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Do IT this week: Layering
Browns interview Crable, who seems like good fit in 3-4 defensive scheme
By Marla Ridenour
Beacon Journal sportswriter
Published on Sunday, Feb 24, 2008
INDIANAPOLIS: When Shawn Crable saw the clasp on a reporter's necklace had slid to the front to meet the bauble it held, he pointed and said, ''Make a wish.''
The Massillon High School and University of Michigan linebacker probably has been doing a lot of that himself lately.
Especially after he spent an hour Friday at the NFL Scouting Combine in an interview with the Browns. Crable said he had a couple of more meetings scheduled with his hometown team.
Crable said he rooted for the Browns and Cincinnati Bengals growing up. But playing in Northeast Ohio again would make both Crable and his family happy.
''My mother would love it,'' he said. ''All she's got to do is drive up the street.''
His distance estimate from Massillon to downtown Cleveland might be a little off. But it's
no stretch to say the 6-foot-4, 245-pound Crable would fit the Browns' 3-4 defense as a pass-rushing outside linebacker opposite Kamerion Wimbley.
''I think I'm pretty good at that. I've done a lot of it,'' Crable said. ''My assignments haven't changed since high school. Now I'm looking at the NFL and they say, 'We want you to do the same thing.' I'm like, 'I've got a lot of years doing that.' ''
Considered by some as one of the best blitz specialists in this year's draft, Crable finished second in the nation last season with 281/2 tackles for losses, fourth in Big Ten history, along with 71/2 sacks. Scouts Inc. lists him as the 17th-best linebacker, and he's projected as a third- or fourth-round pick by NFLDraftScout.com. The Browns don't have a first-round selection, but their top offseason priority is to upgrade the front seven through the draft and free agency.
Crable isn't bothered by the notion that he's more of a 3-4 player.
''Not at all,'' he said Saturday. ''If you train me to do something, I catch on pretty well.''
When Crable arrived at the combine, he found a shirt waiting for him that read DL10.
''That's a bonus for me; I can play both positions,'' he said. ''I'm kind of excited about it. I thought I'd be doing linebacker drills when I got here, but I've got to go with the stuff they give me. I've got two different T-shirts, one read linebacker and the other read defensive end. I think it's going to be a good challenge.''
He said NFL coaches and scouts are split on what he should do in the pros.
''I've talked to a lot of teams and sometimes I've walked into the room and they'll say, 'You make a better defensive end,' and then I'll walk out of that room and into another room and they'll be like, 'No, you're not a defensive end, you're a linebacker.' You never really know. I'm just preparing for everything.''
At Michigan, Crable played little until his junior season. He had 127 of his 147 career tackles his last two years.
''Last fall, he was a major disappointment in training camp,'' Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said in a Wolverines magazine in August, 2006. ''He did not understand the kind of effort, the kind of intensity, and the kind of attention that you have to pay on a daily basis. So it kept him on the bench.''
He was voted a co-captain before his senior season and showed more maturity. His statistics were worthy of a breakout year. He also had 90 tackles, four forced fumbles and four quarterback pressures.
''In the past years I wasn't a starter or an every-down guy. I was a second-and-long or third-and-long situational guy,'' he said. ''The biggest difference this year is that I was out there. If we played 89 snaps, I was out there for 89 snaps.''
Crable said he was hampered by back spasms at the Senior Bowl. If he wants to be more than a situational player in the NFL, he knows he has much to prove in the next two months.
''I've got to read coverages and prove how smart I am and things like that,'' he said. ''The biggest thing is people seeing me playing a lot of defensive end and rushing a lot, so I see where their concerns come from. My intentions are to be an every-down linebacker.''
Winslow talks begin
Drew Rosenhaus, agent for Browns tight end Kellen Winslow, said he met with Browns General Manager Phil Savage and director of football administration Trip MacCracken to discuss renegotiating Winslow's contract. Rosenhaus called the talks ''positive and ongoing.''
Winslow's deal has three years remaining and carries salaries of $4 million in 2008, $4.5 million in 2009 and $4.75 million in 2010.
Winslow recently underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee that needed major reconstruction after a 2005 motorcycle accident and microfracture surgery a year ago. Rosenhaus said the latest was an elective procedure to remove scar tissue.
''I don't think Kellen's health is a factor and we hope to get a deal done with the team,'' Rosenhaus said. ''I don't get too detailed in contract negotiations if I can help it. I like to keep it between myself and the team.''
Rosenhaus has a history of staging holdouts with clients. Asked if Winslow will be in training camp, Rosenhaus said, ''I'm not going to get into anything further than that.''
Barton shines
Ohio State right tackle Kirk Barton of Perry finished third among offensive linemen and tight ends in the bench press by lifting 225 pounds 34 times. Michigan's Jake Long was first with 37, followed by Rutgers' Jeremy Zuttah with 35.
Marla Ridenour can be reached at mridenour@thebeaconjournal.com. Read her Browns blog at http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/browns/.
INDIANAPOLIS: When Shawn Crable saw the clasp on a reporter's necklace had slid to the front to meet the bauble it held, he pointed and said, ''Make a wish.''
Get the full article here.
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