Position Recap: Safeties

01.16.2008

The following is the fifth in a series of features recapping the Browns' 2007 season position by position.

Overview: The Browns had reason to feel both good and a little uneasy heading into the 2007 season when it came to their safeties.

They felt good because Sean Jones was coming off a breakout season in his first year as a starter. They felt good because after two years of playing various positions on defense, 2005 second-round pick Brodney Pool looked poised for a breakout year of his own, finally ready to take over a starting role and make an impact.

On the other hand, Pool had never started on a fulltime basis. But as things progressed through the course of the season, the Browns defense got better and so did the safeties.

By season's end, Pool and Jones were growing more accustomed to playing with one another and it started to show. Passing yards were down. Passing touchdowns were way down and there was good reason to feel confident about the future.

Jones finished the season ranked second on the club in tackles with 105 (2 for loss) combined with a half sack, 5 pressures, 5 interceptions, 3 pass breakups and 2 forced fumbles.

Pool finished sixth on the team with 72 tackles (1 for loss), with 2 pressures, 2 interceptions and 4 pass breakups.

The club carried two backups at the safety slot through most of the season in Mike Adams and Nick Sorensen, whose respective impacts were seen most on special teams.

Adams played 15 games and marked 18 special teams tackles along with 10 takedowns on scrimmage downs with a sack and 2 pass breakups.

Sorensen appeared in 9 games and finished with 14 special teams tackles.

MVP: While Pool's first year as a starter gained steam throughout, Jones was again the star at the safety spot. His 5 interceptions ranked second on the club behind Leigh Bodden (6).

High point: Not even a single game, but a single moment showed what the Browns safeties are capable of when they're at their best. During the team's win over the Baltimore Ravens on Nov. 18, Jones pressured quarterback Kyle Boller, who threw up an errant pass that was intercepted by Pool and returned 100 yards for a touchdown.

Key Stat: The Browns allowed 20 passing touchdowns in the first 8 games of the season and 9 in the final 8. Talking about shoring things up.

What's ahead: Both young players (they were consecutive second-round picks in '04 and '05), it doesn't look like much will change in the starting lineup in terms of the team's safeties anytime soon.As the pair continues to play together, there's no reason to believe they won't get a lot better.