Shaun Rogers Out !!!

BEREA: Going into this season, the strength of the Browns' defense seemed to be up the middle with three-time Pro Bowl nose tackle Shaun Rogers and veteran inside linebackers D'Qwell Jackson and Eric Barton.

If Browns coach Eric Mangini were asked what that strength is today, he'd probably respond with his trademark, ''Um . . . ''

Mangini revealed today that Rogers was headed for the injured reserve list with a lower left leg/ankle problem that will require surgery. He'll join Jackson and Barton, already lost for the season following pectoral surgery and a neck injury, respectively.

''He's very disappointed. He wants to be out there,'' Mangini said of Rogers. ''It hurts. It's really unfortunate.''

Mangini also said that free safety Brodney Pool suffered a concussion in Sunday's 16-7 loss at Cincinnati. Mangini said a head injury Pool suffered in preseason was not a concussion. But this would be at least the fourth of Pool's five-year career and could cause him to ponder retirement.

''He's got a concussion. Another one?'' Browns defensive back Mike Adams said of his close friend Pool. ''He's a great player and an even better person. It worries me. I wish him all the best and hopefully he makes the right decision.''

Knee injuries suffered by outside linebacker Kamerion Wimbley and Kenyon Coleman against the Bengals will be ''a wait-and-see type situation'' during the week, Mangini said. On Sunday, the Browns host the San Diego Chargers, winners of six consecutive games.

But losing Rogers will leave a huge hole to fill. The 6-foot-4, 360-pounder is perhaps the only player on the Browns' defense that opponents must game-plan around. Unofficially, Rogers has 36 tackles and two sacks this season and leads active NFL players in blocked kicks.

''He's big, he's disruptive,'' Mangini said. ''They have to deal with him from a game-plan perspective. Coupling D'Qwell and Eric, really that whole interior has changed dramatically from the start of the season.''

As for backup nose tackle Ahtyba Rubin, a sixth-round pick in 2008 out of Iowa State, Mangini said, ''I really think Rubin has done a nice job throughout the season, the off-season, training camp. He's really developing in that role. This is a great opportunity for him to continue to develop.''

Rubin said he's picked Rogers' brain in meetings.

The best advice he received, Rubin said, was ''recognize where the run's coming from, formations, confidence in myself that I can play in this league. Try to step up and be a force.

''It's a great opportunity. It's unfortunate it happened to a great person like Big Baby. I look forward to getting out there on Sundays and proving myself. Big shoes to fill.''

Linebacker David Bowens said, ''Ahtyba does a good job when he's in there. Of course when you're playing behind Shaun you have a lot of expectations. [Rubin] is sound in the run game and he's physical and we're going to need that.''

That was little consolation for Rogers' teammates.

''You can't put anything like that into words. He's one of a kind,'' Adams said of Rogers. ''He gets triple-teamed every play. Triple-teamed, double-teamed, chipped, you have to do something just to disrupt him because he is a problem.''

Defensive lineman Corey Williams volunteered to play nose tackle, the role he played in the Green Bay Packers' 4-3 from 2004-07. Asked what the Browns lose in Rogers, Williams said, ''You miss a dominant player, a dominant guy, a guy who's going to take a double-team just about every play. A hard-playing guy, a fun guy, a funny guy.''

Many members of the defense consider Rogers their leader, even newly elected captain Bowens, who replaced Barton and Jackson. Adams said it showed the respect Rogers has around the league that some Bengals came over to wish him well as he was being carted off late in the fourth quarter. Rogers was engaged with a Bengals lineman when someone fell into his leg.

''He's a great teammate,'' Adams said. ''Sometimes people get scared because he's so big and huge. But he's a good person; he's just an animal out there.''

Wimbley, who leads the Browns with 51/2 sacks, was unsure whether he'll be able to play on his left knee, which he said was rolled upon.

''I feel all right,'' Wimbley. ''I'll be going in to get treatment and try out some things and see where I am. I haven't really done anything, so I don't know.''

Mangini said he researched concussions during his three years coaching the New York Jets.

''You do everything you can to make sure that you're not putting the player at any greater risk and that you have the best information available when you're making those decisions,'' Mangini said in reference to when a player can return. ''It's something we take very seriously.''

Adams believes he had a concussion while playing in college at Delaware, but wasn't sure he'd consider retirement if he'd had four. Pool, who leads the Browns with four interceptions, is in the final year of his contract.

''Ronnie Lott cut off his pinkie to play,'' Adams said. ''We love this game. I can't put myself in [Pool's] situation. I don't really know how it feels because I only had one in my career that I remember.''

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is stepping up emphasis on concussions, even as some members of the Pittsburgh Steelers questioned why Ben Roethlisberger didn't play Sunday night against Baltimore because of post-concussion headaches.

Adams has noticed trainers taking more precautions.

''Absolutely. They start hiding helmets on the sideline,'' Adams said. ''As competitors, I don't care if you've had 20 concussions, you'll always say, 'Oh, I'm good, I'm good.' I think the trainers do a good job of making sure everything is OK before they let you back in.''