Mosley comfortable on the move

Browns defensive lineman C.J. Mosley was born into a life of traveling and has not slowed down since.

Mosley, the son of retired U.S. Army Sergeant Calvin Mosley Sr., was born in Fort Knox, Kentucky. He spent parts of his childhood in Germany, California, Georgia, Kansas and Kentucky.

Mosley spent his high school career at Waynesville High School in Missouri. While at Waynesville, which is just over two hours southwest of St. Louis, Mosley registered 267 tackles and 21 sacks. He also placed third in the shot put at the 2000 Missouri state track meet.

“It was cool because you got a lot of different experiences,” said Mosley, who has U.S. Army Sergeant Stripes tattooed on his chest. “You meet a lot of different people. I didn’t really keep up with a lot of my friends.

“We moved every year or couple years,” he added. “You get to see a lot of different places.”

Being well-traveled is something Mosley has become accustomed to over the years. He has played for three teams in five NFL seasons.

Mosley’s career began with the Vikings after they selected him in the sixth round (191st overall) in the 2005 draft. After posting three sacks and 24 tackles in his rookie season, Mosley was traded to the Jets for quarterback Brooks Bollinger and a draft pick.

Over the next three seasons, Mosley played in 35 games. He got to the quarterback five times, defended three passes and forced two fumbles.

Mosley was signed by the Browns on March 6th and joined his former coach Eric Mangini in Cleveland. Since coming to the Browns, Mosley has worked with other veterans on the defensive line, including Pro Bowl nose tackle Shaun Rogers, Robaire Smith and former Jet Kenyon Coleman.

“We’re all tough, physical guys,” said Mosley. “We like to get after it and we all want to compete. We all want to make plays and do our best on the field, in the game, in practice, every day. We’re always competing against ourselves, no matter what it is.

“He’s pretty much the same guy,” Mosley added of Mangini. “He’s the same guy every day. He’s definitely the same coach. Nothing’s changed which is a good thing.”

Throughout camp, all Browns players have focused on being versatile and consistent. Nowhere has that been more apparent than on the offensive and defensive lines. The purpose of learning more than one position is to be ready for action at a moment’s notice.

“I’ve got certain goals and certain things that I try to do every day,” Mosley said. “Whether it’s practice, there (are) certain things you want to work on every day to improve yourself. One of the things that I need to work on is getting off the ball and seeing the ball move.

“It’s just little things, having something to be better at,” he added. “That’s probably what he wants, a consistent player that’s always going to work, whether it’s on the field or in the classroom. You can always improve in something.”

The work Mosley has put in is producing results on the field. In the Browns’ first three preseason games, Mosley has seven total tackles, including six solo stops. He had two stops of Tennessee running backs Chris Johnson and LenDale White that limited the rushers to short gains.

With Mosley on the defensive line, the Browns want a solid pass rush and good coverage on every play.

“This past game, there were some good examples of the defensive line working together on some gains,” said Mangini. “The one where C.J. came through and then Kam (Wimbley) ended up coming back off and getting the sack, initially.

“It’s the secondary giving the d-line time to execute what they need to execute,” he added. “It’s the d-line making sure that they are in the proper lanes, keeping the quarterback in the pocket and not creating extra opportunities, through scrambles, to let the coverage break down.”