Getty
Browns return man Gage Larvadain has been one of the rookies struggling for coach Bubba Ventrone’s special teams unit.
It’s hardly fair to look at a 3-9 Browns and point out that it’s all the fault of the special teams. Certainly, the offense, starting with the lack of a consistent NFL-quality quarterback, is the chief culprit in this disaster of a year. But repeated special teams failures likely cost the Browns at least two games outright, against the Bengals and Jets, and have set the team back in a handful of others.
Worth noting: The Browns did get a win over the Packers in Week 3 that can be largely chalked up to clutch special-teams plays late in the fourth quarter.
But this has been a unit that consistently allows long kickoff and punt returns in its coverage units on one hand, and makes repeated mistakes in its own return game on the other hand. The running excuse, though, has been that the Browns entered this season with 14 rookies on the roster, and those young players generally wind up playing special teams. That’s been the crutch that special teams coach Bubba Ventrone has used to explain the bunch’s failures.
Browns’ Bubba Ventrone: ‘I Have the Support’
Speaking this week after the Browns allowed a 66-yard punt return by the 49ers in last week’s 26-8 loss, as well as a three muffed punts by rookie Gage Larvadain (one was lost as a fumble) and a mental mistake by kick returner Malachi Corley, who stepped out of bounds at the 5-yard line, apparently unaware of the rules, Ventrone said he continues to have the backing of the team.
“I truly believe that I have the support. I mean, it feels like I have the support of the head coach, the GM and ownership,” he said. “I mean, AB (Andrew Berry), Kev (Kevin Stefanski), Jimmy (Haslam) and JW (Johnson), like, those guys have been very supportive. I think they definitely understand that we’ve lost guys in training camp.
“Winston (Reid), Bookie (Nathaniel Watson), you know, you lose D.C. (DeAndre Carter) early in the year, so then you have to piece the unit together. You’re adding guys late, guys that haven’t had as many reps to your unit. So, it’s like, yeah, I have no concerns about whether they understand. Yeah, I think they understand.”
GettySpecial teams coordinator Bubba Ventrone
More Personnel Changes Should Have Been Made by Browns
Indeed, the Browns did suffer some losses to the special teams unit, but the question remains: Why not do more to fix the problem? Why not pluck more veterans from the offense and defense to help out on special teams? Why not send a couple of rookies to the practice squad and bring in veterans with special teams experience?
The Browns and Ventrone have focused on that new NFL cliche, “time on task,” as the solution to the special teams issue. But it’s Week 15. There isn’t any more time, and the unit has not gotten better.
“I just think the more like time on task, the more reps you get in-game, the better that you’re gonna get,” Ventrone said. “It’s relative to the personnel. No, we haven’t made a ton of personnel changes. There’s only so many guys you can play. There’s only so many guys on the roster. So, you’re not gonna be able to make wholesale changes on those units. There’s only so many players available.”
Sean Deveney is a veteran sports reporter covering the NBA, NFL and MLB for Heavy.com. He has written for Heavy since 2019 and has more than two decades of experience covering the NBA, including 17 years as the lead NBA reporter for the Sporting News. Deveney is the author of 7 nonfiction books, including “Fun City,” “Before Wrigley became Wrigley,” and “Facing Michael Jordan.” More about Sean Deveney
More Heavy on Browns
Loading more stories