http://www.sportsline.com/nfl/story/10909260Browns camp tour: Will new defensive girth be all it's worth?
July 25, 2008
By Pete Prisco
CBSSports.com Senior Writer
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BERREA, Ohio -- The fun stuff was happening on one part of the field here at the Cleveland Browns' training facility this week. That's where the pass catchers, young stars like Braylon Edwards and Kellen Winslow, were hauling balls from big-armed quarterback Derek Anderson and prospect Brady Quinn, making it look so easy and so appealing to the eye.
Out of Nowhere Man
Outside linebacker Alex Hall comes to the Browns from Division II St. Augustine College. He was a seventh-round pick in the April draft and general manager Phil Savage's face glows when talking about the kid. At 6-5, 250 pounds, he has great speed off the edge. The Browns are deep at his position, but keep an eye out for this one.
Who is your Out of Nowhere Man?
That's what we've come to expect from the Browns, but the real key to the team's fortunes in 2008 aren't these glamour boys. Across the field, far away from most of the eyeballs on this summer day, there stood nearly 700 pounds of man that will be the difference in this year's Browns team and the group that went 10-6 last season.
Most in the crowd paid little attention to Shaun Rogers and Corey Williams during this Thursday morning practice, even if their combined 700-pound weight makes it hard to miss them. With footballs filling the air, it's tough to pull your eyes away to the big bodies. But forget about Edwards, Winslow and Co. for a minute (it's hard to do for a passing junkie like me) because if Rogers and Williams can do what general manager Phil Savage thinks they can, the Browns just might win the AFC North -- maybe even more.
Savage traded draft picks to get both of them during the spring in an attempt to improve a run defense that gave up an eye-opening 4.5 per rush, which was tied for 30th in the league. The Browns also gave up 129.5 rush yards per game, which was 27th in the league.
That's what they call getting gashed.
"I know when we got them we were certainly trying to solidify the front wall," Savage said.
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"Pittsburgh is going through their own problems ... we have bigger and better things on our hands than Pittsburgh."
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HDawg: "Anything less than a division title will be a major disappointment, because nobody in this division is going to get a Wild Card."
No, Phil. They are the wall. At 6-4 359 pounds, Rogers is a massive man who makes the 6-4, 335-pound Williams look small. Add those two to a group that already included two 300-pound players in Shaun Smith and Robaire Smith and you have one rather large group of down linemen in this 3-4 scheme.
Getting run over for a defense is demoralizing. It can be for a team, too. The opponent controls the clock, but it's more than that. It cuts at the very fiber of what coaches believe you must do to win. How many times can a defense hear the sideline screaming: 'Get them off the damn field!'?
Imagine how tough it was to watch for Browns coach Romeo Crennel, who got his head-coaching job for his work on the defensive side of the ball.
"We weren't very good," Crennel said.
That's why Savage did something this spring that goes against the grain in everything he believes in as a general manager. Savage came to the Browns after a career as a college scout, meaning draft picks are very valuable to him and parting with them isn't easy.
When he traded a second-round pick to the Green Bay Packers to get Williams and then followed that up by shipping corner Leigh Bodden and a third-round pick to get Rogers, it was a stark contrast to the way he believes a team should be built. The Browns also gave the two a combined $80 million for their new contracts, if they play with the team for the full length of them. Counting the $20 million the team paid the two Smith's to come over as free agents, that's $100 million they have invested in that front.
Derek Anderson
Positives: Anderson is the unquestioned starter of the Browns' potent offense, which is good news, obviously. Additionally, he's comfortable with the offense, which will now feature Donte Stallworth as his No. 2 receiver, an upgrade over veteran target Joe Jurevicius. In fact, Stallworth's presence might push Anderson's yardage higher than it was in 2007 (3,787 yards). Anderson will also run with the football, giving some additional numbers to a Fantasy owner's bottom line.
Negatives: Is Anderson the by-product of a talented offense -- and O-line -- around him, or is he the real deal? And if he is the real deal, then why was he hiding out on practice squads for years before surfacing with Cleveland? Anderson may be a touchdown machine, but he'll also toss some wayward passes -- he had 19 interceptions last year and has 27 (and three lost fumbles) in 21 career games.
Outlook: Anderson not only has shown the ability to be a solid NFL passer, but he's surrounded by so much talent that he's bound to post some big numbers. Consistency isn't even the issue here -- turnovers are. If your league deducts points for interceptions and fumbles lost, Anderson could cost you some points over the long run. However, Cleveland's pass-happy ways should continue in 2008, and Anderson will benefit so long as he is under center. Grab him as a No. 1 Fantasy QB between Rounds 4 and 6, and don't think about Brady Quinn until December unless you have a spare roster spot.
-- Dave Richard
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Browns draft averages
RB: Jamal Lewis (23rd overall)
QB: Derek Anderson (36th overall)
WR: Braylon Edwards (18th overall)
TE: Kellen Winslow (50th overall)
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You think they're just a little desperate to fix that run defense?
Williams, the more talkative of the two, guaranteed to me that the run defense would not be a problem in 2008.
"We will make it (yards-per-rush) under four," Williams said.
Williams played four seasons with the Packers, starting 20 games the past two. He had seven sacks each of the past two seasons, earning a reputation as an inside pass rusher at tackle. Now he will move to end in the Browns' defense. That will be a challenge since the ends in that scheme are more like occupiers to let the linebackers make the tackles. It's not pass-rush first, either.
"Things happen a lot slower than they do on the inside," Williams said. "I'm just trying to get my timing down and get used to playing on the edge."
Rogers, who Williams says has quickly become a good friend, is the more intriguing story of the two. A couple of seasons ago he was pegged as one of the top defensive tackles in the game. He followed that up by earning a reputation for being lazy and out of shape. His weight became an issue with the Lions last season, with word that he let it get to four hundred at one point.
That infuriated a coaching staff that saw his wonderful athletic ability going to waste. This is a man who dunked a ball left-handed this off-season during pre-game warmups for a charity basketball game, even though he weighed 375 pounds.
At his current 359 pounds, Rogers is light on his feet. He was so light that he brushed off reporters after a morning practice then declined an interview request following the team's evening practice.
Crennel, so far, has been impressed with Rogers' commitment.
"What's in the past is in the past," Crennel said. "We have to judge him on what we've seen since he's been here. And he's been good to us. I think the change of scenery probably helped him. I've seen it before. At New England when I was there we had Corey Dillon and he was a problem in Cincinnati and comes to us and he's no problem at all. Randy Moss goes to New England and he's no problem. With Shaun, he's been no problem here. He's got something to prove."
Rogers and Williams both do. They have to show they can help choke off the opposition's running game. There can't be many more Sunday afternoons in Cleveland watching teams grind the Browns to death. No matter how good an offense they have, a 4.5-per rush average for the defense won't translate to a division title.
That's why away from the attention of the playmakers, it might be wise for those attending Browns practices to watch the two big newcomers do their thing. Seven hundred pounds never looked so good.
