Hillis might by a bit gimpy, but he insists he's feeling just fine during a season in which he's been responsible more than a third of the team's offensive production.
View full sizeBrowns running back Peyton Hillis ran for 144 yards on 22 carries against the Ravens in September. BEREA, Ohio — On the first practice day of the 16th week, Peyton Hillis rested with a sore knee. He limped slightly in the locker room. Hillis and coach Eric Mangini downplayed the injury.
Both tried to ascribe Hillis' absence from practice as simply a day of rest. If that was the case, who could blame him?
The running back's 311 rushes and receptions and 1,598 total yards represent 38.5 percent of the Browns' offense. He has accounted for 34.6 percent of the team's first downs and 48 percent of its touchdowns.
Besides the physical workload, there's the strain of carrying the team's chances of winning on his shoulders in every game. That's got to take a toll.
"I feel great," Hillis said Wednesday. "It is a long season. It's tough on your body, but I think my body's holding up well. I don't see any differences from the beginning of the season.
"Especially at my age [24]. I still think I'm young. I don't think it's slowed me down at all."
Hillis has 252 carries and 59 receptions in the breakout season of his young career. In four years and 44 games at the University of Arkansas, he carried the ball 203 times and caught it 118.
"I'm sure it's totally different for him to have this kind of work, but he's one of the most well-conditioned guys that I've been around," Mangini said. "I think he relishes every chance he gets to continue to carry the ball and be productive."
Hillis figures to be the focal point of the Browns' offense again Sunday against Baltimore. Running the ball this time of year is what the Browns have preached and practiced all season. With their rival's division title hopes on the line, one thing you can count on is the Ravens not overlooking Hillis.
Which might have been the case in the first meeting in Baltimore on Sept. 26.
"Probably," Hillis said. "But whatever advantage we had in the first game, you can be sure we won't have this game."
Against an unsuspecting Baltimore defense, Hillis trampled the Ravens for 144 yards on 22 rushing attempts, helping the Browns to a 17-14 lead in the fourth quarter. The Ravens prevailed, 24-17. After the game, Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs gave Hillis respect and confessed he didn't know who he was, but does now.
Hillis' 144 yards are the most allowed by the Ravens to one back all season. Only Houston's Arian Foster (100 yards) and Carolina's Mike Goodson (120) hit triple figures on them. Hillis' 48-yard run also is the longest run yielded by Baltimore and the second-longest play from scrimmage against them.
"No one's run the ball on us like that, not to that extent," Ravens coach John Harbaugh said Wednesday on a conference call. "I just think he's very good. They've got a very physical offensive line, a downhill running attack that complements their line and Peyton very well. It's just good physical football. That's going to be tough for anybody to handle. We certainly didn't handle it well the first time we played."
Because of two key failures on Hillis carries on third-and-1 in successive losses to Buffalo and Cincinnati -- the first two stops in 12 attempts on third-and-1 all season -- there's been teeth-gnashing about what's gone wrong. Is Hillis wearing down? Are the plays too predictable? Could anyone possibly succeed running into a scrum of 11 defenders poised to stop him?
"I actually look at the last two weeks and see some of his better games, [based on] his average per carry [5.1 and 4.2]," left tackle Joe Thomas said. "I feel he's getting stronger as the season's going on."
Hillis doesn't buy the "too predictable" theory, either.
"No matter what play it is, we should get 1 yard," he said. "The more you play, any team, the more people pick up on your tendencies and calls on certain downs and distances. There comes a point in every game where . . . if they know you're running a play, you can still run it. To beat the defense down, you have to get to that point where you know you have the upper hand on them."
That's why Sunday's game should be a real challenge for Hillis, the offensive line and fullback Lawrence Vickers. The Ravens know what's coming -- that truck wearing No. 40.
Hillis' 1,129 yards rushing, 469 yards receiving and 13 touchdowns should merit strong consideration for Pro Bowl voting. He had a late surge to finish a close third to Foster and Jacksonville's Maurice Jones-Drew in fan voting that closed Monday night. Only 10 players from all positions leaguewide -- AFC and NFC -- drew more votes than Hillis' 656,276.
Players and coaches throughout the AFC complete their ballots today.
Hillis isn't getting his hopes up about earning one of the three berths, however.
"Slim to none," he rates his chances. "A lot of good backs out there that have done just as good or better than I have. I guess it depends on my opponents, if they think I'm good enough to go, and the coaching staffs."
Too bad the voting couldn't wait until after Sunday's game. One more 100-yard game against the Ravens might seal their vote.
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