Joe Thomas rated best LT in NFL

lambdo

8. I think I think it's not all disastrous for the Browns, at least according to a site you've probably never heard visited. But if you're into the real nitty-gritty of football, you should check out Pro Football Focus, which has a cadre of workers watching every tape of every game and grading players on every play.

PFF's verdict on the best left tackle in football in the first half of the season? Cleveland's Joe Thomas. "Without any shadow of a doubt,'' the site says. "Despite getting almost no help from tight ends on his side, he's once again put in a high quality, well-balanced and extremely consistent performance.''

PFF rates tackles on pass-protection and run-blocking, and Thomas is fourth in pressure allowed per pass-drop (behind Jason Peters, Jared Gaither and Jake Long, and just ahead of Ryan Clady). But he's first, ahead of Clady, in positive run-blocks. Much of offensive line play is subjective, but sites like PFF, and individuals like K.C. Joyner of the New York Times "Fifth Down'' blog, do a very job quantifying one of the mystery areas of the game.

Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writ...l#ixzz0X40EViMv

NW Ohio Brownie

Yet some will lead you to believe that he's having a horrible season, because of the mountain of suck around him.

In fact, I can't believe he's playing well because everyone has quit on Mangini and can't stand playing for him.

This story must be false, especially since it comes from people who actually watch tape and are into factual and visual evidence.

Gips

Thomas is a great LT he is always putting in 110% and usually doing steinys job at the same time....

ballpeen

And to think some of the dog and pony show crowd thought it was a wasted pick.

TheClevelandSound

I dont have alot of knowledge about technical stuff about O lines...what makes Joe Thomas the best in the league?

dawgpound3

@theclevelandsound said:
I dont have alot of knowledge about technical stuff about O lines...what makes Joe Thomas the best in the league?

Thomas has good technique and has good balance which is good for a tackle, and is big and strong.

TheClevelandSound

@dawgpound3 said:
Thomas has good technique and has good balance which is good for a tackle, and is big and strong.

is he like impossible to beat on the line?

hoorta

@theclevelandsound said:
is he like impossible to beat on the line?

The MNF game put it all in perspective. Thomas about never gets beat, but Steinbach has lost it, IMHO. He was getting beat like a drum on almost every play. Hall is a a rookie, and he can't cover two gaps when Erick gets creamed on the tackle guard gap. As good as Thomas is, he can't block the outside speed rusher, and cover the inside hole- and Steiney can't do it anymore.

FWIW, the right side of the Browns o-line is a train wreck. You can't blame Quinn (or Anderson) for a lot of the stuff that's going on. Any semblance of a pocket is illusory. Quinn couldn't even take three step drops against the Ravens without getting the ball knocked down, much less a seven step drop necessary to launch a long pass.

Tim Couch Pulls Out

@theclevelandsound said:
is he like impossible to beat on the line?

Joe Thomas has great footwork, a wide base, and stellar balance. His kick-slide is tremendously fast, and he maintains a solid base throughout his block. He doesn't over commit, keeping his center of gravity over his haunches, enabling him to change directions almost instantaneously throughout the block. To top it all off, he's got tremendous upper body strength, and great football vision. Essentially, he's everything you would want in an LT, he just has to cover for Steinbach too often. The thing is, he is just as successful at blocking two people simultaneously as many LT's are at blocking just one person. I'd put Thomas up against any DE in history, and he'd block them flawlessly.