Jaguars’ Troy Williamson Shines Early, But Stars Aren’t Made Pre-Season

Amidst a ho-hum start to the preseason for Jacksonville, with two uninformative losses under the rebuilding Jaguars’ belts, receiver Troy Williamson has provided fodder for the grasping sports media.

Williamson’s 221 yards on seven receptions, including a 74-yard go-route score Saturday night that showcased his trademark deep speed, lead all NFL receivers after two weeks of exhibition football.

Without raw data to report from Jacksonville’s position battles on the offensive and defensive lines, media attention has gravitated toward Williamson’s statistical production. Several sources have described him as an “emerging star” and a key ingredient for the team’s offense this season.

The Jaguars would certainly appreciate a clear-cut starter opposite free agent signee Torry Holt. Since trading for Williamson after the 2007 season, Jacksonville’s receiving corps has undergone a youth overhaul; Mike Sims-Walker, who has nine starts in two seasons, is the team’s only other receiver with regular season experience.

Three rookies—Mike Thomas, Jarett Dillard, and Tiquan Underwood—were drafted to compete for playing time. Thomas has missed both preseason games with a hamstring injury, and neither Dillard nor Underwood has played particularly well.

But Williamson’s performance, though a positive sign for a team still working out offensive and defensive kinks, should hardly be considered a revelation.

Minnesota thought the sky was the limit for Williamson in 2005. As a rookie, he made three catches for 103 yards in his first preseason, including big gainers of 54 and 36 yards.

Three seasons, several key regular season drops, and countless failed technical and medical fixes later, the Vikings were content to unload their perpetual project on the Jaguars in exchange for a sixth-round pick.

More recently, in Jacksonville’s 2008 preseason finale at Washington, Williamson caught four passes for 84 yards. In eight appearances, including one start, during the ensuing regular season, he managed only 30 yards on five catches.

In that game against the Redskins, as in his four-catch effort at Miami last Monday, Williamson’s production came on passes from backup quarterbacks caught against backup defenders. Only one of his four receptions against the Dolphins, a seven-yard slant that he fumbled, was from David Garrard.

Considering Williamson’s history of regular season struggles, his lack of success against first-team competition is cause for suspicion—and, aside from the play-action bomb on the first play against Tampa Bay, that catch-and-fumble is his only reception this preseason against opposing starters.

Even Williamson’s big catches this preseason aren’t free of red flags. On both long gains Saturday night, he allowed the ball into his pads before cradling it for the catch—the same passive, haphazard receiving style that wrecked big plays for the Vikings in his first three years in the NFL.

Solid NFL receivers attack the ball in the air with reliable hands. Judging from his play thus far, Williamson hasn’t yet morphed into that kind of dependable option. Rather, he seems to have made the most of a few low-pressure situations and the absence of two other receivers.

If Williamson can continue his unexpected hot streak into September, he’ll be a big help for an offense that has lacked a true deep threat. In any case, he has likely earned a roster spot by flashing big potential yet again in the preseason.

At this point, though, expectations should be tempered for Williamson, who has disappointed before. He’ll be under the microscope against corners Asante Samuel and Sheldon Brown as the Jaguars face Philadelphia on Thursday night.

Should he break out against one of them, though, the “emerging star” talk could get serious.

Jaguars’ Fresh Look Shows Well Against Rain, Dirt Infield, Dolphins

As they gritted out an ugly 12-9 loss at Miami Monday night, the Jaguars had their first chance to evaluate several offseason additions in a game situation.

Torry Holt caught his first pass from David Garrard, a 10-yard first down in the first quarter. Tra Thomas helped keep Dolphins linebackers Jason Taylor and Joey Porter sackless.

And their new uniforms looked great.

Back in April, the Jaguars’ redesigned look was criticized harshly by ESPN.com contributor Paul Lukas, whose “Uni Watch” blog claims to “[deconstruct] the finer points of sports uniforms in obsessive and excruciating detail.”

Dubbing Jacksonville’s updated kit “the emperor’s new clothes,” Lukas mocked the uniforms piece by piece.

“The old [jersey felt] rich and organic,” he wrote, “while the new one feels mechanistic and plain.”

Against the Dolphins, though, the new shirts looked far from strange on the football field. They took well to dirt, bearing the players’ sweat and the mud of Land Shark Stadium dutifully, and gave the Jaguars a sharp team look.

Lukas also poked fun, in April, at what he called “the upright tildes” on Jacksonville’s new pants.

“I get that it’s supposed to look all sleek and streamlined,” he wrote, “but the effect is lost on the big linemen.”

Rookie tackle Eugene Monroe, sporting the new uniform in his first professional game, and the Jaguars’ other linemen contested that remark on Monday.

Up close, the stripe made a vibrant slash of white and teal against the black pants. From the TV angle, it drew visually on the white jerseys—unlike last year’s separated, matte black bottoms—for a more integrated look.

In his critique, Lukas also warned that the Jaguars’ sock design would create “major leotard-age [sic] on the road.” The black from the pants, he argued, would blend undesirably with the black tops of the socks.

Call it “leotard-age.” Argue, as Lukas did, that it doesn’t perform “the primary visual function of football hosiery.”

(Alternately, mistrust the football credentials of anyone who critiques “hosiery.”)

But Jacksonville’s black-and-black blend across the kneecap looked like something that’s worn for football—which, ultimately, is what a uniform is.

Criticism of the Jaguars’ fresh look back in April missed the mark, focusing on how the jersey looked on merchandise racks and football players modeling their new duds while wearing sneakers.

Yes, Brad Meester looked awkward on stage at the unveiling. Then August rolled around; he put on his pads and helmet and went to work, and suddenly his shirt seemed to fit just fine.

Simply put, a football uniform needs a football context. Jacksonville’s redesign was panned by some as a concept, but credit goes to the professionals at Reebok for understanding that it would work just fine in the arena.

Tonight, the Jaguars will show off their home teals as they play host to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Their play from this past Monday could be improved, but their new uniforms have done their job admirably so far.

Eugene Monroe Signs Deal, Dominates in First Drills at Jaguars’ Practice

After 13 days spent waiting on contract negotiations with the Jaguars, Eugene Monroe was ready to shake off the rust and play football.

“I got off the plane, signed, and went to practice,” he told CBS Sports contributor Jim Nasella.

The contract Jacksonville offered Monroe, their first-round pick in April’s draft, amounts to $35.4 million (including $19 million guaranteed) over five years, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

No sooner was Monroe under contract than he began preparing for Jacksonville’s evening training camp session, showing up less than an hour after the start of practice.

The Jaguars wasted no time in welcoming their newest teammate.

Monroe was pitted against camp standout Julius Williams, a promising rookie pass-rusher, man-to-man in his first Oklahoma drill. Thrown into his first action of the preseason, Monroe beat Williams in two of three tries.

After the second try, Monroe took some ribbing about his contract situation.

“Hey Eugene,” veteran Reggie Hayward yelled, “I heard they washed your pants with money.”

Having dealt with Williams, Monroe’s second Oklahoma opponent was defensive end Derrick Harvey, Jacksonville’s first-round pick from a year ago and, like Williams, one of the stars of camp thus far.

In this confrontation between the 2009 draft’s consensus best pass-protector and the 2008 draft’s consensus best pass-rusher, Monroe stonewalled Harvey twice.

Two tough matchups, two decisive wins. Not a bad showing for his first practice.

For Monroe, considered one of the best athletes among the offensive linemen in this year’s draft, the Oklahoma drill was an ideal way to get his feet wet in Jacksonville’s training camp.

One-on-one between the pads, he showcased his individual technique and talent—not an extensive grasp of the Jaguars’ offense, or the chemistry he has yet to develop with the other linemen. That raw potential is all that’s kept veteran Tra Thomas from running away with the left tackle job in Monroe’s absence.

Going forward, Monroe faces an uphill battle to challenge Thomas for that starting role after missing nearly half a month of practice.

He has youth on his side, and the right skill set to face NFL defensive ends right away. But he’ll need to take to Jacksonville’s line calls and playbook like a fish to water over the next month to be a better option than Thomas for protecting David Garrard’s blind side.

According to general manager Gene Smith, Monroe could play in the Jaguars’ preseason opener at Miami. How he works with the rest of the offense, more than any one-on-one practice victories, will determine his place on the depth chart.

For Jaguars’ Defense, 3-4 Look Means Aggression, Not Mere Scheme Change

When Jacksonville hired defensive coordinator Mel Tucker in January after he was fired by Cleveland, observers whispered that the Jaguars might be looking to adopt his 3-4 defense.

That two-gap scheme, predicated on behemoths like the Browns’ Shaun Rogers (6’4″, 350 pounds) and Corey Williams (6’5″, 320) taking on multiple blockers up front—and undermined, in part, by Rogers’ tendency to shoot gaps instead of clogging them—would be an awkward task for Jacksonville’s defensive personnel.

Of the 10 down linemen on the Jaguars’ current roster, only tackles John Henderson (6’7″, 335), Rob Meier (6’5″, 315), and Terrance Knighton (6’3″, 325) have the requisite length and lower-body bulk to two-gap. Henderson and Meier, veterans with 18 years of experience between them, would need to redefine their playing styles to fit the scheme.

A two-gap scheme would also have no place for promising third-year DT Derek Landri. At 6’2″ and just under 300 pounds, Landri is built to one-gap, attacking the spaces between blockers with his quickness and leverage. He’d be ineffective playing face-up on a center or tackle.

Knighton, though only a rookie, is the key to understanding the Jaguars’ experiments with 3-4 looks.

Physically, he has the wide hips and barrel chest necessary to hold up amidst the trash in the middle of a three-man front. But Knighton, a former high school receiver who racked up tackles for loss in college and ran the 40-yard dash in under five seconds at Temple’s pro day, also has the athleticism and quickness to one-gap.

That combination of size and mobility has distinguished nose tackles like Dallas’ Jay Ratliff and Pittsburgh’s Casey Hampton, who man the middle for attacking 3-4 defenses that shoot gaps instead of holding the line like Tucker’s Browns.

Between Knighton, Henderson, Meier, and aggressive tackles like Landri and Attiyah Ellison, the Jaguars’ three-man fronts figure to look more like “heavy” personnel packages for their one-gap scheme.

Head coach Jack Del Rio’s comments in a press conference yesterday suggested as much.

“There’s no secret that we’re going to experiment with some different fronts,” Del Rio told reporters, “just looking to utilize the people we have.”

“The bottom line is what we want to be on defense is attacking.”

Last year, Jacksonville hired defensive coordinator Gregg Williams—now with the Saints—with that same goal in mind. Williams’ predecessor, current Falcons head coach Mike Smith, had installed a conservative scheme that relied on the front four to generate pressure.

The Jaguars hoped that Williams’ blitz-happy defense would confuse opposing offenses by bringing pressure from all sides. Instead, players struggled to learn their responsibilities in the complex new defense and were often caught out of position.

This year’s shift in philosophy relies less on particular schemes than on the individual talents of Jacksonville’s defensive personnel, especially in the group of players who’d be considered 3-4 linebackers.

Justin Durant, Daryl Smith, and Clint Ingram, the team’s three projected starters at linebacker in their base 4-3, are versatile-enough athletes to handle the diverse tasks given to linebackers in a 3-4 defense. The Jaguars don’t have much proven depth beyond those three, though, making their stable of potential outside linebackers all the more important.

Draft experts pegged Quentin Groves as a hot prospect for teams with 3-4 defenses last year. His speed upfield and lack of every-down size seemed to pigeonhole him into a rushing linebacker role.

Groves has since committed to gaining weight to play better as a down lineman, bulking up to 264 pounds this offseason from 251 in December, but would still be a good fit as a 3-4 pass rusher.

In a 3-4 look, undrafted free agent Julius Williams from Connecticut might be a diamond in the rough.

“He finishes strong,” general manager Gene Smith said of Williams. Smith told Jaguars.com’s Vic Ketchman that, despite having been primarily a down lineman in college, “[Williams] certainly shows that he has linebacker history.”

Weighing a rock-solid 260 pounds, Williams has the athleticism and strength to be a force in an “elephant” role—the strong-side outside linebacker in a 3-4 defense, who usually has more blockers to fight through on his way to the quarterback.

The Jaguars’ best rush linebacker, though, would likely be Derrick Harvey.

Coming off a lackluster rookie year, where his biggest impact was made by holding out until Jacksonville’s last preseason game, Harvey might be underrated as he enters his second season.

A consensus first-round talent in 2008, Harvey boasted the quickest first step of any end in his draft class. Though New York’s Vernon Gholston was acknowledged as stronger, Harvey was considered the draft’s most-natural pass rusher.

Even having added 10 pounds to anchor better against the run, Harvey has the skill set to excel in an attacking role as a weak-side linebacker in the 3-4.

The common thread in all of Jacksonville’s potential 3-4 fits is that the players are put in position to attack gaps differently than they would in the Jaguars’ base defense. If and when they give opponents a 3-4 look, the change should be regarded not as a commitment to the 3-4 as such, but to a new philosophy of aggressive defense.

Jaguars Coach Del Rio on Monroe’s Holdout: “The Team’s Moving On”

When asked about Eugene Monroe at a press conference yesterday, Jaguars head coach Jack Del Rio seemed ready and willing to talk.

“I’m glad you should ask,” he began.

What followed was a concise and confident appraisal of the holdout situation from the team’s point of view—and, maybe, an indirect message to Monroe and his representation.

“We don’t have anything to report other than he’s not here,” Del Rio said, “and the team’s moving on. We’re working the guys that are here.”

Asked to compare Monroe’s contract situation to Derrick Harvey’s 33-day holdout last year, Del Rio acknowledged some similarities.

“Obviously, the slot [they were] taken in [and] the fact that it’s a whole lot of money…and then seeing last year what the absence did to the player.”

“The biggest thing,” he stressed, “is that the best thing for the player to do is be here, because this team’s moving on and there’s a lot of good work being put in.”

Del Rio emphasized the agent’s role in prolonging contract negotiations generally.

“It’s a lot of money—one way or another, it’s going to be a lot of money—but I think the player may suffer the most in the whole deal,” he said. “Quite often [for] the agents, there’s a different motivating force for them.”

“Hopefully [a deal] will get done, both sides will be happy, and we’ll get to work. But, meanwhile, we’re just going to carry on without him.”

The optimism that has characterized Jacksonville’s offseason thus far showed through when Del Rio was asked about two pivotal players on defense.

“I think Derrick [Harvey] is off to a good start in camp,” he said. “He’s been committed throughout the spring in terms of conditioning his body, and he’s out here working with a purpose right now.”

After a disappointing first season in the NFL, in which Harvey managed a team-high 29 hurries but only 3.5 sacks, the Jaguars’ 2008 first-round pick has bulked up in order to anchor better against run blocks. Harvey’s development as an every-down defensive end will be crucial to Jacksonville’s defensive success in 2009 and beyond.

“We’re going to need our [defensive] front to come on,” Del Rio said. “We’ve got a lot of questions. We’re going to need them to work, but they’re approaching the work in the right way.”

Del Rio’s enthusiasm was evident when discussing rookie cornerback Derek Cox.

“The encouraging thing about him is he’s long and he’s quick,” he said.  “Even when he’s not doing things, technique-wise, the way we’re going to get him to do it, he’s still able to [deflect] balls and show that he is going to be a physical player.”

“He is intelligent,” Del Rio continued. “The refinement of technique is going to take some time, but a long, athletic guy that can run is something we love having.”

Cox, a third-rounder for whom Jacksonville dealt next year’s second-round pick, has hit the ground running in the Jaguars’ offseason activities. As a rookie expected to contribute this season and assume a starting role in the near future, he’s emblematic of the youth movement taking place on Jacksonville’s roster.

Monroe, of course, has an important role in that movement. But, judging from Del Rio’s tone and message, the Jaguars are still making progress without him.

State of the DTs: Ngata is Quickly Becoming a Veteran Presence for Ravens

[This article is one of eight in B/R contributor Jack Harver’s “State of the DTs” series, introduced here.]

In the three years since Baltimore drafted Haloti Ngata, several spots on the Ravens’ defense have been weakened.

Their secondary has taken the biggest hit. Corners Samari Rolle and Chris McAlister were aces in 2005, the year before Ngata arrived. 

Baltimore signed Rolle in free agency when Tennessee couldn’t afford to retain him, and McAlister had just been re-signed to a seven-year, $55 million deal.

The tandem had three All-Pro selections combined, and seemed set to key Baltimore’s pass defense going forward.

Rolle suffered seizures caused by epilepsy though, missing significant time in 2007. A knee injury that same year took a heavy toll on McAlister’s speed. After leading the league’s sixth-best pass defense in 2006, neither was what the Ravens had expected.

Baltimore’s linebacking corps has also taken its lumps. Ray Lewis, Terrell Suggs, Bart Scott, and Adalius Thomas were arguably the league’s best foursome in 2006. But Thomas left as a free agent in 2007, resulting in a down year for Suggs against increased attention from opposing blocking schemes.

Lewis, still one of the league’s fiercest competitors, has become more of a leader and physical presence over the past few years—as opposed to the sideline-to-sideline dominance that won him two Defensive Player of the Year awards.

And Scott, a steady performer inside next to Lewis, left as a free agent this past spring to join Ryan in New York.

Even the Ravens’ defensive line, though steadier than their other two lines of defense, hasn’t been free of problems.

Underrated nose tackle Kelly Gregg, an important cog in Baltimore’s defensive machine since becoming a full-time starter in 2002, missed all of 2008 after undergoing surgery on his knee. In the six seasons before his injury, Gregg had played in 93 of the Ravens’ 96 games, including 92 starts.

Yet, despite these substantial chinks in its armor, Baltimore’s defense has pressed on.  The Ravens have finished no worse than sixth in the league in total defense—and no lower than third in terms of rush yards allowed—in each of the past three seasons.

Part of the credit goes to Ryan’s genius for replacement. Stand-ins such as safety Jim Leonhard and lineman Justin Bannan were NFL cast-offs before landing in Baltimore and turning into productive starters.

Increasingly, though, credit is being given where it has been due: to the hard-to-miss 6’4″, 340-pound man in the middle.

“[Ngata] has been a huge part of our success,” Ryan told ESPN’s Jeffri Chadiha last season. “He’s started from day one, and he’s only gotten better and better.”

Through his first three NFL seasons, Ngata has started all 52 of the Ravens’ games, including four starts in the postseason. He has amassed 164 tackles—111 of them solo—in addition to six sacks and seven passes defensed, but his numbers hardly tell the full story.

Praise from his teammates and coaches comes closer.

“No one man can block Haloti,” Suggs said in an interview before last season’s game against Washington. “He’s a physical man-child. He’s a beast out there.”

In addition to being one of the strongest players on the football field at any given time, Ngata has proven smart enough to be utilized in several different roles by the Ravens’ coaching staff.

With Gregg performing well at nose tackle, Ryan shifted Ngata out to end in Baltimore’s three-man fronts in 2007. There, he clashed with opposing tackles, locking them down to give Suggs good pass-rushing looks, and funnel running plays back inside into traffic.

Stouter, and just as quick as the linemen opposing him, Ngata would shoot the “B” gap (between the tackle and guard) to rush the passer, and some of the Ravens’ blitzes had him dropping back in short zone coverage.

When Gregg went down this past season, Ngata transitioned seamlessly back into the nose tackle role, still able to play at end in some looks.

Looking to get full use out of Ngata, the Ravens have experimented with using him at tight end in goal-line packages—and not just as a blocker, though he has done well in that role.

A few plays in Baltimore’s offensive playbook have him running routes. In time, he’s likely to add a touchdown reception or two to his career stats line.

But Ngata, despite his stellar play, the Ravens’ many uses for him, and his selection to last year’s Associated Press All-Pro team, has yet to be voted to the Pro Bowl.

“Some guys that are voting on [the Pro Bowl] don’t get to go up against him,” Ryan ventured in an interview at the end of last season.

“I’m pretty sure when you look at all the votes that Haloti received, it’s guys that he’s played against. Those are the guys who will vote him into the Pro Bowl—and next year, if we play a different conference, I’m sure those guys will vote him as well.”

Recognition seems to be just a matter of exposure for Baltimore’s multifunctional rising star, who has left a fittingly massive impression on anyone who’s seen him play.

Asked to value Ngata at the end of last season, Ryan was adamant:

“I know there are some great defensive tackles in the league, but I wouldn’t trade this guy for anybody.”

State of the DTs: Wilfork Eager for Payday; Pats “Braced” to Lose Him

[This article is one of eight in B/R contributor Jack Harver’s “State of the DTs” series, introduced here.]

Coming off a career year, both statistically and as a team leader, Vince Wilfork might have expected the New England Patriots to be willing when he broached the subject of a contract extension this offseason.

Wilfork had a personal best 66 tackles (45 solo) and two sacks while starting all 16 games on a defense that lost several veterans to injuries.  Safety Rodney Harrison, end Richard Seymour, and linebackers Adalius Thomas and Tedy Bruschi all missed starts; Harrison and Thomas finished the season on injured reserve.

But the Patriots’ front office, not a group disposed to depend too heavily on any one player, responded to Wilfork’s upcoming contract year stoically.  They have held firm in negotiations thus far, clinging to the bargain $2.2 million salary ($800,000 base plus $1.4 million in escalators) owed to Wilfork in 2009 and not willing to overspend to keep him a Patriot.

And in April, perhaps mindful of Wilfork’s contract situation, New England spent a second-round draft pick on Boston College defensive tackle Ron Brace—a 6’3″, 330-pound mauler who could eventually replace Wilfork at the nose.

At age 27, Wilfork is hardly a fading dinosaur on his last legs.  Of the 80 games the Patriots have played since using their 2004 first-round pick on him, Wilfork has played in 77 and started 67 of them.  Playing one of football’s most physically demanding positions, he has missed just three starts in five years.

After making his first Pro Bowl appearance in 2008, Wilfork wasn’t voted to the 2009 game.  Kris Jenkins and Shaun Rogers, two star newcomers from the NFC, had more buzz and better numbers, respectively.

But Wilfork, who also earned All-Pro honors for his play in that 2007-08 season, is still considered one of the NFL’s elite at his position.

“[Wilfork]’s just smart,” Oakland center Samson Satele told The Boston Globe.

“He knows when to fire out and when not to.  He’s been in the league for quite a while, so he knows some of the little tips.  If the guard looks at him, he knows that he is coming his way.

“He is a low center of gravity guy.  You can’t move him.”

With his combination of savvy and strength, Wilfork has been a crucial component of New England’s run defense in his four years as a full-time starter.  Over that stretch, the Patriots have consistently been in the league’s top 10 in terms of rushing yards allowed.

They took a step back to the middle of the pack in 2008, hampered by a combination of injuries and new starters at linebacker and safety.

Wilfork, too, struggled a bit as the Patriots missed the playoffs.  Former Baltimore defensive coordinator—and current Jets head coach—Rex Ryan points out that Wilfork wasn’t above occasional lapses in technique.

“Good [nose tackles] stay square,” he told The Boston Globe.  “I think when Vince makes a mistake, it’s because he turns his shoulder.”

On a defense missing several of its steady veterans, and with his own contract situation unsettled, Wilfork might have felt pressure to beat blocks and make more plays himself instead of sticking strictly to his two-gap role.

Brace, Wilfork’s rookie understudy, played second fiddle to Boston College teammate B.J. Raji for two years, generally taking on blockers while Raji racked up sacks.  Whether the Patriots think Wilfork’s form has slipped or not, Brace might offer enough of a continued bargain at nose tackle to allow them to focus on re-signing veterans like Seymour and guard Logan Mankins instead.

Regardless of whether New England ends up retaining him, Wilfork’s value has hardly diminished in the eyes of the rest of the league.

“I’d love to have him, no question,” Ryan added.  “Nose tackles are hard to find; everybody needs them, [and] he’s a good one.

“There will be a lot of takers out there if he’s a free agent.”

State of the DTs: Rogers, Browns’ Defense Must Sync to Improve in 2009

This article is one of eight in B/R contributor Jack Harver’s “State of the DTs” series, introduced here.

Shaun Rogers’ first season in Cleveland was a tale of two contrasting stats lines.

One was Rogers’ individual production: 76 tackles—61 of them solo—to go with 4.5 sacks (second-most in the NFL by a nose tackle) and four passes defensed.  Pro Bowl voters showed their approval by sending Rogers to Hawaii for the third time in his career.

The other was the Browns’ run defense.  With Rogers in the middle of their line, Cleveland allowed a 100-yard rusher in eight of their 16 games and gave up over 150 rushing yards per game on average—fifth-worst in the league.

In addition, Rogers’ Browns teammates tallied only 12.5 sacks.  Cleveland’s pass defense still managed to be a league-average unit in terms of yards allowed, despite the lack of pressure on opposing quarterbacks.

The picture painted by these two discordant sets of numbers is more complicated than a star in the middle of a bad defense.

As much havoc as he caused, Rogers can’t be blamed for the Browns’ deficient pass rush.  Nor should he be considered responsible for the play of ends Corey Williams—another of Cleveland’s offseason trade acquisitions—and Shaun Smith, which left much to be desired.

But Rogers did hurt the Browns’ defense by failing to play within coach Romeo Crennel’s two-gap scheme.

Crennel’s defenses in 2003 and 2004, his last two years as the New England Patriots’ defensive coordinator, were elite against the run.  Richard Seymour was coming into his own as a star end on those teams, but the scheme keyed on big bodies Ted Washington, Keith Traylor, and Vince Wilfork at nose tackle.

All three could move, which was a plus, but those teams stopped the run so well because all three were immovable.

In Rogers, Cleveland might have been expecting the second coming of Traylor—very big, athletic, and tenacious at the point of attack.  But his transition from an attacking role in Detroit’s four-man front to the less-glorified two-gap work required in Crennel’s defense, went poorly.

While Rogers was shooting gaps, accumulating the most solo tackles in any season of his career and defeating blocks in rare form, opponents were effectively running around him.  Instead of staying home on his blocker and clogging two rushing lanes, Rogers was often committing to one gap—an easy read block for even an average lineman.

Just as often as he was making plays, Rogers was being ridden out of the way, leaving a clear running lane in his wake.

Eric Mangini, Cleveland’s new head coach, ran the same two-gap 3-4 defense as Crennel’s successor in New England and as head coach of the New York Jets.  But, considering the dysfunctional defensive line he’s inheriting, he should consider scheming to harness Rogers’ bullish ability to plow through blockers.

Williams, who cost the Browns a second-round pick and has done little to warrant his six year, $38 million contract thus far, could thrive as an end in a one-gap scheme.  Like Rogers, Williams had his best seasons in an attacking role: he racked up 14 sacks from 2006-07 in Green Bay’s 4-3 defense before leaving for Cleveland.

Rogers could easily spend another year racking up sacks and tackles without corresponding team success.  He’s a phenomenal athlete for his size, and he’s at the peak of his individual game.

For the Browns to truly benefit from his grit and aggression, though, he’ll either need to play with more discipline in his two-gap role or be let loose in a new, attacking defense.

State of the DTs: If Healthy, All-Pro Jenkins Keys Jets’ Bully Defense

[This article is one of eight in B/R contributor Jack Harver’s “State of the DTs” series, introduced here.]

Kris Jenkins has conquered the kind of medical and personal problems that claim careers.

Coming into the NFL in 2001, he weighed 315 pounds at the NFL Combine.  Back then, the questions were just about his work ethic and discipline. 

Jenkins took his lumps as a rookie in Carolina, then blew up in his second and third seasons: 12 sacks, almost 90 tackles, and two trips to the Pro Bowl in two years.

He was well on his way to stardom as an athletic, aggressive tackle when a roller-coaster series of injuries and rehabilitation began.

First was a shoulder injury in Week 4 of the 2004 season that sidelined him for the rest of the year.  During the time off, Jenkins developed drinking and weight problems that undermined his rehabilitation.

In his first game back in 2005, Jenkins tore his ACL—a seemingly final setback.  Knee injuries are the bane of football players, debilitating and very prone to recurrence. 

But Jenkins scratched his way back into the Panthers’ 2006 starting lineup, reinventing himself as a space-eating roadblock and earning Pro Bowl honors for a third time.

During the 2007 season, his weight issues cropped up once more; at nearly 400 pounds, Jenkins effectively ate his way out of Carolina.  The Jets gave up third- and fifth-round draft picks—a bargain, considering the Panthers’ first-round asking price for Jenkins the year before—to acquire him, and signed him to a contract with $250,000 in incentives for dropping weight.

Through the first 11 games in 2008, no one could argue that the Jets hadn’t gotten their money’s worth.

Jenkins showed up to New York’s training camp at 360 pounds and keyed a run defense that was among the league’s elite.  The Jets allowed under 80 yards per game on the ground as they shot out of the gates to an 8-3 start; no opposing running back managed 100 yards against them, and they held five of their 11 opponents under 50 team rushing yards.

Then, having beaten alcohol, depression, weight issues, and injuries to his knee and shoulder, Jenkins started to feel the effects of a hip injury and a herniated disc in his back.

The back injury had happened back in a Week 3 loss at San Diego and nagged at Jenkins as the season wore on, but the physical wear and tear seemed to take over in December.  The Jets allowed 100-yard rushers in three of their final five games, going 1-4 over that stretch and missing the playoffs after their hot start.

New York fired head coach Eric Mangini after that collapse, replacing him with former Baltimore defensive coordinator Rex Ryan.

Ryan has come into the AFC East with guns blazing, signing linebacker Bart Scott and safety Jim Leonhard from his Ravens defense and talking smack with the Jets’ division rivals.  His history of success developing pass rushers like Terrell Suggs and Adalius Thomas has Jets fans optimistic about the prospects for former first-round pick Vernon Gholston and the defense as a whole.

But Jenkins is the unquestioned focal point of the defense.  The Jets acquired free agent lineman Marques Douglas, who played for Ryan in Baltimore, but traded end Kenyon Coleman to Cleveland.  New York’s ends weren’t able to pick up the slack in Jenkins’ absence last season, and the Jets shouldn’t expect them to this year, either.

In his 2006 Pro Bowl season, Jenkins showed that he is capable of coming back from worse injuries to play at a high level.  For their new coach to be able to tinker with his new defense—and he is tinkering, if Jenkins’ practice reps at defensive end are any indication—the Jets will need their nose tackle to start 2009 where he left off in Week 12 of 2008.

Jenkins’ play through those first eleven games earned him his first All-Pro nod since swelling above 350 pounds.  That “second coming” form will be crucial to New York’s defense going forward.

State of the DTs: After Getting Paid, How Will Haynesworth Fit in DC?

[This article is one of eight in B/R contributor Jack Harver’s “State of the DTs” series, introduced here.]

In sports, big paychecks come with big expectations.

(The same should—but can’t—be said about all industries.)

Coming into a front-loaded seven year, $100 million deal to join the Washington Redskins, defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth is confronting both sides of that truism.

The Redskins expect Haynesworth to turn the weakest position on the NFL’s fourth-ranked defense into a position of strength.  They expect him to get sacks and tackles, but they’ll also expect him to take on multiple blockers, giving rookie pass rusher Brian Orakpo good looks. 

The Pro Bowl?  That’s practically a given on Washington’s to-do list for their big-ticket acquisition.

He’s expected to be the best player on a defense featuring such standouts as London Fletcher and Laron Landry. Considering what they’ve invested, the Redskins arguably have a right to such great expectations.

But Haynesworth, thrust into a very bright spotlight by his All-Pro performance the past two years and the sheer size of his contract, is also dealing with a different set of expectations.

Between pessimistic fans, the ever-skeptical sports media, and even his tight-fisted former owners in Tennessee, a sizable chunk of public opinion expects Haynesworth to fail.

“With the contract, it’s going to be all on me,” he acknowledged in a press conference following his signing. “My goal is to be the best player on the field and to eventually get to that Hall of Fame status and be mentioned with Reggie White and Bruce Smith and all the greats.

“You’re not going to remember Albert Haynesworth as a bust.”

To truly avoid the “bust” tag, Haynesworth will need to provide an attitude adjustment for Washington’s “bend, don’t break” defense.

The Redskins gave up under 300 total yards per game.  But they struggled to make the game-changing plays that define elite defenses, managing only 13 turnovers and 24 sacks—among the league’s worst in both categories.

In signing Haynesworth, owner Daniel Snyder made a statement that he wants his defense to do less bending and more breaking their opponents. 

At tackle for the Titans the past two seasons, Haynesworth jackknifed into opposing backfields for 14.5 sacks in 27 games while keying one of the league’s top-five run defenses.

To earn his considerable keep, Haynesworth has to help Washington’s defense transform into a unit that terrorizes and imposes itself on opponents instead of reacting to them.  He’ll need to turn them into an eleven-man emulation of his own playing style.

Part of the challenge will be keeping himself healthy: Haynesworth has yet to start all 16 games in any season since entering the league in 2002.  He made 14 starts in 2008, missing Weeks 16 and 17 with a knee sprain, which was his best showing since starting 14 games in 2005.

That’s the yin and yang to Haynesworth, of course: if the Redskins are expecting him to repeat his past performance, they should be prepared to go a few games without him.

But when he’s on the field, Haynesworth has to add his aggression, his attitude, and even a bit of his recklessness to Washington’s smart, efficient defense. 

If that happens, he’ll have been worth every penny.

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