Browns’ Wimbley needs to improve his tackling

By TONY GROSSI

The linebacker has been always in the vicinity, but hasn’t made the stops.

BEREA — Cut to the chase. Eliminate the “what ifs.” Don’t worry about handicapping every game.

The Browns’ 2008 season may well come down to this — Kamerion Wimbley’s ability to take Ben Roethlisberger to the ground.

The Browns aren’t going anywhere without ending their losing streak to the Pittsburgh Steelers. For that to happen, they have to keep Roethlisberger from making plays with the game on the line.

Like in 2006, when Roethlisberger shook off Wimbley and shoveled the ball to Willie Parker for the winning points with 32 seconds left.

Like in 2007, when Roethlisberger had four excruciating keeper runs, including one of 30 yards for a touchdown for the go-ahead points and a back-breaker on third-and-9 on the winning drive.

Wimbley’s always in the vicinity, either chasing or being carried by the 241-pound Pittsburgh quarterback.

In baseball, it’s called warning track power. In football, it’s a pass rusher making contact with the quarterback but not taking him down.

“He was so close to a lot of plays last year where just one more step or a half-step, or just making the quarterback hold another count, that kind of thing ... he’s that close to getting the plays that he should make,” said linebackers coach Mike Haluchak.

To that end, Wimbley is working hard on perfecting a counter to his predictable sweep-and-swoop move to the quarterback. You know the one. He sweeps around the left hip of the left tackle and swoops underneath to make up ground to the quarterback.

It accounted for 11 sacks in 2006, setting a franchise rookie record. But last year coaches and linemen figured out if they could just push Wimbley further to the outside, he couldn’t make up the extra step or two to complete the sack.

Wimbley’s circuitous routes to quarterbacks reduced his sack total to five (tied for 54th in the NFL) and also served to burn gas in his tank. His motor never stops, but often his spinning wheels are exhausted by traversing that widening corner.

“You need probably one key move and then a counter off that move, definitely,” Wimbley said. “Yeah, I could have been kind of predictable last year. But hopefully I’ll get some change-ups and we have some new guys inside that we can definitely do more things with. There’s more possibilities.”