The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Linebacker Joe Schobert gets added to AFC Pro Bowl roster
Joe Schobert’s first season as a starting linebacker for the Browns is ending with a trip to the Pro Bowl.
Schobert last month was named a Pro Bowl first alternate in a vote of fans, players and coaches. He was elevated on Jan. 16 to be part of the AFC roster as a replacement for injured Steelers linebacker Ryan Shazier.
The 2018 Pro Bowl is scheduled for 3 p.m. Jan. 28 at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Fla.
Schobert tied for the NFL lead with 144 tackles. He forced three fumbles, recorded three sacks, intercepted a pass and broke up four passes. He is one of only three NFL players to play all of his team’s defensive snaps in 2017.
“There’s a really good feeling in my heart for him because you guys don’t see how hard he’s worked behind the scenes and how far he’s come,” Browns defensive coordinator Gregg Williams said in late December when Schobert was named first alternate. “On June 1, he was a third-team middle linebacker on this roster. He’s just scratched the surface.
“What you don’t get to see is how much better he makes people around him. He has to play at a high level but get everybody around him to play at a high level. Unless you can get the other people around you to elevate their play, you’re not a true captain and you’re not a true quarterback of the defense like the middle linebacker has to be. He’s done a good job of that, too.”
Being officially named to the Pro Bowl was something Schobert, 6-foot-1, 245 pounds, expected because of Shazier’s injury. He is already looking forward to next season and picking up where he left off.
Schobert, a fourth-round draft pick from Wisconsin in 2016, started four games as a rookie outside linebacker and totaled 16 tackles. He said he learned last offseason he would be switching to inside linebacker in 2017.
“There were a lot of games and moments this year I could definitely improve on and will improve on in the future,” Schobert said. “With experience, I’ll be able to recognize things sooner and apply that to my game.
“G-Dub (Gregg Williams) and Blake (Williams, linebacker coach) did a great job of teaching the game of football — not just the scheme. Once I got the scheme down, the next step is recognizing what offenses are trying to do in terms of formations and stuff and taking it from there.”
Schobert is the first Browns linebacker since Jamir Miller in 2002 to make the Pro Bowl. The difference is Miller established himself by playing five years in Arizona before signing with the Browns in 1999. He made 93 tackles in his first year with the Browns, 64 stops in 2000 and 81 in his Pro Bowl season of 2001. Unfortunately, Miller tore an Achilles tendon in a 2002 preseason game and was forced to retire.