UPDATED with video: It took the Browns so long to establish their offensive identity, don't expect it to change if Jake Delhomme returns at quarterback. It's Peyton Hillis' team now.
Peyton Hillis has been very effective the past two games, rushing for at least 100 yards against Baltimore and Cincinnati. "We are who we are," the cagey Cajun said Thursday. "We're a football team that's physical and runs the football well. When you are who you are, you need to be that."
That statement was a clear nod to running back Peyton Hillis as the new face of the Browns -- a role that Delhomme had expected to fill.
It took the Browns a while to figure out who they are. They opened the season against Tampa Bay with a 38 to 23 pass-run ratio despite never trailing until less than seven minutes left in the game. Even when Seneca Wallace replaced the injured Delhomme in Game 2 against Kansas City, the Browns still passed more (31 times) than they ran (26). And they led again until the middle of the fourth quarter.
Those were against defenses ranked 32nd and 31st against the run the year before.
The tide turned in Baltimore and continued last week against Cincinnati. In those two closely fought games, the Browns ran 54 percent of the time. Hillis accounted for approximately 50 percent of the plays with 49 carries and nine receptions.
Against the Bengals, Hillis was on the field for 63 of the team's 66 offensive snaps. He knocked two players who tried to tackle him out of the game -- safety Roy Williams and cornerback Johnathan Joseph -- and brought the rest of the defense to submission with a 24-yard run on his 27th and last carry.
"Peyton's physical. I mean, you don't see Roy Williams . . . Roy Williams can bring it and Peyton brought it a good bit last week," Delhomme said, shaking his head.
Lead blocker Lawrence Vickers loves Hillis' punishing running style. "If you don't want to run into that truck, move out the way. Mama says if you play in the streets, you will get hit by a car, or a truck," Vickers said.
"He's just a beast," said linebacker Scott Fujita. "He's the equivalent of Matt Roth on the offense."
"Peyton's a load," said coach Eric Mangini. "I mean, I avoid him in the hallway."
Whether it's Seneca Wallace, above, or Jake Delhomme, below, playing quarterback, the focus of the Browns' offense is going to be Peyton Hillis.In Cincinnati, Williams is out three to four weeks with a knee sprain after Hillis ran him over. Joseph is day-to-day with a deep forearm bruise -- the result of a tackle attempt Hillis busted through like a bull at a rodeo.
On Thursday, Hillis sounded apologetic talking about the destruction left in his wake.
"I try to make it hard for people to tackle me," he said. "Sometimes people get hurt, but it's not intentional. I don't like hurting people. It hurts their job status, their families, everybody else. But it's the game we play. I just try to play my game."
In four games with the Browns, Hillis has produced almost as much offense as he had in 26 games over two seasons in Denver. He has had back-to-back 100-yard rushing games and a touchdown in all four games. He has been the Browns' leading receiver in two games.
"I want it to be a routine thing," Hillis said. "I want to be known as being consistent and going the whole year through, being the man,
getting to tote the rock and doing good things for his team."
The question is whether the Browns can win consistently selling out to Hillis and the running game.
"Most definitely," Hillis said. "I believe all things are possible, especially when the guys on the team have faith in each other. This team has a bunch of great guys that can do amazing things. We've shown we can move the ball on any team. We just have to be consistent."
Delhomme agreed.
"Oh, I think so. I go back to when we made the Super Bowl in '03 in Carolina. Ask anyone. We were a run first, run second, run third football team, up until Week 8 or 9 when we didn't have [big back] Stephen Davis for a couple weeks due to an injury. So we had to throw it a little bit and guys made plays and guys kind of evolved and developed from there."
Delhomme's expected return to the lineup offers the hope that the team might eventually rediscover wideouts Mohamed Massaquoi and Brian Robiskie in the passing game.
A more complete offense was the plan originally. Starting with off-season workouts, the Browns threw and threw and threw. By training camp, Massaquoi and Robiskie were so impressive and noticeably improved, the idea of pursuing an established receiver was summarily dismissed.
Meantime, the running game was thought to be the province of rookie Montario Hardesty, until his knee injury, and then of Jerome Harrison -- last season's revelation. Hillis missed some time in minicamp and early training camp with various ailments.
"We were working on many things in camp, be it the pass game, where guys fit, different things," Delhomme said. "Certainly, I think you learn as you go. Let's be honest. We split carries a ton in training camp between [Harrison] and Peyton. Then came the [thigh] injury to Jerome, and Peyton's had a lot more carries now.
"That's how things work out. Once you find it, you ride that horse."