BALTIMORE, Maryland – Scribbles in my Browns notebook as they face the Baltimore Ravens:
1. The Browns had a few options when it came to kicker Andre Szmyt. They could have brought in another kicker to compete with him in practice this week. They could have cut him, as San Francisco did with kicker Jake Moody after their opening game.
2. The other option was to act like they have confidence in Szmyt. The Browns had Szmyt on the practice squad at the end of the 2024 season. He was in spring practices with the team and training camp, beating out Dustin Hopkins for the job. They decided it wasn’t right to cut him after the opener, where he missed an extra point and a 36-yard field goal in the 17-16 loss to the Bengals.
3. The Browns also decided Szmyt was feeling enough pressure. Last week was his first NFL regular-season game. Szmyt had been cut by Chicago earlier in his career. They had enough faith in him to cut veteran kicker Dustin Hopkins. That said, this is a huge week for Szmyt.
4. Baltimore no longer has Justin Tucker kicking. They have Tyler Loop, a fifth-round draft pick. Loop kicked field goals of 49 and 52 yards last weekend. He was 4 of 5 on extra points. But the Ravens lost 41-40 to Buffalo. The missed extra point haunted them – just as it did the Browns last week.
Cleveland Browns OTAs in Berea
Former Browns kicker Cade York is now with Cincinnati. John Kuntz, cleveland.com
5. I was wondering about extra points. Before 2015, they were basically a 20-yard field goal. They were converted 99% of the time. After 2015, they are kicked from about 33 yards. They are converted 91% of the time. Overall, today’s kickers are converting 86% of their field goal attempts. The accuracy keeps going up.
6. Since 2020, the Browns have converted 78% of their field goal attempts – lowest in the NFL in that period. Last year, the Browns were at 67% with Dustin Hopkins, last in the NFL.
7. One of the reasons the Browns don’t want to quit on Szmyt too soon is Chase McLaughlin. They had him in 2021. He was 15 of 21 on field goals (71%). He was 4 for 4 on field goals of at least 50 yards. But he was only 4 of 10 on field goals in the 40-to-49-yard range. They cut McLaughlin and drafted Cade York to kick in 2022.
8. McLaughlin kicked for Indianapolis in 2023, making 84% of his field goals. Then he signed with Tampa Bay, where he made 59 of 63 attempts (94%). Three of his four misses were from more than 50 yards. He missed three extra points in two years. But in last week’s opening game, he missed an extra point and a 44-yard field goal.
9. McLaughlin had kicked for the Chargers, the 49ers, the Colts, the Jets and Jaguars between 2019 and 2021 before coming to the Browns. But in that period with five teams, he kicked in only 15 total games, making 79% of his field goals.
Cleveland Browns vs. Las Vegas Raiders, December 20, 2021
Former Browns kicker Chase McLaughlin is now with Tampa Bay. He made 93% of his field goals for the Bucs in 2023-24. John Kuntz, cleveland.com
10. The point is most teams don’t know what makes a good long-term NFL kicker. They are like cards. Most teams throw away the current kicker and ask for another card from the deck. It usually is a kicker who had been tossed away by another team.
11. Which brings us to Cade York. The former Brown just signed with Cincinnati. Bengals kicker Evan McPherson is out with a groin injury. Since leaving the Browns in 2023, he has been with five different teams – mostly on the practice squad. He spent some time on the Browns’ 2024 practice squad. Some Browns fans will always remember York making a 58-yard field goal in his first Browns game to beat Carolina.
12. A last kicking note: In the first week of the season, kickers were 63 of 76 on field goals, 83%.
13. As for the game, Quinshon Judkins appears likely to play for the Browns. They want to run the ball, but Baltimore’s defense is tough in that area. The Ravens held Buffalo to 108 yards rushing on 31 carries, a modest 3.5-yard average. Without Judkins, the Browns had only 49 yards rushing on 24 carries against the Bengals. They used several short passes to Dylan Sampson and others as a form of a running play. They’ll probably do that again.
14. Not sure it was wise for Grant Delpit to say it “isn’t hard” to tackle Baltimore’s Derrick Henry, a future Hall of Fame running back. Receiver Jerry Jeudy said the Ravens secondary present “no challenges.” OK, guys, better back it up on the field.
Joe Flacco wins Browns starting quarterback job: Crowquill
Illustration by Ted Crow for Crowquill. Joe Flacco was named starting quarterback for the Browns opener versus the Cincinnati Bengals. Ted Crow
15. The Browns had only three victories last season, but one was 29-24 over Baltimore. Jameis Winston had an epic game, throwing three TD passes for 334 yards and zero interceptions. Cedric Tillman caught seven passes for 99 yards and a pair of TDs in that game.
16. I’d love to see Joe Flacco lead the Browns into Baltimore and beat his old team – on a day when the Ravens are celebrating 30 years of football. Yes, with Cleveland in town, where the original Ravens were the old Browns before the team moved after the 1995 season. The 40-year-old Flacco played 11 years for the Ravens. He then lost his job to Lamar Jackson.
17. Between Flacco and Jackson, Baltimore has had only two starting QBs in the last 18 years. Some others started for Baltimore in that span, but was only due to Flacco or Jackson being hurt. I’m in no mood for a migraine, so I refuse to count how many starting QBs the Browns have had in that 18-year span.
18. Speedy rookie Isaiah Bond was on the field for 21 snaps vs. the Bengals, but the Browns threw him only one pass – a 5-yard gain. He should be more in the action this week.
19. The Browns loved how most of their rookies performed vs. the Bengals. Sampson (8 receptions) and tight end Harold Fannin Jr. (7 receptions) were the team’s leading receivers. Rookie linebacker Carson Schwesinger led the team with eight tackles. Mason Graham had three. Now, Baltimore presents bigger tests for the kids.
20. Prediction: Baltimore 20, Browns 13. A close game, defense rules.
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