? When's the last time anything did?
Akron, OH
Posted 04:59 PM, 08/24/2009
Look, the bottom line is, Jamal Lewis' stride is so short that he will never have a carry greater than 15-20 yards. Yes, he might be powerful but we need a back that can hit the hole quick and get to the secondary. James Davis has shown, so far, that he can do that. I say start the kid and bring in Jamal Lewis for 3 and short. It is not rocket science, mangina.
Posted 06:11 PM, 08/24/2009
Jamal is fine if the line opens up big holes for him. He is not a bounce-it-outside kind of runner. We need a change-of-pace guy desperately with a different running style that will do that. JD will be that guy.
Posted 07:24 AM, 08/25/2009
I say use all three RBs they have. Let's roll with a 3-headed monster because talented depth brings results.
Jamal, Davis and Harrison can all split carries and when one of them is having a good day just feed them the ball more than the others.
When they have the lead in the 4th, I'm still in favor of having Jamal grind out yards to run out the clock.
Having three fresh RBs getting touches isn't that bad of a thing. The only negative is some confusion could be made with the OL and how they block for each RB.
