BEREA, Ohio -- Hue Jackson did not hesitate to raise his hand.

The Browns coach said recently it was all on him.

The topic: The 2016 season of Cleveland running back Isaiah Crowell, who averaged 4.8 yards per carry, seventh in the league among backs with at least 160 carries (10 per game). Crowell gained 952 yards, 15th in the league. How does a back who did so well when he touched the ball rank in the middle of the pack when it comes to yards gained?

He had 198 carries, which ranked 20th in the league.

Among the top 20 rushers in the NFL in 2016, only one back had fewer than 200 carries: Crowell.

“I beat myself up about that,” Jackson said.

In 2016, Browns quarterbacks threw the ball 557 times. Their backs carried the ball 271 times. That’s a pass-run ratio of more than 2-to-1.

The Browns threw the ball on 63.4 percent of their offensive plays, fourth highest in the league -- behind only the Baltimore Ravens, Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions, all teams that have established quarterbacks. The Browns ranked 27th in the league in the percentage of yards that came from passing.

That was not a case where commitment matches production, and Jackson’s self-scouting of his team made that clear, though there were reasons.

“We all recognize where we were in games last year, and trying to play from behind is hard, and understanding what our team was last year, feeling that you had to get off to a fast start to get ahead of a team because you knew how some things would unfold,” Jackson said.

Translation: The defense struggled so badly that Jackson felt he needed to get points early. Then when he didn’t and the Browns fell behind, he felt he had to throw to catch up.

This is all well and good, except it discounted how productive Crowell was and could be. From the day he stepped on the practice field for training camp a year ago, it was evident that Crowell had found a different gear. He was quicker, hit holes faster and ran more aggressively.

That translated into games -- and it continues this offseason.

However, Crowell never once ran 20 times in a game. In five games, he had fewer than 10 carries; and in 11 contests, he had 15 or fewer.

He still finished 20th in the league in rushing. And the one time he had 19 carries in a game was the season finale against Pittsburgh, and he gained 152 yards.

“The guy had almost 1,000 yards a year ago when I didn’t hand him the ball,” Jackson said. “What can he have if I do hand him the ball?”

The inclination to favor the pass is not typical of a Jackson offense. As he said, “Go look at my film.” In his two seasons calling plays in Cincinnati as offensive coordinator, the Bengals ranked 28th and 26th in the league in overall percentage of pass plays -- far lower than the Browns ranked last season.

“Have to run the ball more,” Jackson said. “I will be the first to tell you that. I am a coach that likes to run the ball.”

Crowell would like a long-term contract with the Browns, and the fact he didn’t have one prompted him to stay away from the off-field portion of the offseason program. Jackson convinced Crowell it was important to be with his teammates. And Crowell has been present for on-field work -- and he looks every bit as quick as he did a year ago.

"I think Crowell is poised for a big year,” Jackson said. “He deserves it.”