Cleveland Browns' Joe Thomas Looks Average Against Falcons, What's Wrong?

After four consecutive wins to end the 2009 football season, there was a lot of optimism entering this year. After Sunday’s 20-10 loss to Atlanta, the Browns fall to 1-4, which solidifies this season as a rebuilding year.

There have been some surprises to be sure. Peyton Hillis has taken the league by storm, and T.J. Ward has smashed his way into the hearts of the NFL commissioner’s office. The Defense has been surprisingly stout against the run, while Eric Wright has been surprisingly bad against the pass.

When Mike Holmgren became President of the Cleveland Browns he had a lot of concerns regarding the roster. What to do with the left tackle position was not supposed to be one of them. Three-time Pro Bowl selection Joe Thomas has provided steady blind side protection throughout his first three years in the league.

This year? Not so much. Thomas had a sub-par start to the season, especially against Tampa Bay. People will remember the interception Browns quarterback Jake Delhomme threw near the end of the first half.

Not only did that play account for a Tampa touchdown, but Delhomme also suffered a high ankle sprain on the hit. Where did the pressure come from? It came from the left side — Joe Thomas's left side.

Thomas seemed to come around in the last two games. Solid performances against the Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals helped Browns running back Peyton Hillis to 246 rushing yards and Browns quarterback Seneca Wallace had plenty of time time to throw.

His season took two huge steps backwards against the Falcons when he was victimized by Atlanta’s John Abraham.

On a first and 10 with 6:18 left in the first quarter, Thomas got bull-rushed into the backfield. Abraham was able to get to the feet of Seneca Wallace for a six-yard quarterback sack. The sack turned out to be a drive killer and led to a Cleveland punt.

His day would not get any better in the second quarter. Protecting a 7-6 lead, the Browns were driving at the end of the half. With the ball on the Atlanta 47 and only 44 seconds left on the clock, John Abraham once again made the All-Pro look bad. Praised for his footwork, Joe Thomas let Abraham get low and fast as he rushed around the edge to sack Seneca Wallace.

The sack was a double negative. Not only was the nine yard loss enough to stall the drive, it also proved to be the last play of the day for Wallace, who left the game with an injured ankle and would not return.

The Browns offense never looked the same after that.

Backup quarterback Jake Delhomme entered the game with a noticeable limp from the high ankle sprain he received in week 1. After a short throw to the sideline he seemed content to take the one-point lead into halftime.

Delhomme was only able to muster three third quarter points, thanks largely to a Matt Ryan fumble in Atlanta territory.

In the fourth quarter things went from bad to worse. The Browns were looking to put some points on the board to make a game of it. Set up at the Atlanta 17 in a shotgun formation, Jake Delhomme took the snap but got pressure from the left side.

Once again, Joe Thomas got pushed back into the quarterback. John Abraham was able to get his arm on Delhomme and caused the game-ending interception.

The question throughout the media this week will be which quarterback is going start. The question they should be asking is why haven’t they been protected? The two plays in which each quarterback has gotten hurt have both been the result of Joe Thomas getting beat.

The Pittsburgh Steelers are next in line and are going to be "licking their chops" at a chance to get at an injured quarterback. It's officially gut check time for Thomas. He needs to figure something out or this season could get long in a hurry.