Jadeveon Clowney Loves Lining Up Against 'Unathletic Guards'

If Browns newbie Jadeveon Clowney is looking for teammates to show him around his latest NFL stop, he may want to avoid asking the offensive linemen. Especially, the guards. Prior to Wednesday's training camp practice, Clowney labeled the rarely-glorified interior linemen as "unathletic" and gushed about lining up across from the big-bodied maulers.

“We love that matchup,” said Clowney. “We feel like they're the unathletic guys. That guard position, they're not real athletes down there. So they're just physical and maulers. But we try to get in there and create those matchups for certain guys, and hopefully we get some wins."

Salivating at the idea of occasionally sliding over from defensive end to tackle, Clowney relies on a different approach: “You've got to think different (when playing defensive tackle). Everything happens very, very fast down there. Those guys are much bigger down there. So, yes, your whole mindset has got to change in how you attack the quarterback, how you attack the guys down there.”

Before he can mix it up with interior offensive linemen, the oft-injured Clowney first needs to prove he can stay on the field. With five knee surgeries under his belt, Clowney's had a few scheduled off days throughout training camp. He's also dialed back his participation in team drills in order to be fresh when the games count: “I mean, you know, football is definitely a 100 percent injury game. It can happen any play, any time, practice, anywhere. I just take it one day at a time. If I’m feeling good, I’m going to go out there and practice. If I’m not, I’m going to let (the training staff) know and hopefully they’ll deal with it accordingly.’’

Clowney's unlikely to play in Cleveland's preseason finale on Sunday, so his first opportunity to push around lesser athletes will come on September 12th when the Browns pay a visit to the Chiefs' unathletic guards.