Cleveland Browns: Austin Pasztor excelling at pass protection
By Joel W. Cade
Cleveland Browns right tackle Austin Pasztor has struggled mightily at right tackle this season. Find out how he has turned it around.
Cleveland Browns offensive line coach Hal Hunter deserves a raise. His work with the offensive line has been nothing short of amazing.
Just four weeks ago, the line was giving up massive hits on quarterbacks, turning the position into a living hell on earth. However, one month later the offensive line who should have struggled against a very good New York Jets front seven went out and protected Josh McCown well. Their play gave the Browns an opportunity to win the game. Unfortunately, failure to execute from the quarterback and wide receiver positions ultimately held the offense back.
Helping the offensive line was a change in the way offensive line calls were made. Josh McCown called out the mike in pass protection coverage and he made relevant line blocking calls. When a call was made at the line of scrimmage, it was usually John Greco making the calls. He called out the changes in protections and run blocking schemes.
This sounds contradictory so let me explain. McCown made the initial call based on what the defense lined up at initially. McCown then made a dummy cadence call to get the defense to show their hand. If changes were necessary after that point, they were made by John Greco. McCown made changes with the receivers and backs. This system worked very well for the Browns on Sunday.
The most improved player over the past four weeks is far and away Austin Pasztor. I have been very critical of Pasztor in my articles. It is nice to see his play not only improve but actually be outstanding for his position.
Run blocking has always been his strength. He is a pure road grater who has opened many holes in the running game. However, pass protection has been a serious struggle for him. Over the past few weeks, Pasztor has consistently improved in pass protection. Dare I say it, but Pasztor right now is a better overall tackle than Mitchell Schwartz (whose game is limited to pass protection).
What is Pasztor doing now that he was not before?