Big Baby is back.
Three-time Pro Bowl defensive lineman Shaun Rogers, whose nickname is Big Baby, practiced Monday after he was activated from the PUP (Physically Unable to Perform) List on Saturday evening. It was the first time he had seen contact since the team’s 16-7 road loss to the Cincinnati Bengals on November 29, 2009.
His return could not have come at a better time, as the team opens up the 2010 season in Raymond James Stadium against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Sunday afternoon. It is the first time the Browns have opened the regular season on the road since their return to the NFL in 1999.
“He’s going to be practicing in his core spots, which is nose tackle, and then he will also work some of the other spots,” said Browns coach Eric Mangini. “There is a designated amount of reps that we have for him; some it may be package-specific that he will work on initially and again as the week goes on, he will be able to do more and more so we will be able to do more and more. I think as the weeks go on, that could continue to expand.”
Though Rogers missed the last two preseasons while recovering from injury, he attended practices and supported his teammates. That dedication to the team did not go unnoticed by the Browns players and coaches.
“When he first came here, he was at the house probably every other day barbecuing and hanging out,” said running back Jerome Harrison. “He’s a great teammate and a great father as well to his little daughter. He’s a good guy to have in the locker room. If he opened up and talked to you, you’d see. He’s a big teddy bear.”
“I’ve gotten to know Shaun over the last couple of years and he hasn’t been in a situation where the team has won a lot of games and that’s something that’s important to him and that’s something that’s important to me,” said Mangini. “Now, the things that we talk about are how do we achieve that together? What’s that like and what goes into that whole process?”
Rogers has been especially helpful in mentoring the younger players.
“They may be trying to figure out how to do something and really have no idea where to get the answer from. They kind of do and Shaun will take them through,” said Mangini. “I think he’s very good like that, in terms of sharing his experience with those guys. That, to me, is important from all of the veteran guys and the really good ones leave a legacy, not just of their play, but the other people that they help make better.
“I’ve seen that so many times over the course of my career,” Mangini added “Guys, and I’ve heard all of the names, but Rodney Harrison made people play better. He taught a bunch of young guys in the secondary. He helped teach them how to be pros. Sometimes he’d get frustrated because he felt like he was directing traffic instead of playing, but that was part of what he did and part of what made us better.”
FILLING IN FOR ROGERS
In the absence of Shaun Rogers for the final five games of the 2009 season and during training camp this summer, third-year defensive lineman 
Rubin totaled 38 tackles and one forced fumble in 2009. He was also a part of a defense that held three of its final five opponents to less than 100 yards rushing. Only one individual, Kansas City Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles, eclipsed 100 yards against the Browns during that stretch.
On the Packers’ first offensive drive in the preseason opener, Rubin stripped running back Ryan Grant of the football and helped the Browns extend their lead to 14-0 early in the first quarter.
“Rubin has earned the right to play and Rubin will play,” Mangini said. “He has done an exceptional job. I really have enjoyed watching his growth just with my time here and seeing him develop not just as a player but as a pro. He’s earned the right to play so that’s a good thing because Shaun does have the ability to play nose tackle, he has the ability to play defensive end.
“To be able to mix guys in at different spots, it gives you depth, it gives you a chance to spell people during the course of a game and it also gives you some versatility in terms of matchups that you want against your opponents’ offensive linemen,” he continued. “I think Rubin’s development, growth and progress have been a real positive in terms of the flexibility that it gives us defensively.”
DEVELOPING ALEX SMITH
When the final roster moves were made on Saturday to trim the roster down to 53 players, the Browns decided on keeping four tight ends. With
“I thought that Alex had a really good camp,” said Mangini. “What I liked about him is no matter what we asked him to do, he did it pretty well. We asked him to play fullback in the backfield, he did that pretty well. We asked him to be the in-line tight end, he did that pretty well. We asked him to be the off-the-line tight end, he did that pretty well. He created a role for himself in the fact that he can play multiple roles.”
