Dawg Pound Daily
FanSided

Cleveland Browns Week 7 Studs and Duds: D’Ernest Johnson breaks out

By Matthew McFatridge

CLEVELAND, OHIO - OCTOBER 21: Running back D'Ernest Johnson #30 of the Cleveland Browns celebrates with wide receiver Rashard Higgins #82 after rushing for a first quarter touchdown against the Denver Broncos at FirstEnergy Stadium on October 21, 2021 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OHIO - OCTOBER 21: Running back D'Ernest Johnson #30 of the Cleveland Browns celebrates with wide receiver Rashard Higgins #82 after rushing for a first quarter touchdown against the Denver Broncos at FirstEnergy Stadium on October 21, 2021 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 5
Next
Cleveland Browns
Sep 17, 2020; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Browns punter Jamie Gillan (7) warms up before the game between the Cleveland Browns and the Cincinnati Bengals at FirstEnergy Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports /

Cleveland Browns Stud: Jamie Gillan, The Scottish Hammer

Leading up to Thursday night’s game, the Cleveland Browns were reported to be working out several free-agent punters. It was reported that the team brought in several punters for workouts on Tuesday, including former Green Bay Packers punter J.K. Scott, as well as Lachlan Edwards, Drue Chrisman, and Matt Wile.

These workouts were seen as a necessity for two reasons. For one, Jamie Gillan, nicknamed the Scottish Hammer, while beloved in Cleveland, has significantly underperformed in 2021. His punting average of 44.4 yards coming into Week 7 was fifth-worst in the league, and it didn’t appear to be getting any better as the season neared the halfway point.

Secondly, this was a wake-up call for Gillan to either perform better or find a new team. While fans truly do love the long-haired punter, the inability to flip the field was a liability for the defense, creating shorter fields on a consistent basis for the opposing offenses.

On Thursday night, Gillan showed that he took those workouts as a personal challenge and had his best game of the season. The Scottish Hammer punted three times for 155 yards for an average of 51.7 yards. If that were to be his average for the entire season, that would move him to second-best average in the entire league, behind only Las Vegas Raiders punter A.J. Cole.

Gillan’s distance was vastly improved in Week 7’s matchup against the Denver Broncos, but so was his accuracy. Gillan downed two punts inside the 20-yard line, forcing the Bronco’s offense to spend more time on long drives to score.

If Gillan can keep this up, then the Browns have their punter. A little competition never hurt anyone, and in this case, it helped Gillan. The Browns just have to hope that this game wasn’t a fluke and that this can be the new normal for Gillan in 2021 and beyond.

Home/Browns News