The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Special teams hampering progress
The Browns inadequate kicking and punting units raise questions about the effectiveness of coaches Amos Jones and Hue Jackson. Also, playoff opportunity motivates Josh Donaldson.
It would ironic, if, after finally having a legitimate quarterback, inept special teams ended up costing Hue Jackson his job.
The Browns are 1-2-1 as they get ready to host the Baltimore Ravens on Oct. 7. No one would be talking about Jackson’s job security if the kicking and punting units were merely adequate because if they were, the Browns would be 3-1 at worst, but that isn’t the case.
A blocked field goal attempt with 16 seconds left in overtime meant the Browns had to settle for a 21-21 tie with the Steelers. Zane Gonzalez’s kick might have been low, but the bigger issue was protection broke down when the Steelers overwhelmed Joel Bitonio with three rushers.
Gonzalez missed two field goals and two PATs in a 21-18 loss to the Saints.
Rookie Nick Chubb missing his assignment allowed the Jets to block a punt by Britton Colquitt. The Browns survived that gaff, thanks to a rally inspired by rookie quarterback Baker Mayfield, and won, 21-17.
No kicks were blocked in Oakland last week, but check out these numbers:
The Raiders punted six times. Antonio Callaway and Jabrill Peppers combined for two returns of 10 yards.
Colquitt punted seven times. Dwayne Harris returned five punts 98 yards. A 49-yard return set up a Raiders’ touchdown. A 14yard return to the Oakland 47 set up the touchdown that forced overtime.
Despite all the issues, special teams coordinator Amos Jones is trying to stay upbeat and get his players to play better fundamentally.
“Each week, guys get a little bit more acclimated to the attention to detail because that’s what happens in the season,” Jones said on Oct. 5. “Things go on, and everything is always copycatted in this league in terms of if you are on tape for something bad, you’re going to probably rep it a little extra. Attention to detail.”
Jones is in his first season as Browns special teams coordinator, but he is not new to the job. He held the same position with the Arizona Cardinals the last five years.
The Cardinals’ special teams were abysmal last year. They ranked 29th defensively in punt return average and 22nd in punt return average offensively.
The problem here isn’t that opposing punt returners are breaking tackles. They are running freely because players on coverage are being blocked, thus opening lanes for returners. That is a coaching problem.
“Our special teams unit has not been good enough all year,” Jackson said. “We have to cover better. We have guys going down there taking shots at the returners, and we are not close.”
Denzel Rice, a defensive back, made the 53-man roster because of special teams. Rice is a gunner on punt coverage, meaning he lines up outside and is one of the first players downfield. He wears No. 37. Watch him today. Unless he has improved, or unless he has been replaced, he will zoom down the field and go on zooming – right past Ravens punt returner Tim White.
The Browns rank 31st in average starting position (22.1 yards) after receiving a kick because Jabrill Peppers unwisely runs the ball out of the end zone too often. They rank 28th in kick coverage at 26.1 yards.
Rookie Greg Joseph has been on the job two weeks and hasn’t missed a kick. That’s about the only positive for the Browns on special teams.
Jackson says he has no plans to replace Amos Jones. He might want to reconsider if the special teams blunders continue. Otherwise Jackson could be the one being replaced.
Donaldson motivated
Being motivated while rehabbing on a team that has no chance of making the playoffs can’t be easy – unless the player thinks his days on that team are numbered.
That is exactly the approach Indians third baseman Josh Donaldson took while rehabbing from a calf injury sustained in late May while he was with the Toronto Blue Jays. Donaldson went on the disabled list on May 28 and stayed there for more than three months until the Indians acquired him on Aug. 31.
“Yeah, actually I did think I’d be playing for another team,” Donaldson said on Oct. 3 at Progressive Field. “I didn’t know for who. I felt like there was probably an opportunity there. It wasn’t necessarily my entire focus. It was more trying to get healthy. At the same time you kind of knew there might be an opportunity there and here we are today and I’m looking forward to it.”
Donaldson will be a free agent next month, so every at-bat in the postseason is an audition. He was 0-for-4 in Game 1 of the ALDS in the 7-2 loss to the Astros on Oct. 5.
Donaldson fit into the Indians’ clubhouse quickly. He is a team-first player, but he admits the playoffs give him an opportunity to show other teams he still can cover ground at third base and still swing a potent bat.
“It definitely gives me an opportunity to come out and showcase myself and where I’m at, but that’s not what it’s about to me,” he said. “My entire focus has been to get healthy to be able to come and compete every day, each and every day that I’ve been here.
“I’m preparing as if it’s my last game and so when you have that mentality and you have that mindset, you don’t let things build up _ it’s kind of here, this is what’s on your plate and either you eat it or you don’t and I choose to eat as much as possible.”
Donaldson played in 16 regular season games with the Indians. He hit .280 in 50 at-bats with three home runs and seven RBI.
I didn’t know that
… Until I read my Snapple bottle cap
The sailfish has been clocked at speeds of more than 60 MPH. … French author Michel Thayer published a 233-page novel with no verbs. … You cannot taste food until it is mixed with saliva. … Napoleon Bonaparte actually was not short. He was 5-foot7, which was the average height at that time. … Vanilla is used to make chocolate. … A bald eagle nest can weigh up to two tons. Reach Schudel at JSchudel@News-Herald. com. On Twitter: @jsproinsider