Every week you hear about another one of these players stepping up and making a play for the team on defense.

Last week was no different. This time it was a little-known defensive back out of Eastern Michigan, rookie CB Jereme Perry who grabbed the spotlight.

In last week's game against the Atlanta Falcons, Perry shined like a new dime when he recovered a fumble late in the fourth quarter to help seal the deal in the Browns' 17-13 win over the Falcons. It was a play Perry felt compelled to make.

"The Falcons got close to the red-zone because of me," Perry said. "The quarterback threw a bomb on me a few plays before, and I was going for the ball and I fell, and the receiver caught a 55-yarder on me.

"So at that point, I was kind of mad because I let them get down the field. At that point, one of the older cats on the team came up to me and said 'Just make another play, make another play. This is how things happen.'

"So at the end of the game with about 2 minutes left on the clock, Michael Vick was scrambling and I saw the ball squirt out. A couple of people tried to jump on it and missed it when they scrambled for it in the pile.

"Once I saw the ball, I just dove on it. It was like an opportunity to make up for the mistake I made for letting a bomb being thrown on me," Perry said.

Started on the

practice squad

Making the play was indeed redemption for Perry because up until that point he was a little down on himself.

The 6-foot, 200-pound Perry has tons of talent and has come a long way. He was given an opportunity during rookie minicamp to tryout for the team after not being drafted and showed the coaching staff enough to make the team's practice squad.

As injuries mounted in the secondary, Perry was eventually called up to play with the big boys.

"They brought me in and told me if I showed them something in a couple of days they would keep me around. I was so thankful that they kept me around for the big camp and I ended up making the practice squad. It seems like I came a long ways from the tryout guy to playing in games now," Perry said.

Perry plays on special-teams and in nickel packages on defense. He is a very intriguing player with outstanding speed running a 4.36 in the 40-yard dash. He is also aggressive and versatile playing cornerback, safety and linebacker while in college.

Walter helped him

Perry reflects back on his days at Eastern Michigan and credits former teammate, now Houston Texans, WR Kevin Walter in helping him to learn his craft.

"I can remember the first scrimmage we had my freshmen year and I played corner. I was kind of nervous because this was the first tackling scrimmage. I remember Kevin [Walter] ran a double-move on me, a stop-and-go, and burnt me for a touchdown. I can never forget that.," Perry said.

"Kevin was a great player. He was physical and he had size and quickness. Covering him helped me get better throughout my college career. Kevin and a couple of other players helped me to become more competitive as well. I knew covering Kevin would only make me better," he said.

Although Perry gave Walter a lot of props, he said the toughest receiver he had to face in college was WR Greg Jennings, who was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the second round of this year's draft. While in the pros, the toughest receiver to cover has been Denver Broncos WR Javon Walker. Perry said that Walker's combination of size and speed is crazy.

Earning respect

The young defensive back knows what hard work is all about and is showing the coaching staff that he belongs. So much that he has earned the respect of coaches where they are comfortable in putting the rookie in the game.

"It started off when I was on the practice squad," Perry said. "Coach Tucker told me to treat every practice like I was preparing to play in the game. Well, I didn't think that I was going to get pulled up this year at all, and he said prepare every week like you're about to play in the game. So that's what I was doing and I was making a couple of plays on the practice squad and showing them that I can play corner, showing them that I can cover some of the top receivers because I'm up and holding Joe Jurevicius and Braylon Edwards every day.

"Once they brought me up and said I was going to play corner, I was a little shook up and nervous at first, but it showed me how much they had confidence in me and it gave me confidence in myself. With all the injuries in the secondary, it gave me a better opportunity and I knew I couldn't let the coaches down. I have to be prepared at all costs."

I believe the organization knows what they have in Perry. The club recently signed the player to a 2-year contract negotiated by Dayton-based agent Ronald Todd II, who represents Perry.

Side note: Perry, who is a Michigan Wolverine fan, picked Michigan to beat Ohio State by three. Sorry, J.P.! Bucks won by three.