3 areas where the Browns must improve in Week 8
By Jacob Roach
No. 2: Kickoff/Punt team
The Browns’ kicker and punter overall have been good and much improved from what they had in 2021. Cade York currently is 13-of-16 on field goals with a long of 58 — which was a game-winner — while Corey Bojorquez is averaging 48.5 yards a kick with 11 punts pinned inside the 20. However, the coverage teams on punts and kickoffs have been less than impressive.
Though Bojorquez has punted the ball well overall, sometimes he out-punts his coverage which allows the returners to get a few yards and into the open field to make people miss. The coverage team has struggled, much like the defense, to make the tackles in the open field. The same could be said of the kickoff team who have regularly allowed teams to get past the 25-yard line when Cade York doesn’t kick a touchback.
On top of that is the struggle on the kickoff return which has often seen the returner take the ball deep out of the endzone and often fail to get to the 25-yard line. As a result, the offense is often given more yards to gain than if the team would take the touchback when kicks travel into the endzone. That has to be cleaned up since special teams can really change the momentum of a game.