The Burden Of A Shaky Kicker
Photo Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
Despite Vegas’ belief that the Cleveland is the third-best team in the AFC North, there’s fair evidence to argue that 2023 could be a special season for the Browns. The addition of an elite coordinator in Jim Schwartz and D-line difference-makers in Dalvin Tomlinson and Za’darius Smith look to elevate the defensive unit in a significant way. With legal trouble in the rear view and the rust worn off Deshaun Watson should return to his full form, which is nothing less than one of the seven best quarterbacks in the NFL. Nick Chubb is one of the league’s best backs, running behind the league’s best line. And the receiver room is strong and getting stronger with Elijah Moore‘s speed and jet-sweep threat.
Sure, Kevin Stefanski might not be able to modernize his offense, and it could be another disastrous year in Cleveland, but it’s just as easy to argue that this team has deep playoff run potential. One could even argue that the Browns over of +130 at 9.5 is one of the best values in NFL gambling.
When you have everything mentioned above creating legitimate potential, there is nothing worse than the burden of a unreliable kicker. Ask the Minnesota Vikings and the Buffalo Bills.
It’s the stuff of football nightmares: it’s gut wrenching watching week in and week out, knowing there is a high likelihood that your shaky kicker could stumble in the season’s biggest moment.
Cade York has put himself in this shaky category. After an average rookie season, his 2023 preseason has been of the caliber that tends to lead to a career change. As Cleveland sits poised to be competitive in the league’s best division, the front office is faced with the incredibly difficult choice of moving forward with the youngster or trying to replace him.
Okay, I’m officially concerned about Cade York. pic.twitter.com/0wo0isFa9m
— KING (@KingInVirginia) August 18, 2023
There are semi-reliable veteran replacements available. Mason Crosby and Robbie Gould both remain free agents. Each has long been a reliable weapon in the NFL, but each has also seen their performance wain and their range decline in the latter years of their career. Making a move to one of these veterans would likely represent a safety net from ultimate disaster but could also create a ceiling on potential. Neither Crosby nor Gould is likely to fall apart and miss four kicks in an important game, but neither is also likely to step up and drill 50-yarders when necessary. You’re trading in strength and field-position scoring potential for veteran reliability.
The argument against moving on is the case of Daniel Carlson. The Minnesota Vikings drafted Carlson with a fifth-round pick in 2018 and watched the rookie kicker suffer through a shaky preseason. They stuck it out and rode into the season with Carlson on the roster. Then a Week 1 disaster struck.
Against the hated Green Bay Packers, Carlson missed three field goals, including a 35-yard game winner, and the contest ended in a tie. Head coach Mike Zimmer, already haunted by the ghosts of missed field goals missed, lost his mind and demanded the rookie be removed. GM Rick Spielman obliged. An average veteran was brought in. Then Carlson went to Las Vegas and quickly became one of the best kickers in the league.
The kicking world is a horrible place filled with pressure and headcases. And there’s no way to know if you’re making the right decision at the time.
You could easily move on from York and he could wind up one of the league’s most reliable kickers, driving a knives into the side of the organization with every 50-yard clutch kick he nails for a different team. He has the pedigree, there is a reason the Browns took him.
57 Yards in the Fog.
In The Swamp.
The greatest kicker in LSU history and the reason the @Browns drafted him.
Cade York let’s figure this out.#Browns x #NFL
pic.twitter.com/cq4i1XyUrO— BROWNS OR DIE 💀 (@BrownsorDie) August 18, 2023
Or you could keep York and he could have a good season only to miss three field goals in the AFC divisional round and cost a talented team a shot at a Super Bowl run.
It’s a difficult tightrope to walk. The pending decision by the front office is unenviable. Thus is the burden of a shaky kicker on a team with potential.
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