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Vickers combines punch, agility
Steve King, Staff Writer
06.12.2008

Some plays say volumes, no matter when they occur.

Such was the case Wednesday morning during the Browns' full-squad mini camp practice.

Fullback Lawrence Vickers broke free in the short middle of the defense, turned to catch the ball and then let it slip right through his hands.

It was only June 11. The start of training camp was still exactly six weeks away.

And the beginning of the regular season? That wouldn't be for nearly two months.

By then, what happened -- good and bad -- on June 11, when players were in shorts and no pads, wouldn't be even a faint memory. It would be no memory at all -- not even a blip on the radar screen.

After all, most fullbacks don't worry about running routes and catching passes. They are massive hulks of men who are asked to do one thing and one thing only -- that is, knock middle linebackers or inside linebackers into the middle of next week while serving as the lead blocker on running plays.

So it would have been easy for Vickers to shrug it off, trot back to the huddle and move on to the next play.

Instead, Vickers looked down in disgust. He clapped his hands together hard and then took off running -- no, actually sprinting -- toward the goal line, making himself work a little harder on this hot day so he would drive home the lesson that dropping a pass anytime is unacceptable for him.

That's what happens when you make it to the cusp of landing a Pro Bowl berth the previous year -- only his second in the league -- and then set the bar even higher for 2008.

All this has not been lost on running back Jason Wright. He knows that Vickers, a very un-fullback-like 252 pounds, is a special player -- a special talent, especially for a fullback. He is more of a hybrid at the position.

"Lawrence's biggest strength is his instincts," Wright said. "Even though he's fullback, per se, he's a natural runner who has the vision of a halfback and the agility of a halfback."

And those guys catch passes.

This guy -- Vickers -- catches passes and blocks.

"As a running back, you like running behind a fullback like Lawrence," Wright said. "He reads things like a ball carrier because he has carried the ball. When you're going up into the hole, you know that he's seeing the same thing you're seeing. So you know how he's going to react and you can act accordingly."

Vickers is one of the reasons that running back Jamal Lewis had such an impressive debut for the Browns in 2007, running for 1,304 yards and nine TDs to have one of the biggest rushing seasons in club history. He was there clearing the way for Lewis. Lewis would break off Vickers' block and head to daylight, and the Browns would have another first down -- or more..

But it didn't start out that way last year. Lewis was new to the team, arriving from the Baltimore Ravens as a free agent, and Vickers was coming off a rookie season in 2006 when he was learning the pro game while sharing time with Terrelle Smith.

It took a while for them to mesh.

"We got off to a rough start," Lewis said. "Early in the season, we were trying to find out about each other.

"Once we did that, we got going and things clicked for us."

Lewis added, "Lawrence is a great fullback who has come a long way in a short period of time. He's not a big guy like Sam Gash. He's more of a finesse blocker."

"He goes off me, and I go off him," Vickers said of Lewis. "I put my trust in him, and he puts his trust in me."

Vickers knows he and the backs -- and the offense overall -- will be able to build upon all that in 2008.

"We're adding more stuff this year," he said. "We're better than last year. We're clicking."

And that includes giving Vickers more running back-type of duties. Last year he caught 13 passes and rushed 15 times, a lot of a fullback in this day and age. Look for him to add to that in 2008.

"We're doing a lot of different stuff with the offense this year," he said. "I'm doing different things -- more things."

But Vickers doesn't have to do a lot -- touch the ball frequently -- to be happy. He's a team player in the truest sense of the word, so he just wants to win.

"All players talk about being selfless, but in truth, a lot of us aren't," Wright said with a laugh. "We want the stats and all that stuff.

"But Lawrence really is selfless. He doesn't think about himself."

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Nice article,,

Yeah, and I really can't wait to watch our running game now that he, Jamal and the O-line have had a year to gel.

wonder what he can do if lewis was to goes down.....

Not a "gamer" but Vickers is the top ranked FB in Madden 09. Nice to see one of the unsung guys getting a little love...

http://www.sportsgamer.com/content/1614/madden-09-fullback-ratings/

i was sayin you think he could do any damage as the HB instead of FB?

Yeah, and I think he'd probably get more carries but I believe Wright would step in to replace Jamal, and then Harrison would move to the #2 spot. Although Jerome may see more time this year if his ST play steps up. In fact, it'll be interesting to see if Jerome battles my man Wright for the #2 spot in camp. No matter how well Lawrence does running and catching or who the starting back is, he'll still be the primary blocker though he may get more touches on short yardage situations. While he may be able to do some damage, I just don't see him getting that many opportunities to find out. JMHO

I have a friend here who is a Colorado Buffaloes alumni and a huge football fan. He was really high on Vickers...from a team leadership and a power running perspective. He was not asked to block much in college but was more of the power tailback and goal line TB.

His rookie year he struggled picking out the right player to block but has steadily improved. If he has the "want to", he can be as good as he wants at FB for our team. He would be the perfect West Coast FB right now and they like to utilize him from time to time in that role here.

If only Anderson could lob it to him every once in a while.

yea... his college highlight film was crazy!! He looked like a great player, and he's proving that he can play in this league already.

Vickers is one of my favorites and I think he's got a lot of potential left untapped. I'm hoping he gets more opportunities this year, him and Jamal could really wear down a defense. Plus it would help keep Jamal fresh.

Overall good article

do you have a link to that film i would like to see it?