DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum Desmond Bryant: DL Can Be Unstoppable

I sure hope that he's right.

Cleveland Browns' Desmond Bryant believes defensive line can be unstoppable | cleveland.com
http://www.cleveland.com/browns/index.ss...t_river_default


BEREA, Ohio – Desmond Bryant wasn’t about to quantify it. The hulking free-agent acquisition refused to speculate on whether the Browns' defensive line would be among the NFL’s five best.

He left little doubt, however, about its potential.

“I think that when we’re working together and we really got it going then we can be a dominate defensive line in this league,” Bryant said Thursday. “. . . Once we’re completely clicking on the same page there will be nobody that can stop us.”

The defensive line, considered one of the team’s strengths a year ago, has been reconfigured from a 4-3 base front to a 3-4 under coordinator Ray Horton. The Browns will start Ahtyba Rubin and Bryant at ends with Phil Taylor at nose guard. They have depth with second-year linemen Billy Winn, John Hughes and Ishmaa’ily Kitchen along with seventh-round draft pick Armonty Bryant.

“Our guys up front are big, strong,” Horton said. “I love our guys up front. I hope our guys will embrace being a total defense, not just an attacking defense.”

The Browns signed Bryant to a five-year, $34 million deal in April. While he made off-season headlines for his criminal mischief arrest and subsequent mug shot, many league analysts liked the Bryant signing. He was ranked sixth among all NFL defensive tackles a season ago by ProFootballFocus.com.

Bryant, who returned to team drills Thursday after missing time with back spasms, enjoys the multi-front defense that Horton employs. He also appreciates that the coordinator is receptive to feedback.

“The other day I think Phil came up with a (defensive wrinkle) that (Horton) actually put in for us, so we’re doing some great things,” Bryant said. “I wasn’t actually there but that’s what they say. Phil recommended it and it was in the next day.”

The versatile Rubin, entering his sixth season, has played nose guard and tackle for the Browns. He’s shifting to end this season.

“I would like to be a tight end," Rubin said. "That's my dream -- catch a a couple of touchdowns. Nah, they can put me where they want to put me and I probably can adjust. I’m just happy to be on the team. They have kept me around this long. I'll just keep getting my coaching in and be in the film room and see how it goes on Sundays.”

The Browns should benefit from having Rubin and Taylor healthy to start the season. Each missed significant time in last season’s first half as the club started 2-6.

Bryant believes the addition of line coach Joe Cullen also strengthens the unit.

“I think all that together is going to make us a great D line this year,” Bryant said.

One thing was surely true in this article, our defensive line is definitely big and strong.

Our D-line is solid.. they have potential to be a forced to be reckoned with.

j/c This is good news to hear, particularly when it comes from a respected quality player. Now all we need to do is execute...

J/C

When I'm looking at our DLine I see SO much depth. We are going to be cutting some very solid players (especially since we are in the 3-4).

D. Bryant
Rubin
Taylor
Winn
Hughes
Kitchen
Sanford
A. Bryant
Baptiste

Some of these guys are legit NFL players who will be picked up immediately if cut.

I like the DL. We need Taylor and Reubin to be a bit more stout against the run and not get turned as easily, but his unit has potential to be disruptive.

Add in Kruger, Sheard, and Mingo and our guys on the LOS are pretty scary. Very exciting.

AND let them play. Quite a statement from DB. I just look forward to a great D scheme that doesn't handcuff them and let the be aggressive and get after people. Our pass rush if it works makes our secondary better, at least in theory. Hope to see these Dawgs tear it up. I also think that if we substitute more, we play fresher and faster on D (assuming the D can get itself off the field). Rotations we see Horton put together could cause real problems, like Mingo's quickness coming in. I want this year to have a bunch of people adjusting to US. Cut these guys loose. I am eager to see it.

JC

No doubt about it, they "could" be unstoppable. Let us hope they start clicking, as' well as the rest of the defense, before the season ends or not too late into the season. Lots of new faces, new scheme, new play caller - lots of things that need to fall into place.

I'm done with "words" and "talk", show me. Please, just show me!

Wasn't the 4-3 supposed to be an advantage, as it was simple, and players didnt have to think, and they could just play...

I feel like when we were under 3-4 last time, players said it was too much to think about. lol.

could be mistaken.

I really think this guy could end up the keystone piece in the 2013 FA period for us, well beyond the Kruger signing. Hopefully Bryant can make the transition of positions because I think he can become someone special as we deviate towards DEs playing a prominent role in the pass rush in this version of the 3-4.

Me personally, I liked and supported the 4-3... I think if Jauron had dialed in more pressures instead of being so conservative - others would have liked it or liked it more too.

Could care less what scheme it is, aslong as it's effective though when the end of the day rolls around.

I agree with him... I will just be ever-so-happy when positive articles about the Browns don't have to all be written in the future tense..... when the article is titled "Browns are..." instead of "Browns might be...."

On NFL Network yesterday Dennis Green was talking about how the Browns may have the top front 7 on D and also the top OL ... I know its their opinion but its mine too, that is why I believe this team can challenge for a playoff spot as early as this year ... JMHO

Agreed. I really like the Olines of our team and the Titans ... and there is a chance neither of us will have more thn 5 wins.

I've always wanted a solid line on both sides of the ball first, and I think we might actually have it.

It obviously makes the chances remote however.

Weeden really is the key to this whole thing, and there are tons of conflicting reports about how he's performing at camp. Never seen such a mixed bag before depending on who you are reading.

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Weeden really is the key to this whole thing, and there are tons of conflicting reports about how he's performing at camp. Never seen such a mixed bag before depending on who you are reading.

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This is the truth. I can tell you the day I was there he looked great during the first red zone drill but not very good the 2nd one. Best I can tell is that he has been inconsistent.

I don't have any poblems with our Oline or Dline but the DB are another story. I think we should not be locked into a 3-4 but switch out to 4-3 when needed. I thought the 4-3 worked better against the run last year especially when Taylor and Rubin were in there.

3-4 is just the base. By the sounds of it, we'll be seeing many different schemes and formations under Ray Horton's command. Which I am totally cool with cause we have weapons and, IMO, people as depth at at linemen that could be starters elsewhere.

That was excellent my friend.

Burned lol...

I actually chuckled.

fantastic

I hope he's right.. we sure could use them to be dominant. Sure would help out secondary out a bit

On a roll here my friend!

Without fanfare, Cleveland Browns' Ahtyba Rubin keeps motoring, leading by example: Tom Reed commentary

BEREA, Ohio – On a rare humid day at Browns training camp, defensive lineman Ahtyba Rubin trotted to the sidelines with the rest of the first-team defense, dropped his helmet and ran two wind sprints across the width of an adjacent practice field.

Nobody joined him. Hardly anyone took notice of the 6-foot-2, 330-pounder grinding under the late afternoon sun.

“Just trying to keep my conditioning level up,” Rubin said matter-of-factly.

Before he became one of the hardest-working athletes on the Cleveland sports scene – think Anderson Varejao minus the long hair and longer medical history – Rubin was taught a valuable lesson from his high school coaches in Pensacola, Fla.:

Leadership is what you do when nobody else is watching. Or, in the Browns’ case, only the diehards when you’re sitting 3-10 in December.

Rubin’s five-year pro career has been marked by double-digit losing seasons and a relentless drive to rise above the dysfunction in Berea. He’s led all NFL interior defensive linemen in tackles since 2010 with 209 and has won the respect of every coaching staff for which he’s played.

Put Rubin’s motor and maturity into Gerard Warren’s frame and you would have had a perennial Pro Bowler.

Rookie edge rusher Barkevious Mingo told reporters on Sunday that assistants want “everybody to play more like Rube.” He is the Jack Russell terrier whose master must occasionally hide the tennis ball for fear the old dog might run himself to death.

“He’s one of the most, if not the most, underrated defensive linemen in the NFL,” Browns linebacker D’Qwell Jackson said. “I’ve been around him from Day 1 here and he’s had the same commitment. He’s an extremely good player who simply hasn’t had the notoriety throughout the league.

“He’s the player you want to model your game after – the way he prepares, the way he practices. I try to emulate him and it’s hard to do.”
He's one of the most, if not the most, underrated defensive linemen in the NFL

If one play illustrates Rubin’s effort it occurred in San Francisco two seasons ago. Naturally, it came in a loss. Not surprisingly, it came at the end of a big play for the offense. Niners running back Frank Gore skirted the left side of the line and ran for 26 yards.

Jackson picks up the story from Browns film study: “Out of corner of the screen you see Rube running all the way across the field to make the tackle. He ran more than 30 yards and he popped right up like it was nothing.”

Two years ago, Rubin was an integral part of a top-10 rated defense that gained little acclaim because the only offense mustered came from Phil Dawson’s toe. Last year was a difficult one for Rubin, who was hampered by groin and calf injuries and saw his streak of consecutive games snapped at 55.

He is healthy again and ready to accept a new challenge – playing defensive end in Ray Horton’s 3-4, multi-front scheme alongside Phil Taylor and Desmond Bryant. He’s also worked as a nose guard and tackle in his time with the Browns.

“I’m just happy to be on the team,” said Rubin, who earned a three-year, $27 million contract extension in 2011. “They kept me around for this long. I’ll just keep getting my coaching in and be in the film room and see how it goes on Sundays.”

The Browns are building a good defensive line rotation, one buttressed by the young depth Billy Winn, John Hughes and Ishmaa’ily Kitchen provide. Winn and Hughes raved last season about the example Rubin sets for them. It’s not just about hustle and technique, but little things such as never carrying a cell phone into team meetings.

His quiet leadership and steady production often go unnoticed around the league because of the Browns’ record and his obscurity as an interior defender who doesn’t compile sacks. A year ago, Bleacher Report listed Rubin as the “most overpaid player” on the Browns.

“That’s because people don’t know who he is,” Jackson said. “If we take care of our business this year I will make it my mission to make sure people know who Ahtyba Rubin is.”

The unassuming big man doesn’t require a promoter or a Twitter account. He just needs lots of people inside the organization’s headquarters to catch up to his commitment level.

It’s going to take more than a couple of wind sprints.

http://www.cleveland.com

just goes to show why Bleacher Report is garbage.

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A year ago, Bleacher Report listed Rubin as the “most overpaid player” on the Browns.

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Nice article. Makes you root for the guy.

Now there;s a jersey I would like to own.