Joe Thomas ranked his top five teammates with the Browns
Today 4:45 PM

Former Cleveland Browns offensive lineman Joe Thomas, now an analyst for NFL Network, ranked the top five players he played with in the NFL. The Plain Dealer

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By Scott Patsko, cleveland.com
CLEVELAND, Ohio - Joe Thomas is officially a member of sports media. He has begun ranking things.

The former Cleveland Browns offensive lineman turned NFL Network analyst unveiled his top five NFL teammates as part of a series on NFL.com. Thomas, who played for the Browns from 2007-17, had plenty of teammates to choose from.


The best teammates series is being done by former players who work for NFL Network. Steve Smith and DeAngelo Hall have made similar lists.

Thomas’ list included:


5. Phil Dawson

“Kickers probably aren’t a popular pick for this exercise, but I have to include Dawson. He’s one of the greatest kickers the league has ever seen, in my opinion,” wrote Thomas.

4. Josh Cribbs

“Unlike many other returners, he didn’t just burn you with speed. He was gritty, tough and played with a reckless abandon, whether he had the ball or not, breaking tackles with the ball in his hands and making tackles when roles were flipped,” wrote Thomas.

3. Mitchell Schwartz


“The first thing that comes to mind when I think of Schwartz is just how smart he is. He has an exceptional memory and an incredible ability to analyze the biomechanics of a certain technique used by him or his opponent,” wrote Thomas.

2. Myles Garrett

“Garrett has a unique combination of athleticism, mobility and smarts to best his opponents and exploit matchups. This guy’s on a different level,” wrote Thomas.

1. Alex Mack

“However, Mack’s greatest quality is his ability to quickly make adjustments. If someone gets the best of him, he understands what is or isn’t working so that it doesn’t happen again,” wrote Thomas.

Sad state of affairs that 2 of those top 5 are special teamers.

So-so reaction to this list. How about his favorite five coaches? (That is sad.)

His next five might be very interesting. Wonder what MKC could do to this. We need some real football, not these gadget articles. Like People Magazine collided with the NFL.

Meh. Meh. Meh.

If asked to choose his top 5 I actually might have that same list of 5

I was surprised Bitonio didn't make the list.

Actually, me too

yeah thats true ... I’m sure he didnt want to pick another OL .. how long did they play together? 3 years maybe?

Being a part of the media now, I thought he would throw one 'surprise' person in there. Like one of the QBs he played with.

He did pick Mack and Schwartz

yeah, i meant in a addition to those 2 ... like he didn’t wanna have a list that’s 3/5 OL

Gotcha

First thing that crossed my mind when I saw the list. I thought Bitonio would be #1.

That's my take as well, that he did not want to pick another OL.

Also, Good Guy Joe Thomas choosing Myles Garrett is a good PR move for Garrett's image as he comes back to play.

Good point too

Speaking specifically of the Offensive Linemen JT named, I'm not surprised that Joe didn't name Bitonio. Out of the 3.475 seasons seasons that JT and Bitonio played together, they only played a full season together "once", Bitonio's rookie season.

Below is Bitonio's record of starts...

2014...16 games
2015...10 games
2016...05 games
2017...07 games (JT injured/retires)

Schwartz and Mack started with JT every game possible game...

Mack and JT played 6.3 seasons together (Mack missed 11 games in 2014, due to injury)

Schwartz didn't miss a game in the 4 yrs he started with JT.

Looking back at the playing history JT had with each teammate, Joe's choices make more sense, imo.

Even sadder is that the other 2 (besides Myles Garrett) were thrown out of our system. Oh yeah I backed the FO when doing so but it was still one of the worst moves for our organization.

Letting Schwartz and Mack walk...we don't get too much talent from the draft and both Lineman which bring impact for a long haul but didn't get the 2nd contract they deserved. We let them walk and it was a bonehead deal.

jmho

j/c:

I thought Mack would be number 1 as soon as I saw the topic.

What caught my attention is how our "smart" FO weren't able to keep either Mack or Schwartz.

They didn’t “let Mack walk”... Mack walked out of Cleveland as soon as he got the chance.

I would say he walked because he saw how freaking dumb the plan was.

Bottom line: that FO was unable to keep him. That's a fail.

JC


Living in the past is unhealthy.

Banner screwed up when he transitioned tagged Mack. It allowed Mack to sign an offer sheet with the Jaguars which screwed up his contract situation. By the time he became a free agent the team was all the way stinky and there was no expectation he would stay.

And Farmer screwed up and didn't extend Schwartz a year out. Just like Dorsey was screwed up and didn't extend Schobert a year out.

This happens time and time again and yet people on here fail to understand the 'why' when regimes change and top pending FAs are rarely signed.

Mack left before the "smart" was here.

Mack was trying get out for a while.

True a big variable with the loss of Mack was the total ineptitude of our organization mostly brought on by the constant change. That is what drove him away. I am not sure the front office could change that. Then again They didn't have a plan to sell to him.

jmho

Joe mentioned alot of good guys and surprising to me...a diverse group.

Our team has been screwed up for LONG time...look at Johnny Manziel today....we spent a FIRST ROUND draft pick on HIM...WOW.
And they knew he has substance issues....WOW...how dumb can you be.....GO Browns!!!

Yeah I liked Manziel as a competitor but had no clue about his alcohol and drug abuse. Also his bad attitude to hard work...I don't know about that stuff prehand but then I'm not running a Billion dollar business. How the heck do they miss that crap and as you stated a costly draft pick.

j/c:

I think it's already been said in various forms, but I didn't quite get the Garrett ranking. Sure, maybe #5 because he saw what he could become, he is a smart/great guy, and can be with the team for awhile....but over guys like Cribbs & Schwartz who he played with for so much longer seems odd to me.

But hey-- if he means it, he means it.

Why would back a front office with moves like
That, yet you knew it was the wrong direction to go into ?
Have you ever been critical of a Browns regime ?

This board is like a smallpox outbreak then. More unhealthy than this current pandemic

Garrett is very special and JT recognizes that talent even if its a small data base compared to others. Kid will be in the Reggie White classification unless injuries get to him.

jmho

1. I am a fan
2. I have no control over the decisions and once made I try to make lemonade right away. Mostly cause everyone else was doom and gloom thought I would share any sliver of hope to my fellow Browns fan. I wanted to root with all my heart so logically explained how it could be good.

3. Last and again I guess I had no decision in the matter before the draft I expressed my decisions. Afterwards I just threw my hands of ranted to myself and friends/family who talked football with me. But chose not to join the Chaos on woah are we.

What some people portray as woah is me other people look at as being honest on where we are. Not saying each aren't entitled to their voice. Point being, a persons perception isn't always the reality.