"For a team trying to implement a new passing offense, the Browns sure have enough controversy brewing at the running back position.

There are the Peyton Hillis issues -- the strep throat, the nagging contract talks, the lack of carries.

There are the Montario Hardesty issues -- the increase in playing time, the four dropped passes.

And there is the Armond Smith issue.

How did it come to pass that the undrafted free agent from Union College got the call on the fourth-and-1 toss play in a crucial point of the 31-13 loss to Tennessee?

"We practiced it. He trusted me," Smith said of coach Pat Shurmur. "