Cleveland: The 14th Best DL in Football?

by Chris Pokorny on Jun 5, 2008 7:46 AM EDT in General News

The other day, I linked to an article from CBS Sportsline's Pete Prisco, in which he ranked the Browns as having the sixth best offensive line in football heading into this season. What about the defensive line?

Last year, I think it's pretty safe to say we deserved to be ranked 32nd in the league. Sure, you can take a magnifying glass and try to say that there was a team or two that were worse than us, but why bother. The bottom line is that we were Bad, with a much-deserved capital 'B'.

Much like GM Phil Savage overhauled the offensive line during the 2007 offseason, he overhauled the defensive line during the 2008 offseason. That overhaul was good enough to get us ranked in the top half of the league -- seemingly out of nowhere. Since we're not near the top of the list, I'll show Prisco's top five teams, all division teams, and the teams that are three spots above and below us:

1. San Diego
2. Minnesota
3. New England
4. New York Giants
5. Dallas
6. Baltimore
11. Pittsburgh
12. Houston
13. Tennessee

Best player: NT Shaun Rogers. Weak link: RE Robaire Smith.

The skinny: The Browns play a 3-4 front, so we'll use the outside linebackers when rating this unit. They are Willie McGinest, Antwan Peek and Kamerion Wimbley. McGinest isn't what he once was, but he's still a good veteran to have around. Peek is a better pass rusher. Wimbley is a player who might be on the verge of playing in a Pro Bowl. The addition of Rogers and left end Corey Williams in free agency gives the Browns some much-needed bulk up front. Shaun Smith is a good backup.

15. Indianapolis
16. Jacksonville
17. New Orleans
24. Cincinnati

We're not ahead of everyone in our division, but we in a lot better shape than we were last season. Seeing teams like Indianapolis and Jacksonville behind us is quite encouraging too. Another thing: while I can't argue about Robaire Smith being our "weak link" since we've added Corey Williams and Shaun Rogers, it's still funny to see that considering he was our "best player" last season on the line.

Poll

Do you agree with Prisco's rating of the Browns DL?

Yes, it's spot on

52 votes

No, we should be higher

50 votes

No, we should be lower

23 votes

125 votes | Poll has closed

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Comments

I find it… interesting that they include OLB’s for a DL ranking on teams that run a 3-4, apparently. Why is that, exactly? I think the rating is roughly right, but a tad on the low side because he factored in McGinest/Peek/Wimbley. On a straight DL, where you are only starting three, the Browns should be higher. Plus, the ability to include Shaun Smith in there as well (which would make more sense if his mind was unable to separate grading 3-4 linemen from 4-3 linemen) would help. Its not so much that I think the rating is wrong, but instead that his premise in ranking them is horribly flawed.

by Fundamentals on Jun 5, 2008 9:22 PM EDT reply actions

Yeah, rating defensive lines isn’t as easy as offensive lines because of the different schemes teams can throw at you. When you start throwing in other positions, you start crossing a line of considering too many other positions. i.e. if we have a tremendous secondary, our defensive line can focus on the running game more, and thus end up being rated higher.

Dawgs By Nature - Find out why Pittsburgh still sucks.

by Chris Pokorny on Jun 5, 2008 10:51 PM EDT up reply actions