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Cleveland Browns Joe Thomas sees a different game -- Terry Pluto (photos) | cleveland.com
http://www.cleveland.com/pluto/index.ssf/2017/08/cleveland_browns_joe_thomas_se.html

BEREA, Ohio -- When he's on the field, Joe Thomas never sees the football.

Well, almost never.

"Sometimes I take a quick peek right before the ball is snapped," said the Browns star left tackle.

The football world of Joe Thomas rarely includes the ball.

"I can't see the quarterback," he said. "I can't see the running back. I can't see the receivers. I know it's either a pass or a running play, but I usually don't know what happened until I hear the crowd."

And if the crowd is really loud?

"I know something really good or really bad happened," he said. "But I don't see it happen."

It's just Thomas vs. his man, usually an opposing defensive end or a linebacker.

"A fist fight in a phone booth."

That's how Browns defensive coordinator Gregg Williams describes what happens between the hulking men for both teams on the line of scrimmage.

THE BATTLE LINE

Right before the ball is snapped, Thomas squats and looks across the line of scrimmage.

He often stares straight into the face of a huge, angry, sweating, swearing defensive lineman. He is so close to the man, Thomas may even know what the guy had for breakfast when his opponent opens his mouth.

By the time the games begins, Thomas has spent more time with this man than members of his family.

He has watched video of opposing defensive ends/linebackers in team meetings.

"Then I spend at least two hours a day on my own, watching tape of the guy," said Thomas.

Thomas studies his opponent's moves, his habits, his quest to reach the quarterback.

"During the game, I just watch my man and a few other guys on defense, trying to get a tip of what's coming," said Thomas. "It's 1-on-1. You have to have a healthy respect, even a healthy fear. You need to tell yourself that you must be at your best to beat the guy."

So much of the football life of Joe Thomas is spent in banging into 300-pounders. The duel often ending with both of them in the dirt. Thomas will look around to see if an official threw a penalty flag in his direction.

He fears hearing this over the public address system: "Holding, No. 73."

A FEW GOOD MEN

Offensive linemen have to stay together.

"When I block my man, it's expected," said Thomas. "You're out there almost in constant fear of screwing up, because that's the only time you'll be noticed. You can't get real excited because you blocked your guy."

There are no sack-dances after a good block. There are no touchdown celebrations for a lineman giving his quarterback an extra second to throw the ball by holding off an elite rusher.

"You don't even look for those exhilarating moments because they aren't there," said Thomas. "It's not like you can do something really good for your team like score a touchdown, catch a pass, make an interception. Your whole purpose is to avoid a negative."

The linemen have to be each other's biggest cheerleaders. They have to be a support group.

"When you give up a sack, now it's second-and-long or third-and-long," said Thomas. "So you're probably going to pass again, and that means you're going 1-on-1 against the guy who just beat you."

Thomas said you have to quickly decide if the guy will rush you the same way, or make a different move. All the video study quickly flows through your head. You can't be stuck on the sack, or else your brain will freeze. Your feet will feel like cement.

"Sometimes, it's not your fault," said Thomas. "You're blocking a guy to an area where the quarterback is not supposed to be ... and the quarterback ends up going there ... sack ... and everybody thinks you screwed up. But you didn't."

It's why offensive linemen don't like quarterbacks who are unpredictable when they scramble.

It's also why offensive linemen like stability.

"You have to trust each other," he said, "Remember, you don't know where the ball is. You have to communicate with each other. You develop a rhythm. In some ways, they are your only real friends on the team because only they know what you're going through."

HAVING A BALL?

But what about the ball? Ever want to carry it?

"NO!," said Thomas with a roar and a smile.

Why not?

"I don't want to go running down the field and have some 250-pounder diving at my legs," he said. "That doesn't sound very attractive."

Ever dream about having the ball?

"I'd like to recover a fumble in the end zone," he said. "That would be fun."

Did it ever happen?

"No," he said. "I've recovered a few fumbles in the backfield. But that's usually because a bad thing happened. All you do when you recover one of those is to avoid a really bad thing happening."

So when does he see the ball?

"After the play," he said. "I'll look at the scoreboard for a replay to really understand what happened."

ONE GOOD YEAR

Joe Thomas was the No. 3 selection in the 2007 NFL Draft. He is the best pick by the Browns since they returned in 1999.

Former general manager Phil Savage grabbed Thomas, who has made 10 consecutive Pro Bowls. No offensive lineman has ever done that. He is a certain Hall of Famer.

"My first year with the Browns, we went 10-6," said Thomas. "I assumed it was going to be like that. In high school, we always won conference titles and twice played for the state championship. In junior high, we lost one game in two years."

He started his last three years at Wisconsin and the Badgers had a 31-7 record. They were nationally ranked all three seasons.

The season after his rookie year is when his real Browns football career began. That team finished 4-12. The Browns had four different starting quarterbacks. At the end of the season, the football front office and coaching staff were fired.

CHANGE AND MORE CHANGE

Thomas is heading into his 11th season with the Browns.

He's played for six head coaches...

Six general managers...

Two owners.

He was able to name seven of the eight offensive coordinators in those 10 years, forgetting John DeFilippo in 2015.

Starting quarterbacks? He's seen a few.

While Thomas has never missed a snap at left tackle in 10 seasons, the Browns have started 18 different quarterbacks in that span.

The Browns have a 48-112 record since Thomas arrived.

At the end of a long, losing season, how does he keep focus?

"The team counts on you," said Thomas. "If you're a defensive lineman and you don't go all out on a rush, no one gets hurt. But if I don't block my man, the quarterback can get hurt. I think about that. It motivates me."

PLAYING HURT

Thomas isn't sure if he's had four or five knee operations. He doesn't like to talk about it. He's said he's also had a lot of MCL sprains.

He's had high ankle sprains, knee problems, lots of aches and pains.

"But I never had shoulder surgery," he said. "I've been lucky. Some guys have all sorts of shoulder tears."

Thomas said once a coach wanted to take him out of a game.

"We were beating the Steelers," he said. "Are you kidding me, I'm not coming out of that game!"

He sent his substitute back to the bench.

In another game, it turned out he tore the LCL in his knee.

"I heard a pop," he said. "It didn't feel good. But the doctor checked me out and I still had stability in the knee. It was the last game of the year and I finished it."

He paused. He has played 8,934 consecutive snaps.

"It goes back to that pride thing," he said. "I never want to let my teammates down. In my mind, if I'm better than the backup, I need to be out there -- no matter the circumstances."

Thomas has very sore knees. He seldom practices when there is hitting or a lot of running. He still is at the training facility longer than most players. He spends time swimming and water-walking to build up his legs.

"Some guys get on me about not practicing," he said. "I tell them, 'You can either have me for 60 minutes during the week or 60 minutes on Sunday. You choose.' The fact is my body doesn't have enough for both of them."

WHY STAY?

"I've had people say they're glad I'm still with the Browns, but they wouldn't begrudge me if I wanted to leave," said Thomas.

His response?

"When I first got here, I understood the history of the Browns," he said. "My goal ... my mission has been to be here when the turnaround happens. I want to help turn this team into a consistent winner. Going through all the losing just strengthens my will to turn it around."

Isn't it discouraging?

"My resolve is stronger than ever," he said. "I've always felt I could be part of the solution."

Thomas loves Cleveland, loves the Browns. He's from Brookfield, Wisconsin. The Midwest is his home.

At the age of 32, Thomas remains under contract with the Browns through the 2018 season.

"I want to retire as a Brown," he said. "We haven't talked about anything (a contract extension). I don't know how long I can play. I'm not a spring chicken. But I really love playing, and I love playing here."

Did he ever want out of Cleveland?

"Never," he said. "I've been very tired. I've gotten discouraged. But I've never wanted to leave the Browns."

wish he would've taught Erving the same thing. dude seems to look at everything BUT the guy he's blocking.

nice article. Funny perspective of a football game if you think about it ... all you see is the guy across from you and don't know the results

He does seem to recover a lot of the fumbles, I've noticed this.

I think the Joe Thomas is the definition of what a football player should be.

For sure and with class too. The article said he was the best pick the Browns made since we came back. IMO, next to Jim Brown, he may the best pick the Browns ever made.

it's tougher to make a list of our WORST first round picks

I love Joe's loyalty to the Browns.

We need to get him a super bowl before he heads on down to canton.... THAT would be perfect.

JMHO, he's scored how many points....don't know, but he's the best Brown ever...including Jim Brown. No issues, just class and excellence- at his position name a better one in the whole history of the NFL.....GO Browns!!!

THAT list is as long as your arm!!!

Another thing I forgot to add about JT; he never complains. I never remember in the 10 years he's been here him complaining. If ever a great player had a right to complain it would be him and who could blame him for it. True professional and class all the way!!!

lol i know

Joe Thomas is the true definition of an elite, professional athlete who is by far the top at his position.

It's just a high honor to have him on the team and a part of this city.

I think JT is better in overall skillset, but they are both elite. For resilience: JT. HOF IMO. Just a Holy Grail kind of career achievement list. Pace was known for his pancakes in unblocking; I do believe JT is much better at unblocking than he is credited for. Says something about our OC's when runs go to his side over the RT position.

Team JT if we could clone him would be astounding!

I agree Bard. JT is basically textbook technique.

Link

Joe Thomas is simply the best at what he does ... JMHO

Yeah, his stance is unorthodox. He has such a fast kick out though. He's just great.

After the snap, Thomas has great technique. Here are a couple of the keys to his excellent technique in my eyes:

--He plays w/great knee bend.

--His chest is over his thighs and gives him great balance.

--The width of how he sets his feet is also very good and also helps w/his balance.

--He keeps his arms inside his shoulders just a bit and he never gets overextended.

I actually think there is a ton to like of Joe's technique and those things should be copied.

JT, Orlando Pace, Jonathan Ogden and Antony Munoz ...

Pull out of a hat for their order IMO ...

Great list, but OP doesn't compare to JT in honors, games played hurt...others do, but JT thankfully isn't done....GO Browns!!!!

we need him lol ... that's apparent

Getting off on anticipated count gives him an edge as well. I think he should get more flags than he has.

Some players define their position. Joe is one. The ProBowls and every snap and game just make him all the more special for HoF. Simply put, he is the metric for the future.

Joe Thomas‏

I've really been humbled by the outpouring of respect from people all over the country. I'm at a loss for words


In the first quarter, LT Joe Thomas surpassed 10,000 consecutive offensive snaps in his career. He extended his streak to 10,062, believed to be the longest streak in NFL history. The 10-time Pro Bowler has started all 162 career games and hasn’t missed an offensive play since being selected by the Browns with the third overall pick in the 2007 draft.




Thank you Joe!

thanks Joe!

Thanks Joe!

Thanks Joe.

Thanks Joe for everything you've done for our Browns. You are the ultimate professional. You have been a pro- bowler since day one and have never complained and never asked out. That's says a lot considering how this franchise has been run. Not many could do and be what you are.

I love how he's turned into the face of our team ... he's embraced the role and hasn't shied away.

He's a much different person and leader than he was 5-7 years ago, which makes him even better.

He must not get migraines.

Hey Joe, tell our QB that headaches aren't a reason to tell the coach you need out.


Punk wimps do that.

I'm thinking it has to be a fabricated story.

I think Hue told him to go and cool off. Take a few deep breaths.

Unfortunately the break didn't do much good.

AN UNPRECEDENTED MILESTONE
How Joe Thomas powered through aches, pains and more on his way to 10,000 consecutive snaps
By Andrew Gribble

In the midst of the final game of yet another trying, difficult season, Joe Thomas gave himself a couple of seconds to stretch his back in between plays. It was, as the Browns veteran left tackle described it, a “meaningless” game against the team’s top rival, Pittsburgh, which was similarly out of the playoff picture, to cap his seventh season with the Browns. An hour or so separated Thomas from a month of R&R -- “Other people call it the playoffs but I call it the all-star break,” he jokingly says -- before his seventh consecutive Pro Bowl appearance.

Thomas, who was dealing with back spasms at the time, lifted his leg across the other, placing his ankle atop the opposite knee. He bent down with force, too much of it, and heard the kind of “pop” an athlete never wants to hear come from his knee.

“I knew something bad had happened,” Thomas says. “I could kind of walk and it felt OK to stand on it and then I said, ‘all right, I guess I'll play this play and play it like I normally do.’ At that point you're probably not going to make it worse. It is what it is.”


Thomas played the rest of the game, a 20-7 loss that capped Rob Chudzinski’s first and last season as Browns head coach. An MRI shortly thereafter revealed Thomas had a Grade 2 tear in his LCL, an injury that would have kept him sidelined for four-six weeks if the season continued.

It’s a story, more than three years later, Thomas relays with plenty of laughter after lunch inside the Browns’ facility in suburban Cleveland. Ten years and 10 Pro Bowls later, Thomas is still a cornerstone piece of the team that drafted him. He’s come close -- torn LCL close -- but he still hasn’t missed a single snap since his NFL debut.

And now, after his fourth snap against the Ravens in the second game of his 11th season, Thomas is in even more rarified air. He’s at 10,000 and counting, an unthinkable accomplishment even for one of the best left tackles in NFL history.

“You don't let your mind tell you that you can't do that because your mind tells you a lot of times in any game, I can't do it anymore,” Thomas says. “You've got to push through it and kind of block out that part of your mind that says you can't do it anymore.

“You get a lot of times when your limbs kind of go numb and they start tingling or you get a little stinger or your knee feels twisted up and messed up. You always think I've got 30 seconds to make this thing feel better and by the time the next play starts you usually forget about it. That's kind of carried over for the rest of my career.”

Thomas has literally given everything he can to the Browns and believes he has even more entering the second decade of his professional career. At 32, he’s the oldest player on one of the NFL’s youngest rosters but he continues to play at a level that is envied and respected around the league.

Though Thomas has been the subject of external trade rumors throughout the past two years, Browns coach Hue Jackson -- the sixth of Thomas’ career -- has made it clear how valued Thomas is inside the locker room, on the field and everywhere in between.

"That's not happening or I'm going with him, OK?'' Jackson said during the final part of Cleveland’s 2016 season, a 1-15 campaign. "I guarantee you that. I'm going with him. No, Joe Thomas means too much to this organization and to this football team. As I said to everybody, I want us to do right by him. Right by that is let's go get this man some wins. He deserves that.”

The closest Thomas came to the playoffs was his rookie season in 2007. The Browns posted their best record since 1994, going 10-6 on the shoulders of an unexpectedly prolific passing offense, but came up one win short of a trip to the postseason. Since then, the Browns have averaged four to five wins per season.

Change has surrounded Thomas since he moved to Cleveland but he’s prided himself as an outlier of stability. Even if the opportunity presented itself, Thomas, a father of three and full-time Cleveland resident, can’t envision playing anywhere else.

“I place a high value on building a champion and being a part of the process of winning a championship”
“I place a high value on building a champion and being a part of the process of winning a championship,” Thomas says. “To me, it's all about the process and the championship is just sort of the end of that process. I think if you just skip forward to the end, it doesn't mean as much. ‘Hey, I got a Super Bowl ring but I was there for a month or a year. I wasn't part of the building. I was just sort of a bit player at the end of it.’ To me it just wouldn't mean almost anything.

“I've always taken pride in being there when the hard work was being done. For me, that means turning this franchise that hasn't even made a playoff in 10-plus years into a champion. That would mean everything and would be so special.”

Thomas has been part of plenty of reboots in Cleveland but he feels like the current regime -- spearheaded by Jackson as the coach, Sashi Brown as executive vice president of football operations and Paul DePodesta as chief strategy officer -- has the team back on a path toward delivering the kind of wins Jackson wants for his future Hall of Fame left tackle. Thomas has been outspoken about mistakes of the past but says the current roster has “the right pieces in place,” whether it be promising young players such as nose tackle Danny Shelton, wide receiver Corey Coleman, defensive prospects Myles Garrett and Jabrill Peppers or the bevy of 2018 draft assets -- five more picks in the first and second round after carrying four into this year’s -- shrewdly acquired in a slew of trades over the past year, to ensure he’ll never experience another season like 2016 again.

“I think that's why I'm very optimistic about the future of the Browns.”
“Now it's just about having that patience to let the hard work and the planning and the preparation materialize for this team,” Thomas says. “I think that's why I'm very optimistic about the future of the Browns.”

And that’s not to say he isn’t enjoying the present. Even during the hard times of 2016, Thomas found joy from the endless line of young players who surround him inside the locker room. When the team entered its home finale staring down history with an 0-14 record, Thomas remained a calming, guiding presence. When the Browns held on for a memorable, Christmas Eve victory over the Chargers, Thomas let his guard down like never before. Tears streamed down his face as the celebration swirled around him.

“I kept telling myself, ‘I shouldn’t be this happy. This is not that big of a deal,” Thomas says. “We just won a game and it doesn’t even matter.”

But that’s the thing. From the very first snap of his NFL career to No. 9,934 this past January in Pittsburgh and No. 10,000 on Sunday, to however many more lie ahead, Thomas doesn’t take a single one for granted.

“He exemplifies, for me, just consistency and toughness and all the things you are looking for in a player and a teammate,” former Browns quarterback Josh McCown said. “Just the fact that he has not missed a snap speaks volumes about who he is because this game is tough. For him to do that more than anything, that is the thing I am most impressed with. It is part of his make up off the field.”


Four days into training camp last year, Thomas stayed on the field for nearly an hour after practice working alongside rookie Shon Coleman. The third-round pick from Auburn had just experienced one of his first NFL practices and his head was spinning. Thomas hasn’t felt that way in a while but he remembered it all too well.

This past training camp, it was a player on the other side of the ball, No. 1 overall pick Myles Garrett, who swooped under Thomas’ outstretched wing. When the two squared off for the first time in practice, Garrett initially got the best of him. And then, well, he ran into the same problems the rest of the league’s elite pass rushers experience when they stare down No. 73.

“There was a rush where I tried to ‘bull’ and he started to slow me down. Then, [Joel] Bitonio came and basically stopped me in my tracks,” Garrett said. “I heard Joe whisper to me, ‘nice try.’ That’s going against one of the world’s best. You’re going to get better each day by doing that.”

The scene has been a familiar one between Thomas and one of the team’s younger players, no matter the position. Because of the ever-changing nature of the Browns’ roster, Thomas became a veteran in a hurry, lending blocking tips to some, Cleveland house-hunting advice to others. Anything he could do to help even though what he was doing from his position on the field every snap of every season was more than sufficient.

“That's kind of been something I was born with. I like to help people, whether that's as a left tackle or a guard or off the field, it gives me satisfaction,” Thomas says. “It's just kind of carried over and as I've gotten older and understood the position more and more, it becomes even more enjoyable to me. I feel that's one of the things I can bring to this team.”

Thomas isn’t practicing as much as he used to -- he receives days of rest throughout training camp and on Wednesdays throughout the season -- but he’s working harder than ever. He was a constant presence in the Browns’ facility throughout the offseason and has embraced a number of new workout regimens, most notably yoga, to make sure the snaps he piles onto his seemingly unbelievable streak are just as impactful as the previous 10,000.

“It's funny because it's like a teeter totter,” Thomas said. “Early in my career I practiced every day and did almost nothing in the offseason on my own. As I've gotten older in my career, I've done less practicing in the season and done way more in the offseason to the point now where I work out about five days a week in the offseason to try to keep my body in good shape. I get it ready for the season because I know once the season starts -- because of the wear and tear you get on Sundays, and on those occasional days you do get to practice -- you need those other days of rest and you need a good base of training going into the season."

“If I can, it'd probably be a good idea to keep this thing going and not go out of the game for any hangnails.”
Not even a coaching miscommunication that made for one of the funnier moments of Thomas’ career could stop the streak. And, of course, it happened with the Steelers on the opposite side of the field.

With the Browns leading big late in a 2014 game against Pittsburgh, rookie Vinston Painter trotted in from the sidelines and signaled to Thomas he was set to play left tackle. Much more than halfway to 10,000 and well aware of it, Thomas didn’t budge.

“He told him to get the hell out of the huddle,” former Browns quarterback Brian Hoyer said. “We almost got 12 men in the huddle.”

That’s how easy it could have been for Sunday’s moment to have never happened at all. It’s an unfathomable streak that still hasn’t ended.

“That is mindboggling,” Browns offensive line coach Bob Wylie said. “They should give him the yellow jacket now.”

http://www.clevelandbrowns.com/assets/html/joe-thomas.html?utm_source=t.co&utm_medium=referral

I understand He is going to get into the Hall of Fame.

I feel there might be a couple of guys from the Browns around 1984, that I'd like to see get in first.

Everyone on here should watch this video (it's weird to see some of these faces):

what a video

I'd retire and get my 5 years in and go the HOF. Nothing is happening here soon.

Congrats to a great pro!