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Cleveland Brown fans may be wondering what to watch for in order for the Browns to make major improvements in 2009 over last year's disappointing 4-12 team.
One area to watch will be the front seven in the Browns 3-4 defensive alignment. Change was needed after the Cleveland defense ranked near the bottom against the run last year.
They allowed an average of 152 yards rushing a game last year, which ranked 28th out of the 32 teams in the NFL.
So it is no surprise that three of the seven starters on the Browns pre-season depth chart for the 3-4 defensive front are new faces.
What may be a surprise is all three new faces played for the New York Jets last year. But that may not be too surprising since the Browns have a new head coach this year, Eric Mangini, and he was the Jets head coach last year.
The three former Jets who appear to have won a starting spot on the Cleveland roster are linebackers Eric Barton and David Bowens and lineman Kenyan Coleman.
Joining them in the front seven will be two of the Browns' top tacklers last year, D'Qwell Jackson at linebacker and Shaun Rogers at nose tackle, as well as end Corey Williams and linebacker Kamerion Wimbley.
Barton has the best stats of the three former Jets-turned-Browns. The 6-foot-2, 245 pound linebacker led the Jets in tackles last year with 93. Before joining Cleveland this off-season Barton played five years in New York and before that, five years in Oakland. Since 2002 Barton has recorded 72 or more tackles a season five times.
Coleman is in his eighth NFL season. He started for the Jets the last two years, notching 56 tackles and 27 assists in 2007 and 43 tackles with 10 assists in 2008. He also played with Dallas from 2002-2006 and was drafted by Oakland in 2001.
Bowens, like Barton, is entering his 11th NFL season but he does not have as much starting experience under his belt. Bowens is a 6-foot-3, 245 pound linebacker. He started five of 16 games last year for New York and has only been a starter one other season, 2004, when he was with Miami.
Barton should make a good compliment at inside linebacker with D'Qwell Jackson. Jackson has been a starting linebacker for the Browns since they drafted him in the second round in 2006. He was second in tackles as a rookie with 115 and led the team last year with 95 tackles to go with 59 assists.
Wimbley and Bowens have the outside linebacker responsibilities. Bowens has the 11 years of experience while Wimbley, in his fourth season in the NFL, has youth. Wimbley had 50 tackles last year for the Browns, which ranked seventh.
Another leading tackler should be nose tackle Rogers. The big, 350-pound down lineman was picked for the Pro Bowl last year after making 61 tackles and 15 assists in 2008.
Rogers will be flanked by the 320 pound Williams on one side and the 295 pound Coleman on the other. Both are experienced, with five and seven years of experience, respectively. The addition of Coleman is expected to help the Browns improve on run defense.
Coleman replaces Shaun Smith, who started the pre-season with Cleveland but after a conflict with assistant coach Bryan Cox in early August, the Browns released him. He signed with Detroit a few days later.
Also departed from last year's front seven are linebackers Andra Davis and Willie McGinest. Davis was a free agent in the off-season and left for Denver. McGinest has not officially retired but if he does play in 2009, it is not expected to be with Cleveland.
Another Smith has also been working up front in the Cleveland defense. End Robaire Smith started two games for the Browns last year and is listed as a backup behind Coleman on this year's depth chart.
Other backups in the line are C.J. Mosley and Ahtyba Rubin. Mosley is another former Jet brought to Cleveland by Mangini. He is in his fifth year in the NFL but only started one game for the Jets last year. Rubin is in his second year with the Browns after they drafted him in the sixth round in 2008. He played in 12 games in 2008 but was not a starter.
The backups at linebacker are all young and do not have a lot of experience. They include Alex Hall, Beau Bell, Titus Brown and Kaluka Maiava. Hall is the most experienced of the backups, playing in 16 games last year and starting in two.
Bell was a fourth round pick for the Browns in 2008 but only saw action in four games. Brown was on the practice squad at the start of last season but was elevated to the 53-man roster in November and played in four games. Maiava is a rookie out of USC, picked in the fourth round this past spring.
The new personnel should help the Browns win more games in 2009 than 2008. They do have to stay healthy, though. Watch from them to have an improvement over last year, especially if their experienced defensive front seven avoids serious injury. The backups at linebacker are young, so it will be important for the four starters to remain healthy.
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Billy Downs is a long time NFL fan and operates the website Cleveland-Fans.com. The site features Cleveland Browns gear, including a Cleveland Browns watch, shirts, jackets and jerseys.
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