Cincinnati, OH-
With three seconds left in second quarter, Browns kicker Cade York, was pleading for a chance to get through the uprights. His frustration was on display for everyone watching the game on tv.
Cade York begged to get to try that 68 yard field goal attempt and wasn't happy he didn't get the chance: pic.twitter.com/chCQdnIzWh
— Jared Mueller (@JaredKMueller) December 11, 2022
York, former LSU kicker, was selected in the fourth round by the Browns in the 2022 draft. He immediately began to turn heads during preseason as he drilled 70-yard field goals.
Hey @Browns fans, you excited for your kicker yet? Cade York from 70!!!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/u7jKjOb7ET
— Chris Rose (@ChrisRose) August 27, 2022
The rookie holds the current record for longest field goal in LSU history at 57 yards. York actually owns the three longest field goal kicks in Tiger’s history He’s showed consistency at the college level making 54 of his 66 FG attempts and 164 of 168 PAT.
York was instrumental in Cleveland’s season opener against Carolina, by kicking a 58-yard FG in the last seconds of the game. This is why the Browns drafted him. The rookie is no stranger to making pivotal kicks in high pressure situations. His 57-yard FG with LSU upset Florida and more impressively the conditions were dense fog.
Cade York was chompin' through the fog after LSU's win over Florida 😆 pic.twitter.com/L5GNJkU8wB
— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) December 13, 2020
York overlooked
After Sunday’s loss to Cincinnati, Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski told the media,
“First drive, we’ve got to come away with points there.”
On the aforementioned first drive, Cleveland found themselves sitting fourth-and-1 on the Bengals’ 25-yard line. Stefanski doesn’t look to York for a FG, yet instead attempts to bluff the Bengals. He brings in backup quarterback Jacoby Brissett. Assuming Cincinnati would be looking for a QB sneak with Brissett, he instead attempts a long pass into the endzone. The backup overthrew intended receiver, Donovan Peoples-Jones, and the Browns came up empty.
Going for it on fourth down has become more the norm than not for Stefanski. In turn, underutilizing the leg power of York. Yes, the rookie has had several misses this season. The worst game came against the Chargers where he couldn’t get it between the uprights twice. York said after the game “One thing I’ve always prided myself on is not missing twice. It sucks, but gotta show people what I’m made of, come back and just keep doing what I need to do.”
The 67-yard field goal that York was lobbying for Sunday, would have been a record in the NFL. Justin Tucker currently holds the longest FG at 66-yards. Why not give the kid a chance to make the record? The argument can be made that going for the Hail Mary there was less risky. However, on the other hand, letting York attempt to clear the crossbar, in that situation can change the momentum.
Regardless, York’s desire and confidence to have the ball shows his drive as an athlete. Hats off to him for that. A team wants a kicker that has the faith he can make a record long FG. Perhaps if York is given more chances on fourth downs the frustration he had yesterday wouldn’t be there.
Alessandro Machi
December 12, 2022 at 6:25 pm
If you have moment, can you blister The Browns for not putting some kine of draft pick nuance when they traded for Deshaun Watson. For instance, if the Browns make the playoffs in Watson’s first year, it’s the Browns first pick in 2023, but, if the Browns don’t make the playoffs, it’s the second round pick in 2023. At least the Browns would have had their first round pick in 2023 for not making the playoffs in 2022. I bet the Browns did not think to negotiate this point. Also, with OSU grooming so many start wide receivers, Browns could have leveraged keeping their first round pick in 2023 so they could try and get an OSU wide receiver. Browns ownership has been beyond obtuse when it comes to drafting offense players from the Ohio State University.
Alessandro Machi
December 12, 2022 at 6:27 pm
I wish I could correct a couple of grammatical errors in my comment, but that option does not appear to exist.
Alessandro Machi
December 12, 2022 at 6:30 pm
The Browns should be 7-6 right now. The Jets game they should have run out MORE of the clock before scoring, but the running backs kept going out of bounds even though a year earlier The Browns ran out the clock for 5 minutes and 30 seconds against Denver. Then against the Bills, if Amare Cooper’s second foot had been in bounds on his catch with about 2 minutes left in the first half, (his foot was out by about 1 inch), Browns score at least 3 and the Bills probably don’t have enough time to responsd. That bare miss by Cooper resulted in a 14 opint flip against the Bills.
Chaz
December 12, 2022 at 6:52 pm
How many games have we lost by points that York could have put on the board if afforded the chance, instead of going for it on fourth down? I’ll give you a hint… We wouldn’t be eliminated from the playoffs if York were successful HALF of those chances. It’s the coaching folks. Players make mistakes. Coaches are supposed to CORRECT the mistakes, and TRUST their players.
Art of Ray
December 17, 2022 at 6:06 am
It’s a good thing we gave up the farm for Watson. It’s 4th and 1 and we bench him?. We bring in his back up thinking we will outsmart the defense. Let’s throw deep with a guy who cant hit the deep ball. I like Jacoby’s heart and he did pretty well but good God man that’s what Deshawn is supposed to be great at. Bring him in and either sneak it or if they crowd the line play action…or as the talented writer from Malone said, “Give the kid a shot”. In my opinion he has missed more than a 4th round pick should. Oh wait there isn’t a precedence for a 4th round kicker because nobody ever drafts a kicker that high. But we are from Cleveland we are smarter than the rest of the league. Don’t let the last 20 years tell ya different. I’m thinking maybe we should draft a couple of goalies from France and Argentina world cup soccer teams. No ones ever thought of using them as tight ends. We should probably trade our remaining draft picks and our two tight ends let’s sweeten the pot and offer Nick Chubb. It’s can’t miss deal baby.