DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum D'Qwell Jackson - Rookie On A Rollercoaster

By STEVE DOERSCHUK REPOSITORY SPORTS WRITER

BEREA D'Qwell Jackson smiles at the question. Yes, he's heard all about "the rookie wall."

The 23-year-old had been on "the rookie roller coaster."

In one four-game stretch, he averaged more than 10 tackles. Over the next four games, it was just five tackles.

A funny thing happened on his way to "the rookie wall," though. He blew through it.

"It got lost because of the way the Cincinnati game turned out," General Manager Phil Savage said, "but the kid had his best game. He was terrific in spite of us getting it handed to us."

The Bengals rolled mostly because Carson Palmer abused injury-replacement cornerbacks with well-timed passes. Jackson's role is reflected by the fact Rudi Johnson, who had run wild against the Browns in four straight games, managed just 64 yards on 25 carries.

Jackson was in on 16 tackles.

"It doesn't mean anything," he said.

Not even that the GM came away singing his praises?

"If we won," Jackson said, "it would feel better."

Savage went out on a limb to get Jackson. He had a No. 43 pick in the second round but thought he had to move up. He sent the Saints 2003 Round 1 pick Jeff Faine and the No. 43 pick in exchange for the No. 34 pick. With that pick, Savage plucked the undersized Maryland linebacker because, bottom line, Jackson kind of reminded him of Ray Lewis.

If that sounds far-fetched, it might be noted that, as good as Lewis may be, his team went 4-12 when he was a rookie.

Jackson isn't bragging about anything, but he does seem to be growing some confidence.

"It's a big difference between the New Orleans game in September and now," he said. "There's less thinking, and more allowing my ability to take over. That cuts down the reaction time.

"I understand what the coaches want."

He hasn't made a lot of spectacular plays, something he wants to do more by next year.

"As far as tackles behind the line," Head Coach Romeo Crennel said, "we probably aren't going to get that out of him unless we blitz or rush him behind the line."

Mostly, Jackson is giving Crennel what he would hope to receive from a rookie starter. He's getting a better grip on his running mate at inside linebacker in the Browns' 3-4 scheme, veteran Andra Davis.

"'Dra lines everybody up,'' Jackson said. "He knows all the checks, all the signals. I try to help him as much as I can.

"I'm starting to get a feel for how he plays. He's gettin' a feel for how I play. Hopefully we can be together for years."

In terms of contracts, Davis and Jackson can be teammates at least through 2009.

"D'Qwell is playing way beyond his years," Davis said. "He's been playing great all year. What he lacks in size he makes up for in heart."

Jackson was known as a self-starter at Maryland. Despite his team's 3-8 record, this is his first year in his dream job.

"I thank God for the opportunity,'' he said. "Who know what else I'd be doing if I wasn't here.

"I approach every game like we're undefeated. We still have our heads high.

" I haven't felt like I've hit a wall. I'm around a bunch of guys who laugh all the time."

Generally, Cleveland's 2006 downfall has been it's No. 31-ranked offense. Even after a fourth-quarter meltdown against Pittsburgh and the awful Cincinnati game, the defense ranks No. 19.

"Look at our situation," Jackson said. "We're bringing in guys left and right (at) the cornerback position.

"We're starting to feel each other out. If we can keep this group together, we'll ultimately be pretty good."

Reach Repository sports writer Steve Doerschuk at (330) 580-8347 or e-mail:

steve.doerschuk@cantonrep.com

I think size in backers is way over rated....another smaller LB with the Texans....Demeko Ryans is having a great rookie season.

Good read.

good read. we've got two gems at linebacker. this unit really may be as good as the ravens' unit a couple years down the road... its just a shame both jackson and wimbley cant win DROY

I like the fact that Jackson is a solid tackler. In order to be above average though, he'll need to create some game changing plays .... like sacks, interceptions, tackles for loss, or fumbles.

That being said though, every defense can use solid guys.

Ryans waxes both of those guys in that department.

I agree peen.

I think Jackson is another good pick. Although Savage doesn't get credit for all of them, Jackson, Wimbley, Bodden, Jones and maybe Pool add up to some pretty darn good talent on the defensive side of the ball and are all draft picks.

Include K2, on the other side of the ball and that's five or maybe six very talented players on the team. Go back two years and count the difference makers. There weren't any.

you may be right, but wimbley is on pace to take merriman's rookie sack record <img src="/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

Don't get me wrong...I am happy with both of our guys.

Both guys should be very good players for us if they can remain injury free and see even close to normal progression as they season.

[color:"orange"]Not over-rated Peen...just this past year it seemed all the good inate ILBs seemed to not spec out to NFL specs...size and speed wise.

Lets face it...DQ's heart n brain in a CT's body would be a lot better...lol so don't underestimate size and speed. Obviously if he had the size and speed Demeco also they would have been talked about being maybe the all time greats in their position.

Up until this game and some who I talked about this in PM's will I'm sure remember, I was worried if we made a mistake...not questioning DQ's instincts as a LB...just they didn't quite show up in previous games. He was neutralized easily. Which got me questioning the pick...thinking the possibility that size and lack of speed (Vilma proved lack of size compensated with speed was doable) he might not make it in the NFL???

But I forgot one thing. If he had to think about his job and not just react...he lost his edge cause his instincts were his #1 assett.

If anyone read my What I saw comments ( way too long for you Peen... <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> ) I simply bubbled about DQ and that was in a post about a horrific loss...hard to bubble about anything.

It was obvious that the lights had turned on and if this is the product we have...we got something special - of course there is the thought process - Its only one game??? But why only DQ as opposed to others, standing out that is. I'm sure this was DQ's coming out party and what I thought was an - Oh well I guess we got an "OK" ILB with our investment...now after this game its more like.

WOW!!! This kid is Good, very Good as in another piece to something special good <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Now we got Jones, Pool, Bodden, Wimbley and now DQ as young and special - Folks we got pieces of a great Defense forming here!

JMHO

No kidding.....you aren't talking to a dunce here <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Sure...all things being equal you are going to go with the bigger guy.....my point if misunderstood is a lack of size shouldn't be viewed as a negative.

If you can play, you can play.

Have to admit ( who me ) , I had serious reservations about the kid and his size .. Will gladly admit " I was wrong " if he continues to play like he has of late .. Five more games to watch and see ! <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

One thing to keep in mind is his body will continue to fill out over time. He'll never be 260 LBS but at 6'1'' he can probably stand to put on another 10 LBS and not lose a step. Also, look at a guy like Donnie Edwards (who is actually smaller then DQ). He's made a career in the 3-4 as a smallish LB.

One thing I would like to see us do on occasion is put him at OLB and let him rush the QB. He has great instincts and flow to the football.......that usually translates well in getting pressure on the quarterback.

One thing i am still waiting to see is that Fire in him that we saw in college. He was a Ray lewis on the sidelines. I think our D could use a bit of that.

Last week it almost seemed like he was packing the Bengals playbook in his hand. Some of the plays he made like shooting the gap and chasing Rudi for a loss on a toss sweep was arguably my favorite play of the year.

The game is slowing down for D'Qwell, now we just need it to slow down for our QB.

I think you'll see that leadership thing on the sidelines maybe next year... or perhaps toward the end of this one. Whichever it is, I think he's been 'the rookie' learning his way to this point. He's been doing the all-important "shut your mouth and open your ears". He's the student. Now that he's getting it, that leader can start to come back out.

excellent point. It may be a case where Romeo will need to ask him to become the vocal leader.

Nah, I think it'll be a Neo in the Matrix thing...when's he ready, RAC won't have to. <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

DQ's been busy getting comfortable with an entirely new lifestyle and a much higher level of play all while learning new playbooks and studying other teams, and on top of that he's been the New Guy. Once he's settled in, you'll begin to see more of the person that he is.

It's no different than anybody else starting a new job. At forst you're too busy to even relax because you're trying to learn the job and get to know your new coworkers, but you're on your best behavior because you're still new, but as your comfort level increases the job becomes second nature and more of your natural self comes out. There's no difference between him and his job and us and our jobs, his is just done uinder spotlights with 70,000 people screaming and all that crap (and his pay is a little bit better too) <img src="/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

If it weren't for the mental aspects of the game, Andra Davis would no longer be the leader of the defense.

I really really hope by next year we can have that snarling defense that terrorizes QB's. We'll win a lot more games that way.

we absolutely will, but without a healthy secondary and a younger DLine, we're not gonna be doing much for long <img src="/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

And that's the killer. I look at the O-line and D-line, and barring a shopping spree like we had this year, I don't see how we can turn it around to be playoff competitors (HUGE difference between Superbowl contenders and playoff contenders...like a difference between 11-5/12-4 vs. 8-8/9-7) next year, which IMO we NEED to do to prevent a mutiny from the fanbase.

Corner-wise I'm not so sure about our deficiency since the young guys playing right now will be a year wiser. It's more of a matter of getting a D-line that can collapse the pocket so the linebackers can get there. That's the fundamental difference between us and a team like the Patriots. Whenever Wimbley gets a sack, it's off the edge because he beat the tackle one on one. There's no help from the D-line collapsing the pocket.

That's the key to a Ravenesque downright scary defense that looks like a pack of wolves...corners be damned at this point. Get pressure first.

LMFAO, that is great. I told Mour about Qwell before the draft two years ago and to keep an eye on him and those were his exact words.

well, I think one thing to accept right now is that we WILL NOT fix BOTH lines in one offseason unless they are the ONLY things we address, and I believe that would be foolhardy to do. What I think we will see is us fixing/addressing the more glaring individual spots on those lines. They will not by any means be "fixed" but they will hopefully be stabilized and set up for growth/maintenance.

CB's - Count Baxter as missing next season at best. Cutch will be nickle or dime at best coming off his microfracture surgery. That leaves us with Bodden, Holly, Minter, Perry & Brown. One star, one keeper (nickel), one unknown and two guys that are backups at best. We are in far worse shape than we were this time last year. We will most likely be trying to nab us a corner in free agency because we're gonna need one to replace GBax. I would also look for us to scour the draft class for diamonds that slip through.

[color:"red"] 'Dra lines everybody up,'' Jackson said. "He knows all the checks, all the signals. I try to help him as much as I can.

"I'm starting to get a feel for how he plays. He's gettin' a feel for how I play. Hopefully we can be together for years."
[/color]
Can U help him to have better instincts or LOAN him some of yours?
If DQ had Andra's size..well ....imagine..

SURE u did con...sure u did... <img src="/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />
Hows gameday? no more chat i hear....that sucks

I haven't entered gameday in awhile <img src="/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />. And I went to high school with Qwell so I knew all about him before he ever even stepped foot on the Terps field <img src="/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif" alt="" />

I like that.. D' Qwell was a good pick.. u see him all over the field!! him and Dra!

Great game by all LBs today.

Jackson- 13 tackles

Davis- 12 tackles

Wimbley- 3 tackles 1 sack

McGinnest- 7 tackles 1 fumble recovery

I also think with Chaun Thompsons experiance playing OLB in the 4-3 and in the 3-4 last year and starting at ILB in preseason this year, he should be re-signed before his contract is up at the end of the year. Even if he isnt a starter, he is good depth and makes plays on specail teams. If they keep him and plus having McMillan and Leon Willaims, the Browns can address both lines and the CBs and not worry about getting more LBs.

DQ has never been a big RAH-RAH guy like Lewis..... not in college, not ever and hopefully you're not expecting him to be one here. His game was similar in that he had that knack for shooting gaps and getting TFLs and such especially on sweeps that got strung out...... Now that doesn't mean he won't be a leader and very well respected LB for years to come, possibly even a pro-bowl caliber player... but don't get excited if you never see him jumping and dancing and getting in people's faces on the sidelines, it ain't going to happen. His M.O. at Maryland was that if you were messing up, he'd pull you aside in the lockerroom, he'd tell you what you did wrong and how to do it right... as one other LB from Maryland said before the draft, if you blew an assignment and had to come off the field, he'd just look at you... you knew you screwed up, and now you knew that he knew you screwed up.. and that was enough. And hopefully somebody gave HIM that look after he vacated his zone to go cover a RB when we already had 4 defenders on that side of the field and left Gonzalez running free underneath for a TD... Maybe DQ was in the right place and somebody else screwed up there, but I can't imagine how, he left his spot on that side to go all the way across the field to cover a RB and let TG running free...

that one TE picked off like 3 browns players to get Gonzo open!!
i was MAD!!

Which is exactly why they brought Willie McGinnest in here. We've got 2 good, young linebackers with loads of potential ... and a perfect veteren to teach them everything they need to know. I've seen glimpses of greatness from both DQ and Wimbley this year. Like someone mentioned earlier ... I loved it when DQ tore through a gap against Cincinatti and dropped Rudi for a loss. I said to myself, "Oh my gosh! We have a real linebacker!" <img src="/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

Like all you lucky guys that get to see the team play, I'm going to be looking forward to next few years or more when the team will finally begin to get recognition and more TV exposure. It's only a matter of time and patience. In a few years from now, all these so called fans wanting Phil and RAC's heads on a platter will be eating crow and singing a much different tune about our GM and HC. JMHO.

My season tickets come from the DirecTV office. <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

DITTO!

Great Read Stabber. Here's a funny little story about this years draft. I was working when the draft started and I couldn't wait to get home to see who we picked. One of my regulars came in and told me we had picked Kamerion Wimbley in the first round and I was thinking to myself ...hmmm ok, not bad, good pick. Well the draft is so slow at times that by the time I got home they were just getting to the bottom of the first round. I got online and went to Gameday chat to listen to all the guys talking about who got picked by what team and their take on Kamerion. I noticed that all of a sudden the Browns had moved up in the lineup for their pick and said something to the guys. The announcers said that the Browns were up next. When they announce that we had taken DQ I proceeded to jump straight out of my chair and scare 5 cats and asshead with my screaming and dancing around the computer area. I went absolutely bonkers when they picked him almost losing my voice from screaming "we got DQ, we got DQ". I had never been so excited about a pick (other than when they took Charlie in the 3rd round the year before, like I had predicted....right Mour?) Well, asshead looks at me and says "Who's D'Qwell Jackson?" I turned with a stunned look on my face and said "You've got to be kidding?" I told him to watch the highlight reel they would show about DQ. After he saw that he realized that Savage had made a decent pick for a LB. Now all these months later the kid is making everyone sit up and take notice because he's really beginning to look like a future star at LB. Con had made mention of this kid in Gameday before and I decided that if he would say something about a player then maybe I should watch him too.(not just mourgrym watching him <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> ) One of the better draft picks by anyone in the Browns organization since they came back in '99. Let's hope that our future draft picks are half as exciting to watch as these 2 young men....Wimbley and Jackson.....what a tandem. Like someone has said about Wimbley, if this kid can find another move to get in on the backfield along with DQ getting back there....man our pass rush and run defense is gonna be sick. Other NFL teams will once again fear coming into our house and fear having us visit them. (jmo)

Would love to subscribe, but, small pension and tight budget restraints here, got to watch the pennies.

atomic... I had a similar experience.. saw the first round and was happy... then ran errands and came back for pick 2.. my 2 year old was on the floor at my feet they picked DQ and I about squashed her... I know I scared her to death because I screamed so loud she cried for 20 minutes... I just hugged her and danced around the room...

and I'm not going to say anything bad about con... but I started quietly pimping DQ early in his junior year at Maryland.. I said he'd be better than the "then much heralded" EJ Henderson that many on here wanted to take...

I wouldn't say watching offensive linemen is exciting, but watching a qb have time is exciting and watching us run for 130 a game is exciting... <img src="/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif" alt="" />

I started pimping him in his junior year too....at Seminole High School which is when I moved there <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

LOL, poor thing. Well at least you are raising her in the proper manner........with daddy during football <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Watching OL play can be exciting because you get to see the do some pretty wild things. I love the whole game but it's won and lost in the trenches. Good trench play and you have a great game going. (jmo)

I love watching OL. It is probaly one of the most exciting positions to scout. It is definately different when the first thing you look for is a big ass stuck up in the air. lol If the ass aint high, he usually isnt exploding.

Then u watch for the explosion off the snap. Is he rocking the DL staggering him or is he getting pushed.

Then you watch his feet. Its a pure dance. Is he leading and always ahead of the defender or is he being led and having to make the counter adjustments.

Hand placement. Is he keeping them inside and using punches to keep his man at bay or is he sliding them outside where anyone can see the hold.

When asked to pull is he sprinting or jogging.

Is he driving into the 2nd level or is he content with the initial block.

Is he quick to engage and pass his man or does he hold him for too long. Is he accepting the pass of a defender quick enough. (See andruzzi for how not to accept a defender lol)

Watching OL is very difficult because you need ton of tape and you may have to watch the same play 10 times just to see everything.

Excellent post Mour and yep ya got it dead on.........Nothing like seeing a big ass in the air on OL ....ya know he's got some power and speed coming out of that stance if ya can see that ass in the air. <img src="/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif" alt="" />