Lawrence Vickers: "I am a West Coast Fullback"

At the beginning of May, we discussed whether the Cleveland Browns should try to keep fullback Lawrence Vickers after drafting Owen Marecic, a versatile player, in April. The consensus among fans on Dawgs By Nature was "yes." Vickers spoke with Tony Grossi of the Plain Dealer about a variety of topics recently, including his surprise at the Browns drafting Marecic, why there is a misunderstanding of the type of fullback he is, and more.

Vickers came right out and said, "I am a West Coast fullback," and I agree that he can be that type of guy. Sure, maybe he is not going to be a huge receiving threat like a Leonard Weaver (a former fullback under Mike Holmgren) is, but I would not go on his limited sample of dropped passes this past season as an indication of what he can do. Vickers told Grossi that people think he is only a "knockout fullback" due to the way he was used under former head coach Eric Mangini:

"I was on a team where they don't even use a fullback," he said of the Browns' offense under former coach Eric Mangini. "Mangini's era wasn't really a fullback era. I played just on [the belief that] 'this person has to be on the field.' Everything I got wasn't given. I took it. Our offense was based on New England's. They don't even have a fullback."

Vickers wanted fans to know that he is not giving up hope that he will still be a member of the Browns next season, but that he understands his time in Cleveland might be over. Vickers also believes that a team like Cleveland still needs a fullback who can deliver in run blocking down the stretch:

"I don't care where you are, you can pass the ball all over the place. Come November and December, you're going to have to run the ball eventually," he said. "Green Bay ran the ball even in their pass offense. I think people are getting away from the stud fullbacks because there aren't too many left in the league. But if you have one, you keep him."

If Vickers does not command too high of a deal, I stand by my original wishes for the team to sign him to a new deal. Maybe some support from the offensive line or linebackers can influence the front office to make a deal happen.