The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Joel Bitonio still working out kinks as left tackle
All the excitement surrounding the success the Browns enjoyed in the preseason opener circles back to one question: How will the offensive line perform in the regular season?
The play of the offensive line in the 20-10 victory over the Giants on Aug. 9 drew mixed reviews from Coach Hue Jackson. He liked the pass blocking; the Browns allowed one sack in 30 pass plays.
The run blocking — not so much. The Browns rushed 33 times for 50 yards.
“There is nothing else to say about it,” Jackson said after practice Aug. 12. “It was just not good enough, not to our standard. We will get better.”
The retirement of Joe Thomas in March created a ripple effect along the line; Shon Coleman was moved from right tackle to left tackle. Chris Hubbard was signed in free agency to play right tackle and Austin Corbett was selected with the 33rd pick in the draft.
Joel Bitonio started training camp as the left guard — the position he played since being drafted in the second round in 2014. Offensive line coach Bob Wylie wanted Bitonio to stay at left guard. On July 29, the third day of training camp, Wylie said moving Bitonio to left tackle, on a scale of A to Z, would be Plan Z.
Two days later, Jackson overruled Wylie. He moved Bitonio to left tackle, benched Coleman and inserted Corbett as the starting left guard.
On Aug. 2, one day after both positions on the left side were changed, starting right guard Kevin Zeitler came up limping with a calf injury. His replacement is Spencer Drango, who struggled last year replacing Thomas when Thomas was knocked out with a triceps injury in midseason.
Practice on Aug. 13 was another trying day for the run offense. Making it even more challenging was starting center JC Tretter was given the day off. Backup center Austin Reiter replaced him.
At one point, Jackson inserted Greg Robinson at left tackle and Bitonio back at left guard with the first team, but he quickly went back to Corbett at guard and Bitonio at tackle.
“Bitonio is still our starting left tackle,” Jackson said. “We just have to keep working combinations and things. It means nothing. It just means that every now and then, I’m going to stick Greg out there and make sure that Joel keeps playing some left guard. If we find an answer in house, then great. If we don’t, then I feel good about Joel being out there.”
So far Bitonio has resisted calling Thomas, his good friend, because Thomas is busy with family life in Wisconsin as Joe and his wife await the birth of their fourth child. Bitonio said he might have to pick up the Bat Phone and call Thomas when the games begin to count.
“You finally play a game, and it starts to become more reality,” Bitonio said before practice Aug. 13. “I felt a little bit, not uncomfortable (against the Giants), just a fish out of water in the sense where it’s like, ‘I’m actually doing this in a game against a good pass rusher.’
“I only played eight plays, so it was kind of hard to get in a great rhythm, but there are things to work on. My hands were a little wide … but it’s preseason. We’ve got a lot of games to play.”
The starters are expected to play more when the Browns host the Bills on Aug. 17 in the second preseason game. The workload will increase again when the Browns host the Eagles on Aug. 23.
On top of everything else, Bitonio is learning to block for Tyrod Taylor and Baker Mayfield — a pair of mobile quarterbacks. That means holding blocks longer than a tackle would for a pocket passer.
“As an O-lineman, you always have that little clock in your head you’re not supposed to have — ‘Oh, I think I’ve blocked this guy long enough,’ ” Bitonio said. “When you have a quarterback that can move around, sometimes they extend the play a little more than you can. So there’s a love-hate, but I think more of it’s love because these guys make big plays happen.
“You see Aaron Rodgers, he might not be the most athletic guy, but he’ll roll out, make a play, and throw it for 60 yards. Anytime you can have something like that happen, it’s a big bonus.”