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BEREA - The Browns are struggling trying to run the football, and Jamal Lewis missed practice Wednesday with a hamstring injury.

Oh, by the way, on Sunday they face the Baltimore Ravens, who lead the NFL in run defense by allowing 41 yards a game.

If quarterback Brady Quinn thinks he lacked run support in the first two games, think what might transpire when Ray Lewis and company get their hands on the Browns offense?

Quinn has taken much of the blame for the inept performance of the offense in losses to the Minnesota Vikings and Denver Broncos, but there's plenty of blame to go around. The best place to start is the line, which hasn't exactly overwhelmed the opposition.

The main concern is the right side, where guard Floyd Womack is out with an ankle injury and tackle John St. Clair has struggled. Hank Fraley stepped in after Womack went down against Denver in the second quarter.

There isn't much coach Eric Mangini can do to shake up the line. Rex Hadnot is nursing a knee injury. The other reserve guard is Billy Yates. Has anyone ever heard of him?

"A lot of our struggles up front have been on first down running the ball," left tackle Joe Thomas said. "I know we can do it. We've proven it in the past. In the preseason I thought we did a pretty good job, and at times in the first game. We're going to get back to the basics and try to get things going on the ground and try to help our passing game."

The Browns are 27th in the NFL in rushing with an average of 71.5 yards a game. Lewis has handled the bulk of the work, gaining 95 yards on 25 carries.

Rookie James Davis had four carries in the opener but sat out the Denver game with a shoulder injury, while Jerome Harrison had three carries against the Broncos after missing the first game with an injury.

The problem is the predictability of the offense. If it's a passing situation on second and long, you can expect Lewis to get the ball on an inside handoff.

It might be time to mix things up against a defense that stops the run with regularity. The offense practiced the no-huddle extensively during training camp and has tried it at times early in the season, but there has not been a commitment to it on a regular basis.

"Sometimes it's part of a specific plan. Sometimes it's a reaction to where you are in the game and other times it's used because it changes the tempo," Mangini said. "I'm a fan of the no-huddle.

"We work on it all the time, whether it's two-minute drives or over the course of practice. We're comfortable with it, so it's not foreign to us. We can go in and out of it and run the base plays that we were going to run against that team anyway."

To run the no-huddle effectively, it helps to have a quarterback that's comfortable in that style of attack. Quinn should feel comfortable in it because of the amount of time he operated it during camp.

"That's something I thought is our strength," Quinn said. "It keeps the defense on its toes. It stops them at times substituting personnel. I feel we should be confident in everything we have installed and are executing."

It all ultimately returns to the running game - or lack of it.

"Having a running game makes your job as a quarterback a lot easier," Quinn said. "Going against the number one rush defense in the NFL doesn't help that."

mmclain@tribtoday.com