Browns pick a bad week for offensive line injuries
By Thomas Moore
The Cleveland Browns are dealing with injuries along the offensive line, which is not a good situation with the Jacksonville Jaguars coming to town.
Not a lot has gone right for the Cleveland Browns since Hue Jackson took over as head coach in 2016.
But this Sunday’s game against the Jacksonville Jaguars could go down in team history as an especially brutal day.
The Jaguars will roll into FirstEnergy Stadium boasting the league’s best pass defense in yards allowed per game (165.1), sacks (35), touchdown passes allowed (six), quarterback rating (65.9) and points per game (14.9); while checking in tied for third with the most interceptions (11).
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As if that wasn’t bad enough, the Browns are dealing with more injuries along the offensive line, which is not good news for rookie quarterback DeShone Kizer’s aching ribs.
The Browns have been adjusting to life without Pro Bowl left tackle Joe Thomas for the past two games, with Spencer Drango doing what he can while playing out of position.
On Wednesday, the club released its first injury report of the week and it includes center J.C. Tretter, who did not practice with shoulder, knee and quad injuries (did we miss a body part?), and right tackle Shon Coleman, who is still in the league-mandated concussion protocol.
Tretter has been a solid presence at center, and an undeniable improvement over Cameron Erving, in his first year with the Browns. Coleman, while struggling at times, has evolved into a solid right tackle in his first year as a starter. Before suffering a concussion last Sunday against the Detroit Lions, Coleman was one of the team’s highest-graded lineman, according to Pro Football Focus, as he continues to do his part to expose the lie that the Browns have no talent.
If Tretter and Coleman can’t go they will be replaced by Austin Reiter, who looked good in his one start at center last season, and Zach Banner, who did not look so good when he had to take over for Coleman against the Lions.
The possibility of having to face the Jaguars with three backups along the offensive line, including both tackles and the lineman who handles the ball on every play can’t be a comforting one for Kizer. But if he is worried he is not letting on, as he told clevelandbrowns.com:
"“I think we have a really good offensive line that has been working to gel together from one group, eight in that room. The guys who have stepped in have been doing really well, and I’m looking forward to seeing the ball in the end zone.”"
The one area that might work in Cleveland’s favor is the weather, as Sunday’s game is expected to be played in cold, rainy and windy conditions. The Browns are coming off a game where they rushed for 201 yards, and with bad weather in the forecast, it would seem like a perfect day to run the ball and then run it some more.
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Which means that Jackson is probably working on a game plan that calls for Kizer to throw the ball 50 times.