Cleveland Browns secure kicking game with Zane Gonzalez
By Joel W. Cade
The Cleveland Browns went against the grain by drafting kicker Zane Gonzalez in the seventh round. But given the importance the kicking game played last season, investing in a kicker is a smart move.
Football is a game of inches. This is no more evident than in the kicking game. Inches are the difference between a 1-15 record and a 2-14 record. Put differently, had the ball sailed a few inches to the right in Miami, Myles Garrett would not be a Cleveland Brown.
The 2016 season had several pivotal moments that were determined by the place kicker. Three missed field goals against the Miami Dolphins took a clear victory and turned it into defeat. Conversely, the then San Diego Chargers missed a last second field goal which secured the Browns’ only victory of the season.
When a team is as bad as the Browns have been during this rebuild, the kicking game can be the difference between a win or a loss; between the first overall pick and second.
Reality for the Browns is that they don’t have an established franchise quarterback. Without the quarterback in place, it will be difficult for this team to win games. The team is very young at wide receiver and tight end. There will be a lot of growing pains in 2017.
But that does not mean the Browns cannot score points. Yet, scoring points may look more like Jim Tressel’s 2002 Ohio State National Championship team which often settled for field goals and won on the backs of the defense. Which brings us back to the subject of the kicker.
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When a team is young, inconsistent and learning to play in the NFL, the kicker can be the most important offensive weapon. There will be games (as fans saw under former head coach Mike Pettine) in which the kicker will score all the points for a team. When games are close and inches are the difference between a win and a loss, the kicker takes on heightened importance.
The ability to kick a 50-yard field goal versus punting the ball is a huge advantage for a team struggling to score points. The ability to score once the offense is inside the opponents’ 35-yard line is an extra boon of confidence to an offense. It makes the job of the offense that much less difficult.
Selecting Zane Gonzalez, an accurate kicker with a strong leg, was a no-brainer for the Browns in the seventh round.
The Browns had uncertainty in the kicking position last season. No matter how much Cody Parkey improved over the past season, fans will always hold their breath when he steps on the field due to missing a perfectly centered kicked at the end of regulation against the Dolphins.
This will be Gonzalez’s first season in the NFL. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers took a chance on Roberto Aguayo in the 2016 draft only to watch him struggle to the start the season. There is no guarantee that Gonzalez will not struggle in the Cleveland after playing college in the dry heat of the Arizona desert.
But the Browns are willing to take the risk that Gonzalez can become a major offensive weapon. For a team that struggled to score last season and will probably continue to struggle in 2017 minus a franchise quarterback, investing in a strong-legged kicker may be just the ticket for more wins in 2017.