Another Browns Franchise Record Is Within Reach For Dustin Hopkins
Cleveland Browns stadium has been a house of horrors for kickers over the last decade or so.
Since Phil Dawson last booted footballs through the uprights along the lakefront in 2012, 12 kickers have tried and failed to replicate his success in the unforgiving weather of Northeast Ohio. The list has grown long enough to warrant another storefront manikin with kicker names instead of quarterbacks.
Suddenly, a worthy challenger has emerged for the swirling winds and dicey weather. Dustin Hopkins is the kicker that was promised. The chosen one, if you will. Turns out No. 13 is pretty lucky.
“He’s been a great player for us,” special teams coordinator Bubba Ventrone said Thursday. “The execution has been at a high level and fortunately, he’s made a lot of his kicks. I think he’s done a tremendous job for our team and the confidence he has in our coaching staff, the head coach, GM, owners.”
It’s more than a lot of kicks. A Week 14, 55-yard field that allowed the Browns to close out a win over the Jaguars established a new franchise record for made field goals in a single season. 31 to be exact, as Hopkins surpassed the aforementioned legend, Dawson, who made 30 field goals in 2008. Hopkins has added two since, bringing the record to 33 and counting.
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Browns’ DC Jim Schwartz Compared Myles Garrett To These All-Time Greats
Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz has seen some things over his 20 years in the NFL.
He’s been the architect of some of the great modern defenses. He’s won a Super Bowl as a defensive coordinator with the Philadelphia Eagles. Accomplished the unthinkable in taking the Detroit Lions to the playoffs.
He’s also coached some of the best players to every play this sport. You can add Myles Garrett to that list.
On Thursday, Schwartz bestowed Garrett with some of the highest compliment a player can receive as he compared Cleveland’s star pass rusher to a couple other All-Time greats.
“In my mind the definition of a great player is when an opponent starts their game plan with ‘we’re gonna take care of this guy,’ Schwartz said. “Like ‘we’re not gonna let this guy beat us and he’s still able to be effective and he’s still able to play at a high level.
“In my career, I’ve really seen that from three players. I’ve seen it from Myles. I’ve seen it from Calvin Johnson and – I was a young quality control coach, so it was only the first three years of his career – but I saw it from Ray Lewis also. Guys that every week the opponent said ‘this guy’s not gonna beat us’ and every week that player still made plays.”
That’s some pretty elite company for Garrett to be linked with. Both Johnson and Lewis are enshrined in Canton as members of the 2021 and 2018 Hall of Fame classes, respectively. Garrett is certainly headed to the birthplace of football himself, given the trajectory he’s on.
Right now though, he’s in the middle of a hotly debated race for Defensive Player of the Year, an accolade that has eluded the All-Pro pass rusher to this point in his career, despite his dominance. Schwartz believes his time has come.
“Of course,” he said in regards to whether or not Garrett should be the front runner for the award. “Myles fits in that category. Affects the game. Helps other people make plays. We could have a two hour press conference on the ways that he impacts the game.
On the season, Garrett has compiled 37 total tackles, 14 for a loss, 26 QB hits and 13 sacks. At one point those 13 sacks led the league, but a four game drought without one has seen him fade in that category. He’s seventh at the moment.
Garrett’s impact goes well beyond the box score though, something head coach Kevin Stefanski also tried to point out earlier this week when he called Garrett the “best player in the game.”
“Just talk about the guy that affects the game, that pressures the quarterback, that plays the run, that plays with unbelievable effort,” Stefanski said. “I don’t know that there’s anybody in the same realm as him.”
