dice
11-01-2007, 09:34 PM
Thomas finding early success
Steve King, Staff Writer
11.01.2007
As the NFL Draft approached last spring, the word on Wisconsin left tackle Joe Thomas was that he was "a safe pick."
That is, he was a smart, athletic, strong kid who had played extremely well for several years at a high level of competition. Plus, he was not a trouble-maker, but rather a solid citizen who would be as good in the locker room as he was on the field. Thus, there was little risk of him being a bust.
That assessment was correct, for he has been a starter since day one with the Browns, who tabbed him at No. 3 overall. But Thomas has also been a "safe" pick -- literally -- with the way he has kept Browns quarterbacks safe from harm this season. He has been nearly flawless in protecting them.
In fact, Browns head coach Romeo Crennel said Thursday he doesn't think Thomas has allowed a sack all year.
"I don't know if he's been credited for any in the regular season," he said as the Browns continued to get ready for Sunday's game against the Seattle Seahawks at Cleveland Browns Stadium. "I know he struggled a little bit in the preseason -- once or twice he gave up a sack."
Thomas, for whom modesty may be the strongest asset, isn't sure if Crennel is correct or not.
"We gave up a lot of sacks in the opener (six of their season total of 13), so I'll take the bullet for some of them," Thomas said.
Just like a bodyguard is supposed to do.
Thomas is already the best left tackle the Browns have had since Tony Jones from 1988-95. And that's after just seven games. He will get nothing but better. His potential seems endless.
Thomas is one of the reasons why the Browns offensive line, after struggling so much for the first eight years of this expansion era, is finally playing at a high level, paving the way for an offense that is on its way this season to setting team and individual records for production. With Thomas protecting his blind side, Derek Anderson, who took over at quarterback in the second quarter in that season-opening 34-7 loss to the Steelers, has had time to throw touchdown pass after touchdown pass.
Going into the draft, the Browns had researched Thomas inside and out, so they were convinced he was special. But even with that, Crennel never thought Thomas would be this good, this soon.
"Left tackle is a tough position to play," the coach said. "You end up facing some of the better pass rushers in the league on that side because you have to protect the quarterback's blind side. He's been able to do that. That's a testament to his ability and how he approaches the game."
Thomas said nothing about the pro game has really surprised him, but he admitted being "excited about playing a different great player every week."
And he's just as excited about being on the same field with Seattle left tackle Walter Jones on Sunday. If Thomas has an idol in the NFL, then it might be this man, who went to the Pro Bowl in seven of his 10 previous seasons.
"It will be nice to see him out there in person," Thomas said. "He's probably one of the best left tackles ever to play the game. There have been a lot of good tackles in recent years, but he and Willie Roaf are probably tops.
"The reason I admire him is two-fold. For one, I'm just a fan of the position. And secondly, he's a quiet guy."
Just like Thomas.
Where Jones is now is where Thomas wants to be in a decade.
"It's fun to watch guys like him," Thomas said. "You can get so many tips and learn so many tricks of the trade that a rookie like me wouldn't know."
UP NEXT: The Browns will wrap up the physical preparations for the Seahawks with a two-hour practice on Friday.
NOT YET: Crennel said the Browns would wait until Monday to make a roster decision on LeCharles Bentley, whose window to the return to the practice field closes Tuesday. If he returns to practice, the Browns would then have three weeks to evaluate his status.
AND ONE MORE THING...: Because he began his career in Green Bay, by far the smallest media in the NFL, and now still works off the beaten path in the Pacific Northwest, the Seahawks' Mike Holmgren has never really gotten his due as a head coach. But he's been one of the best ones in the business for a long, long time. He comes to Cleveland with a career regular-season mark of 151-96 (.611). With his 12-10 record in the postseason, he is 163-106 overall (.606), ranking him 13th in wins in NFL history. Holmgren, in his ninth season with the Seahawks after spending seven years with the Packers, is just seven victories short of tying Browns Pro Football Hall of Famer Paul Brown, now in 10th place with 170 wins. Between Brown and Holmgren are Bud Grant (168)) and Joe Gibbs (166), the only active coach ahead of him. Holmgren took the Packers to back-to-back Super Bowls, winning once, and guided the Seahawks to the Super Bowl following the 2005, where they lost to Pittsburgh. Once he retires and goes through the mandatory five-year waiting period, he will be a strong candidate for the Hall of Fame.
QUOTABLES: "We have nine games left, and we have the chance to do something this season. As I've said before, first you hope you can win, then you think you can win and finally you know you'll win. I think we're at the point where our guys are looking at it as if they know they'll win. There's not a game on the rest of the schedule that our players don't believe they'll win. Now, they're not going to win every one of those games, but they still enter the game with the mind-set that they know they'll win. They don't look at any games now and say, 'We can't win that one.' And as we all know, that's not been the case around here the last couple of years." -- Browns general manager Phil Savage on the state of the club during his weekly interview with Cleveland radio station WTAM-AM on Thursday morning.
"I am picking Cleveland, quarterbacked by someone named Derek Anderson, to improve its record to 5-3 with a win over my preseason pick to win the NFC West. Now you see why no one consistently wins money betting on the NFL." -- SportsIllustrated.com writer Peter King explaining why, in his predictions on this weekend's games, he thinks the Browns will beat the Seahawks 27-19.
"It is." -- Crennel when asked if it's merely a coincidence that the Browns on Tuesday signed cornerback Ricardo Colclough off waivers from the Steelers, whom they play next Sunday.
"That's not for me to decide. I think that's for Ted to decide. He's been a pro about the way he's approached things for this number of years, and I think after he rehabs and sees how he feels, then he'll make a decision about what he wants to do." -- Crennel when asked if this was the end of the line for 38-year-old nose tackle Ted Washington, the 17-year veteran who was placed onto the Injured Reserve List with knee problems.
"If he's ready to go, yes." -- Crennel when asked if he would want Washington to come back next season if the nose tackle wanted to return.
Steve King, Staff Writer
11.01.2007
As the NFL Draft approached last spring, the word on Wisconsin left tackle Joe Thomas was that he was "a safe pick."
That is, he was a smart, athletic, strong kid who had played extremely well for several years at a high level of competition. Plus, he was not a trouble-maker, but rather a solid citizen who would be as good in the locker room as he was on the field. Thus, there was little risk of him being a bust.
That assessment was correct, for he has been a starter since day one with the Browns, who tabbed him at No. 3 overall. But Thomas has also been a "safe" pick -- literally -- with the way he has kept Browns quarterbacks safe from harm this season. He has been nearly flawless in protecting them.
In fact, Browns head coach Romeo Crennel said Thursday he doesn't think Thomas has allowed a sack all year.
"I don't know if he's been credited for any in the regular season," he said as the Browns continued to get ready for Sunday's game against the Seattle Seahawks at Cleveland Browns Stadium. "I know he struggled a little bit in the preseason -- once or twice he gave up a sack."
Thomas, for whom modesty may be the strongest asset, isn't sure if Crennel is correct or not.
"We gave up a lot of sacks in the opener (six of their season total of 13), so I'll take the bullet for some of them," Thomas said.
Just like a bodyguard is supposed to do.
Thomas is already the best left tackle the Browns have had since Tony Jones from 1988-95. And that's after just seven games. He will get nothing but better. His potential seems endless.
Thomas is one of the reasons why the Browns offensive line, after struggling so much for the first eight years of this expansion era, is finally playing at a high level, paving the way for an offense that is on its way this season to setting team and individual records for production. With Thomas protecting his blind side, Derek Anderson, who took over at quarterback in the second quarter in that season-opening 34-7 loss to the Steelers, has had time to throw touchdown pass after touchdown pass.
Going into the draft, the Browns had researched Thomas inside and out, so they were convinced he was special. But even with that, Crennel never thought Thomas would be this good, this soon.
"Left tackle is a tough position to play," the coach said. "You end up facing some of the better pass rushers in the league on that side because you have to protect the quarterback's blind side. He's been able to do that. That's a testament to his ability and how he approaches the game."
Thomas said nothing about the pro game has really surprised him, but he admitted being "excited about playing a different great player every week."
And he's just as excited about being on the same field with Seattle left tackle Walter Jones on Sunday. If Thomas has an idol in the NFL, then it might be this man, who went to the Pro Bowl in seven of his 10 previous seasons.
"It will be nice to see him out there in person," Thomas said. "He's probably one of the best left tackles ever to play the game. There have been a lot of good tackles in recent years, but he and Willie Roaf are probably tops.
"The reason I admire him is two-fold. For one, I'm just a fan of the position. And secondly, he's a quiet guy."
Just like Thomas.
Where Jones is now is where Thomas wants to be in a decade.
"It's fun to watch guys like him," Thomas said. "You can get so many tips and learn so many tricks of the trade that a rookie like me wouldn't know."
UP NEXT: The Browns will wrap up the physical preparations for the Seahawks with a two-hour practice on Friday.
NOT YET: Crennel said the Browns would wait until Monday to make a roster decision on LeCharles Bentley, whose window to the return to the practice field closes Tuesday. If he returns to practice, the Browns would then have three weeks to evaluate his status.
AND ONE MORE THING...: Because he began his career in Green Bay, by far the smallest media in the NFL, and now still works off the beaten path in the Pacific Northwest, the Seahawks' Mike Holmgren has never really gotten his due as a head coach. But he's been one of the best ones in the business for a long, long time. He comes to Cleveland with a career regular-season mark of 151-96 (.611). With his 12-10 record in the postseason, he is 163-106 overall (.606), ranking him 13th in wins in NFL history. Holmgren, in his ninth season with the Seahawks after spending seven years with the Packers, is just seven victories short of tying Browns Pro Football Hall of Famer Paul Brown, now in 10th place with 170 wins. Between Brown and Holmgren are Bud Grant (168)) and Joe Gibbs (166), the only active coach ahead of him. Holmgren took the Packers to back-to-back Super Bowls, winning once, and guided the Seahawks to the Super Bowl following the 2005, where they lost to Pittsburgh. Once he retires and goes through the mandatory five-year waiting period, he will be a strong candidate for the Hall of Fame.
QUOTABLES: "We have nine games left, and we have the chance to do something this season. As I've said before, first you hope you can win, then you think you can win and finally you know you'll win. I think we're at the point where our guys are looking at it as if they know they'll win. There's not a game on the rest of the schedule that our players don't believe they'll win. Now, they're not going to win every one of those games, but they still enter the game with the mind-set that they know they'll win. They don't look at any games now and say, 'We can't win that one.' And as we all know, that's not been the case around here the last couple of years." -- Browns general manager Phil Savage on the state of the club during his weekly interview with Cleveland radio station WTAM-AM on Thursday morning.
"I am picking Cleveland, quarterbacked by someone named Derek Anderson, to improve its record to 5-3 with a win over my preseason pick to win the NFC West. Now you see why no one consistently wins money betting on the NFL." -- SportsIllustrated.com writer Peter King explaining why, in his predictions on this weekend's games, he thinks the Browns will beat the Seahawks 27-19.
"It is." -- Crennel when asked if it's merely a coincidence that the Browns on Tuesday signed cornerback Ricardo Colclough off waivers from the Steelers, whom they play next Sunday.
"That's not for me to decide. I think that's for Ted to decide. He's been a pro about the way he's approached things for this number of years, and I think after he rehabs and sees how he feels, then he'll make a decision about what he wants to do." -- Crennel when asked if this was the end of the line for 38-year-old nose tackle Ted Washington, the 17-year veteran who was placed onto the Injured Reserve List with knee problems.
"If he's ready to go, yes." -- Crennel when asked if he would want Washington to come back next season if the nose tackle wanted to return.