BEREA, Ohio -- Cleveland Browns offensive lineman Joel Bitonio had a week’s worth of practice ahead of the 2018 preseason opener against the New York Giants to settle in at left tackle after transitioning from left guard, where he spent the first four years of his NFL career.
And while the practice repetitions were valuable, Bitonio embraced the opportunity to face live rushers in a game setting as a way to gauge how the transition is going.
“I’m getting there,” Bitonio said. “You finally play a game, and it starts to become more reality. Practice is practice, so I’m getting there. I think every day, I get a little more comfortable. I feel more comfortable in my stance and my position in the huddle, things like that, so it’s getting there.”
Because Bitonio was running with the first-team offense, he got very limited reps against the Giants, but blocked well enough to protect the blindside of starting quarterback Tyrod Taylor, who completed all five of his throws for 99 yards and one touchdown, a 36-yard score to tight end David Njoku late in the first quarter.
“I did okay,” Bitonio said. “I was getting back there. I felt a little bit, not uncomfortable, just a fish out of water in the sense where it’s like, ‘I’m actually doing this in a game against a good pass rusher.’ I only played eight plays, so it was kind of hard to get in a great rhythm, but there are things to work on.”
Prior to the preseason opener at MetLife Stadium last Thursday, Bitonio got plenty of time to work his way into game readiness as a tackle, especially having to compete against defensive end Myles Garrett on a play-in, play-out basis during practice.
While working against Garrett has helped Bitonio make the transition, seeing a different kind of rusher in Giants outside linebacker Olivier Vernon was a welcomed challenge.
“I’m used to going up against Myles in practice, who’s like flying up the field,” Bitonio said. “I’m used to getting back, so I was getting a little too far back with Olivier.
“He was more of a power guy, so there’s just little things to work on, but there is good stuff to come, and I felt like that last drive when we scored the touchdown, I was starting to get a little comfortable and kind of wanted to play another drive or two, but it’s preseason. We’ve got a lot of games to play.”
Playing left tackle is more than just blocking the edge rushers, though. In addition to facing different kinds of rushers, Bitonio is focused on doing what is necessary to improve a running game that never really got going against the Giants.
“We weren’t great in the run game,” Bitonio said. “I think we’ve been hammering it in walk-through and practice this week. I think our double-teams weren’t super crisp. We had some misidentifications with some calls out there, and we just weren’t very successful. It was one of those things. It was the first game. We were trying to get in a rhythm, and I think we’re going to be better this week.”
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