The Online Newspaper of Lakewood High School

Lakewood Times

Lakewood Times

Lakewood Times

    Cleveland Browns: Kicker Replaced After Poor Performance

    Cleveland Browns: Kicker Replaced After Poor Performance

    The Browns were 0-1-1 following a loss against New Orleans Saints on Sunday, September 16th–a game the Browns were well equipped to win.

    There was much controversy around this game as Browns kicker Zane Gonzalez is scrutinized for missing two field goals and two extra points in Sundays game, costing the team a total of eight points.

    Gonzalez played for Arizona State as the kicker and was drafted in the seventh round and was the 224th overall pick in the 2017 draft.

    According to Mary Kay Cabot (Cleveland.com), Gonzalez missed wide right with 3 seconds left in the game, securing a 21-18 win for the Saints. Gonzalez commented on the loss, saying, “It’s on me 100 percent,” he adds, “It sucks because we were so close to that win, and it’s been so long. I just let everyone down.”

    It came out that Gonzalez had a groin injury during the game, but the medical department did not report any injury to the Browns head coach Hue Jackson.

    It has since been announced that Gonzalez has been replaced by free agent Greg Joseph. He  was the kicker at Florida Atlantic for four seasons and accompanied the Miami Dolphins during training camp and preseason.

    Joseph made field goals of 45 and 27 yards in his first appearance with the team on Thursday, September 20th against the New York Jets. The game resulted in a 21-17 win for the Browns–their first win in nearly two years.

    There are many opinions on how quick the browns were to replace Gonzalez after Sundays game. I talked to fellow students and Browns fans to get their opinion on the situation.

    One student, Chris Thelen, commented on the replacement saying: “I think it was a good decision to replace Gonzalez. Not only did he miss two field goals and two extra points against the Saints, but he also missed two points against the Steelers,” he adds, “our high school kicker can make an extra point; it shouldn’t be an issue for a pro.”

    The Browns are now 1-1-1 in the 2018 season and are in good shape to secure more wins.

     

    More to Discover