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Take it from one who plays behind them, the Browns defensive line is a strong unit that sets the tone for the team’s 3-4 defense.

That was the point David Bowens made during a press conference Monday morning in-between two-a-day practices at the team’s Berea training facility. If anyone would have an educated opinion on the topic, it would be Bowens. Afterall, he was on the field for 86 percent of the defense’s plays last season.

“Ahtyba (Rubin) came in and did a heck of a job,” said Bowens. “Within in the context of the Browns defense, we don’t have that nose tackle that is penetrating and doing all kinds of crazy plays. His job is to free up the other linebackers. Then, we have our defensive ends and they’re beasts. They’re brutal. They kind of do the hard work and don’t get any credit for it and they’re fine with that. All we need is for everyone to do their job. Those guys make our team, make our defense.”

With Kenyon Coleman and Shaun Rogers working back into game shape after suffering through injuries during the 2009 season and a host of others including Robaire Smith, Rubin and Brian Schaefering also in training camp, the Browns should have a tough defense that is successful in wreaking havoc behind opposing offensive lines.

“That’s been a huge question, are we able to stop guys in the backfield,” said Bowens. “With our guys that we have, with Rubin and Coleman, Big Baby (Rogers’ nickname), yes, I do because we’re figuring out our personnel and what each guy can do. We’ll run our defenses accordingly. No one says that in a 3-4 that this guy has to be here. We’ll move him; we’ll stunt him; we’ll do whatever we have to do. We’ll take our outside linebackers and we’ll rush them. We’ll take our small inside backers and blitz them. We have so many variations of things to capitalize on our personnel and what we can do.”

Bowens was a key contributor to the Browns throughout the season, especially after season-ending injuries to Eric Barton and D’Qwell Jackson. He was moved from outside linebacker to inside and ended up calling the plays and setting everyone in their spots pre-snap. For his efforts, he was elected captain of the defense.

Bowens finished 2009 with 5.5 sacks, the best season he had since registering 6 in 2005 with the Dolphins.

“If I would have predicted last year, I never would have thought I would be playing middle linebacker. In this defense, you never know. I just want to be part of the 53 when it’s all said and done and help contribute as much as I can.

“I had to do what I had to do and that’s been my M.O. since my first year in the league,’ he added.

Though Bowens readily admitted during the press conference that he stays away from football as much as possible during the off-season, he also kept an eye out for what the team was doing from a personnel standpoint.

He liked the moves the Browns made in the Draft and free agency. In fact, he liked them even more once he had the opportunity to suit up with the new acquisitions.

“Everyone’s smart,” he said. “The off-season was great, our OTAs and minicamp, all the new people that are new to this system came in and adjusted relatively fast. We hit training camp full speed. We didn’t have to have any extra meetings. Guys knew what we had to do out of the gate.”

One of those guys he expects to have a solid season is Matt Roth. The outside linebacker is in his first training camp with the Browns after being a late November claim on the waiver wire. He registered 4 quarterback sacks in six starts with the Browns.

“I’ve been with Matt since he was a rookie and I know what he’s capable of,” Bowens said. “I don’t know his situation and how it went down in Miami, but when I found out he was available, I was thinking in my head, ‘We need to get this guy, especially in our defense and the way we like to run our outside linebackers.’ It was perfect for our defense.”