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BEREA Kyle Long Jersey , Ohio (AP) The retirement of Joe Thomas left a gaping hole at left tackle for the Cleveland Browns.

Left guard Joel Bitonio is willing, but not necessarily eager to succeed his close friend at the position.

”If they want me to do that, like, cool, whatever makes the Browns better,” Bitonio said. ”But I think left tackle is the toughest spot on the line, and after playing left guard for four years, going on five now, it would definitely be different.

”I don’t think it’s a thing where I have to volunteer for the spot, but if we get down the line and something needs to happen, we’ll see what happens there.”

Though Bitonio isn’t a household name outside of Cleveland, he is one of a handful of known quantities on a team that went winless in 2017 and is 1-31 in two seasons under coach Hue Jackson.

The 6-foot-4, 305-pounder was a second alternate for the Pro Bowl and did not miss a play last year, helping the Browns average 4.46 yards per rush to rank sixth in the NFL.

Offensive line coach Bob Wylie acknowledged that bumping Bitonio, an All-Mountain West left tackle at Nevada, to the outside is tempting, but not palatable because it would simultaneously create a weakness at guard.

”The state of the left tackle is our state of the union,” Wylie said. ”But (moving Bitonio) is the last option. If you were going to go from A down Andre Holmes Jersey , that would be Z. That would be Z.”

Thomas was the face of the franchise for 11 seasons, earning 10 Pro Bowl selections and playing 10,363 consecutive snaps before suffering a career-ending torn left triceps last Oct. 22 against Tennessee.

Third-year pro Shon Coleman has the first shot to fill his shoes, while second-rounder Austin Corbett and former No. 2 overall pick Greg Robinson are in the mix. Coleman was pulled off the field Sunday during practice and received an audible scolding by Jackson.

Center JC Tretter, right guard Kevin Zeitler and Bitonio each expressed hope that one of the top three candidates can win the job and keep their three-man interior unit intact.

”I’m excited to work with them again and, hopefully, be a dominant inside group,” said Bitonio, a second-round selection by Cleveland in 2014. ”I’ve become really good friends with JC and Kevin, so we’re kind of bonding and I think the sky is the limit. We’re continuing to grow together.”

Tretter said the uncertainty at left tackle hasn’t affected Bitonio during training camp, nor does he expect it to, because he is a ”real pro.”

Jackson wants to make a decision before the Browns’ third preseason game on Aug. 23 against the Eagles, putting Coleman on the hot seat to produce or force the staff to contemplate option Z.

”I know that Joel will do anything for the football team, but hopefully we do not have to go to that,” Jackson said. ”But if we do, we do. Once we get a feel for what we have there, then as a group we’ve got to make a decision on how to continue to move forward.”

Bitonio is hoping for the best, and hoping to stay where he feels most comfortable. All 47 of his NFL games have been played as a starting left guard.

”Right now Bill Bates Jersey , I’m really focused on playing left guard and trying to get whoever is playing next to me ready to play left tackle,” he said. ”I think anything else is something that’s pretty far down the line.”

NOTES

Rookie QB Baker Mayfield impressed Jackson with several sharp passes. ”Baker is deadly accurate with the ball,” the coach said. ”He’s an outstanding listener who has been everything a quarterback can be for an organization so far.” . DE Myles Garrett, the top overall pick in 2017, and RB Duke Johnson were given the day off, along with LB Jamie Collins. WR Corey Coleman also was scheduled to rest, but declined the offer. . Former Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel attended the late afternoon practice.

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The Vegas Golden Knights have long embraced their status as unheralded underdogs, from their very first game as an NHL expansion team in October through their stunning dismantling of Winnipeg in the Western Conference Final.

”We call ourselves the Golden Misfits for a reason,” winger Ryan Reaves said prior to the Stanley Cup Final series against Washington. ”We’ve proven everyone else wrong all season.”

Vegas entered the Final as favorites over the Capitals, who broke into the league in 1974 and are still in search of their first championship. The Golden Knights won the opener, but after dropping two in a row they find themselves playing a familiar role as they prepare for Game 4 on Monday night.

”We’re still underdogs,” left wing David Perron said. ”They’re a great team over there. Now the pressure is on them to keep going. We’re going to find a way to answer.”

The Capitals got caught up in a fast-paced, fire-at-will contest in Game 1, and Vegas rolled to a 6-4 victory. Washington made the adjustment in Game 2 and won 3-2, then gripped the defensive clamp even tighter Saturday night in a 3-1 win.

Now, mired in their initial losing streak of the playoffs and trailing 2-1 in games for the first time, the Golden Knights are desperate to become more effective pushing the puck toward the net.

”We get it out on our blue line and we try to make a cross-ice play and they’re picking it off,” Reaves said. ”Their transition game is good. We’re getting to their blue line and we’re trying get cute again instead of doing what works. With this team Roger Staubach Jersey , that’s getting it in and then going to work.”

The Capitals know this, and they have taken great strides to shackle a team that averaged 3.31 goals per game during the regular season, tied for fourth in the NHL.

”Offensive teams have certain tendencies, certain routes that they take through the neutral zone, plays they like to make,” Washington defenseman Matt Niskanen said. ”So if you can be on top of them and turn over some pucks, stifle them, make it hard for them to gain entry with possession, that frustrates skilled players.”

The Golden Knights mustered only 22 shots on goal in Game 3, with Tomas Nosek getting the lone score after Washington goaltender Braden Holtby did a miserable job of clearing the puck from behind his net.

”They defended well. We were getting clogged up a little bit,” Vegas winger James Neal said. ”They sit back. We’ve got to get pucks to the net. We didn’t have enough shots. We didn’t have enough bodies going to the net. They out-battled us. We’re going to look at that and fix it.”

That’s what Sunday’s skate was about. The Golden Knights understand the problem, and the task now is to correct the shortcoming.

”We’ve just got to get back to our game, getting pucks deep and getting in on the forecheck,” defenseman Derek Engelland said. ”It’s been our key all season long, the five-man forecheck and five-guy pressure all over the ice.”

Vegas doesn’t need a high-scoring, freestyle affair to win. The Golden Knights have a pair of 1-0 shutouts during the playoffs and have won twice when scoring only two goals.

The key is to cut down on the mistakes. Golden Knights goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury stopped Alex Ovechkin at the end of a 2-on-1 rush early in the game, but the Capitals converted an odd-man blitz in the second period for a 2-0 lead.

”Working hard to get down low, we just couldn’t hold onto it or make a big play Antonio Morrison Jersey , and the Capitals are going the other way,” Vegas center Ryan Carpenter said.

It’s not by accident. Washington coach Barry Trotz changed things up after Game 1, and the results were profound.

”There are things that they do that have given us some difficulties, and we’ve adjusted,” Trotz said. ”They’ll do the same.”

The Capitals have fortified their defense, and Vegas now must find a way to penetrate the barrier. If it can do that, then Fleury will happily do his part in to help bring the series back to Las Vegas tied a two games apiece.

”I have faith in these guys that they can do well, they can do what they’ve done for the past three rounds and all season long,” the goaltender said.

What they’ve done, more often than not, is win when few thought they could.

”We’ve been in situations like this before: adversity, have our backs against the wall a bit,” defenseman Luca Sbisa said. ”The belief in our group is still here. Just got to stick together.”

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