May 25, 2013

Ahtyba Rubin: Leading by Example

September 26, 2011 by 19 Comments

There is no question that Tom Heckert is putting his stamp on this roster. Nine of the 22 starters on Sunday (Pinkston, Lauvao, McCoy, Marecic, Hardesty, Sheard, Taylor, Haden and Ward) were selected by Heckert in only 2 draft classes. Other additions either by trade or free agent signing include Mitchell, Brown, Gocong, Fujita and Watson. Buster Skrine and Dimitri Patterson played big roles. Greg Little had big catches on the final drive. And the steal of the decade Peyton Hillis didn’t even play.

But one of the players Heckert inherited continued his stellar play on Sunday, even though he might be overlooked because of the rookies around him.

Last season was a breakout year for Ahtyba Rubin. He emerged as more than just Shaun Rogers’ back-up. He became the star of the defensive line.

Last season, no defensive lineman had more tackles than Rubin. His 82 combined tackles set the pace. It is a pace that he is on his way to breaking this season. Already credited with 16 tackles and 2.5 sacks (last season he finished with 2.0 sacks) Rubin is again in the top five in the league. This time he has company. Teammate Phil Taylor has 18 tackles and a sack to his name.

Moving from a 3-4 to a 4-3 meant more than just sliding over a man for Rubin. It is a base defense Rubin hasn’t played in before. He is being asked to do much more than simply occupy blockers. He is responsible for only one gap, but is expected to make plays in that gap. He is also expected to bring pressure on the QB, something Rubin has been doing a lot of early on this season.

Here we see Rubin pushing Pro Bowl center Jeff Saturday back into the QB from the shotgun formation. He pushed Saturday back 8 yards and brought down both Collins and Saturday for a sack.

Here’s a great one from this week. That’s Miami guard Richie Incognito reaching for Rubin’s ankle in an attempt to save his QB’s life as Ahtyba races towards him. Henne ducked out of the way of the sack, but the pressure was applied and D’Qwell Jackson followed Rubin’s lead to the QB.

Having Phil Taylor beside him is going to be fun to watch all season long. You can’t double team them both. It will also open up the middle for blitzes, something the Browns have started doing, and I imagine will do more frequently.

Rubin was a sixth round pick out of Iowa State. Not really the hotbed for defensive linemen. Perhaps Rubin is getting used to being overlooked. Sheard and Taylor are going to continue to grab headlines if their production continues. But Rubin should not get lost in that shadow. He is a bright spot and a consistent force for the Browns inside.

Rubin isn’t a loud or flashy personality either. He is more soft-spoken, and would prefer his play to be the example for the younger linemen to follow. Despite being his 4th year in the league, and just his second as a full time starter, Rubin is the most experienced of the d-linemen on the roster. Hopefully that experience will extend into the post-season soon, or possibly to the Pro-Bowl.

Related Posts

Zemanta
Filed Under: Browns Tagged With: , , , , ,
  • Chris

    Hey, you put arrows in! Thanks a lot!

  • http://www.waitingfornextyear.com/ Rick

    It was a good suggestion Chris. I will try to implement more as I continue to tweak.

  • Lyon

    good post Rick. Rubin is definitely a beast & I think even if the national media doesn’t recognize it during games, the Browns fans do. He almost always seems to be in the middle of the plays.

  • Stinkfist

    “…even though he might be overlooked because of the rookies around him.”
    They aren’t rookies… remember. Be careful, Greg Little may not give you a good interview in the future.

  • Stinkfist

    Speaking of Greg Little, I couldn’t help but think who we would have drafted had Torrey Smith (UMaryland, now on Ravens) still been available. 3TDs yesterday! Wow. He has blazing speed, but probably would outrun a McCoy deep pass. Maybe Greg Little is a better fit, but Smith was widely regarded as the better receiver in the draft.
    Any thoughts Rick?

  • scott

    i actually laughed/said holy $#@%$ when he whiffed on Henne on that sack by DQ. If you watch the reply, had he made contact with Henne, he likely would have knocked his head off his shoulders. It likely scared the $#$%^ out of Henne.

  • http://www.waitingfornextyear.com/ Rick

    Stink- It’s so hard to say player x would do better/worse on this team. Way too many variables. But you’re right Smith looked pretty impressive. Not good news for the Browns, as that gives the Ravens another weapon. Hopefully Little develops into the WR Heckert envisions he can be.

  • mgbode

    Very nice.

    I think that we should give ‘Attaboys’ in honor of Rubin to players after games.

    For instance, Joe Haden deserves and ‘Attaboy’ for Sunday’s shutting down of Brandon Marshall.

  • http://www.waitingfornextyear.com Scott

    One thing I noticed Jauron doing in several instances is putting a 3-4 twist on the 4-3, especially in passing downs. Taylor had been playing directly on top of the center with Rubin bumping over to the three-technique, right outside of the guard.

    This forces the offensive line to make a decision; either the off-guard helps the center double-team Taylor, forcing a one-on-one situation with the rushing end; or, it forces the center and on-guard to take Taylor and Rubin one-on-one to help double Sheard and/or Mitchell.

    I’m a fan.

  • JF Sullivan

    Rubin got a hattip from Peter King today (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/peter_king/09/26/Week3/2.html) So the secret’s already getting out. I suspect teams watching the film have already taken notice.

  • Harv 21

    and as a bonus, like his personality. Rather have him setting the work-ethic example for the rooks around him than, say, a Gerard Warren type.

    Btw, is there even one more Phil Savage acquisition on this team 3 years later? Pontibrand?

  • http://www.waitingfornextyear.com DP

    Umm, Harv? Joe Thomas would like a word with you.

  • Dawgpoundgal

    Pontbriand was drafted by Butch Davis.

  • http://www.waitingfornextyear.com DP

    D’Qwell Jackson was also drafted by Savage, though his past two years obviously meant the jury was way out on him.

  • Gren

    This is the first time in a long time I can remember the D-Line not just being good but, dominant. Who here thought the Brownies would be 2nd in the entire NFL in total sacks right now with 11 ?

    Put your hands down.. liars.

  • Harv 21

    Aw, Joe Shmoe, not exactly a keeper. And anyway I get upset every time I see another Adrien Peterson highlight.

    [that's a JOKE, double-smiley face protection! :-) :-) ]

  • -bobby-

    I could not have imagined the success Rubin has had. Him or Taylor can drive a G backwards in 1-on-1 and our DEs only have single blocks- unless teams bring in the TE too. Could you imagine what Dwight Freeney would look like opposite of Sheard? Not the Mitchell isnt playing well beyond anything I would have expected, but man Freeney would be scary there.

  • MeandH

    Put your hands down.. liars. Lol. So true.

  • Pat

    savage brought cribbs in too, not just joe thomas, and he got eric steinbach as a FA