Ex-wrestler Roth proving to be Browns' kingpin on defense

[NewEraDawg]

BEREA — Eric Mangini doesn’t come right out and say Matt Roth is one of his favorite guys in football.

 

One guess: Roth is.

 

A conversation at a recent Super Bowl comes to mind. Kevin Spencer, who runs special teams for the Arizona Cardinals, was reminiscing about his days as a college coach at Wesleyan in the early 1990s. That’s where Spencer got to know Mangini, who was a Wesleyan student.

 

“Eric was so-o-o-o tough,” Spencer said. “I saw him on the wrestling mat one time when I knew his shoulder was killing him. But you could see that steely eyed look where you knew he was gonna get it done.”

 

That’s right. Soft-spoken Eric Mangini was a beast of a competitive wrestler in college. That’s one reason he relates well to Roth. They both understand the dedication, discipline and self sacrifice required of serious wrestlers. They both know the high one can reach in an individual sport.

 

Probably, they trust each other to maintain the resolve it will take to lift the Cleveland Browns from the muck.

 

Roth doesn’t remember whether he was 6 or 7 when he started wrestling.

 

He lived a privileged youth in some respects. His father, Tom, ran a construction company that afforded the family a comfortable living in the Illinois village of Villa Park, not far from Chicago.

 

How many kids grow up with an indoor basketball court in their house? Roth did.

 

Construction companies don’t just pop out of nowhere. Roth’s mom and dad had to work to build it. That rubbed off.

 

He worked at the games he played, and that was every game there was.

 

“My dad was a coach in flag football,” Roth says. “I was only 4, but I think he snuck me in.”

 

He doesn’t remember whether he was 6 or 7 when he began wrestling. He remembers liking it.

 

He was very good at it — almost too good by the time he was a senior at Willowbrook High School.

 

He was 31-0 as a senior.

 

His closest match? He doesn’t answer right away. Did anyone give him a match? He answers:

 

“No. I pretty much dominated. I beat a defending two-time state champ, but I pretty much dominated. I think he quit in the third period. He just ran out of gas.

 

“I had a teammate who was at a lighter weight who was also a state champ. So that was my best competition.”

 

Roth is going on 28. He hasn’t wrestled in a long time. His last match was a pin to win the 2001 Class AA Illinois state heavyweight championship.

 

Since then, he has played football for the Iowa Hawkeyes, the Miami Dolphins and the Cleveland Browns, but ...

 

Ask him if anything he has done in sports was more satisfying than his final wrestling match, for an unbeaten year and a state title, and he says:

 

“Nah. That was the pinnacle. I mean, I’ve had success in football. I won two Big Ten championships, and bowl games, when I was over in Iowa.

 

“We won the championship two years ago in our division, against the Jets, and that was a good high ... but nothing like when you do it yourself and know you’re the best.”

 

What is it about wrestling?

 

“If you’re seeking out that kind of discipline as a young kid, you start to love it and thrive in it,” Roth explained. “It’s kind of like ... I’ve never been in the army, but I’ve had friends there who have explained that wrestling is similar.

 

“You had to be disciplined in cutting weight, in conditioning, and it was just you. When you went out on the mat, it was just you.

 

“So you knew every day where you stood. There was no one to help you out. That’s what I thrived on. That’s what I loved.

 

“I loved the team sports, but when you could go out there and do it yourself and blame yourself and praise yourself, it was fun.”

 

The heavyweight limit in Iowa was 275 pounds. Roth wrestled at 245, sometimes against guys who had to cut weight to make it to 275. It was good practice for his duty as an outside linebacker in the Browns’ scheme.

 

Now, he weighs 275 pounds. That pushes the limit for what an outside linebacker can weigh without being too slow. It’s still 30 to 70 pounds less than the offensive tackles he must fight through as an edge rusher.

 

He says practicing against left tackle Joe Thomas and left guard Eric Steinbach reminds him of wrestling practice with that state-champ teammate. Showtime can seem easy when you practice against the best.

 

Roth emerged as one of the Browns’ best players late in the season. The team was 1-9 when he arrived after a falling-out with the Dolphins — a long story for another day. He started immediately and sacked Carson Palmer in his first game as a Brown. With him as a starter, the Browns won their last four games.

 

Roth gave the Browns four sacks in six games. Mangini lights up when he talks about Roth’s brutish run defense, on which he applies the quick reactions, knee bending and leverage he learned on the mats.

 

Meanwhile, how is this tightly wound man who so loved his individual sport fitting in with the team?

 

“It’s not like he’s always high strung,” Mangini said. “He’s got a pretty funny side. He has a really good way with the other players.”

 

It’s a contract year for Roth. He skipped “voluntary” spring practice in what amounted to a statement about his contract. Depending on how the labor clouds disperse, he could be big-time rich in free agency.

 

Roth’s approach to his job can be edgy. Sitting out the voluntary stuff almost everybody else does can chafe coaches and the brass.

 

This, probably, is what his approach boils down to:

 

He’ll be a team guy, but he’ll do it his way. He’ll always bet on himself.

 

Copyright 2010 CantonRep.com. Some rights reserved

[Gips]

BEREA — Eric Mangini doesn’t come right out and say Matt Roth is one of his favorite guys in football.

 

One guess: Roth is.

 

A conversation at a recent Super Bowl comes to mind. Kevin Spencer, who runs special teams for the Arizona Cardinals, was reminiscing about his days as a college coach at Wesleyan in the early 1990s. That’s where Spencer got to know Mangini, who was a Wesleyan student.

 

“Eric was so-o-o-o tough,” Spencer said. “I saw him on the wrestling mat one time when I knew his shoulder was killing him. But you could see that steely eyed look where you knew he was gonna get it done.”

 

That’s right. Soft-spoken Eric Mangini was a beast of a competitive wrestler in college. That’s one reason he relates well to Roth. They both understand the dedication, discipline and self sacrifice required of serious wrestlers. They both know the high one can reach in an individual sport.

 

Probably, they trust each other to maintain the resolve it will take to lift the Cleveland Browns from the muck.

 

Roth doesn’t remember whether he was 6 or 7 when he started wrestling.

 

He lived a privileged youth in some respects. His father, Tom, ran a construction company that afforded the family a comfortable living in the Illinois village of Villa Park, not far from Chicago.

 

How many kids grow up with an indoor basketball court in their house? Roth did.

 

Construction companies don’t just pop out of nowhere. Roth’s mom and dad had to work to build it. That rubbed off.

 

He worked at the games he played, and that was every game there was.

 

“My dad was a coach in flag football,” Roth says. “I was only 4, but I think he snuck me in.”

 

He doesn’t remember whether he was 6 or 7 when he began wrestling. He remembers liking it.

 

He was very good at it — almost too good by the time he was a senior at Willowbrook High School.

 

He was 31-0 as a senior.

 

His closest match? He doesn’t answer right away. Did anyone give him a match? He answers:

 

“No. I pretty much dominated. I beat a defending two-time state champ, but I pretty much dominated. I think he quit in the third period. He just ran out of gas.

 

“I had a teammate who was at a lighter weight who was also a state champ. So that was my best competition.”

 

Roth is going on 28. He hasn’t wrestled in a long time. His last match was a pin to win the 2001 Class AA Illinois state heavyweight championship.

 

Since then, he has played football for the Iowa Hawkeyes, the Miami Dolphins and the Cleveland Browns, but ...

 

Ask him if anything he has done in sports was more satisfying than his final wrestling match, for an unbeaten year and a state title, and he says:

 

“Nah. That was the pinnacle. I mean, I’ve had success in football. I won two Big Ten championships, and bowl games, when I was over in Iowa.

 

“We won the championship two years ago in our division, against the Jets, and that was a good high ... but nothing like when you do it yourself and know you’re the best.”

 

What is it about wrestling?

 

“If you’re seeking out that kind of discipline as a young kid, you start to love it and thrive in it,” Roth explained. “It’s kind of like ... I’ve never been in the army, but I’ve had friends there who have explained that wrestling is similar.

 

“You had to be disciplined in cutting weight, in conditioning, and it was just you. When you went out on the mat, it was just you.

 

“So you knew every day where you stood. There was no one to help you out. That’s what I thrived on. That’s what I loved.

 

“I loved the team sports, but when you could go out there and do it yourself and blame yourself and praise yourself, it was fun.”

 

The heavyweight limit in Iowa was 275 pounds. Roth wrestled at 245, sometimes against guys who had to cut weight to make it to 275. It was good practice for his duty as an outside linebacker in the Browns’ scheme.

 

Now, he weighs 275 pounds. That pushes the limit for what an outside linebacker can weigh without being too slow. It’s still 30 to 70 pounds less than the offensive tackles he must fight through as an edge rusher.

 

He says practicing against left tackle Joe Thomas and left guard Eric Steinbach reminds him of wrestling practice with that state-champ teammate. Showtime can seem easy when you practice against the best.

 

Roth emerged as one of the Browns’ best players late in the season. The team was 1-9 when he arrived after a falling-out with the Dolphins — a long story for another day. He started immediately and sacked Carson Palmer in his first game as a Brown. With him as a starter, the Browns won their last four games.

 

Roth gave the Browns four sacks in six games. Mangini lights up when he talks about Roth’s brutish run defense, on which he applies the quick reactions, knee bending and leverage he learned on the mats.

 

Meanwhile, how is this tightly wound man who so loved his individual sport fitting in with the team?

 

“It’s not like he’s always high strung,” Mangini said. “He’s got a pretty funny side. He has a really good way with the other players.”

 

It’s a contract year for Roth. He skipped “voluntary” spring practice in what amounted to a statement about his contract. Depending on how the labor clouds disperse, he could be big-time rich in free agency.

 

Roth’s approach to his job can be edgy. Sitting out the voluntary stuff almost everybody else does can chafe coaches and the brass.

 

This, probably, is what his approach boils down to:

 

He’ll be a team guy, but he’ll do it his way. He’ll always bet on himself.

 

Copyright 2010 CantonRep.com. Some rights reserved

 

Sounds pretty head on to me, when your 275 lb and are as fast as roth you dont try to evade or maneuver around blockers you try to run through them...hehehehe

[Canton Mike]

All I can say is that I LOVE the idea of both Roth & Benard on the field at the same time with the defensive backfield we are building. It is exciting.

Mike

[ballpeen]

I hope it creates some exciting moments on the lakefront.

 

 

I drive up from Tennessee 4-5 time a year and at least like to see a win or two.....which didn't happen last year.

 

 

I like a post game victory meal....not a crappy post game loss meal.

 

 

Stanley....I always stay out in your neck of the woods after games....how about some post game meals???? I recall you saying Hag II and you (though I think she is far from that) usually stop somewhere after the games for a little merriment.

 

 

Need some company???