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Greco steadies Browns’ unsettled front line
Boardman grad quite reliable
By MIKE McLAIN
CLEVELAND
Cam Erving was the picture of good health as he walked through the Browns locker room prior to practice Wednesday, a visual that concealed the fact he’s still recovering from a bruised lung.
Austin Reiter, who replaced Erving at center in a 31-20 loss to the Washington Redskins last Sunday, is out for the season after tearing an ACL.
The list of wounded among the offensive linemen has been a challenge for first-year head coach Hue Jackson in the early part of the season.
Fortunately, for Jackson, he can depend on nine-year veteran John Greco, a 2004 graduate of Boardman High School.
While Erving and Reiter are dealing with physical issues and Alvin Bailey sat last week after pinching Jackson’s last raw nerve by being arrested for OVI, Greco provides a sense of security, not only with his ability to show up every week but in his versatility.
Greco has been penciled in to start at right guard every season since 2012, but there have been times when he’s been forced to play at another spot because of injuries.
He started 10 games at left guard in 2012. The following season he started 13 games at left guard and one at right guard. In 2014, Greco started 15 games at right guard and one at center, and he started 14 games at right guard last season before suffering a knee injury.
In the first four weeks of this season, Greco has three starts at right guard and one at center. He’s expected to start at center today at home against the New England Patriots because of Reiter’s injury.
“That’s pretty difficult,” said former Browns offensive tackle Doug Dieken, the long-time commentator for the team’s radio broadcasts. “All three are interior of the offensive line, but just the little technical things you do — the footwork and things like that.
“If you’re going right guard, left guard, center, it’s totally different. Then you take the responsibility of the snap and making the calls ... that’s a full plate.”
Greco, selected by the St. Louis Rams in the third round of the 2008 draft after earning four letters at the University of Toledo, takes the jack-of-all-trades role without showing the least bit of concern.
Considering that football is based on endless repetitions at one position, the switching would seem to be a bit unnerving.
“It’s part of the game,” Greco said. “The way I’ve been looking at it is each week I go in preparing to play any position, except tackle. I’m ready each week.”
Although the Browns are still looking for their first win of the season, the line has performed better than could have been reasonably expected. Through four games, running back Isaiah Crowell is second in the NFL in rushing with 394 yards. Quarterbacks have been sacked 11 times, a number that doesn’t look awful when considering the injuries to the line and that three different players have lined up behind center.
“Credit to all 11 guys for our run game,” Greco said. “It’s not just us. There are times when we block for 2 yards and then ‘Crow’ or Duke [Johnson] turn it into 5 or 6.”
Dealing with the potential of another losing season is nothing new for the 31-year-old Greco. The Rams went a combined 10-38 during his three seasons with the team, and the Browns are a combined 23-61 since former coach Pat Shurmur convinced the front office to sign Greco as a free agent.
Time is still on the side of Greco, who maintains a home in Poland with wife, Jodi, and 7-month-old daughter Giavanna. That doesn’t make the losing any easier to swallow.
“When you get to this point in your career, you have a better appreciation for things and you’ve seen a lot and you understand how the business works,” Greco said. “I’m grateful for each opportunity. The years go quick as you get older. You have fun because you never know what’s going to happen.”
Jackson doesn’t expect any roster moves that would change the plan to start Greco at center. Jackson’s words, in a way, indicate approval for what he’s seen from the line.
“We’ve made as many moves as we can,” Jackson said. “We’re going to keep working some guys there. You always have to have a backup plan. Sometimes your backup plan is better than your other plan.”
Getting an unexpected win over the Patriots would change the course of the season. The near misses of recent weeks are starting to get old.
“We’ve had the ‘hey, we’re there; we’re close.’ At the end of the day those can only go so far for your morale, especially in the locker room,” Greco said. “There’s no asterisk next to 0-4 saying they were in every game.
“We have to get our first win in order for us to get more.”