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NEW ORLEANS, La. – Squiggle in my notebook after the Brownies' 21-18 loss to the New Orleans Saints:
1. The Browns are already approaching a dangerous state of mind. This happens to all losing teams at one point. The score is close. The clock is turning. The team played pretty well to win. Players, coaches and anyone interested in the team start to wonder, "What's wrong this time?"
2. That's one of the many reasons why the Browns need a new kicker Thursday night against the New York Jets. Again, the score could be very close. They can no longer have Zane Gonzalez in this position. His confidence – at least with the Browns – is drawn. He missed three field goals and two more points in the first two games of the season.
3. Gonzalez should not be rejected as an NFL kicker. Most of them suffer terrible stretching, sometimes cut. But Gonzalez has done little in his 18 games with the Browns to inspire confidence. He has already missed more points this season (two) than in 2017 (one). Last season, he scored 15 goals out of 20 (75%). You want your kicker to be at least 80%. Good are approaching 90%. He is 2 of 5 this season.
4. Gonzalez was the winner of the 2016 Lou Groza Award as the best kicker in college football. But this is a success / failure. I thought Ross Martin had played better at the training camp than Gonzalez. I was perhaps biased because he is from Solon and Walsh High, although I have never met him. The Browns should bring him back for a test on Monday.
5. I was in the group of people who listened to a disconsolate Jarvis Landry after the game. The receiver said, "Do the goals on the field". He has been here for two games and is already fed up with the failures of the special teams and other careless mistakes that prevent this team from finally winning a match. Landry had a solid game with five catches for 69 yards.
6. When Antonio Callaway caught this 47-yard pass, I thought, "It's a Josh Gordon play." In fact, it's a 2013 game of Josh Gordon. Callaway also ran 15 yards on a setback. The Florida rookie is talented and could become a mainstream games receiver.
7. The Browns are built on a sturdy defense and a powerful game. The other thing is that Tyrod Taylor does not give up the ball too much. Taylor had an expensive interception on Sunday. But overall, it was a solid quarterback match: 22 out of 30 passes for 246 yards and the TD callaway pass. The defense did its part. The current game was barely OK, but he still ate a lot.
8. This approach will lead to a lot of close games. This will put pressure on the special teams, not just on the field kicker. They can not allow long returns. It would help if the Browns could actually get something positive from their own kick-off and hen return men.
9. Larry Ogunjobi had two bags. A third was eliminated by a penalty in the secondary Browns. He has three bags in two games. Defensive end Myles Garrett receiving so much attention from opponent blockers, he opens the middle of the line so that a strong impactor like Ogunjobi can have an impact.
10. Ogunjobi was an analytical choice of Sashi Brown's front office. He played in North Carolina-Charlotte. He is the first player of this school to be recruited. UNC-Charlotte had no football until 2013.
11. The Browns have trouble understanding how to involve Duke Johnson Jr. in the attack. He caught two passes for a total of 7 yards. He carried the ball three times for 3 yards.
12. Late night David Njoku had a good time at training camp. He did not do much in the regular season. He has seven catches, but the longest is 8 yards.
13. I do not think that the Browns who eliminated Josh Gordon from the list had an impact on the game, at least with respect to his teammates. Most of them are much more accustomed to playing without Gordon than with the often suspended receiver.
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