The Browns got to opposing quarterbacks only 17 times last year -- only the lowly Chiefs were worse. New coach Eric Mangini and new GM George Kokinis brought in a lot of new players this offseason, but the pass rush really doesn't look to be vastly improved.
Scouts Inc.: Weaknesses • AFC: N | S | E | W • NFC: N | S
On the defensive line, Shaun Rogers is a beast. As a pass-rusher, he can push the pocket, disrupt throwing lanes and occupy interior blockers. But his stamina is an issue and he often leaves the field on clear throwing downs. In his first season in a 3-4 scheme since coming to the Browns from Green Bay, Corey Williams registered only half a sack in 16 games. Learning a new scheme or not, that is unacceptable. Williams had seven sacks in each of his final two seasons with the Packers; expect his production to improve in 2009. Also struggling in 2008 were Sean Smith and Robaire Smith, neither of whom had a sack. Kenyon Coleman will factor in this year, but he had only two sacks in 32 games played for the Jets over the past two seasons.
Scott Cunningham/Getty Images Second-year linebacker Alex Hall (96) has the tools to be an effective pash-rusher. Cleveland also needs to generate a much better pass rush from their linebackers, particularly on the outside. The biggest culprit here is Kamerion Wimbley. Wimbley is proving that he cannot be the top pass-rusher; he's only equipped to be a secondary option. While his get-off and closing speed are very good, he relies too much on his speed rush and once stymied, doesn't adjust with counter moves. He also doesn't set up his opponent well throughout the game and becomes too predictable. Maybe the new coaching staff will get more out of Wimbley.
One player to watch is Alex Hall. Hall got to the quarterback three times in limited action in his rookie season. He has great body length and excellent natural pass-rushing tools. Hall, David Bowens and second-round selection David Veikune should compete for the starting spot opposite Wimbley.
Veikune is a tremendous hustle player -- another quality this defense has lacked at times -- but adjusting to the new scheme may not be a quick transition. Veikune still could factor in off the edge on passing downs, but expect his rookie year to be a learning process.
Bowens was a good pickup. He is not an upper-tier pass-rusher, but he is a veteran with strong intangibles and should help Hall and Veikune transition. Bowens has appeared in all 16 games in each of the past five seasons and in that span he has 24.5 sacks. That isn't elite production, but he has been consistent. Consistency is something the Browns need more of.
Still, no one on this defense presents a serious challenge to opposing pass-protection schemes and there isn't one guy who needs to be game-planned around on throwing downs. If they don't improve the pass rush dramatically, the Browns will be in for another rough year.
Scouts Inc. watches games, breaks down film and studies football from all angles for ESPN.com.
we absolutely need to get better at getting to the passer.. We did what we could in the draft and FA...coaching will NEED to make the difference for us this year or it doesnt matter who's playing DB we WILL be toast again
I dont see a difference maker on the Front-7 outside of Sean. And it's easy to double him. The other guys aren't good enough to exploit the mismatches/opportunities Sean creates. I don't see much more than 17 sacks this upcoming season. Maybe low 20's....
“...Iguodala to Curry, back to Iguodala, up for the layup! Oh! Blocked by James! LeBron James with the rejection!”
This guy is right in that our pass rush sucked last year but does he not do his homework?
Quote: Also struggling in 2008 were Sean Smith and Robaire Smith, neither of whom had a sack.
I'd have a hard time to get a sack too if i was on IR almost the whole year, plus Corey had a shoulder injury that limited his ability to rush the passer.
I think making our defense much more unpredictable will help a lot. I swear that whenever we threw a stunt or something off the books at a team, we got pressure. But, the problem is that we'd do that only 1 or 2 times a game. The rest of the time, everyone and their brother knew what was going to happen.
I mean, how many times did we rush only 3 or 4 guys? We didn't delay blitz that often or bring the house. When we did, we had some success. But, like I said, that was only a couple times a game.
A guy like Wimbley has a lot of speed, so why not use that to our advantage? Line him up in different places. Have him start off the line, delay, then come in. Having him go against the LT or RT every single down is just too damn predictable.
When I think of good defenses, I look at teams like the Ravens and Steelers. How often do they line up on defense and you know exactly who is going to rush? Not very often. Instead, they have 8 guys on the line, and then only 3 rush. Then, the next play, they have 4 on the line, but 5 rush. The OL never gets a chance to settle into a rhythm.
Still no verdict on value of Wimbley trade for Browns By Steve Doerschuk CantonRep.com staff report Posted Jun 06, 2009 @ 10:12 PM BEREA —
D’Brickashaw Ferguson to the Jets ... A.J. Hawk to the Packers ... Vernon Davis to the 49ers.
The 2006 draft was rolling. Before long, pulses in Cleveland quickened. Matt Leinart to the Cardinals ... Jay Cutler to the Broncos ... Browns on the clock ... and a trade!
Baltimore wound up with Haloti Ngata at No. 12. The Browns jumped on Kamerion Wimbley at No. 13.
“Time flies. It seems like yesterday,” Wimbley says three-plus years later.
What has time revealed? Not enough. Amid the myriad subplots of 4-12, 10-6 and 4-12 finishes, it remains a mystery whether Phil Savage was wise to make the trade that left Ngata there for the Ravens and put Wimbley in an orange helmet.
Yet, there seems to be only one explanation for new Head Coach Eric Mangini choosing Wimbley and Joshua Cribbs to speak to rookies during a post-draft minicamp.
The new regime sees these guys as leaders — and players.
“It means a lot for the staff to think that much of me,” Wimbley said as he cooled off after a spring practice.
It’s not like last year, when the Browns didn’t have a pick until Round 4. This draft class includes first-rounder Alex Mack and three second-rounders, one of whom (David Veikune) plays Wimbley’s position, outside linebacker.
“Obviously, they’re going to be a big part of this team and what we’re trying to do, this year and the future,” Wimbley said, “so, being invited to speak was big.”
The new defensive staff is experimenting with Wimbley, thinking of ways his athleticism can be spotted into alignments opponents can’t plan for.
Also, Mangini said a “huge focal point” will be brushing up Wimbley’s technique with leverage and hand placement.
It’s not as if Wimbley’s role in the Romeo Crennel regime will be scrapped. After all, Mangini was Crennel’s defensive secondary coach on New England’s Super Bowl championship team in 2004, when Crennel was coordinator.
“We’ve got some really good coaches,” Wimbley said. “We’re just running what they give us.
“We’re watching film. Things that didn’t work, we’re taking out ... if it works, we'll keep it.”
Physically, Wimbley is in great shape.
“I’ve been pretty lucky as far as health,” he said. “I haven’t missed a game.”
He has played in 48 straight games, making 47 starts. He has taken his share of criticism, the extreme end of which paints him as a bust.
Yet, when asked if he is full of confidence at the dawn of his fourth NFL season, he embraces the thought, saying, “I believe I’m full of confidence.”
Wimbley’s speed and athleticism were on display in a practice last week in a pass-coverage situation. Speedy little back Jerome Harrison stayed in to simulate a block at first. Quarterback Derek Anderson looked over the middle, pump faked, kept looking over the middle, and then shot a glance to the right sideline.
Harrison had popped out of the backfield and tried to get open, with Wimbley shadowing him. Anderson gunned the ball that way, but Harrison couldn’t shake Wimbley, who batted the ball away.
“I just stuck with him the whole play,” Wimbley said. “You just have to be alert, focused, moving at high speed, just have a high motor on that one.”
His coverage skills are a nice plus, but he was drafted to juice up the pass rush. It produced only 17 sacks in 2008, a paltry six more than Wimbley alone had a a rookie.
“I’ll be my harshest critic,” Wimbley said. “We could definitely use more pass rush.”
Say what you want about Wimbley, but he's the type of guy I want on my team. He's a hard worker, a class act, and an overall great guy. It's a shame he isn't a better player.
I think part of that is Romeo and the coaches' faults. I don't think they taught him the necessary moves he needed to be effective and knowing that he basically had the one pass rush move they should have moved him around more so he could face other players who hadn't seen his speed before.
I agree that he can be more productive, but I don't think he'll ever be the star pass rusher that we want him to be. The fact is that he remained unproductive despite getting one-on-one matchups. A good pass rusher wins a one-on-one battle almost every time.
Not if he's a 1 trick pony and they can just set back and wait for him. The thing is Romeo knew that Wimbley had just the one move when he drafted him and yet either Romeo never taught him how to adjust his game or else Wimbley wasn't smart enough to learn and personally i don't think it was Wimbley.
Quote: Say what you want about Wimbley, but he's the type of guy I want on my team. He's a hard worker, a class act, and an overall great guy. It's a shame he isn't a better player.
Quote: Say what you want about Wimbley, but he's the type of guy I want on my team. He's a hard worker, a class act, and an overall great guy. It's a shame he isn't a better player.
Then I want a better player on my team..
Same here. I don't follow the Browns so I can be proud of my 4-12 team full of hard-working good guys. I'd be more than happy to be 12-4 with a Super Bowl title and having a roster full of jerks.
Give me Ray Lewis, T.O., Randy Moss, Haynesworth, Pacman Jones, Michael Vick and Hines Ward............if we're celebrating a Super Bowl title on E9th in 2010, I won't care who's on the roster.
“...Iguodala to Curry, back to Iguodala, up for the layup! Oh! Blocked by James! LeBron James with the rejection!”
Quote: What has time revealed? Not enough. Amid the myriad subplots of 4-12, 10-6 and 4-12 finishes, it remains a mystery whether Phil Savage was wise to make the trade that left Ngata there for the Ravens and put Wimbley in an orange helmet.
Time has revelaled just about enough for me. Barring a huge turn of events, this was one of Savage's biggest mistakes. How can this writer, or anyone else, see otherwise?
Quote: Wimbley’s speed and athleticism were on display in a practice last week in a pass-coverage situation. Speedy little back Jerome Harrison stayed in to simulate a block at first. Quarterback Derek Anderson looked over the middle, pump faked, kept looking over the middle, and then shot a glance to the right sideline.
Harrison had popped out of the backfield and tried to get open, with Wimbley shadowing him. Anderson gunned the ball that way, but Harrison couldn’t shake Wimbley, who batted the ball away.
He got by our worst blocking back.
Seriously, though, I can't help but think his performance will improve, if only on the assumption that we don't just send him at the LT every play.
The whole thing means very little to me, the article is focusing on personalities, players on the defense. I think that isn't the problem yet it gets alot of focus on this board. The individuals need to be a team that works in unison and gets the job done and it needs innovation not predictablity.
About beating the steelers. I didn't check this past year, but over the last 15 seasons of trying I'm pretty sure the Eagles have had more success vs the Steelers than the Browns have, so I'm looking at it this way. What do the Eagles do because it just might work, so what are they known for.
The Eagles, use alot of screens and passes to the runningback, almost more than straight hand offs and pounding running game, it is like their signature. Eagles have invested in top cornerbacks, or somehow they have been known to have usually two of the top ten corners in the whole NFL at least argueably, this is over the last 15 seasons
The Eagles have had a scrambling Qb who gets outside of the pocket making alot of throws from other than the pocket, it is another signature.
The Eagles use a variety of blitzes , a huge number of different blitzes, they blitz alot and from all over the place and they don't rely on single players to get pressure out of ordinary base matchups. They put people in a mismatch in their favor, and confuse the offense, and disguise what they're doing.
That last one is what I'm trying to note. The Article focuses on players, yet I believe the problem isn't the players it is the playcalling/ disguising and just putting people in a position to get unabated to the Qb and such. It isn't easy but it is football and it is the NFL your team should be able to do EVERYTHING, not be pigeonholed into one thing, like the west coast offense or the 3, 4 defense. The Eagles are a team that has more success against the steelers than the recent Browns and I hope they can mimick that success by being more unpredictable, less basic.
Can Deshaun Watson play better for the Browns, than Baker Mayfield would have? ... Now the Games count.
Like everyone else I would love to see Wimbley have a great season,..but if he doesn't, one of these new guys HAS to be good enough to take over his spot.
I just can't tolerate another sub-par performance from him again this year,especially knowing of all the LBers we have now.
With Andra Davis, and now Willie Mcginnest off the roster, it looks like Kamerion Wimbley is about to be elected into the spot of most nay sayed linebacker on this board. I'm not so sure it is a reputation that fits, I think Kamerion could have a suprisingly more productive year if only because of help he will have around him.
Can Deshaun Watson play better for the Browns, than Baker Mayfield would have? ... Now the Games count.
You do know that no player in the history of the NFL has averaged 1 sack a game over the course of a career.
Hall of Famers get stoned one on one a lot! It's the handful of times each game that they beat a one on one that they make their huge impact, whether it be a running play or a pass play.
To say good pass rushers almost always beat one on ones is false.
I do and I think that having cRAC gone as a HC is a feather in the cap of this team...The dude was a softy as evidenced from the teams flacid play... That COACHING Staff needed an Enima and it was clear halfway through his first season as a HC that he was a token hire based on time served through experience...
We would have been better off with Coach B roaming the sidelines than we were with cRAC... Atleast he was close friends with Coach Shottenheimer LOL...
It did look like Wimbley was at least MORE effective when he was moved around a little bit. Here's a clip from 2007 against the Ravens when we lined him up over the RT. You can see him strip the ball about 2:11 into the video.
Blue ostriches on crack float on milkshakes between the sidewalk titans of gurglefitz. --YTown
Havn't heard much from you lately,good to see you here. You were one of the very few that were not in favor of Rac from the beginning,so the following is not directed at you. The vast majority told us how Rac was an excellant DC,and was going to be a great HC. Now,since all the other excuses have ran thier coarse,those very same posters are blaming Wimbley's lack of production on bad coaching.I find that ironic and humorous. Fact is,Wimbley is horrible,flat out stinks against the run.A major liabilty on 1st and 2nd downs.He willnot improve much in that area.His best chance at success will be as a 3rd down rush specialist,preferrably on a 4-3 team.He's not a LB,and no amount of coaching will make him one.
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the LBs and S should be getting back there...![[Linked Image from fbcdn-profile-a.akamaihd.net]](https://fbcdn-profile-a.akamaihd.net/hprofile-ak-snc4/276870_6711658857_1403067853_q.jpg)
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