Sound and fury: Maliek Collins makes noise and impact as pass rusher

Maliek Collins wasn't himself at the start of training camp.He was new to the Browns after signing as a free agent and self-conscious. His silence told the story."I was kinda nervous and I was doing a drill and they were like, 'no, that ain't what we see (on tape),'" Collins told The Chronicle-Telegram this week. "And I start making noises and it looked like me then."I was just quiet and reserved and I just had to wake up."Browns-Ravens Preview: 3 things to watch, 3 key numbers, the predictionThe "hee-hees" and "bink-binks" were back. And so was Collins."If I ain't making a noise, then I ain't moving right," he said. "That's just how it be for me."Grunts are commonplace in tennis, but a defensive tackle making a personal soundtrack is unusual. Myles Garrett was caught off-guard the first time he heard."Absolutely. It was loud, too," Garrett told The Chronicle. "I've only seen it on boxers, fighters. So him making that sound makes me feel like he maybe in his past life was a fighter."Collins, 30, was listed questionable to face the Ravens on Sunday after feeling oblique discomfort Friday and not finishing practice. Coach Kevin Stefanski remained hopeful he'd be able to play, as the Browns would love all hands on deck to face Lamar Jackson as they try to salvage a season split with their rival for the fifth straight year.Myles Garrett not interested in personal records, goals, is only focused on Browns 'winning' Collins has been a strong acquisition after signing a two-year, $20 million contract. He's second to Garrett with four sacks, adding nine quarterback hits and 19 tackles. He agreed with coordinator Jim Schwartz that he's having his best season for the NFL's No. 2 defense."For sure. I just started fast and I'm going to just keep rushing, man," he said. "Keep having fun."And making noise.Rookie defensive tackle Mason Graham worked out with Collins in the offseason and Collins has taken him under his wing. Graham still hasn't gotten used to the cacophony of sound and made sure a reporter asked Collins about it."He likes using a lot of sound effects," Graham said. "When he rushes a guy like this, he says 'bing, bing.' He uses sounds with all of his rushes, so it's hard to explain. You just have to be around it, I guess. It's very different."Garrett and Graham haven't tried it. Either has tackle Shelby Harris, who said J.J. Watt made noise when they were together at Wisconsin."In your head it's working a rhythm to get to your move," Harris said.Notes: Shedeur Sanders still not getting first-team practice reps but 'doing good job'There's a specific noise for a move based on its aggression and violence. They started when he was training in the offseason, which is evident on the videos he posts to social media."I'm not really like a loud person but I'm noisy when I train," he said.One move comes with a cuss word."That's where you bring it from, it's a hump move," he said. "You'll see it for real this week."Collins is in his 10th season after being a third-round pick of the Cowboys out of Nebraska. He spent four years in Dallas, one with the Raiders, three with the Texans and last season with the 49ers. He's started 138 games and has 34.5 sacks, 97 quarterback hits, 55 tackles for loss, eight fumble recoveries, a forced fumble, an interception and four passes defensed.Defensive line coach Jacques Cesaire said he's one of the best "technique rushers" in the NFL, one of the top five interior rushers and doesn't get enough credit."Maliek is a dawg and the mentality that he brings is just extreme toughness, discipline, violence, great rush," he said.Collins said he's not bothered by being underrated in some eyes."Not really. I look at this like basketball. There's tiers of players," he said. "So you got people like Kobe, then you got other great players and people don't give them their credit for it, Gilbert Arenas, you got players like Brandon Roy. Then you got players like street ballers, Bone Collector, Hot Sauce, Escalade, AND1 type dudes. I just try to go out there each week and try to make an AND1 Mix tape. I'm one of them type. That's more my speed."He believes the final chapters of his story have yet to be written."There's still time for me to leave the game with what I wanted to come with," he said.Collins isn't completely overlooked. Chiefs Pro Bowl guard Trey Smith said on multiple podcasts Collins and former Rams great Aaron Donald are the most difficult guys he's faced."It makes me feel good, man," Collins said. "Getting just respect from one of the top guards in this league right now. Especially when I don't got all the accolades and sh** like that that people think, but I'm just happy somebody respect what I do on the field."He's explosive from a compact 6-foot-2, 310-pound frame, but Collins believes what separates him — aside from the noise — is his rush plan. He was coached by Rod Marinellis as a rookie, learned from veteran Tyrone Crawford and became a detailed notetaker."How the rush plan comes together, how you go practice your rush plan, rehearse your rush plan and then you just follow through on Sunday," Collins said. "It's very important. I start my planning the second the game is over."He tailors it to the blockers he's going to face, focusing on what he does that troubles them. He's shared the process with Graham, inviting him to his house to watch film and form the plan."Just open communication with him," Graham said. "Just studying your opponent, knowing his tendencies and your own tendencies at the same time, so showing what you show on tape, how they're thinking they're going to block you. Just kind of taking everything in."Collins said he didn't take good notes in school but started in Bible study as a kid. He stresses that with young linemen."I used to try to write down every word that the pastor said," he said. "I always pride myself on my handwriting and then notetaking is really big for me. I like to write."We're not computers, we don't just memorize sh**. So I think it needs to be written down and rehearsed."Cesaire said Collins' rush plan is one of the most detailed he's seen."A guy that studies everything about the offense, studies himself, always looking to get better, always trying to figure out different ways to get to the quarterback," he said. "I could say it till I'm blue in the face, but the best teams are peer-led. And when you got a guy that's in the room, that's a natural leader, that does everything the right way, that works hard the way he does, and then now you see it on paper, it influences the guys around him."What doesn't translate is Collins' spin move, and the sound that accompanies it."It's not just spinning. He does a lot of things that if you study the way this guy rushes and things that he does out there, you will be just really surprised at the things that he does," Cesaire said. "The way he makes offensive linemen move their feet, the violence that he brings, the way he pushes the pocket, the way he sets other guys up for rush success."The post Sound and fury: Maliek Collins makes noise and impact as pass rusher first appeared on BrownsZone with Scott Petrak.