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Cleveland Browns linebacker Kamerion Wimbley fine-tunes his rush

Friday, August 15, 2008
Tony Grossi
Plain Dealer Reporter


Cut to the chase. Eliminate the "what ifs." Don't worry about handicapping every game.

The Browns' 2008 season might well come down to this -- Kamerion Wimbley's ability to take Ben Roethlisberger to the ground.

The Browns aren't going anywhere without ending their losing streak to the Pittsburgh Steelers. And for that to happen, they have to keep Roethlisberger from making plays with the game on the line.

Like in 2006, when Roethlisberger shook off Wimbley and shoveled the ball to Willie Parker for the winning points with 32 seconds left.

Like in 2007, when Roethlisberger had four excruciating runs, including one of 30 yards for a TD for the go-ahead points and a back-breaker on third-and-9 on the winning drive.

Wimbley's always in the vicinity, either chasing or being carried by the 241-pound Pittsburgh quarterback.

In baseball, it's called warning-track power. In football, it's a pass rusher making contact with the quarterback but not taking him down.

"He was so close to a lot of plays last year where just one more step or a half-step, or just making the quarterback hold another count, that kind of thing . . . he's that close to getting the plays that he should make," said linebackers coach Mike Haluchak.

To that end, Wimbley is working hard on perfecting a counter to his predictable sweep-and-swoop move to the quarterback. You know the one. He sweeps around the left hip of the left tackle and swoops underneath to make up ground to the quarterback.

It accounted for 11 sacks in 2006, setting a franchise rookie record. But last year, coaches and linemen figured out if they could just push Wimbley further to the outside, he couldn't make up the extra step or two to complete the sack.

Wimbley's circuitous routes to quarterbacks reduced his sack total to five (tied for 54th in the NFL) and also served to burn up gas in his tank. His motor never stops, but often his spinning wheels are exhausted by traversing that widening corner.

"You need probably one key move and then a counter off that move, definitely," Wimbley said. "Yeah, I could have been kind of predictable last year. But hopefully, I'll get some change-ups and we have some new guys inside that we can definitely do more things with. There's more possibilities."

The additions of Shaun Rogers and Corey Williams up front and the restoration of a complement outside pass rusher are supposed to have big impacts on Wimbley's season.

"If we can get the push in the middle of the pocket from the guys we've added, then that will improve his chances of making plays off the edge," coach Romeo Crennel said.

"Last year, you saw he was close many times to the quarterback, and sometimes the quarterback is able to step up. So if we can get some push in the middle so the quarterback can't step up, or help from the other side so that if they're pushing the protection to him, then the other guy is one-on-one and we get some production from that side, that will help him, too, because then he'll get some one-on-one opportunities."

Wimbley spent much of the off-season studying tapes of the best 3-4 pass rushers - Shawne Merriman of San Diego, DeMarcus Ware and Greg Ellis of Dallas, James Harrison of Pittsburgh and Mike Vrabel of New England. Then he worked with defensive line coach Randy Melvin and defensive assistant coach Bob Trott on incorporating some new twists to his repertoire.

Wimbley won't disclose the exact nature of them, but it's safe to say he has to develop an inside move.

"I've been working on a couple different things," he said. "Some of it I'll keep, some of it I'll probably throw away. Once we get into a game and I use them I'll see how it works."

In the past, Wimbley has talked of personal goals, such as one sack a game. After last year's drought, he's not making his goals public.

But if all the factors the coaches speak of work to fruition, they envision Wimbley blossoming in his third season as "a very disruptive factor in the game."

"That's going to come," Haluchak said. "I see it out here. I see the speed, the confidence. He's working his inside moves. To me, it's just a matter of making it happen in the games."

Especially the Pittsburgh games.

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:

tgrossi@plaind.com, 216-999-4670

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Pressure off the edge coupled with DL containment and gap integrity with our weak secondary will be crucial. To me, this above article is what it's all about this year on the D side of the ball.

i hope this isn't just a bunch of fluff. The same article was generated in training camp last year- can't say that i ever saw the "new move". Maybe with the improved d-line, he can be the disruptive force he was drafted to be. He's a solid player, but needs some other counter moves to become the disruptive force I want him to become.

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i hope this isn't just a bunch of fluff. The same article was generated in training camp last year

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I don't recall that.....he was coming off of a huge sack year so why would they feel the need for him to generate a new move??

I do recall people on here talking about his need for a "new move" after this past season....perhaps that's what you recall?

The improvement on the DL will help out immensely.

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Like in 2007, when Roethlisberger had four excruciating runs, including one of 30 yards for a TD for the go-ahead points and a back-breaker on third-and-9 on the winning drive.

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That game was as much at fault for us not making the playoffs as any other game... In fact, you can probably look at the one 30 yard run for a TD as a pivotal play that may have cost us the Playoffs.

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i hope this isn't just a bunch of fluff. The same article was generated in training camp last year- can't say that i ever saw the "new move".

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I don't remember an article like that at all... I can't imagine there was any need for an article like that given he had just come off an 11 Sack rookie season.

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I don't remember an article like that at all... I can't imagine there was any need for an article like that given he had just come off an 11 Sack rookie season.

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There most definetly was an article about the same subject last year... Discussed a couple spin moves he did in camp and how he was learning from Peek. Didn't see anything new all season last year. Hope I see something new this year... Besides him flying off the TV screen while the tackle rides him out wide.

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I don't recall that.....he was coming off of a huge sack year so why would they feel the need for him to generate a new move??

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It was definitely discussed on the board last year but there was also an article talking about how Wimbley was working on new moves. I remember it vividly because it gave me hope that Wimbley would do even better last season since he'd improve his coverage and run defense.

He does have another move, an inside one that isn't effective at all. I like Wimbley a lot, i've got his jersey, he definitely was better last year than his rookie year, but as to him busting out this great new move, we shall see. Either way he's a good player who is very athletic with good character. I hope he plays for us for a long time

He needs to be able to execute an effective inside move to counter the anticipation that he will go outside. It's also a quicker way to the QB. Until he develops an inside move that works, he'll only be half as effective as he should be. JMHO

Barf, I didn't say there wasn't an article like that,, I just don't remember it...

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The additions of Shaun Rogers and Corey Williams up front and the restoration of a complement outside pass rusher are supposed to have big impacts on Wimbley's season.

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If i read that one more time i'm going to puke

The additions of Shaun Rogers and Corey Williams up front and the restoration of a complement outside pass rusher are supposed to have big impacts on Wimbley's season.

....So they say "supposed" to...it's the same jibberish over n over....i didn't see them getting any rush at all in the first preseason game....don't get me wrong i'm not saying he is going to stink rest of the season...i'm just tired of the media doing the same story over and over and over with few diff words...i'm pulling for wimbley and and our new Dline like any other fan...but at some point you just get sick of reading about it over and over...i just want the season to start!



PS- i puked

We don't care about any of that, did you puke?


Never mind, you updated your post.

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PS- i puked

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Good, that's all I cared about. At least you are a man of your word.

j/c

yeah, the article last year was how Wimbley knew people had film on him, and would shut down his speed rush. He was working hard at developing counter moves to it in anticapation of people being more prepared to stop him..... and like has been said by others, we never saw the move. Get ready to puke again, because with the additions of the big guys- there really is no excuse for Wimbley not to elevate his game to elite status (if he is an elite player- and i think he is- and i think this will be a break out year!!!)

Rodgers and Williams have yet to prove any better than Washington and Roye, but don't let that stop the constantly repeated refrain, of the improved defensive line.

One thing I noticed about Wimbley's pass rush against the Giants was. . . he didn't have one. He made a couple of tackles against the run. The only time I noticed him other than that was when he was getting pushed further up field by the tackle when he tried to use his same old move of getting under the tackle and around the corner.

Wait, Shawn Rogers didn't play. When Rogers plays, Wimbley will use his other moves. Sorry, I forgot the storyline here.

I don't mean to defend Wimbley because I noticed that his pass rush was pretty much the exact same as last year. However, I did notice that when Manning had success passing, it was often when he stepped up in the pocket to avoid Wimbley's rush. He could do that because the other guys rushing were doing a great job of getting blocked and knocked backwards.

On another note, does Wimbley rush the passer on every passing down? Maybe we need to move him around more. I notice we keep moving McGinest around, but what if we moved Wimbley around? Imagine him coming up the middle on a rush?

... " Maybe we need to move him around more. " ...

Ya think ?????? .. We screamed about that same point all last season ..

I'm glad I could finally jump on board that train.

Maybe we also need to start running the ball to the right.

Moving him around is too creative.

The new boss is the same as the old boss.

Like in 2006, when Roethlisberger shook off Wimbley and shoveled the ball to Willie Parker for the winning points with 32 seconds left.

Like in 2007, when Roethlisberger had four excruciating runs, including one of 30 yards for a TD for the go-ahead points and a back-breaker on third-and-9 on the winning drive.

Wimbley's always in the vicinity, either chasing or being carried by the 241-pound Pittsburgh quarterback.

In baseball, it's called warning-track power. In football, it's a pass rusher making contact with the quarterback but not taking him down.


It's called driving into a player WITH FORCE..hit him..stop with these arm tackles..use your legs to get into position and drive into a QB..

Being a defensive player lets look at it for what it is..Roye was a better linemen than Washington was but thats realitive because he had trouble with his knees..Big Ted couldn't MOVE nor control his body due to his age..

You have younger more gifted players on that line..what will prove their worth is how they adjust to the 3-4...they both are in their prime..if they do whats asked of them they'll easily up the performance of the line.

i hope they easily do so. Preseason or not; Shaun Rogers or no; we got no penetration or push. that's worrisome.

What pass rush?

The Browns haven't had a good pass rush since Jamir Miller and Keith McKenzie were here...know how long ago that has been?

Jamir Miller though was a beast he had like 3 different moves to get to the QB..when Miller lied up at De on 3rd downs...it was killer

Wimbley, you have to like the kid..he has a great personality, awesome character guy...but he needs to do something.....sure he had a good rookie year, but last year...where was he?

We have like zero pass rush right now....our D looks the same......this worries me

our DBs are "good enough" IF we have some sort of pass rush...you cna't give the QB all day to eat a big mac combo meal and wash it down with a large coke before throwing the ball and expect to win

IMO our DB's have taken an unnecessary grilling...i don't blame them near as much as our front 7

our front 7 has failed to get any type of pressure on opposing QB's..this has resulted in our DB's being hung out to dry

Give me Assaunte Samuel, Lito Shepard, Ed Reed, and Bob Sanders in that secondary...with our pass rush..even they would get hung out to dry and look bad

we need some sort of pass rush, and we need it fast

if it means sending 8 guys after the qb, fine, 9, thats fine too, but you gotta find some way to pressure the qb..thats it..or else were just pretenders

I think yes.

Maybe it's time to look in another direction and consider the guy a situational pass rusher....not sure what situations those would be, but I just don't see this guy doing anything close to stopping runners or covering receivers or tight ends.

Alex Hall is better than Wimbley. I would rather start him and Willie.

Thoughts??

I'm worried about him, for sure.

Great linebackers find a way to get it done, even when the other teams game plan for them. I don't expect him to be Lawrence Taylor, but geez he hasn't looked good, and wasn't that good last year either. The excuse of "he's just developing an inside move,' only works for so long.

He has to be more than just a situational pass rusher, being a 1st-round pick and all (#12 overall, IIRC?).

"Failed" is a little harsh....I´ll give him at least the start of this season...I need to see the real D and not some vanilla-preseason stuff to make that statement...at least concerning his pass rush abilities...the run stopping...well, it doesnt look much better to be honest

Wimbley, Wilson, L.Williams and Sowells were considered "overdrafts" back then in 2006....turns out to be true as 2 of them are already "cut bubble guys" and the other 2 look more and more like situational backups...still cant believe we picked Wilson, Williams and Sowells over Cofield...I still remember saying to my buddy just before the 3rd rounder: "no WR here..and if it has to be 1, only Derek Hagan"...I remember him laughing at my facial expression after we picked Wilson ...Hagan isnt all-world but would be at least a decent backup