Ex-Jets played well in opener

By STEVE DOERSCHUK

BEREA — The new guys were all over the place. For a while, they were much of the reason there was something to like about the new Browns.

In the end, Jets-turned-Browns Abe Elam, Eric Barton and David Bowens were the second-, third- and fourth-leading tacklers on the team Sunday vs. Minnesota.

Hank Poteat, another transplant from Eric Mangini’s old team, nailed Chester Taylor for a loss on the Vikings’ third play of the game to force a punt.

On the play before that, ex-Jet Kenyon Coleman helped Bowens take down Adrian Peterson for no gain.

On the play before that, Barton jumped Peterson after just a 1-yard gain.

The game began with a Viking surprise, but ...

“I expect [the onside kick] every time,” said Elam, who fielded it cleanly.

The game fell apart, but there was a sense that the defense the Browns take to Denver on Sunday at least has a chance.

Elam, for one, thinks the mixture of new arrivals and holdovers can grow and prosper.

“This is my family,” Elam said in the locker room as the Browns began a new practice week. “I feel very comfortable here.

“We’ve got some great guys who made the transition very smoothly. I enjoy going out to work with them each day.”

The ex-Jets say Mangini’s Monday-after demeanor never changes. The coach is even-keel and serious as he goes over film, play by play.

Every missed tackle or blown assignment is dissected. The tone can get stern. Nobody gets ripped.

Positive reinforcement is a Mangini staple. He spends extra moments to go through plays that were executed to perfection.

Those were in too short supply in the second half. The ex-Jet fingerprints were on some of those, too.

Elam came away with the view that Mangini will get it fixed.

“Coach does a really good job putting us in position to defend the different things a team does,” he said.

The ex-Jets meshed with the veteran Browns rather well in the first half, when Minnesota gained only 90 yards and trailed, 13-10.

Throughout the game, Kamerion Wimbley looked like a former first-round pick, racking up a sack, three quarterback hits and two tackles for loss on runs. The sack came early in the fourth quarter.

“Hopefully, we can continue to be disruptive,” Wimbley said.

Shaun Rogers played nose tackle in name only. Coordinator Rob Ryan kept Wimbley and Rogers on the move, giving Minnesota some blocking headaches.

Rogers had a sack, a tackle for loss and a QB hit.

D’Qwell Jackson, the second-round pick in 2006 after Wimbley went in the first round, was the game’s leading tackler. Ryan sees Jackson as a budding star, but this is an opener Jackson will gladly forget.

All nine of Jackson’s stops were against Adrian Peterson, coming on runs totaling 74 yards.

The Browns gave up 180 yards to Peterson and 225 rushing yards overall. That was no better than, say, a game at Tennessee last December, when Titan backs Chris Johnson and Lendale White totaled 235 yards.

Third-year Brown Eric Wright had a strong game at cornerback but got abused by Peterson during the a 64-yard touchdown run.

“We played fairly well in the first half, but we let some things get away,” Wright said. “It’s a matter staying focused.”