Boardman’s Greco again ready for a challenge

By GEORGE THOMAS

Akron Beacon Journal

BEREA

Few things can be counted on in life.

Death. Taxes. And that Cleveland Browns offensive lineman John Greco will have someone challenging him for his job during training camp.

When he played left guard in 2013, Greco fought off Jason Pinkston and Shawn Lauvao. Last year, Garrett Gilkey — a seventh-round pick in 2013 — battled him for the starting job at right guard. Gilkey never made it out of training camp.

This year the competition arrives in the form of Cameron Erving, drafted in the first round with the 19th overall pick. Erving comes to the league with a well-earned reputation for versatility while playing for the Florida State Seminoles.

Erving moved from the defensive side of the ball to play left tackle for the Seminoles. He started nine games at left tackle before moving to center because of injuries in his final season at FSU. In the process, Erving earned first team All-Atlantic Coast Conference honors at tackle and third-team All-ACC honors at center from both the media and the coaches.

That’s an impressive resume and usually not the type of player kept off the field for long. So no one could blame Greco, a Boardman High School graduate, if he were mystified by the challenge facing him, especially given that ProFootballFocus.com rated him the 11th best guard in the NFL.

“Yeah, you always think that,” Greco said after a recent practice. “But I think that’s just going to make me a better player. I’m going to go out and do my best and try to keep that spot.

“Every year, you can’t be complacent. You can’t just kind of relax ... unless you’re a guy that’s like Joe [Thomas] or Alex [Mack], Mitch [Schwartz] has been a career starter, a guy like Joel [Bitonio] who’s in his second year and had a great rookie season.”

After eight seasons, Greco still has to prove himself to the current Browns regime, which consistently has delivered the message that the best players will see the field. Even being a longtime starter doesn’t guarantee playing time.

“The coaches don’t win games — the players win games,” offensive line coach Andy Moeller said. “Your job is to put them in a position to be successful as best that you can and make each one of them as good as they can be.

“So just because a guy knows a guy better is not going to have any bearing that someone else won’t play because of that.”

Moeller, however, said he sees the value in having Greco on the team.

“Last year, John did a great job for us. John really exceeded my expectations a year ago,” Moeller said. “He has played well this fall. He is a competitive guy. He is a veteran. He knows how to play. He is smart. John is obviously an important guy, and I like the way he has played so far.”

Greco has played with the first unit throughout training camp, but said he realizes he has to continue to maintain a high level of play given Erving’s obvious abilities. Even Greco can’t hold back the praise.

“Cam’s been doing excellent. I think for a young kid as gifted and athletic as he is, he’s smart, too,” Greco said. “Sometimes you don’t always see that. Guys like me have to just rely on technique. I have no athleticism. I’m all technique and outthinking guys.

“But he has both. He’s a great athlete as well as a smart kid. He’s grinding in there every day. No matter what happens, how the hand’s dealt, we’re going to have a really good group as an offensive line. Last year should have showed that you need quality backups.”

Indeed, the importance of depth was underscored last season when Mack went down with a broken leg in a 31-10 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 6, necessitating changes on the line that were not entirely successful. Erving’s flexibility could mitigate another such occurrence.

Erving was equally complimentary when asked about Greco.

“He’s really crafty and he had a great season last year and he’s done nothing but help me in every way possible,” Erving said. “We’re competing, but we’re teammates.”

With the Browns vowing the best player will play, Bitonio said he wouldn’t bet against Greco.

“He’s very technically sound. He improved his athleticism last year, so he fits this offense a little bit better,” Bitonio, a second-year guard, said. “And it’s hard to come in. If I had to come in and take John’s spot last year it would have been tough. Luckily there was an open spot in the line, so it’s going to be a battle if Cam wants to take it, but he’s doing good things, too.

“I think it’s going to come down to the scrimmages, the games and more live situations.”

George M. Thomas can be reached at gmthomas@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GeorgeThomasABJ and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/George-M-Thomas.