Browns' Green, Suggs will continue to share the load

BEREA, Ohio -- William Green hasn't had his starting job taken away by the Browns just yet.

Green, who spent the entire second half of Cleveland's win over Washington last week on the sideline watching Lee Suggs carry the ball, says he'll start at running back Sunday at Pittsburgh.

Because Green had just four carries for 17 yards and got pulled after halftime a week ago, there was speculation that Suggs had jumped over him on the depth chart.

Earlier this week, Browns coach Butch Davis refused to reveal his starting running back, saying it didn't matter if Green or Suggs was the first one on the field.

"Both of these guys will get their opportunities," Davis said. "The first play of the game doesn't make any difference."

That comment can't be of comfort to Green, who like any back, wants as many carries as he can get.

In the Browns' media game notes for Sunday's game, the team lists their starting running back as: 44 Lee Suggs/31 William Green.

Green would prefer if there wasn't a slash and only one name.

"You always want to be out there," Green said Friday. "Anybody in this league would feel the same way. But (sitting) is part of the game. You can only control what you can control."

Until he walked into the Browns' locker room Friday, Green had kept a low profile during the time reporters are permitted in to conduct interviews.

Suggs, who missed the Browns' first three games with a neck injury, rushed for 82 yards and a touchdown a week ago. He looked quicker than Green last week, perhaps because his legs were a little fresher.

Suggs said Friday that he had not yet been told by the coaching staff who will start.

"I really don't care," he said. "I know I'm going to get some carries and I'll make the most of them."

Green has rushed for 225 yards on 60 carries this season. He's coming off a nightmarish 2003 season, which ended after eight games when he was suspended for failing the NFL's substance-abuse policy.

Now that he's back on the field, Green doesn't want to come off it. He was discouraged after being replaced last Sunday and isn't sure how the carries will be divided or if he'll be reduced to being a spectator again.

"After last week, I don't know what's going on," said Green, who ran for 115 yards in his one game against the Steelers last season. "Right now, we've got a game to win and we've got to have it."