BEREA — Tight end Aaron Walker catches a ball over the middle and promptly gets drilled in the back by linebacker Eric Barton. Tight end Steve Heiden engages linebacker Kamerion Wimbley on a running play and drives him to the ground. Linebacker D’Qwell Jackson sprints at running back James Davis, swallows him up and drops him to the turf.

These aren’t isolated plays at Browns training camp. In the first three days, there have been nearly as many big hits as in an entire Romeo Crennel camp.

Perhaps just as surprisingly, there’s been little complaining by the players. They know that’s the way it’s going to be under new coach Eric Mangini.

“It’s a lot more contact than I’ve ever done before in my 10 years in the league,” running back Jamal Lewis said after Monday’s morning practice. “It gets you ready for the physical game that we play. You take it all, just buy in and do your job and do what you have to do.”

Crennel’s practices weren’t as precise, busy or collision-intensive. He refrained from any tackling because he had a veteran team and was trying to prevent injuries. He described his tackling method as “thud,” where the defense would meet the ball carrier, wrap up and let go.

Thud has become crash, boom, bang.

“You got to get up, you got to put yourself in a position like you’re ready to play football,” Jackson said. “We understand what Coach is trying to get across to us. He wants us to practice, simulate game situations and he wants us to tackle in game situations.”

Mangini stands right in the middle of the 20-yard tackling drill barking at the players. When the players are spread out over the four practice fields, he can always be found where the hitting is, arms folded high across his chest, jaws really working the gum. The Browns wore full pads in three of the first four practices.

“It’s a contact sport and you have to practice contact,” he said. “You have to practice the right fits at that tempo and you try to do as much of it as you can without being at the point where you’re adding risk and also trying to maintain the guys’ bodies.”

The early emphasis on tackling technique and physical play is designed to get the Browns ready when the regular season opens Sept. 13.

“The more you hit, you’re going to get better,” defensive end Corey Williams said.

Sloppy tackling has plagued the franchise since its return in 1999.

“The only way you’re going to be able to work on your technique is hitting,” defensive lineman Shaun Smith said. “You can’t do it with shorts and no pads on, that’s not going to work.”

Crennel and former general manager Phil Savage were paranoid about injuries, especially after LeCharles Bentley’s career was wrecked on the first play of camp in 2006. Their chief concern was getting as many healthy players to the regular-season opener as they could. That’s why “Stay up!” was constantly shouted by the coaches when a player was knocked to the ground.

The new staff doesn’t seem to care if a player tumbles to the turf, and Mangini can’t afford to be consumed by the threat of injuries. He has to rebuild the attitude, psyche and character of a 4-12 team.

“It is a delicate balance that you’re always trying to adjust and fix and react to how the team’s feeling,” he said of weighing the benefits of building toughness against the increased risk of injury.

“Injuries are part of the game,” safety Mike Adams said.

“It’s a man’s game,” Smith said. “You’ve got to be tough — mentally tough and physically tough — and see how long you can hold up.

“It’s good action. We need it right now. We’ve got to see where everybody’s at, see who’s going to play, who’s going to be ready to hit and who’s not going to hit. It’s turning it back to the old-school days when it was nothing but hitting.”

Even when the team isn’t going 11-on-11, there’s usually some kind of physical drill. The running backs versus the linebackers in pass protection, an offensive lineman one-on-one with a defensive lineman, or three simultaneous inside-run drills just yards apart.

The specialists even got into the act, as kicker Phil Dawson, punter Dave Zastudil and long snapper Ryan Pontbriand practiced their tackling technique Monday morning.

“It’s all-inclusive,” said linebacker David Bowens, who followed Mangini from the Jets and said this is a “typical” camp for him. “It’s like one of those resorts you go to, you get everything for free.”

Through three days there’s been little whining from the players — at least publicly. That could change when the dog days of camp arrive, but most realize they are expendable and better fall in line behind Mangini.

“It’s his show and that’s how he runs it,” Bowens said.

“We don’t talk about it,” Williams said. “Coach tells us we hit, we hit. Buckle up and let’s go.”

Contact Scott Petrak at 329-7253 or spetrak@chroniclet.com.

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