3 areas where Browns need to improve before Week 4
By Joel W. Cade
2. Return Game
Cleveland’s kick return game is hurting the team. Football is a field position game and the Browns kick return unit is putting them in a serious field position deficit. It’s time to address the concern.
If ever there was a time to recall former Browns head coach Mike Pettine’s wisdom, it is now. Back in 2014, the punt return unit was so bad that Pettine decided to employ then-safety Jim Leonhard as the “designated punt catcher.”
His job was exactly that, to catch punts. Don’t try to return them. Don’t try to determine whether or not to let it go over his head. Just catch the (explicative) punts.
Cleveland’s punt returners have not been good this season. Every time the ball is punted, Browns fans hold their collective breaths wondering if the punt will be caught, dropped, or muffed. These games are supposed to be exciting, but they need to be less dramatic in this area.
Things are not that much better on the kick-off return side. Although this part of the kick return game has been relatively quiet, last week rookie running back Jerome Ford brought a kick out of the end zone and attempted to make a play. He failed to reach the 25-yard line.
To be fair, the Browns attempted to address the return game this offseason by signing All-Pro kick returner Jakeem Grant. However, Grant injured his Achilles tendon during training camp ending his season.
If Cleveland doesn’t address the kick return game, it just might end their season. The Browns have an important stretch of games coming up that will have a significant impact on their playoff chances. It is time to put the “designated punt catcher” back out there. Is Jim Leonhard available?