Some thoughts on the offensive line as the Browns get ready for their second preseason game, against the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday night at FirstEnergy Stadium:
*More so than even quarterback Robert Griffin III in a lot of ways, the Browns have got to get the line straightened around. It is an absolute must, no ifs, ands or buts about it.
*The line did not play well last year and did perform well in Friday night’s 17-11 loss to the Green Bay Packers. Of particular concern is the fact that the first-team offense, in its two series before exiting, couldn’t run the ball because there were no holes. There was penetration into the backfield. That’s on the line, pure and simple.
*As pointed out by head coach Hue Jackson, part of the problem is that the line hasn’t been able to practice much as a group because of injuries. That’s all well and good, but it’s time to get those players out of the trainer’s room and off the exercise bicycle and back out onto the field. There is much, much work to be done.
*The Browns want to run the ball a lot, and if they can’t do that, then it’s going to put a lot of pressure on Griffin to make plays in the passing game. He’s not ready to do that yet. He’s still learning the system, shaking off the rust from last season’s inactivity with the Washington Redskins and getting his confidence back after being relegated to a defensive back on the show team. Plus there are still questions as to how well the line can pass block. That’s a bad combination.
*The Browns line goes from one extreme to the other. Left tackle Joe Thomas, headed to the Pro Football Hall of Fame someday, is still at the top of his game. Joel Bitonio is, when healthy, one of the better young guards in the game. The other guard, Boardman High School product John Greco, is solid. But there are big holes at center with Cameron Erving, probably the weakest of the group at least on paper right now, and at right tackle with whomever.
*You can’t fix everything at once, and the current coaching regime is paying for the misdeeds of previous regimes. We’re talking about taking Erving in the first round of the 2015 NFL Draft and misfiring – yes, misfiring – in the second round in 2012 on former right tackle Mitchell Schwartz, who, like Erving last year, was constantly getting pushed backward immediately at the point of attack, so much so, in fact, that the Browns could have penalized any number of times for having too many men in the backfield.
*The Browns can’t worry about that now. They have to deal with the players they have and make it work until they can try to help themselves in the next couple of drafts. And if they can’t somehow find a way to make it work, it could be a long season, especially offensively. No one knows that better than Jackson, who will put extra emphasis on the line through the rest of the preseason.
*The good thing about all this? There is time to get it right. The regular season doesn’t start for 27 days.
