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Browns' Joe Thomas is drawing raves from experts

Tuesday, June 17, 2008
BY Steve Doerschuk
REPOSITORY SPORTS WRITER



The Browns are expecting a big year from Joe Thomas. To that, Anthony Muñoz says, why shouldn't they?

Muñoz, a Hall of Fame left tackle who was in Canton over the weekend, says Thomas was "fun to watch" as a rookie left tackle for the 2007 Browns.

"He's 6-foot-6 or so," Muñoz said, "but he's not one of those guys who carries 350 pounds but doesn't have any flexibility and just drops guys.

"He's lean, and he has great balance and flexibility. Watch him bend his knees. He moves out in space very well."

Muñoz said he enjoyed getting to know Thomas after they arranged to spend a day together. Like Muñoz in 1980 (Bengals), Thomas was a No. 3 overall draft pick by an Ohio team.

"Not only is he an excellent player," Muñoz said, "but he's a pretty good young man. He's the type of guy I enjoy watching."

When Thomas toured the Hall of Fame with Browns rookies last June, he came right out and said his aim is joining Muñoz on enshrinees row.

"So far, he's gone to a Pro Bowl, and he earned it," Muñoz said. "I think he's gonna have a long career."

Thomas' position will be represented at the enshrinement ceremony Aug. 2, when Gary Zimmerman enters the Hall of Fame.

"For a young guy like (Thomas), the difference between being a good left tackle and great one is the mental aspect," said Zimmerman, whose pro career began shortly after Muñoz's.

General Manager Phil Savage gives Thomas elite grades for intelligence, quick thinking and mental toughness.

Zimmerman, the left tackle on Denver's first Super Bowl champion, was a quiet young mnan who was hard even for teammates to read. Thomas is an outgoing fellow who will be a team captain early in his career.

The common thread between Zimmerman and Thomas is film study.

Whereas everyone knows Thomas prepares exhaustively, Zimmernan's position coach in Denver, Alex Gibbs, didn't grasp that about his guy at first. He began to notice Zimmerman using tricks that not even he as a line guru had imagined. He began asking Zimmerman to let the team in on his secrets.

Now coaching with the Houston Texans, Gibbs says Muñoz and Zimmerman easily were the greatest left tackles to play in the 1980s through the early 1990s.

"There are more great-looking left tackles than there were," Gibbs said. "Jonathan Ogden came along. Joe Thomas, who of course is younger, is in that category.

"It was easy to spot Thomas in college because he was so far ahead of everybody. ... But there are more and more athletic left tackles who have a chance to be really good. There were six or seven in this year's draft who have a chance to be very good."

Gibbs suggests Thomas was a key to quarterback Derek Anderson's unexpected breakout.

What happens if a team doesn't have a good left tackle protecting the passer's blind side?

"The quarterback will not be very good," Gibbs said. "He doesn't have a chance."

Reach Repository sports writer Steve Doerschuk at (330) 580-8347 or e-mail: steve.doerschuk@cantonrep.com

What can you say about this kid that already hasn't been said, but we struck gold when we drafted this guy. To be able to land such a high character, athletic talent at this position when we needed him most is simply amazing to me.

Joe Thomas is the best player picked in that whole freaking draft.

This is from an ESPN Insider article, (I am not a subscriber), but this much of it is free for everyone. You have to subscribe to read the rest...

Quote:

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It can be argued that Cleveland left tackle Joe Thomas is the best player to come out of the 2007 draft. Yes, even better than Vikings running back Adrian Peterson, whose accolades are obviously much easier to quantify.


After just one season in the league, Thomas can be considered one of the top left tackles in the game. Jason Peters (Buffalo), Walter Jones (Seattle) and Jammal Brown (Saints), amongst others, can give the youngster a strong run for his money for that honor. But I am willing to go one step farther and say that Cleveland, thanks to Thomas, has the best offensive line in the NFL.

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ESPN Insider

Homer: This is exactly why I do not reply to many posts on this board or others..Not about what your reply was, but others. Sometimes its just nuts!!!

well, good day to you too.

Thomas is by far the best pick in the 07 draft FOR THE CLEVELAND BROWNS!

Quote:

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They always say that you can't truly grade a draft for 3 years.

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That's to give guys a fair shake at learning their positions. But in Joe's instance he excelled as a rookie. No way does he take a step back. The worst he'll ever play, barring injury, was last season and he got into the probowl.

I can hardly believe after all those years of us screaming for a Left Tackle we've finally got one and he's already one of the best. Freakin' Wow.

The guy gives me wood without the help of a little blue pill

...and the second funniest was his too!

And the third.

http://cle.scout.com/2/765739.html

Just another article to read regarding Joe Thomas during the sssslooooowest time of the year.


Joe Thomas Ready to Go


LT Joe Thomas By Marty Gitlin
OBR Browns Reporter
Posted Jun 29, 2008


It's hard to remember a rookie who had a bigger impact on the Browns than LT Joe Thomas. Will Thomas continue to improve his game or fall victim to a sophomore slump? Marty Gitlin talked to the Browns left tackle about the differences between 2007 and 2008.


Last year at this time, Joe Thomas felt a bit like Dorothy opening the door to the Land of Oz. It was all new to him – and a bit frightening.

Now he can drive on the yellow brick road to NFL stardom without a GPS Navigator.

It’s all coming naturally these days for the Pro Bowl tackle. He no longer has to think about every move on the field. Rather, he performs them instinctively. And the smile on his face comes just as easily.

“Yeah, it’s a little different feel now,” Thomas said during the recent mini-camp with that ever-present grin. “It’s great not being a rookie and the low man on the totem pole.”

Low man on the totem pole? That was merely the perception of an NFL novice. Actually, he was considered by the Browns and their fans to be the savior of an offensive line that had been downright brutal since the return of the franchise in 1999. And Thomas took the challenge and ran with it, teaming with free agent guard Eric Steinbach to form a devastating left side.

But as the 2007 season approached, Thomas had yet to acquire the confidence that such success eventually brought. Nor could he carry out his assignments on the field instinctively. The difference between his confidence level, thought process and performance during mini-camps last year and this year are like, well, Kansas and Oz.

“When you’re the first pick (by the Browns in the 2007 draft) there’s so much pressure on you,” Thomas explains. “You wonder if you can do it or not. But now, having a year under my belt in the system and playing next to the guys I play alongside really makes a difference instead of starting at ground zero.

“Now I have the feeling of confidence that I can play at this level, which is a big help because you question yourself as a rookie even though you don’t want to. Every rookie questions himself because it’s such a big step from college. Plus I’ve always been a perfectionist. I want to be perfect every play and every game. I was far from that last year, but starting all 16 games was a big goal of mine and I did that.”

What he must also do is avoid a sophomore slump that affects many athletes, greatly because of adjustments made to them by opponents. The malady is better known in baseball due to changes in how second-year players are pitched to and batted against. But Thomas is well aware that NFL defenses won’t be playing him the same in 2008.

“It’s pretty similar to major league baseball in that I have 16 games under my belt that you have on game film that can be studied during the offseason,” cautions Thomas. “They know what I do well and they know what my weaknesses are and that’s what they’re going to try to exploit. In the NFL, everyone knows what you’ve done poorly, so you have to work really hard on your weaknesses.

“It’s not a matter of run-blocking and pass-blocking, it’s more a matter of fine-tuning your footwork and hand placement. Plus you learn your plays and you read defenses better. Those are all things that will help you in both run and pass blocking.”

Thomas hasn’t spent all his time this offseason concentrating on turning one Pro Bowl season into another. He has also frolicked in the great outdoors partaking in two of his favorite hobbies – hunting and fishing. In fact, he is now the co-host of a local outdoors show on cable TV.

“That’s been a lot of fun,” says Thomas, his smile growing wider. “It’s allowed me to take my mind far away from football, which is a great thing to do during the offseason. And it’s never bad when someone takes you fishing and you can call it a job.”

Thomas’ other job? What a difference a year makes.