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Position preview: Linebacker
Zac Jackson, Staff Writer
07.12.2007
The following is the first in a series of position previews that will run on ClevelandBrowns.com during the countdown to training camp...

Overview -- The Browns enter 2007 with the best, deepest and most experienced linebacking corps they've had in years. And the linebackers will need to produce if the finished product is going to be a playoff-quality defense.

It's Year Three in Romeo Crennel and Todd Grantham's 3-4 defensive system, and a group that two years ago was basically starting from scratch should now be comfortable with all of its schemes. Every projected rotation player has 3-4 experience, and the Browns are hoping the promise three rookie linebackers showed last year will become big-time production this fall.

Kamerion Wimbley will aim to surpass his impressive 11-sack rookie season, and he'll likely face plenty of double teams along the way. Free-agent pickup Antwan Peek brings athleticism and experience; he'll spell both Willie McGinest and Wimbley and should help the pass rush as well.

The linebackers' goals for '07 include more sacks and more turnovers, though first and foremost the Browns need to be better against the run to force opponents into must-pass situations and keep the defense off the field.

Projected starters -- McGinest and Wimbley on the outside, with Andra Davis and D'Qwell Jackson on the inside -- essentially the same four that started last season. Davis and Jackson will look to be the leading tacklers again while looking to make more plays at or behind the line of scrimmage and help the run defense.

In the mix -- Peek and Leon Williams figure to be the primary backups while playing in sub packages and on special teams. Matt Stewart and Chaun Thompson each bring experience and versatility as well. Mason Unck and Jason Short will compete for key special teams roles, while David McMillan will have training camp and the preseason to show he can help with the pass rush. Clifton Smith knows the defense well, while Kris Griffin and undrafted rookie Kevin Sears will start behind Smith and Unck on the inside.

Final count -- The Browns will likely keep eight or nine linebackers on the 53-man roster. That could include one or two (from a group of Unck, Stewart, Short and Thompson) who play primarily on special teams and can play more than one position in a pinch.

New face -- Peek is back in his home state and back in the 3-4 defense, where he's a natural fit on the outside. He played under Grantham when both were with the Texans, and his experience and pass-rush ability should help the Browns immediately.

Key storyline -- The question is no longer, are the linebackers comfortable with the 3-4? It's now, how good can they be? And if everyone stays healthy, the answer to that is certainly pretty good, maybe really good. Watch for the continued development of the second-year players, specifically Williams' push for more playing time and Wimbley's quest to be a more complete player.

With the right mix of leadership (Davis and McGinest) and athleticism (Peek, Wimbley, Jackson and Williams), this group has a chance to spark the defense and create big plays.

A preseason fluff piece... but right now we're all starving for information....

I'm really hoping that Leon can usurp one of these guys, either McGinnest or Davis, by the end of the year. I would rather it be McGinnest considering his age. Chances are though if he does take over at OLB we would then pickup another ILB next year to come off the bench.

Definitely fluff, but they really are the best we've had since the days of Dwayne Rudd, Earl Holmes and Darren Hambrick back in 2002.

It'll be fun watching them grow and come into their own this season.

Peek is from Oh-io?? I didn't know that. Pretty cool to see so many ohio boys on the team. I like it.

Get Ugly!

Leon will get his reps. Romeo's loved to have a 3 man rotation at ILB in NE, with Phifer, Bruschi, and Johnson.

Peek should end up a starter. I love that kid.

heres the thing PPL man ... it is fluff ... no doubt .. BUT for the FIRST TIME there is ALOT OF TRUTH in it ... this is going to be a SOLID GROUP .... and will only get better ...

this is a group to get EXCITED about .. at least for us .. *L* .. there YOUNG and going to KEEP IMPROVING ...

please dont be a meanie to me and come after me like u did C ... i cant take that ....

Absolutely... the three Savage drafted last year are the real deal that we all hoped the three Butch had drafted were (Bentley, Davis, Taylor).

It's gonna be fun as hell to watch

I hope your right .. I;d really love to see Leon have the discipline and brains to put all that atheletic ability to good use .. if hes that good .. he will get more PT than Davis .. Davis will start but get the least Reps .. that is IF Leon can come on ..

weatehr u meant it or not .. Thanks for being "nice" to me ..

Why? Do I have a reputation for being a meanie now?

Thanks for the post. I'm glad Zac and few others have some positive thoughts and hope for our young guys and older leader type players. I think if Wimbley can handle the double blocking he will incur on times and, Peek can become a force on the other side there definitely s/b improvement in QB sacks, hurries.......hopefully leading to more turnovers.

So, as of now; I'm official member of the non-skeptic/doubter club, I firmly believe we're going in the right direction to playing a much tougher and smarter style of defense than we have ever had in the past. That we're getting the right kind of talent to implement the 3-4 as it was design to be. Yes, there is a silver lining in our young team's linebacker corps. There is a genuine reason for optimism and positive thought. Go Browns.

I'm excited about our linebackers.
Wimbley's sack totals might go down this year because you can bet he will get more attention, which should mean someone else will have an unimpeded route to the QB.

Our LB's are the last thing I'm worried about... THATS A FIRST!!!

dang this team is getting better.. slowly but surely!!!

OFFENSE!! STEP IT UP!!

Definitly a fluff piece, but as others have said there is some truth in it. We now have 2 potential studs in Wimbley and Leon, and another guy that should be really good. Furthermore, Peek will end up getting most of the reps on passing downs at least, and I believe he'll be starting full time by mid season. That will leave us with depth of Willie, Stewart, Leon and Thomas. Diam I know you said in your opinion the OL was our area of strongest depth on another thread, but I'll take that group any day over the OL depth. Willie can still start on a heck of alot of teams, and although Stewart and Chaun aren't someone you want starting, both are solid depth imo and can give you a good start or 2 a season.

Leon is the guy that intrigues me the most. If he could ever develop the instincts of a DQ.........bro we'd have Ray Ray, but maybe better...lol. The problem is imo that ain't going to happen. Therefore I all but bet that he's our OLB starting next year and will stay there for 5-8 years. The good news is that leaves us with AD as our weak link.......and bud AD ain't a bad weak link to have.....just don't want him being the best LB you have like a couple of years ago.

Imo this is probably the best unit on the team both this year and long term, and is almost complete for a SB run in a couple of years.

Playoff run?

It's an okay group, w/the potential to be good. We'll see, but I will wait and see if they can actually stop the run before I go ga-ga like the rest of you. *L*

I don't know............maybe it is just me.....but, I always thought stopping the run was pretty important.

Stopping the run is overrated. HEHE. KIDDING!

Ya .. your right .. i was thinking the same thing in my first response to this thread .. this group has more depth than the OL .. so shoot me .. *L* ....

and i agree with both U and C on Williams .. he has so much atheletic ability but he has never shown the brains or discipline to be the stud his physical traits so he can be ... who knows.. maybe its because he played behind some GREAT players at Miami .. like U and C .. i hope he can develop .. cause he could be STUD and if that happens (and i doubt it will) .. with him and Wimbely .. it would be unfair ... *L* ..

OK, this has been bothering me for some time and it just keeps getting deeper in this thread...

I just don't understand the over-fascination with Leon Williams vs. the lack of enthusiasm over D'Qwell. Everyone seems to think Williams is going to stud out, but no one ever mentions Jackson.

It's like everyone is starving so bad for a 4th round pick to be a stud yet our second round guy - who we moved up to get - gets no love.

I'm not saying it's not right. I'm not saying it's not justified. It's just bizarre to me. Our second round pick nearly started every game last year and played fairly decently I thought. I thought there was a lot of good signs and a lot to build on there. He strikes me as a guy who is only going to get better with more time.

It's pretty common on here for people to say he's undersized. But people treat it like it's a disease. We made him a second round pick for a reason, and he earned the right to be a second round pick for a reason.

So why no love for D'Qwell?

I'm mainly just curious, but I also believe we need him to live up to his high 2nd round selection status for us to start becoming a good team.

I LOVE DQ ... he actually has INSTINCTS ... the first MLber we've had since our return not named Holmes who had them ... I EXPECT DQ to be a SOLID SOLID DEPENDABLE LBer for us for years to come .. but thats all he will ever be .. his PHYSICAL LIMITATIONS will not allow him to be anymore IMO .. his size hurts but its his SPEED or lack thereof that IMO will be is biggest LIMITING TRAIT ...

Williams on the other hand .. he is prolly the best PHYSICAL SPECIMAN we have at LBer ... with Thompson at #2 and Wimbely at #3 .. difference is that WIMBELY has the BRAINS and the INSTINCTS to utilize his PHYSICAL TRAITS where as Chaun IMO never will and Williams prolly won't .. but if Williams can "get it" ... the SKY IS THE LIMIT ...

IMO its a purely physical thing that will hold DQ back .. but he can still be a SOLID SOLID DEPANDABLE LBer for us for years to come .. if e could put DQ's brain in Williams we would have the best LBer in football ... *L* ..

bu thats just my opinion ..

In 2 years yes Vers we will be making a playoff run. I know you hate the thought, becuase it would mean you where wrong about Opie..lol.....but we have a good young nucleus to build around to build upon. You think that Wimbley, DQ, Leon and host of other 1st and 2nd year guys aren't going to improve and get better??? Again, we will suck this year, becuase we still need some help, but more importantly our good young players are still that YOUNG. We are developing Vers, but in 2 years we will be making a playoff run, becuase we've found a FO who knows how to draft.

i dont know where this love for Leon is coming from either.. maybe its because a lot of people on this board dont really care for Davis, and maybe they are hoping Leon can take his starting spot..?? i dont know..

i favor more DQ.. and not to mention he has a "cool" name... Watch out for DQ this year...

Definitly a fluff piece, but as others have said there is some truth in it.

So lets take the fluff out of it..

We now have 2 potential studs in Wimbley and Leon, and another guy that should be really good. Furthermore, Peek will end up getting most of the reps on passing downs at least, and I believe he'll be starting full time by mid season. That will leave us with depth of Willie, Stewart, Leon and Thomas
The thing that will help Wimbley is improvement on run D..and develping more pass rush moves..
It would also help if the TG moves him around on passing downs so the offensive can't lock their blockers on him..it helps if they don't know where he's lining up..
Next..Peek..I hope he's what he supposed to be because McGinest is almost through..and U can count on him having some type of nagging injury..

D'Q will have to make some huge strides in strength..he was like a big SS at 228 last year..they say he's up to 240, if true thats better..playing the Will spot is hard enough but when you're lightweight U just get shoved either sideways or out of the play..
There's not of a question of brains here..just size.

I don't need to rehash about Mr. I don't have good instincts Davis (people need to stop looking at his tackle stats and look where he makes most of those stops)..
Leon will take some time but his instincts and reactions will have to continue to improve..
Thompson and the rest..whatever..
A lot of their production is three fold..
1-How the Dline handles the run
2-How much of a impact they bring in themselves
3-How the secondary handles it assignments..
A successful 34 is known for it's blitizing and we need to get that out of that group.

I agree. Some people still seem to think a 3-4 backer is to step up into holes when he has a guard blowing out to meet him a yard or two down field.

If the NT can't demand both the center and one of the guards the ILBs are not going to make many plays at the LOS.

Just won't happen. I don't care who you have..

That's a good point. It makes me think of Ray Ray two seasons ago when he was complaining about how he missed Adams and Goose up front.

It's just like the O-line. A good line makes a average RB look good, and a bad )-line makes a average RB look like crap. The D-line does the same thing for the LB'ers.

LB's can do things regardless of traffic coming at them.
Even when we were in a 43 (Butch Davis days) DRA'S instincts were still poor.
That will never change.
I'm not making any excuses for him.

Just to add to your point. When Leon was in there at the end of last season, he seemed to make many more LOS hits than Dra did. I think Dra takes a split second too long to make a decision, and then he has a rough time shedding the "trash".

Gm you still never replied about Dra when he played in the 43..
His instincts haven't gotten better, he still takes poor angles to the ball carrier.
I've said this for three years now..three years..
He's gotten no better.

Leon Williams succeeded last year though because of the simplicity of his role...he played a down hill run stuffing role. The guy still is not trusted to drop back into coverage because of how bad he was at it while at the U.

Quote:

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In 2 years yes Vers we will be making a playoff run.

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Actually, I thought this comment was talking about this year, not two years from now.


Overview -- The Browns enter 2007 with the best, deepest and most experienced linebacking corps they've had in years. And the linebackers will need to produce if the finished product is going to be a playoff-quality defense.

Quote:

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I know you hate the thought, becuase it would mean you where wrong about Opie..lol..

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Wrong, how? Tell me where I have said that I didn't think Opie has what it takes to get it done? Tell me where I said I wanted him fired.

You guys have your heads so far up Opie's ass that you are unable to distinguish criticism for some of his moves to outright hating the guy.

Truthfully, I don't know if he can get the job done or not. I'm not saying he will and I'm not saying he won't. In my mind......the jury is still out. He's done some good things, such as drafting Wimbley and Joe and some bad things like Leon, Pool, and butchering the QB position.

You are about the 5th person to speak for me here in the last week or so and not accurately convey what I believe. Don't put words into my mouth.

Here.........let me make it real clear for you and the others.............I DO WANT SAVAGE TO SUCCEED. I DO NOT WANT HIM FIRED. I THINK HE HAS A CHANCE TO SUCCEED, BUT HASN'T YET.

Was that clear enough for you?

he butchered the QB situation???? *LOL* ... I'd ask how but I'm afraid you'd make yourself look even more foolish with the answer ... so I'll spare U the emberrasment ...

butchered the QB position ...

Look Diam.......you said you didn't want to talk to me, but now you are following me around. You're acting like a little kid. Just go away.

I said I wasn't going to reply to u any further in that thread .. thats FAR FROM SAYING I dont want to talk to U ...

so ... nannee nannee booboo .... *L* ..