Update at 12:17 p.m.

BEREA — Browns linebacker D’Qwell Jackson was named AFC defensive player of the month.

He’s the first Browns player to win the awared since safety Eric Turner in December of 1994.

Jackson leads the Browns with 30 tackles and has added 2.5 sacks, one pass defensed, one forced fumble and one recovery.

Making his fast start more sweet is the fact that Jackson missed the previous 26 games because of almost identical injuries to two pectoral (chest) muscles.

Jackson was said to be a perfect fit in the center of the Browns’ new 4-3 defensive system, and he is living up to that. Teammate Scott Fujita, who predicted Jackson would have a great year, Tweeted congratulations to Jackson this morning with the hashtag ToldYaSo.

When the Cincinnati Bengals rushed to the line and quickly snapped the ball on Sunday for a 41-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter, Cleveland’s seasoned defensive coordinator — and former head coach in Chicago and Buffalo — had his head down, looking at his play sheet.

“I have to pick it up,” Jauron said Thursday. “I have to see it and I didn’t see it. I missed it.”

Jauron accepted blame for the Browns’ blunder on Sunday, when Bengals quarterback Bruce Gradkowski alertly hurried his team to the line, took the snap and lofted a game-winning touchdown pass to rookie A.J. Green, a memorable game-changing play in Cincinnati’s 27-17 win over Cleveland.

Jauron didn’t offer any excuses. The Bengals executed, and he and the Browns failed to stop them.

“When the offense is ready to snap the ball, we’ve got to be ready to play defense,” he said. “That’s my responsibility and I didn’t get it done on that play.”

The Browns were waiting for linebacker D’Qwell Jackson to call the play when the Bengals made the snap. Cornerback Joe Haden scampered to get into position, but by the time he recovered, Green had darted off the line and soon hauled in Gradkowski’s pass for his only reception and first career score — one that will haunt the Browns.

“To have that happen to you is hugely disappointing to everybody, to us and to our players and to our fans,” Jauron said. “It’s one of those things that clearly you don’t expect, and when it happened, you probably will never forget it.”

To make sure it never happens again, Cleveland’s cornerbacks will not join the huddle, Jauron said. Hand signals will be sent in from the sideline.

“That’s one thing you can do and that’ll help us clearly,” said Jauron, in his 27th season as a coach in the league. “We just have got to be aware. After making the call, I was looking down at my gameplan sheet, thinking about the next call. I missed it. There’s nothing else I can say about it. I should have been able to help.”

Following the game, Browns coach Pat Shurmur wasn’t convinced the Bengals didn’t get away with something. However, the league determined that Cincinnati did not violate the substitution rule and the play was legal.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Notes, observations and some facts on the second quarter …

• Mike Nugent’s 47-yard field goal makes it 13-0, Bengals. Browns would be advised to show something on offense on their next possession.

• Josh Cribbs fields Nugent’s fourth kickoff eight yards deep. He returns it 51 yards to the 43. After a first down, Montario Hardesty runs for seven yards, and then for five more.

• From the 34, Colt McCoy’s play-fake freezes entire Bengals defense. Three guys are open and McCoy, rolling right, chooses the tough throw across his body. He just gets it there in time to Benjamin Watson to beat cornerback Leon Hall for the TD.

• Finally, some life. Defense looks fired up, too. Marcus Benard and Brian Schaefering combine for sack of Andy Dalton.

• Joe Haden with his third breakup on third-down rope from Dalton for Jerome Simpson. First Bengals punt. On the return, Browns commit their eighth penalty, holding on Sheldon Brown.

• On third-and-7, McCoy does well to avoid a sack and scrambles for a first down. There’s a Peyton Hillis sighting. Runs for 17 yards.

• With Thomas Howard chasing him, McCoy throws on the run deep for Mohamed Massaquoi and connects for 56 yards to Bengals’ 5. McCoy falls hard after the throw.

• On third down from the 2, McCoy puts the ball only where Evan Moore can get it on a quick, inside slant, beating Hall again. It’s 14-13, Browns, after one of the worst first quarters in memory.

• On Phil Dawson’s ensuing touchback, Browns get their ninth penalty as Kaluka Maiava is called for lining up behind the kickoff line.

• A.J. Green called for interference when pushing off Haden. Haden is dominating the matchup.

• D’Qwell Jackson sacks and strips Dalton. Bengals Andre Smith falls on the fumble at the 9. On third-and-23, Bengals hand off safely. Browns’ second timeout is with 2:57 left.

• Browns waste good field position and punt after three plays. Another clunker by Richmond McGee of 30 yards.

BEREA — Quick slants on the Browns prior to Sunday morning’s practice …

 * I’m concerned that Brian Robiskie might have taken a step back after going 0 for 1 in the Detroit game. And Mohamed Massaquoi might be coming back this week. It’ll be interesting to see if Robiskie is still lining up with the first team at today’s practice.

 * Linebacker D’Qwell Jackson and Titus Brown are having very good camps. You wish there was a way to get both MIKE linebackers on the field together.

 * On his best day, Greg Little is the team’s best receiver. But that showboating has to stop. I liked the way coach Pat Shurmur got in Little’s grill after punting the ball into the stands following a touchdown catch.

 * Ahtyba Rubin is always hustling.

 * I think the Browns finally found a young tackle with potential to develop into a good starter in Branndon Braxton.

 * I’m sure that No. 1 pick Phil Taylor is doing a good job against the run. But he looks like a two-down player to me and won’t be on the field on sure passing downs. Maybe I’m missing something, but I don’t see any pass rush there.

 * Having an offensive-minded head coach calling the plays is going to be such a blast of fresh air, even more so when the games start to count.

 * The new NFL kickoff rules are absurdly bad. The other new rule requiring all scoring plays to be reviewed is equally inane. To clarify, a play has to be called a touchdown (or safety, etc.) on the field for it to be automatically reviewed. The reason Shurmur had to challenge Evan Moore’s play in the end zone was because it was ruled “no catch” by the official on the field. Yet Moore’s first touchdown — which had no controversy whatsoever — was revewed for almost 2 minutes. Dumb, dumb, dumb.

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Notes, observations and some facts on the first quarter …

• Tight end Alex Smith and fullback Owen Marecic drop passes on Browns first series. That’s two miscues in two games for Marecic.

• Jabaal Sheard strips Jahvid Best of the ball and does a good job corralling it while on the ground at the Lions 34.

• Colt McCoy hits Greg Little for 12 and Josh Cribbs for 7. On third-and-1 from the 2, McCoy sprints to the right and fires to Evan Moore. Very decisive play and virtually unstoppable. So refreshing there not to see an inside handoff.

• The touchdown had absolutely no hint of controversy, yet it was reviewed by replay, delaying the game needlessly. This is another dumb rule change this year. Every scoring play is automatically reviewed by the official upstairs. But every play is not supposed to need the confirmation of the referee. Yet referee Mike Carey had to take two minutes or so to go under the hood and confirm the TD.

• Phil Dawson’s kickoff bounces out of the end zone for a touchback. Take that, rules-makers.

• On a pitchout to Aaron Brown, D’Qwell Jackson gets in a good lick. Knocked Brown for a 1-yard loss.

• Browns D-line getting effective pressure on Matthew Stafford, forcing two scrambles and tossaways. But on the third-down stop, Dimitri Patterson is called for holding. Stafford then hits tight end Brandon Pettigrew for 27 yards, and from the 4, Nate Burleson pogo-sticks up over Mike Adams to haul in a TD just before getting both feet down in front of the end line.

• Buster Skrine is handling the kickoff returns as Cribbs concentrates on offense. Skrine gets upended head over heels by Erik Coleman at the Lions 20.

• The Browns are doubling Ndamukong Suh with Tony Pashos and Shawn Lauvao whenever possible. This backfired when tight end Alex Smith missed left end Cliff Avril coming wide, and Avril sacked McCoy.

• Richmond McGee has two bad punts. The first was helped by a favorable bounce. The second went out of bounds at the Browns’ 43 — a 29-yard effort in the dead of a summer night.

• Burleson makes another good catch down the right sideline over Joe Haden, getting both feet down nicely, good for 29 yards.

• Browns defense holds Lions to a short field goal when one Stafford pass goes off the hands of Derrick Williams and the other is defended well by Kaluka Maiava against Pettigrew.

• Jason Pinkston replaces John Greco at left guard.

• Suh chases McCoy to the right sideline. McCoy knocks over a member of the chain gang and offers a hand.

• McGee responds with a beauty on his third punt. A true 57-yarder downed at the Lions 8.

BEREA, Ohio — What happened: 2,923 fans turned out for the first practice open to the public. The quarterbacks and receivers were off, but plenty of key offensive skill players are banged up.

“We missed some easy ones,” said coach Pat Shurmur. “We preach that if you have an easy one, you can’t give it up.” … Montario Hardesty has looked strong so far. Pads go on Monday. D’Qwell Jackson almost picked off a pass from Colt McCoy over the middle. Undrafted rookie receiver L.J. Castile has flashed some ability.

Cameron shines: Rookie tight end Jordan Cameron is showing the athleticism everyone heard about on draft day. He had several impressive receptions Sunday, including a diving catch from Seneca Wallace and a deep ball across the middle from Colt McCoy. “He’s competed well,” said Shurmur. “He’s a guy who has natural ability as a receiver. He’s big, he’s lean and he’s very athletic. We’re trying to develop him as a three-down player. Until he gets to that point, we’ll see how much he can handle.”

Quote of the day: Cornerback Sheldon Brown, on new defensive tackle Brodrick Bunkley from the Eagles: “He’s a muscle, one whole muscle, face, head, body, anything.”

Injury update: The following players were idle for all or part of practice — WR Josh Cribbs, WR Mohamed Massaquoi, WR Carlton Mitchell, TE Ben Watson, DL Travis Ivey.

Monday’s schedule: Practice from 8:45-11:15 a.m. in full pads. Call the Browns’ training camp hotline for updates: 1-877-627-6967.

AUSTIN, Texas — Some random observations from Camp Colt IV:
 

 * Rookie fullback Owen Marecic, the Browns’ fourth-round pick out of Stanford, is attending his first Camp Colt because he was still in school for the others. Tight end Evan Moore, who played with Marecic for a year at Stanford, said Browns fans will love him. “I talked to the new Stanford coach about him and he said he’s never seen anyone with that kind of focus,” said Moore.

 * Moore said he’s fully recovered from the sports hernia surgery he had two days after the season and that he’s ready for full football activity.

 * Cornerback Sheldon Brown underwent rotator cuff surgery after the season but is ready for limited action. “I’m on track to be back on the field when I need to be,” said Brown.

 * Linebacker Scott Fujita got portions of the defensive playbook when the lockout was lifted for a day and has been disseminating them to his teammates. “Guys like D’Qwell Jackson already know it inside and out, so it really helped to get it,” said Fujita.

 * About 30 players are attending the camp, and it’s the first one to include defensive players. Mike Adams, Jackson, Chris Gocong and Fujita took a quick dip in the pool this afternoon to cool off from the 100-degree heat.

 * The first practice is this afternoon at an undisclosed location. The players have also been having meetings and watching film. Sunday night, they had a team dinner, with prime rib as the main course. Tonight, McCoy is taking the guys to his favorite barbecue and they’re all abuzz about it.

 * The second practice is tomorrow morning and then the players will disperse, probably until the lockout ends. “We’re preaching patience but telling them to be ready to go at a moment’s notice,” said Fujita.

 * No. 1 pick Phil Taylor paid his own way here despite the fact the veterans are willing to help out rookies who don’t have contracts yet.

 * The players all look to be in amazing shape. Jackson is even hoping to put back on the eight pounds he lost on a mission trip to Sierra Leone, Africa.
 
* The players are staying at a beautiful resort in Austin. In their spare time, they can ride a mechanical bull, do yoga, hike, ride horses or try a challenge course. Many are taking advantage of massages at the spa. 

Watch today’s Starting Blocks TV as Mary Kay checked in from Austin, Texas, site of Camp Colt IV.

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Welcome to today’s edition of Starting Blocks TV, hosted by Chuck Yarborough and special guest-host Dennis Manoloff. We had to call on Dennis because today, our special guest is Browns linebacker and player rep Scott Fujita.

In a call from his California home, Fujita showed that he’s just as heady off the field as he is on it. Though limited in what he could say by the federal judge in Minnesota who’s hearing the case, Fujita stressed that the situation in the NFL right now is a lockout, not a strike. In some cases, the players unfairly are being viewed as the instigators of the stoppage. The owners and the league were far better and quicker to spin their version of the situation after talks broke down, Fujita said. If true, that could be one reason for the decidedly pro-owner vote in today’s Starting Blocks poll, a simple back-and-white, “Who’s right, the owners or the players?”

The Browns linebacker also said many of his teammates are working out together to stay in shape, but because of his role as the rep, he’s having to do a lot of work on his own. Fujita also discussed a story his wife, Jacklyn, wrote for The Nation; and Fujita’s upcoming ”Rollin at the Rock” fund raiser, which will be held May 6 in Beachwood.

Fujita also said he is looking forward to the switch to new defensive coordinator Dick Jauron’s 4-3 defense, a scheme he and linebacker Chris Gocong have spent most of their careers playing. He said the 4-3 is also perfect for a healthy D’Qwell Jackson, who’s battled torn pectoral muscles in each of the past two years.

Dman will be back on SBTV Tuesday, this time as the guest, answering questions about the red-hot Tribe, who begin a three-game series in Los Angeles after back-to-back sweeps of the Red Sox and Mariners.

The Cleveland Browns have signed linebacker D’Qwell Jackson to a one-year, incentive-laden contract, a league source told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter.

The deal is worth a little more than $4.5 million, according to the source.

Jackson has only played in six games since the start of the 2009 season because of injuries, but as recently as 2008 was a standout on the Browns’ defense. Jackson tallied 154 tackles, two sacks and three interceptions in that 2008 campaign.

The Browns also re-signed quarterback Seneca Wallace to a three-year contract, a league source told Schefter.

By Jason Kirk – Associate Editor

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Mar 3, 2011 - D’Qwell Jackson has signed a one-year, $4.5 million deal with the Cleveland Browns, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The fifth-year linebacker out of Maryland missed all of 2010 and most of 2009 with injuries, leading some to believe he wouldn’t be retained, but Cleveland does not care what some believe. Cleveland will retain.

The contract is heavy with incentives though, which will protect the Browns somewhat in the event of another injury or the end of NFL football as we know it. When he’s healthy, Jackson is a steady tacklin’ machine, racking up more than 100 tackles in 2008 and 2007, plus 93 as a rookie. Does he have another triple-digit season in him?

The Browns finished in the bottom third of the NFL in rushing defense last season, and are apparently banking on a return by Jackson helping to boost that ranking.

For more on Jackson and the Browns, visit Dawgs By Nature and SB Nation Cleveland.

Published: Thursday, February 10, 2011, 11:41 AM     Updated: Thursday, February 10, 2011, 12:34 PM



 Updated at 12:30 p.m.

CLEVELAND — The Browns started their (biennial) roster overhaul by terminating the contracts of six players on Wednesday — DL Shaun Rogers, DL Kenyon Coleman, LB Eric Barton, LB David Bowens, TE Robert Royal and OT John St. Clair.

 All of the players are over 30 years old. And all but Rogers were signed to free agent contracts in 2009 by the Eric Mangini regime.

 More moves are in the works. Who’s likely to go? As a guide, here is a look at the roster and/or contract status of a number of key players from last year’s team.

 OFFENSE
 * QB Jake Delhomme, 36: Due a base salary of $5.4 million in the last of his two-year deal. His days of mentoring Colt McCoy appear over.

 * QB Seneca Wallace, 30: Unsigned. Might be the No. 1 backup and tutor McCoy in the West Coast offense if resigned. Might drum up interest elswhere when/if free agency begins.

 * LG Eric Steinbach, 30: Signed through 2012 at a yearly average of $6.08 million.

 * RG Floyd Womack, 32: Unsigned.

 * RT Tony Pashos, 30: Signed through 2012 at yearly average of $2.775 million. Will be the starting right tackle if fully recovered from season-ending ankle injury and surgery.

 * G-C Bill Yates, 30: Unsigned.

 * FB Lawrence Vickers, 27: Unsigned.

 * RB Mike Bell, 27: Unsigned.

 * WR Chansi Stuckey, 27: Unsigned.

 * TE Benjamin Watson, 30: Signed through 2012 at yearly average of $2.65 million.

 * TE Evan Moore, 26: Unsigned. Finished season on injured reserve with hip/groin injury.

 DEFENSE

 * NT Ahtyba Rubin, 24: Signed through 2011 for NFL fourth-year minimum of $555,000.

 * DE Robaire Smith, 33: Unsigned. Says he doesn’t plan to retire after back injury.

 * DE Brian Schaefering, 27: Unsigned.

 * DE Jayme Mitchell, 26: Unsigned.

 * LB Matt Roth, 28: Unsigned.

 * LB Chris Gocong, 27: Signed through 2011 for $1.7 million.

 * LB D’Qwell Jackson, 27: Unsigned.

 * LB Marcus Benard, 25: Unsigned.

 * LB Scott Fujita, 31: Signed through 2012 at yearly average of $3.025 million.

 * LB Jason Trusnik, 26: Unsigned.

 * CB Eric Wright, 25: Unsigned.

 * CB Sheldon Brown, 31: Signed through 2012 at yearly average of $3.4 million.

 * S Abram Elam, 29: Unsigned.

 SPECIALISTS

 * PK Phil Dawson, 36: Unsigned.

 * P Reggie Hodges, 28: Signed through 2012 at yearly average of $645,000.