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.

After gushing last week so much over the work of local sportswriter Terry Pluto, I'm surprised that BringBackKosar hasn't stated that I've found a new man-crush. Or, maybe it'll be more appropriate after I praise Pluto's work from June 1, in which he included some interesting statistics regarding how often some of our defenders saw action on the field.

Although he was on the field often, Bodden's injuries eventually led to him getting burned on a consistent basis.

1. Leigh Bodden (98%): This was almost a wake-up call, or a slap-in-the-face. Maybe it's just me, but I didn't think about the fact that Bodden was actually on the field for the majority of our plays. Heck, in a casual conversation, if a Detroit fan would've asked me about Bodden, I might have mistakenly said that he missed some games the past couple of years due to injuries. While he missed three games in 2005 and seven games in 2007, he didn't miss a single game last season.

What does all of that mean in regard to this year's defense? Not a whole lot that we didn't already know, but still worth noting. Pluto also debunked the rumor that the Browns threw Bodden into the Shaun Rogers deal for nothing.

"Detroit wanted Leigh from the beginning when we started talking about Shaun (Rogers)," Savage said. "It was always Bodden and a pick, the question being what round. Leigh was in virtually every trade discussion with the Lions. He was a key piece for them."

With Bodden gone, Pluto also stated that the Browns are already leaning towards running a Cover-2 defense this season. If you're unfamiliar with defensive schemes, the Cover-2 approach focuses on keeping everything in front of you in the passing game to prevent teams from hitting the big play. That means that safeties Brodney Pool and Sean Jones would play center field towards the left and right sidelines, while it'd be the job of young cornerbacks Eric Wright and Brandon McDonald to make the sure-tackles on quick passes.

The drawback to the Cover-2 is that the middle of the field is typically more open, considering the safeties are providing support deep for the cornerbacks. A Tampa-2 defense -- which requires more savvy players -- would remove the issue of patterns over the middle by dropping a linebacker back there. Until the Browns actually prove that our front seven is good enough to stop the run though, we can't even consider a Tampa-2 type of approach.

2. Kamerion Wimbley (99%): Yikes...just think about that. 99 out of 100 times, Wimbley was on the field? Remember, this is a guy whose primary job was often to try and rush the passer. We're paying him a lot of money to do that, so some might argue that there's no sense in worrying about whether or not he gets tired. That's not the issue though -- we saw how effective the New York Giants pass rushers were when they worked in a deep rotation. After considering this, perhaps signing a player like a Rosevelt Colvin should be a little higher on our priority list.

3. Antwan Peek (54%): This figure wasn't surprising in the least; in fact, it seemed a little high considering all the time he missed. As Pluto noted, although Peek played in 14 games, he never could give his best effort on gameday. The few times he did receive playing time, I saw a lot of positives -- a reason why I'm really hoping he, of all our linebackers, remains healthy this season.

4. Willie McGinest (62%): This is clearly a mistake, especially for a player that's nearing the end of his career. McGinest was ripped by us many times last season for being in position towards the end of games to tackle a running back in the open field, only not to come through. If we have McGinest on the field 62% of the time again this season, the left side of our defense will be attacked by opposing running backs at a concerning rate.

5. Robaire Smith (81%): The more I think about it, the more I appreciate Smith's contribution to our defensive line last season. Pluto wisely pointed out that no other Browns defensive lineman even reached 50%. Smith gutted the season out, but was clearly overworked. With the much-needed depth we added in the offseason, lowering Smith's percentage will hopefully increase his effectiveness.

The youngster, Shaun Smith, will be heavily depended on this season to spell the other Smith, Rogers, and Williams.

6. Shaun Smith (44%): The other Smith will be our go-to-guy for depth this season, and getting him 44% of the playing time last season was critical. He's much further along in terms of experience than we expected him to be prior to last season starting. Instead of going into this year with a question mark in case either Shaun Rogers or Corey Williams go down, there is less need to panic.

Pluto adds that the fifth defensive lineman is shaping up to be a battle between Chase Pittman, Louis Leonard, Melila Purcell and rookie Ahtyba Rubin. That'll be something we'll have to zone in on during training camp, because at this point, I don't think we've seen enough from any of them to decide on a clear favorite. For the sake of a guess though, I'd go with Leonard, considering we grabbed him from the Rams last season.

Pluto's entire article is listed in today's link collection below:

Terry Pluto's Talkin' about Browns defense (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

Passan: Bell, Rucker face long odds (Orange and Brown Report)

Deleted scene from LOST episode, The Economist (DocArtz)

Florio projects Browns to miss the playoffs (Sporting News)

Today, June 2, is my birthday. I'm happy that the weather has been very pleasant on my birthday for the second consecutive year in a row!

With OTAs nearing the end of their run and today being a Wednesday, that means it was the final day for the media to set their sights on a practice until minicamps begin in a couple of weeks.

Here's a rundown on what sources are reporting from the session:

• 
  Shaun Rogers' push on gameday will help edge rushers, such as Kamerion Wimbley and Antwan Peek
  Cousin's Debut: It was a "debut" of sorts for veteran cornerback Terry Cousin, who was at the center of attention during interviews. Cousin seemed to bring a positive attitude, saying that the Browns reminded him of how far along the Jacksonville Jaguars were last season.
• On The Field: As far as what he did on the field, Cousin lined up on the outside with the second unit. As he gets more acclimated with the defense, he'll be a lock for covering opposing teams' slot receivers.
• Rogers a Monster: Much like running back Jamal Lewis drew praise last season after having a "chip" on his shoulder, Shaun Rogers is drawing similar praises from coaches and fellow teammates this season. He has lined up at nose tackle exclusively during OTAs, but it is expected that he'll get some reps at defensive end as time progresses.
• Injury Updates: Linebacker Shantee Orr had back spasms during the practice, and safety Sean Jones missed some drills due to an ankle injury.
• Personal Days: The following players missed practice due to "personal" reasons: Linebacker Willie McGinest, wide receiver Braylon Edwards, defensive end Corey Williams, and running back Jamal Lewis. However, of those four players, I'd have to believe that Edwards was really out due to his hip pointer still.
• Seizing the Advantage: Reportedly, Travis Wilson has been getting a lot of positive attention for his work at the receiver position. With Edwards and Joe Jurevicius sidelined, Wilson and newcomer Donte Stallworth have been the go-to-guys at receiver. Still, by time the regular season starts, you have to believe Wilson will be stuck fifth on the depth chart (including Kellen Winslow as a receiver).
• Grossi Props: A few days after I indirectly ripped some local beat writers for not delivering more specific notes on players' performances around Berea, Plain Dealer writer Tony Grossi seems to have gotten the message. In particular, he commented on two receiving plays, which are cited below:
  

  GROSSI ON EFREM HILL:
  Efrem Hill, the receiver who caught Quinn's first touchdown pass in preseason last year before going down with an injury, made a good grab of a Quinn whistler and then did well to get both feet down just inside the end line.
  
  GROSSI ON MARTIN RUCKER:
  After a Ken Dorsey pass whistled through the hands of rookie tight end Martin Rucker in the end zone, offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski admonished, "C'mon, Ruck, you've gotta catch that ball."

• 
  Travis Wilson is finally playing well in camp (Photo credited to Jeff Wills)
  BTW, Rucker?: By the way...where have all of the reports on tight end Martin Rucker been? With Winslow and Heiden both out, we expected to hear all about what Rucker was doing on the field. We've heard a little about Beau Bell, but beyond Grossi's brief mention above, I don't recall anything about the receiving tight end.
• Double Duty: In a wise move considering our lack of depth at cornerback, safety Mike Adams saw work as both a nickel back and a safety. Adams reportedly looked sharp too, including a break-up of a long pass by Derek Anderson intended for Stallworth.
• Young Corners Stepping Up: From Grossi's piece:
  

  It was a good practice for young cornerbacks. In red-zone drills, Damon Jenkins, a rookie from Fresno State, intercepted a Brady Quinn lob intended for Paul Hubbard in the right corner.
  
  A few moments later, Mil'Von James, the rookie from UNLV, broke up a Ken Dorsey pass for Lance Leggett in the left corner. For what it's worth, James is built a lot like Eric Wright, his former college teammate -- very strong legs.

• Rosevelt Colvin: A day after Colvin told Sirius NFL Radio that he'd been in contact with several teams, including the Browns, head coach Romeo Crennel side-stepped the comment by stating that the team's primary focus right now is addressing the cornerback dilemma.

Sources for Wednesday's OTA

OTA Report: Rogers has Big Role (Orange and Brown Report)

Cleveland Browns OTAs winding down (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

Notebook: Updates on Holly, Tucker (Official Site)

Cousin hear to lend a hand (Official Site)

The OTA sources above basically double as today's link collection. Tomorrow is the a day that will perhaps be as exciting as opening day, by the way. Not sure what it is? Then, I'm afraid you are a little...

If you, too, are a fan of the best show on television, post here for kicks sake. Also, if you love the show, check out LOSTpedia, a fantastic website outlining everything that's happened in the series thus far.

P.S. If you try to post any Spoilers, I will ban you with disgust!