BEREA: Browns safety Mike Adams found himself right where he wanted to be, in the middle of a media huddle at the end of the practice field.

So the ever-smiling Adams slung his arm around the shoulder of an unsuspecting writer Tuesday and said, ''This feels good, everybody surrounding me. Get closer. I feel important.''

Adams could become more important if starting strong safety Sean Jones' swollen knee doesn't improve before the Browns' regular-season opener Sept. 7 against the Dallas Cowboys. Coach Romeo Crennel expects Jones back at practice next week, but the Browns seem concerned about his condition.

Going into tonight's preseason finale against the Chicago Bears (0-3) at Cleveland Browns Stadium, Adams already has carved out a larger role than some expected. It's not only because he and Nick Sorensen will sub for the injured Jones and free safety Brodney Pool, who is being held out following his third concussion in four years.

When the Browns signed 11-year veteran cornerback Terry Cousin in late May, he was expected to claim the role of nickel back. Adams, however, beat him out in training camp, and Cousin virtually has been invisible in three losing preseason efforts.

''I said it before: I can do it all,'' Adams said. ''I have no problem playing the nickel, dime, corner, safety, special teams. You see me in the box sometimes; I can play deep. That's the advantage I have.

The more you can do, that's what they say.''

Jones also sat out Saturday against the Detroit Lions. Adams acknowledged that these final two preseason games are the moment he has been waiting for.

''Oh, yeah. I can't let it slip away, though,'' he said. ''I've got to keep working hard and not let it go to my head.''

That's easier said than done for the ultra-confident Adams, who has played four years in the NFL, the first three with the San Francisco 49ers. He made it as an undrafted free agent from Delaware, where he captained the Blue Hens to a Division I-AA championship in 2003.

''I'm always excited,'' Adams said. ''Even if it's on special teams I'm always pumped up. Sometimes guys have to say, 'Hey, calm down a little bit.' I've always had it. I love the game and I'm happy. Just the adrenalin itself keeps me going.''

In a dismal team effort against the Lions, Sorensen caught Crennel's eye with four tackles, one for a loss, an interception and a pass defensed. A Virginia Tech graduate, Sorensen has played in 84 games in seven years without a start.

''I felt good. I just wanted to show I could play safety, too,'' Sorensen said.

It hasn't bothered him to be pigeon-holed on special teams.

''You want to be respected in anything you do,'' Sorensen said. ''I consider myself a safety. But I play a lot of special teams. I want to be good at that.''

Crennel isn't ready to put Adams or Sorensen in the starting lineup, except due to injury. But he said both have shown leadership abilities in the absence of Jones, the quarterback of the secondary. With both safeties out, Adams has been replacing Pool.

Asked what he'd like to show against the Bears, Adams said, ''Poise. Letting them know that I know the defense. I'm not going out there to try to be Superman and try to make the big play and get out of my character. I want to do what I have to do — get my corners right, make all the right calls, no mental mistakes — and I'll be good.''

Oh, and there's one other thing, especially in light of Sorensen's interception against the Lions.

''Actually it's funny how that worked out. I'm happy for him,'' Adams said of Sorensen. ''But it's definitely my week to get that pick. I'm jealous.''

Even though it wouldn't count if it happened in preseason, Adams wants to better Pool's team-record 100-yard interception return in 2007 at the Baltimore Ravens.

''[A] one-handed catch and take it all the way to the house, 101 yards,'' Adams said. ''What did Brodney do? One-handed, though.''

Autograph session

Former Browns Hanford Dixon, Tom Cousineau, Felix Wright and Tim Manoa will be at the Hartville MarketPlace and Flea Market from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sept. 6 to sign free autographs.

The MarketPlace opens at 9 a.m. and is on Edison Street (state Route 619) behind the Hartville Kitchen. For more information, call 330-877-9860 or go to http://www.hartvillemarketplace.com.

Brownies

Kirk Barton of Ohio State and Stark County's Perry High School is listed as the Bears' second-team right tackle behind John Tait. A seventh-round pick, Barton expects to play most of the game as he battles to make the 53-man roster. ''I've worked as hard as I can,'' Barton said on the team's Web site, http://www.ChicagoBears.com. ''Whether that will get me a spot here, I'm not sure. But I've tried to learn everything and work as hard as I could so that I wouldn't have any regrets.'' Barton will wear No. 69. . . . The Browns' director of player development, Jerry Butler, and assistant Kevin Mack will receive the league's outstanding financial education program award for 2007.