Cleveland Browns: John Greco latest player lost for season

Aug 20, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Browns guard John Greco (77) during the game against the Buffalo Bills at FirstEnergy Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports

Another week, another season-ending injury as the Cleveland Browns have lost guard John Greco to a knee injury.

The Cleveland Browns lost another member of their starting offensive line on Sunday as guard John Greco suffered a knee injury that will force him to miss the final two games of the season.

Greco went out of Sunday’s game against the Seattle Seahawks on the opening drive with what the team believes is a MCL injury. While the team does not believe Greco will need surgery, he is done for the final two games, joining guard Joel Bitonio who is on injured reserve with an ankle injury.

With Greco out we should see plenty of Cameron Erving over the final two games as the Browns are quickly running out of options at the guard spot. While you hate to see anyone go down with an injury, more playing time can only help Erving, who has struggled mightily whenever he has been on the field this season.

Interestingly enough, why many have pointed to Erving’s lack of strength as the root cause of his problems, left tackle Joe Thomas has a different theory about what Erving needs to work on in the offseason.

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“I think the footwork and technique with your footwork,” Thomas said. “A lot of times you will see guys getting beat in the NFL in general on the offensive line because their feet are out of place. Your strength and power comes from where your feet are. I am probably one of the weakest offensive lineman in the NFL, but it doesn’t matter if you have good feet and you are constantly in good position. You are using leverages. You are using angles. You are winning the science of your position.

“The young players it is something that takes time to learn. It really isn’t about weight room strength. It is more about the positions you get your body in to be strong. Low man wins, leverage, angles. Really it is those techniques and nuances of the position that I think will be the most important for Cam to work on this offseason.

“That is the great part of OTAs for young guys. They have opportunities to work on that technique during a no-pad session where you don’t have the fear of being physically beaten or getting your quarterback hurt like you would if you were in full pads or if it was in the middle of a game.”

Interesting and another reason why having players like Thomas and center Alex Mack around to impart their wisdom can only help young players like Erving and Bitonio.

Having said that, Erving still struggled against the Seahawks, as pointed out by Pro Football Focus’ game grade:

"RG John Greco was injured on the opening series, allowing rookie Cameron Erving (-2.7) to pick up significant playing time for the fourth time this season. His performance was a step up from two weeks ago against his -7.5 overall outing versus the Bengals, but still struggled yesterday against the Seahawks. He had negative grades in both pass and run blocking, with two sacks and two hurries allowed."

After reading that, it shouldn’t surprise anyone if quarterback Johnny Manziel and running backs Duke Johnson and Isaiah Crowell wish Greco was back in the lineup against Kansas City and Pittsburgh.