Less Thinking Equals More Success for Cade York
Photo Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
It’s not easy to find a difference-maker at the kicker position. Guys like Justin Tucker, Daniel Carlson, and Evan McPherson are a luxury. They’re the sort of stalwarts that you can set in a corner and never worry about. Time and again they rise above the pressure and circumstance to instill a deep sense of confidence in their teammates and their fanbase.
The Baltimore Ravens, Las Vegas Raiders, and Cincinnati Bengals are truly living the good life. Most of the rest of the league exists in a constant revolving door situation filled with will-he-or-won’t-he kickers. The best case scenario is you never have to think about your guy. Worst case is a disaster. Just ask the legions of traumatized Buffalo Bills and Minnesota Vikings fans. Or maybe don’t, if they look like they’re lost in lamentable thoughts about what might have been.
For most teams in 2023, the kicker will represent an ultimate x-factor. The Browns are no different. Will Cleveland sophomore Cade York rise to the occasion? Can he be the proverbial icing on the cake of a high powered offense? Or will inconsistency plague him and the Browns in crucial moments?
York showed glimpses of consistency during his first campaign but finished 24 of his 32 field goal attempts and converted 35 of his 37 PATs. He was perfect from 20-29 yards. But as the distance of the kicks grew, the misses became more frequent. From 30-39 yards, York went 9/12. From 40-49 yards he was 6/8. Then, from 50-plus yards, he made four of his seven attempts. Notably York never missed more than two field goals in a game and was perfect in 10 of Cleveland’s 17 contests.
The young kicker appears to have the clutch gene, and it was on display early. In his professional debut against the Carolina Panthers, the rookie powered the Browns to victory. He went 4/4, making kicks from 26, 34, and 36 yards before drilling a 58-yarder — his longest field goal of the season — with 1:05 left in the game to secure Cleveland’s first victory of the season. He hit a key 51-yarder in an overtime win over Tampa Bay and hit a big one from beyond 50 in Cleveland’s victory over the Bengals. The potential is there.
Cade for the W!! 🤯
📺: #CLEvsCAR on CBS
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/Pu2ZvH4F5T pic.twitter.com/8UFOAlQTmR— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) September 11, 2022
This year’s results, or lack there of, will likely be the fruit of York’snew forward-thinking approach. “The goal shouldn’t be to make every kick,” York told the Athletic. “Maybe that sounds a little strange, but the goal is just to make thel next kick. I don’t think anybody goes perfect for a season, especially when you play in some of the tough (weather) places like we do. But it’s just a mindset thing; have the belief you’re going to make it, which I do, and then just focus on the next kick.”
“That’s something I’m going to do a better job of,” he continued. “What’s done is done. No sense in getting caught up in what happened before. One at a time, and the main focus is on the next one.”
It’s not a new way of thinking for York. “My freshman year at LSU I was a little over the place,” the former Tiger said. “I beat myself up for the bad ones. I learned a lesson then about just focusing on the next kick, not overthinking the moment or anything. I was better once I just started to believe in myself (and) believe in the work I’d already done, so it’s about doing that again here now.”
His brand-new special teams coach Bubba Ventrone agrees. “Great kid, hard worker, very in-tune with his mechanics, and almost too in-tune at times, I would say,” Ventrone said during OTAs. “So trying to get him to just kind of make everything simple, make the corrections fast and apply them to the next kick. We’re working through some things now. Operations have been pretty solid to this point.”
Hopefully those college lessons and Ventrone’s guidance will pay professional dividends for the Browns in 2023. Kickers are so fragile that mastering the approach York is referring to is crucial. And with a potentially high-powered offense, York will, like Ted Lasso says, have to be a goldfish. He could miss a kick and minutes later be back out there and relied upon once again.
Last year, with a combination of Jacoby Brissett and Deshaun Watson at the helm, Cleveland’s average drive lasted around three minutes and spanned 33 yards over 6.37 plays. The Browns’ average starting spot was their own 28-yard line. But all of that came after an offseason of unknowns.
Watson’s legal situation (to say nothing of the moral one) had the domino effect of creating uncertainty for the whole team and limiting the rapport that he was able to build with offensive weapons such as Amari Cooper, David Njoku, Donovan Peoples-Jones, and Nick Chubb.
Without the threat of a real passing game — the Browns ranked 21st in attempts, 22nd in yards, and 19th in touchdowns — they had to rely on Chubb, Kareem Hunt, and the running game. Their drives often stalled out without an opportunity to score.
Now the Browns have a real chance to put more points on the board, whether that’s by scoring touchdowns or converting field goals.
Watson has said that he is in a better headspace this offseason. In a recent interview, Njoku also said that he feels like his connection with Watson is far beyond where it was last season. Head coach Kevin Stefanski has said that he is trying to tailor Cleveland’s offense to Watson’s strengths. Add wide receiver Elijah Moore into the mix, and the Browns have a lot of dangerous weapons with which to extend drives and march into their opponents’ territory on a consistent basis.
He doesn’t have to be Justin Tucker just yet, but if Cade York can focus on his path and each kick individually he has the opportunity to play a major role in helping Cleveland achieve their lofty goals.
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