Whose idea was it to move Joel Bitonio to left tackle?
It wasn't Bob Wylie's. That was his "plan z". And it wasn't Bitonio's either.
Was it Todd Haley, then? I just don't know. I only know that Wylie was probably overridden.
Everything that Joe Thomas said about Austin Corbett not being a left tackle applies to Bitonio, okay?
Sure, some of Bitonio's left guard experience will transfer. He will see stunts and games coming, and make the right moves. But his feet will still be slow, and the quicker edge-rushers will still beat him.
I understand the rationale, as Hue Jackson said that they simply felt that this was the way to get their five best offensive linemen on the field.
Myles Garrett has been beating Shon Coleman like a drum, and waddyano there goes Greg Williams with a concussion (could be out for weeks).
Dan Labbe (linked article) is right about this looking like a fingers-crossed long-term move.
Well, when you've got lemons, you make lemonade...and the Browns have a bunch of lemons at left tackle (I think).
Everybody is ignoring Austin Corbett here, but he's the biggest part of this!
They didn't draft Austin Corbett where they did to make him a backup. While Big Joe doesn't think he's a tackle, he projects to be every bit as good as Bitonio at left guard.
If you'll recall, Joel started immediately as a rookie, and was pretty good. Corbett has similar college (and Senior Bowl) experience; he's actually even more "polished" than Bitonio was coming out.
They want to get this guy on the field, and moving Bitonio out of his way was the only way to do that...
(Well unless you want to bench Tretter or Zietler.)
How will this work out (assuming Greg Robinson or Desmond Harrison don't salvage it)?
Well, Bitonio is an upgrade over Spencer Drango! He might even be better than Shon Coleman was (though I doubt it).
But the balance of the offensive line should be roughly as good or better than it was (post-Thomas) in 2017.
Bitonio will sometimes need help from tight ends, just like Drango did, but the Tyrod-Baker combo at quarterback will take much of that heat off him in pass protection (now that Hue Palmer has backed off).
Read my earlier posts if you didn't get the rollout/run-pass options/read-options that Taylor and Mayfield offer Todd Haley.
It should upgrade the run-blocking a little. Shon Coleman is a good run-blocker, but Bitonio will probably be a little better at blowing edge-rushers out of the way than he was at blasting defensive tackles who were as big as he was, and Corbett is already prepared to take up much of Joel's slack inside as a run-blocker.
And then there's the (redundancy alert) zone-blocking which Todd Haley will use sometimes:
Bitonio at left tackle is no longer a big part of this, but Austin Corbett can excel in this scheme.
Got your hip waders on?
Inside zone-blocking fits perfectly with run-pass options and zone-reads. (Redundancy alert) an inside zone run looks exactly like a pass to defenses for the first split second, so they must either guess right presnap, or play "on their heels" (hesitantly) til they figure out what the offense is really doing.
Combined with rollouts, run-pass options, and read-options, this is compounded with a Taylor or a Mayfield, because these quarterbacks will decide DURING the play what is going to happen, see?
But I digress: With Bitonio at left tackle and Corbett at left guard, Hue's default power/man and g-power works as well (Corbett can pull as well as Bitonio did).
So overall, this looks like a marginal upgrade over the offensive line which had Spencer Drango at left tackle, and more of an upgrade with this offensive coordinator and these two quarterbacks overall.
With all due respect to Dan Labbe, I can't see any "disasters" looming on this horizon.
Worst case: Bitonio ranks 20th or so in pass-protection, in the top 8 or so in run-blocking, and in the middle overall, of left tackles. That's better than Drango, and in no way a "disaster".
Redundancy alert: I repeat that Joe Thomas's don't grow on trees, and the majority of playoff (let alone Superbowl) teams somehow muddle through without elite passblocking left tackles.
The emergence of athletic quarterbacks and the "college" offensive schemes in the NFL are partly the result of this; edge-rushers are coming out of the woodwork.
If you think that Todd Haley can't cope with the loss of Joe Thomas with these quarterbacks and this offensive talent, you are mentally impaired (I hereby grant Dan Labbe dispensation on a probationary basis since he is usually level-headed and smart, and has never made this kind of dumbass assertion in the past).
Joel Bitonio, Bob Wylie and me would not have moved Bitonio to left tackle, but there it is.
I have some hope for Harrison and Robinson, but they're both out of action, and I get that the Browns want to start winning right now.
The offensive line is the last unit you can monkey around with with time running out. Chemistry matters here first and foremost; these guys need years together before they can fully "mesh", and the 2018 Browns are down to the last week of camp and parts of four preseason games.
Clearly, the Browns mean business (starting with the Steelers in game one).
I get it.
Personally, I would not go "all-in" in 2018, but clearly the 2018 Browns think they can win the AFC North right now.
Dan Labbe is right again: Probably in 2019, Bitonio goes back to guard (where he belongs), but right now, he's the best healthy left tackle, and a veteran, and Corbett can replace him at guard, and they have to carve their offensive line in stone if they want to win this Division in 2018.
Get the Bitonio-Corbett combo all the preseason reps you can, because chemistry is more important to an offensive line than talent (that's redundant too sorry I didn't warn you).
Back to reality: I do get the Bitonio thing, but if John Dorsey signs Pacman Jones or Dez Bryant, I've got rope, torches, pitchforks, hot tar (give me a couple hours on that), feathers etc. ready to go.
Dan Labbe, if you think that Joel Bitonio not being a top half passblocking left tackle would be disasterous, you're way off-target here!
You think I'm a "homer"? If Dorsey does something idiotic like that, you'll see the other side of me.
...Nobody gets this. Why do I bother? Knock-knock anybody home?
Philistines. Okbye.
Update: More Rashard Higgins highlights (with Mayfield). I'd be shocked if Higgins doesn't make it.
The defense picked off Taylor TWICE in goal line drills...
Hard to separate the bad news from the good here, since they're all Browns, but for me it was almost predictable, as Todd Haley and Gregg Williams duke it out.
Williams won this round by a mile.
I have no details yet, but am guessing that one pick was batted by a front seven guy, and another was a contested ball that Corey Coleman (or somebody) lost.
Tyrod Taylor doesn't screw up.
It's mostly good news, because Gregg's defense (except for Garrett) had been getting punked so far, but seems to be coming together now.
You still don't get it:
Josh Gordon or no Josh Gordon, this is an elite defense duking it out with an elite offense.
Oh shut up! How tf can you look at this roster and these coaches and keep up your doom and gloom crap?
Oh yeah. Stockholm Syndrome. Can't blame you much!
...I'll delve deeper into Stockholm Syndrome later, but for now I'll just say I am more sane than you.
Nevermind okbye
THIS JUST IN: Bitonio looked good in pass pro vs Garrett and company! I truly hope to be proven fulla crap here! I was shocked--Bitonio has quicker feet than I'd thought.
Well I'm unique: When I'm proven fulla crap I ADMIT it. I hope I can admit to selling Bitonio short a few weeks from now.
We can't take one practice session to the bank or anything, but so far so good! Keep up the good work, Joel!
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