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Another fluff piece but I'm looking forward to see what this guy can do...

Rogers Gamble Paying Off?


Shaun Rogers (Jeff Wills / TheOBR.com) By Scout.com

Posted Jun 6, 2008


Not everyone around the NFL is convinced that the Browns have solved their nose tackle problems by acquiring Shaun Rogers. As OTAs wind up, however, the Cleveland Browns are convinced that the gamble is going to pay off...

The Browns gambled a change of scenery will make Shaun Rogers a different player. As the organized team activities portion of their training program was winding down, they are convinced the gamble will pay off.

Browns general manager Phil Savage traded the Lions a third-round draft pick and cornerback Leigh Bodden in the deal made on Feb. 29. They also gave Rogers three added years on his contract for a total package of six years and $42 million. Coach Romeo Crennel said the trade could not have been made if the Browns hadn't given Rogers the extension.

"Shaun is a physical specimen," Crennel said. "He's got good size, good strength. I think he'll be hard to handle one-on-one, which will force some double teams.

"From time to time he'll be able to penetrate versus one guy, so I'm encouraged by what I see. His attitude has been good. He's been working. No problems, a smile on his face."

Some in the media thought it was noteworthy Shaun Rogers was not with the first team in OTAs. Instead, Corey Williams was at left end, Shaun Smith at nose tackle and Robaire Smith at right end. After watching Crennel coach for three seasons and preparing for a fourth, it would have been a bigger surprise if Rogers was with the first team and Shaun Smith was on the sideline.

Crennel has always made players earn their starting positions. Star status in college or with another team doesn't mean anything to him once the player enters the Browns training complex in Berea.

Williams is as new with the Browns as Rogers, but he was with the first team because the player who would have been in front of him, Orpheus Roye, was released over the winter.

"We have a bunch of good guys fighting for a common goal," Rogers said. "There's a lot of camaraderie here. That's been the biggest thing I've noticed.

"I'm just trying to keep myself in the best shape possible and doing what it takes to make sure I'm healthy."

Rogers might not match the seven sacks he recorded with the Lions last year. The same goes for Williams, who played in a 4-3 defense with the Packers. Williams and Rogers will be asked to tie up the offensive linemen in front of them so Kamerion Wimbley will be able to rush the quarterback. There will be times when Rogers and Williams rush (Williams also had seven sacks) but it is unrealistic to expect each to duplicate those numbers while Wimbley and the other outside linebacker increase their sack totals.

"This scheme is very unselfish," Rogers said when asked if he could have a career year. "When you're talking about a career year, you're looking more toward stats. Our goal is to have a winning defense, a top-10 defense. I want to play my part in that. It's not a get off and get 'em defense like I'm used to playing. It's more about being patient and unselfish. I'm making my adjustments to that."

http://cle.scout.com/2/760172.html

lol.. i read the title too fast, and i said to myself, "o lord... he has a gambling debt to pay?" hahahaha...

Rogers will be a force for our front 3. Can't wait til' he lines up against the steelers.

Any bets as to who on this board tells us all that Because of the drop in sack totals for Rogers and Williams, that it will prove beyond all reason that the trades were a bust

Oh, and you can bet that will be followed up with Phil needs fired!

This is one of those times that stats won't matter as much as the overall performance of the line play in total...

But someone WILL say it,, count on it.

Bets???
It depends how they produce..if they do what they're supposed to..actually there may be too much of a drop off ...there will be but you'll see more pressure from the backers

Attack, you are without a doubt, not the person I was refering to.. you know the difference. I'm sure you understand that because of what they will be asked to do, that it could negatively impact the sack total.

But I promise, some won't know and will critize the drop and not even begin to know why.. you know it's gonna happen..

i think they will criticize if teams run all over us...

Sacks don't mean much... Us fans will see if they bring the heat or not...

And I'll add another question to the table...

On 3rd and shorts... Who do you want to see on the front 3?

RE- Robaire Smith
DT- Shaun Rogers
LE- Corey Williams

Whewwwwww

Quote:

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i think they will criticize if teams run all over us...

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And they would be correct in doing so. No question about it.

I'm only saying that there are those that will think that simply because the Sack totals went down, that the trades that brought these guys here were busts.

Fraser is not and never will be a 3-4 type DL, Not enough weight behind him. He will be a good DE for a 4-3 with his speed off the end. JMHO

web page

Rogers giving Browns much-needed nose job

By John Clayton
ESPN.com

BEREA, Ohio -- Too many teams the past three seasons ventured into a 3-4 defense with their noses out of joint.



Of the six worst run defenses in terms of yardage allowed last season, three of them ran 3-4 schemes. That mediocrity is incredible when you think about it. An average 3-4 defense should rank among the top 15 in stopping the run because of its alignment, because four linebackers are free to rush to the ball carrier. But if the nose tackle doesn't draw two blockers, the 3-4 scheme has problems.



The Browns are among a handful of teams that failed the past few seasons in making the conversion to a three-man line because they didn't have that type of nose tackle. But after an astute offseason trade, Cleveland believes it has remedied that problem. In fact, former Detroit Lions defensive tackle Shaun Rogers has many Browns front-office execs seeming snobbish.



Rogers has the looks of a great nose tackle even though he's never played the position. On one play in Tuesday's minicamp practice, he drove center Hank Fraley 6 yards into the backfield with his sheer strength. Minicamp practices aren't like those in training camp, when shoulder pads are on and hitting is live. Minicamps are rehearsals with minimal contact, but it's clear from watching these daily dancing sessions that Rogers has all the skills to be a good nose.



In Detroit, Rogers was a dominating defensive tackle in a 4-3 scheme. At times, he was unblockable. But as seasons progressed, years of losing diminished his enthusiasm. The trade to the Browns has given him a new start and a huge challenge.



"I'm excited to be here learning my new role,'' Rogers said. "It's different going between the 4-3 and the 3-4 to be a noseguard. Being a noseguard takes a lot of the aggressiveness away when you are making your first step getting off the ball. There is a more 'read and react' feel to it. You have to be patient and unselfish in this defense, so I'm working on a few character flaws.''



As a Lion, he was considered the team's best defensive player for years. Though he endured seven losing seasons with the Lions, Rogers has been to two Pro Bowls. The Lions' scheme allowed him to just fire off the line of scrimmage and attack, hoping to dominate those in front of him. In the 4-3, he had one gap and one responsibility -- get to whoever had the ball.



Guards and centers will tell you Rogers and longtime defensive tackle Sam Adams had two of the best first steps in football. A 350-pound defender with a great first step is almost impossible to block. In Detroit, Rogers was like a quick-draw gunfighter.



"A lot of my game is to get on people quick and sort of maul them and take control of the line of scrimmage early in a down,'' Rogers said.



But nose tackles in a 3-4 scheme aren't gunfighters. They are like sumo wrestlers in a carnival. They charge into a guard and a center if they are good. It's a two-gap job: Nose tackles must read the play and be responsible for blocking the holes around the center.



Looking at Rogers in practice brings visions of Jamal Williams in San Diego. Williams also has a good first step and was able to use it when the Chargers went from a 4-3 to a 3-4 in 2004. In the past four years, the Chargers have made the easiest transformation to a three-man line, and Williams was the main reason.




Where Rogers resembles Williams, at least in minicamp, is how he can use that first step to drive back the interior of a blocking scheme. Nose tackles are successful if they simply occupy two blockers and aren't moved off the line of scrimmage. The good run-stopping nose tackles prevent a guard or a center from getting to one of the four linebackers.



"I think it's been better than expected," Browns general manager Phil Savage said of Rogers' conversion to nose tackle. "He's done some good things on the field.''



Savage acted like a two-gapping nose tackle in making the Rogers trade in the sense he read and reacted. Savage traded a second-round choice to Green Bay for Corey Williams, who is making the transition from a 4-3 tackle to left defensive end. Rogers was all set to go to the Bengals in a trade, but the Bengals backed out at the last minute. Savage reacted and traded a third-round pick and cornerback Leigh Bodden.



For the first time in head coach Romeo Crennel's four seasons in Cleveland, the Browns have the right bodies for a three-man line. Corey Williams is an ideal 320-pound run-stopping end on the left side. Robaire Smith can provide penetration at right defensive end. He's also 320 pounds. Shaun Smith, a 325-pounder who made the transition from a 4-3 defensive tackle to 3-4 nose tackle last year, can be the top lineman off the bench. Ahtyba Rubin, at 315 pounds, is an interesting sixth-round pick who has nose-tackle potential.



The Browns ranked 30th, 29th and 30th in run defense the past three years. If Rogers and Williams pan out, the Browns can start thinking about becoming a top-10 run defense.



"Our defensive line for the first time looks like a Romeo Crennel defensive line,'' Savage said. "Everybody is well over 300 pounds and they have the movement skills you need. I would hope the additions of Shaun Rogers and Corey Williams will do for the defense what Joe Thomas and Eric Steinbach did for the offensive line.''



The additions of Thomas and Steinbach in 2007 ended years of blocking woes and allowed the Browns' offense to reach new plateaus. Finally, running backs had solid holes on the left side. Quarterback Derek Anderson had time to throw. The Browns went from an offense that averaged 14.5 and 14.9 points a game in 2005 and 2006 to averaging 25.1 points per game last season.



"We were going a two-on-two drill the other day, and we had Thomas and Steinbach blocking on Rogers and Kamerion Wimbley,'' Savage said. "Those are four legitimate blue-chip-caliber players. We're getting there as a team. We have almost one guy in every group who is a bona fide upper-echelon player. That's exciting for us. We haven't had that for a number of years.''



What's also important for the Browns is how Rogers meshes with his teammates. So far, he appears to be fitting in just fine. He dines with the defensive linemen after practice. He and Corey Williams challenge each other in learning the new techniques of the 3-4.



The more Rogers learns, the better the Browns' run defense likely will be in 2008.



John Clayton, a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame writers' wing, is a senior writer for ESPN.com.