Smith shining, putting injury behind

11.25.2009

Browns defensive lineman Robaire Smith was surrounded by a cloud of uncertainty when he returned to Cleveland for the opening days of training camp in August.

After missing all but 2 games last season due to injury, Smith has anchored the right defensive end spot in all of the Browns contests this season.

"He's had an outstanding season," said Browns head coach Eric Mangini. "He's as tough as I've been around, really physical. You almost have to slow him down in practice against the scout team because he is so physical; he is so competitive. He's a really bright guy. I'm happy he's here.

"It doesn't matter what the drill is," Mangini added. "It could be a drill that they're running during special teams. He's doing the best he can at it. That's why he's played as long as he has. You love to be able to point at guys like that and say, ‘You want to know how to play? Just watch him. Watch his approach. Emulate that and you have the best chance to reach your potential.'"

Smith leads all defensive linemen with 41 total tackles and 31 solo stops. He registered a half-sack against both the Steelers and Bears.

Smith's successes on the field are directly related to his preparation for each opponent.

"He's a guy that will have a coverage; it's called an AFC, Automatic Front in Coverage," said Mangini. "Based on formations, there may be 10, 12 checks. For him, it changes some, but usually the defensive linemen are giving the call to the linebacker.

"You can say in a meeting, Go through this AFC and he'll nail 13 in a row," added Mangini. "He'll know what the coverage is, what the check is. It's him understanding his job, but him understanding the whole defense and what we're trying to get done with each defense and why."

Mangini is not only happy with Smith, but the entire group up front. With his rotation of Shaun Rogers and Ahtyba Rubin at nose tackle, C.J. Mosley and Corey Williams lining up as defensive ends and Kenyon Coleman serving as a bookend to Smith on the left side, Mangini feels he has a solid core of players to build his 3-4 defense around.

"There's been a lot of guys where they've played well," said Mangini. "It's a pretty stout group with Kenyon on the left, Robaire on the right, Big Baby (Rogers' nickname) inside. I think all those guys have done a nice job in the different roles that they've had."

Despite all the mixing and matching, Smith has seen progress along the Browns defensive line and wants to continue developing as the season winds to a close. Having that continuity and improvement will be critical for the Browns, who will face mobile quarterbacks that can extend plays outside the pocket and more conventional drop-back passers over the next several weeks.

"I think we're improving," Smith said. "Guys out there are trusting each other a little more. We're doing a lot of things better, especially from where we started."