When the Detroit Lions line up against the Cleveland Browns this Sunday at Ford Field, one defensive player that will stand out to fans is Shaun Rogers.
Rogers, who was with the Lions from 2004-07, was traded to the Cleveland Browns during the 2008 offseason.
“Shaun is obviously one of the premier defensive linemen in the league – people in Detroit know of him very well,” said Offensive Coordinator Scott Linehan.
“It’s a tough challenge every week. It seems like every week we turn around and we’re playing a defense that has these premier players, but that’s the NFL and we’ve got to go out and do the job … and do much better than we did a week ago.”
When asked about last week’s game, the first thing Linehan said was that “we didn’t protect the quarterback like we needed to.”
Up against a player like Rogers won’t make things easier this week, but Linehan says one mistake teams make is getting too focused on a “premier player.”
“He gains a lot of attention and gets people that are around him an opportunity to be singled up because everybody knows who he is,” said Linehan of Rogers.
“Definitely a player like that takes a lot of the pressure off some of the other players. That’s why, if you get too locked in to him, the other guys are going to make plays on you. They’ve got really, really good players on defense.”
One player Linehan has a lot of respect for is fourth-year outside linebacker Kamerion Wimbley. The Browns selected Wimbley 13th-overall in 2006 and he didn’t disappointing, turning in an 11.0-sack rookie campaign.
He followed that up with 5.0 in 2007 and 4.0 in 2008 and currently has 5.0 on the season.
“He is one of those 3-4 threats,” said Linehan. “He’s big, he’s rangy, he can cover, he can rush – he’s got some sack production this year. He covers tight ends when he drops in coverage. I really noticed him when we played him in preseason. Talk about a talented player and a guy that really fits what they’re doing system-wise.”
Detroit and Cleveland met earlier this year in Preseason Week 2. Though preseason games tend to be more about personnel evaluation than anything else, both teams left their starters on the field for a significant amount of time, giving Lions’ coaching film to review in preparation for this upcoming game.
That game was the first of the year in which the Lions had seen a 3-4 defense. Since then, the Lions have played against the Steelers and Packers - two teams that run the 3-4 – and will play Green Bay again next week and Baltimore two weeks after that.
“I was just watching them against Baltimore on Monday Night Football – they were really fired up on defense and you could really see what their defensive potential is all about,” said Linehan. “They basically gave Baltimore fits and Baltimore finally came away with a touchdown drive in the second half, but there wasn’t a lot of offensive success on that field that I saw.”
Linehan also sees the Browns’ secondary made up starters of Eric Wright, Brandon McDonald, Abram Elam and Brodney Pool as being typically overlooked.
A lot of that, he says, is due to the fact that teams typically aren’t throwing the ball against them late in the game.
“They’re no different than us,” he said. “(Your defense doesn’t) really see (passes) as much in games coming from behind because people aren’t necessarily throwing.
“So you don’t really see the secondary get tested as much as some secondaries would. I think they’re front seven plays hard and great against the run and I think their back end’s really underrated.”
If the Lions are to win on Sunday, primary keys will be successfully running the ball and protecting the quarterback.
One challenge with the latter will be the possible absence of starting guard 
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“That was a strength of his coming out,” said Linehan. “I’d definitely like to not test it, but he’s one of those guys who you never hear a word from about (getting pressured). He knows that’s his job, but we certainly can’t protect like (last week) and expect for him to be able to sustain the level of performance that you’ve got to have. We’ve got to keep him upright.”
The Lions’ offense will look to call upon consistency when it comes to the things they have done well so far this year.
“You’re always looking for the positive,” said Linehan. “It’s hard to find when you don’t win the game. We’ve had our share of losses this year, but you’ve got to build on the things that people are doing well. Matt coming back from his game in Seattle and hanging so tough in that pocket, the fact that our guys are fighting through four quarters and not giving in.
“I just think those are all things we can use and build on and then we’ve got to make it an advantage for us – get us a win.”
