Secret Superstar: Chris Gocong, Cleveland Browns

When Mike Holmgren became the Team President in Cleveland you knew changes were going to happen.

A strong end to 2009 saw him give Eric Mangini another chance to succeed, and at times it looked like the Mangenius would do so. High profile demolitions of both New England and New Orleans in the first half of 2010 showed Cleveland to be a team headed in the right direction.

But, as was the case with Romeo Crennel, this was another false dawn. The big wins were followed by close losses to the Jets and Jags in games they should have won, and a wholly unconvincing victory over a doomed Carolina team. Four defeats to wrap-up the season (including two to teams that will be drafting higher than them) sealed the deal on the need for change.

Gone is Mangini, gone is Rob Ryan, and gone is the 3-4 defense. Now the Browns will have to get those who played well in the old plan, producing in a 4-3. We’re going to take a special look at one of those players right now, as we introduce our Secret Superstar for the Cleveland Browns.

Fitting in

Coming out of Cal Poly, Chris Gocong looked the prototypical 3-4 outside linebacker prospect. His 42 career sacks set a Division 1-AA record, and weighing in at 262 pounds and sporting a 40 time of 4.7 seconds, he looked like he had the tools to come off the edge. So, it was somewhat surprising when the Eagles (who employ a 4-3) selected him in third round of the 2006 NFL draft.

After spending his rookie year on injured reserve, it was interesting in 2007 to see Gocong deployed as a strongside linebacker and putting his hand on the ground in pass rushing situations. Come 2008 though, he found his role reduced. Still starting, but the California native had been removed from sub packages, deemed too much of a liability in coverage. It was a fair call given how he had struggled when dropping back.

2009 was much of the same role-wise, but his performance regressed significantly. We’d come to expect some issues in coverage, but his run defense, which was stellar in 2008 (he’d earned a +11.7 grade,) fell to a mark of -0.8. In what would be his last year with the Eagles, it seemed like the Gocong experiment had failed.

To be blunt, Gocong had hardly been the impact maker the Eagles thought they may have drafted and so it was hardly surprisingly when they unloaded him prior to the 2010 draft. At least he was going to Cleveland, where he would get his chance at playing outside linebacker in a 3-4.

Only it never really worked out that way.

Ventures anew

It was unclear throughout the 2010 offseason as to whether the Browns would use Gocong inside for his run stuffing ability, or outside hoping to build on what he had shown in college as a pass rusher. At one point, Browns GM Tom Heckert came out and said he would be used as a pass rusher, but they had him at inside linebacker when training camp started.

Was it a case of the Browns not being sold on Gocong as a pass rusher? Or were they just that high on what he could do inside? After the first four weeks of the season, it looked like the former. As an every down linebacker, Gocong mustered just 10 tackles (six of which were defensive stops) while missing three. He had a terrible game against Baltimore as Michael Oher and Ben Grubbs both got the better of him, and it looked like Gocong was having serious problems shedding blocks. But gradually, he got better, and he finally looked to be at home with a quite fantastic display against Pittsburgh in week six.

Notching five quarterback pressures on 11 rushes was impressive, but it was the way he beat the Steelers’ offensive linemen and manhandled fullback David Johnson that really stood out. It was as if Pittsburgh was testing him and Gocong was responding – his five defensive stops were his best NFL performance to date.

Staying up

The season was filled with more highs for Gocong. Like many Browns, he had good games in their victories over the Patriots and Saints, but he also finished the season in fine form in defeats to Baltimore and Pittsburgh. It was a fitting end to a season where Gocong had proven himself up to the task of playing inside in a four man linebacker group.

What was especially noteworthy was that Gocong was no longer a liability when dropping into coverage. A lot of this came down to the Browns limiting his exposure by giving him plenty of opportunities to rush the passer (152 blitzes,) but he held up when tested, allowing a reasonable 67.7% of passes to be completed for 10 yards a go, no touchdowns, and three pass break ups. He may never cover like a Brian Urlacher, but he wasn’t so one dimensional that you’d have to take him off the field like a Kirk Morrison.

As the Browns make a scheme change for 2011, Gocong will return to the 4-3, presumably landing the middle linebacker spot. When you look at his journey from sack machine as a collegiate defensive end to where he is now, it’s really only the old, preconceived ideas about him that would make one think he’s not a fit for this role. He blitzes well (21 pressures on the season on 152 attempts), is growing more able in coverage, and can handle fullbacks and tight ends head on.

He had some struggles last year when tangling with linemen that got on him in the second level (Harvey Dahl in particular made him look lightweight), but with more bodies in front of him, one of the few holes in his game could be negated. As strange as it is, and as much time as it’s taken for him to get here, Gocong could finally have found his niche.

How long that remains a secret, we’ll see.

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