Indians Season Ends on Blast From An Old Friend
September 29, 2011Closing Out the Tribe Season with #PositiveVibes
September 29, 2011For all of the wrong that Cleveland has had to endure over the past year or so, who would have guessed that a player who many felt would never play again would be the first Cleveland Brown to ever be named Player of the Month in his specific discipline?
Such is the case today as the NFL has named middle linebacker D’Qwell Jackson as the AFC’s Defensive Player of the Month through the first three weeks of the 2011 regular season. After missing his last 26 contests with injuries to both of his pectoral muscles, Jackson has amassed 30 tackles, 2.5 sacks, one pass defensed, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery, helping the Browns earn their current record of 2-1 within the North division. Jackson, 2008’s NFL tackle leader, has been a key part of a defense that has allowed just five touchdowns by opposing offenses this season, good enough for fourth in the league.
This author cannot think of a better way for Jackson’s career to begin its ascent from the doldrums in which it resided during the last two seasons of unfortunate circumstances. He has seen his career go from being one of the best middle linebackers in all of football, to a player who may never see another snap of NFL play and was not counted on to be a factor going forward, to the first member of the Browns to receive an Offensive or Defensive Player of the Month award since its inception back in 1986.
With respect to Jackson’ s award, Browns head coach Pat Shurmu stated that he’s “not surprised” that the veteran was given the honors; he had been playing at a high level from Day 1, if anything showing what this defense missed during Eric Mangini’s tenure with the team. “He understands what it takes to be a pro,” Shurmur said of Jackson. Coincidentally, DQ52’s name has also been added to the list of players who could be looking at a contract extension before the 2011 season comes to a close.
Job well done, and it’s good to have him back.
(Update: A spokesman for the Browns has updated their press release and said that Jackson is not in fact the first player to get a Defensive Player of the Month award. Regardless, still an awesome pull for a much-deserving player.)
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John Kuntz / The Plain Dealer
13 Comments
Congrats DQ52! I remember seeing a quote from Fujita saying that he thought D’Qwell was the MVP of training camp. Looks like he transferred that play into the season which is great to see. Keep it up
surprised by this. I knew he made a lot of plays, but watching the games, he doesn’t stand out as an Impact player. But hey, we’ll take all the recognition we can get.
It’s nice that we finally have a bunch of players – Hadden, Rubin, and D’Qwell – who all could realistically considered for the award. It’s been a long, long time since I genuinely felt the Brows D was on the rise. Looks like that day is here.
Looks like Jackson picked up where he left off after leading the league in tackles in 2008; he’s currently 4th in the league with 30 tackles.
Congrats to DQ52 on a great comeback, wishing him continued health..
The Cowboys have credited Lee with a team-leading 36 tackles through three games. He also has two interceptions, two fumble recoveries, a tackle for a loss and three pass breakups.
Jackson has amassed 30 tackles, 2.5 sacks, one pass defensed, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery,
I don’t see how this Jackson got it over Lee based on these stats. Lee is never blitzed so he has no sacks. An interception trumps a sack almost every time because it is a direct change of possession. Lee is directly responsible for 2 turnovers and indirectly (fumble recoveries) involved in 2 more. I don’t get it.
I am a bit shocked by this, although I like DQ. He is 2nd in the AFC in tackles (30) to Indy’s Angerer who has 42. Although DQ has that 2.5 sacks and 1 FF to Angerer’s 1 FF and no sacks. It does appear that DQ is all over the field but I really didn’t notice him like Lyon stated above.
Great to see him back in action and I hope that he continues to wrap up on tackles. Good for him coming from such a bout of injuries.
Lyon, Which games are you watching? Obviously, the stats alone show he has been quite the impact player. Try watching more than just the guy with the ball.
Great to see DQ recognized! After attending each home game and watching the Indy game on TV, I would have guessed 1) Haden 2) Rubin if asked which Brown would have been named Defensive POW. When I tweeted this out to my friends to guess the majority response had TJ Ward. And a couple had Phil Taylor. Maybe this defense really is coming.
Great news. Great player. Couldn’t be happier for the guy. I think we’ll see more big plays from him as the front starts to come together. Remember the D Jauron had in Chicago that was built around Ted Washington and Kieth Traylor? That’s what we are building to here w/ Rubin and Taylor. A MLB can run all the live long day behind those kind of interior lineman.
“I don’t see how this Jackson got it over Lee based on these stats. Lee is never blitzed so he has no sacks. An interception trumps a sack almost every time because it is a direct change of possession. Lee is directly responsible for 2 turnovers and indirectly (fumble recoveries) involved in 2 more. I don’t get it.”
Could just be a wild guess, but perhaps Lee didn’t win the AFC Defensive Player of the Month award due to not playing in the AFC.
Scott, don’t try to confuse a Cowboys fan with strange things like “details” and “facts.”
“America’s Team” and all . . . isn’t that what the “A” in “AFC” stands for?
@TheGuy… Coincidentally, I do watch more than the ball. & He has had a few plays in the backfield, but most of his tackles seem to be downfield after a gain.
Go back and look at the comments we made during/after last weeks game. Many were saying our LBs were nonexistant & need to play better.
/don’t know why I bother sometimes
I’m happy for D’Qwell – he’s a good guy and it’s nice to see him recognized.
However – is anyone in Cleveland concerned about the run defense? All I’ve heard and read over the past 2 weeks is how amazing the defense is – but we’re ranked 29th in the league after playing 3 teams with an average rush ranking of 15th who are a combined 1-8.
I expect Chris Johnson to have a breakout game on Sunday.