THE ONLY QUESTION LEFT IS THE BROWNS LEFT TACKLE
By STEVE KING
My, oh, my, all this fuss about who is going to be the Browns left tackle when they open the regular season by hosting the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday at FirstEnergy Stadium.
Every single day for weeks now – several times in several different ways, in fact – media members have posed this question to Browns head coach Hue Jackson.
Advertisement: All New!
Days, weeks, even months, now – several times in several different ways, in fact – Jackson has eloquently danced around the issue, giving the media members a little of what they want, but not all of what they want, which is the simple answer to their simple question. That is, who will start at left tackle for the Browns?
It’s a big deal, to be sure.
Let tackle is one of the most important positions not just on the offense, but on the team overall. Indeed, it’s that big.
It’s the skill position of the offensive line, for the left tackle is given the all-important job in pass blocking of protecting the blind side of the guy playing the most important position not just on the offense or even on the team, but rather in team sports overall. If a team has a quarterback, then it has a chance. And if it doesn’t, then it doesn’t.
Additionally, if that quarterback, even if he’s good, is injured and on the sideline – if he, say, gets clobbered because the left tackle misses his block — then the team likely doesn’t have a chance, either. A backup player is exactly that in that he doesn’t give the team as much of a chance to win as the first-string guy. That’s especially true at quarterback.
For the previous 10 ½ seasons, there was no question about who was going to be the Browns left tackle because they had the best one in the game in Joe Thomas. For all of the things they’ve screwed up in this nightmarish expansion era, left tackle is the one and only thing that they’ve gotten right – very, very right, in fact. Thomas is headed to the Pro Football Hall of Fame someday. That’s how good he was.
But he suffered a career-ending arm injury halfway through last season, and the Browns have been looking for his successor ever since.
On Friday, Jackson was to have announced the name of that successor.
We don’t know at this time who he is, but we do know that he won’t be as good as Thomas.
We just hope that’s he’s good enough to do his job, and it’s a big job, which is why the media has been asking about it for all these days, weeks and even months.
We just hope that Hue Jackson – and the Browns – have gotten it right, which, again in this expansion era, has been asking a lot, if not the downright impossible.
New Cleveland Football Shirts!
