The notion that someone asked Browns coach Freddie Kitchens whether he’ll give up playcalling duties may have seemed odd in isolation. When considering the full context of Kitchens’ day-after-a-loss-to-the-Rams press conference Womens Nick Chubb Jersey , it makes a lot of sense.Kitchens continued to address on Monday the failure to call a single running play with first and goal in the final minute, a seven-point deficit, and all three timeouts.“I do wish I would have given the ball to Nick [Chubb] one time, but it did not happen,” Kitchens told reporters. “As you move forward, and I have to understand this, I know our coaches understand this and I think our team understands this is that some of these situations are new for me. I understand that, but I also understand that I will get better from it and I understand our team will get better from them. Our team has not been in that situation before, so our team will get better. The next time that arises, we will be better because of it. The thing I want to stress to everyone is we are building this thing.”That’s fine, but let’s be fair. Is it really that hard for someone who has spent his entire adult life coaching football to realize that it may be a good idea to call a running play during that specific sequence? The entirety of my own playcalling experience comes from playing Madden, but if you give me the ball first and goal down seven with less than a minute and three timeouts, I’ll know that it makes sense to consider running the ball at least once.“We are not panicking, but we also understand the shortcomings we have had,” Kitchens said. “I understand the shortcomings that I have had. I am going to get it better. Our team is going to get better.”Still, should Kitchens really be a work in progress as a playcaller? He’s an NFL head coach Bernie Kosar Jersey , and he called plays for half of the season in 2018.What’s new for Kitchens is the task of thinking about the next play while also keeping in mind the bigger picture of when to call timeouts and otherwise manage the game. And if Kitchens is struggling to balance those micro and macro concepts (he wouldn’t be the first), it makes sense to consider delegating the playcalling to offensive coordinator Todd Monken. That’s why Kitchens was asked the question.“You can write that if you want to, but that is not even feasible,” Kitchens said in response. “That is not being considered. No, it is not.”Kitchens was asked later whether he’d have Monken call plays for a stretch in order “to see if things improve and create a sense of urgency.”“It is not going to happen,” Kitchens said.Then came the last question on the topic: Can Kitchens and Monken collaborate on playcalling?“It is me,” Kitchens said. “It is my fault. No, it is me. Todd does a great job during the course of the week of making sure we stay on task, we stay organized and all that kind of stuff. When things mess up, it is going to be me.”That’s fine, but if/when things mess up enough regarding playcalling, it will be Kitchens who ends up out the door. Competition for both kicker spots will heat up soon enough" />Skip to main contentclockmenumore-arrownoyesHorizontal - WhiteDawgs EDTShareTweetShareShareMeet the Scottish Hammer, Browns punter Jamie GillanPhoto by Mark Brown/Getty ImagesEveryone knows that the Browns have one of the best punters in the NFL with veteran Britton Colquitt who was named second alternate to the Pro Bowl last season. And at kicker? That is where Cleveland has struggled in recent years. The answer was supposed to be Zane Gonzalez who was drafted in the seventh-round of the 2017 NFL draft. Gonzalez broke the career record in college football for field goals with 96 and owns the record for most points with 468. But he struggled with the Browns. In the second game against the New Orleans Saints in 2018 he missed two FGs, two PATs and then missed the potential game-winner in the final seconds. The week before against the Pittsburgh Steelers, his final FG attempt was blocked. Ultimately, the Browns could have begun the season 2-0-0 David Njoku Jersey White , but instead found themselves 0-1-1. The day after the Saints fiasco, Gonzalez was cut.Cleveland then signed Greg Joseph, an undrafted rookie who had been cut in Miami Dolphins camp. Joseph completed the year going 17-20 on FGs and 25 of 29 PATs. The Browns seemed to want a bit more production out of their field goal team and drafted K Austin Seibert out of Oklahoma in the fifth-round of this year’s draft. Siebert shined at this year’s Senior Bowl. One of these two will become the franchise’s kicker this year. Hammer TimeGM John Dorsey has placed an emphasis on making the special teams unit better this upcoming season. The Dallas Morning News ranks every NFL club’s special teams units annually, and last year ranked the 2018 Browns number 30 (of 32 teams).Now that Dorsey has provided excellent competition at the kicker position, he looked at a battle at punter as well. Not that the Browns are unhappy with Colquitt. But when a professional athlete thinks that his job is on the line, many times that single player will elevate his game and get to another level he didn’t realize was inside of himself. Years ago, the Kansas City Chiefs had future Hall of Famer Morten Andersen as their kicker. Management brought in a young buck by the name of Lawrence Tynes as camp fodder, but Tynes ended up winning the job from the highly-acclaimed veteran. Years later, Tynes would win two Super Bowls with the New York Football Giants. So with the kicker competition set, Dorsey brought in University of Arkansas Pine-Bluff punter Jamie Gillan as one of the team’s Top-30 player visits on April 10 to tour the facilities and have dinner. Next, he was signed to a training camp contract to compete for the starting job.Who exactly is Gillan? Why is he the beholder of one of the most awesome nicknames “The Scottish Hammer.” Gillan was born in England, but grew up in Scotland because his father is a member of the Royal Armed Forces. Equipped with a copious Scottish accent, that part of the nickname falls into place, but what about that “hammer” bit? His high school coach gave it to Gillan after he reeled off an 80-yard punt in a game. Oh, and get this: Gillan (6’-2”, 207 pounds) attended the same Maryland high school as Dorsey.The game of football is full of rugby-style punters these days Womens Jim Brown Jersey , and yes, Gillan is a former soccer and rugby player. And because of this, he enjoys contact. He is also a kickoff specialist and enjoys contact there, too. He came to the United States at age 16 after his father became employed at the Naval Air Station Patuxent River in Lexington Park, Maryland. As a former rugby player in England, he witnessed his very first American football game at his new high school. Although the game itself was foreign, the kicking aspects were not. After several games, Gillan told Leonardtown High School head coach Brian Woodburn that he could kick better than the horrible job their kicker was giving his team. At a meeting set up with Woodburn the following day, the high school coach gave out instructions such as to boot a spiral, launch a punt end-over-end, torpedo style, kickoffs and then attempt some field goals. After beginning at close range, once he started nailing the longer FGs with consistency, all of the kicking functions with the squad were suddenly his. He was playing soccer on the high school team at the same time, and on one particular Friday night finished a game with the varsity soccer team in early afternoon and then was rushed to the football field for that sport’s evening game. The Rugby Star off to CollegeGillan was courted by several NFL teams to sign as an undrafted free agent and ultimately chose the Browns. He also had a few colleges interested in him to kick from them out of high school. How he ended up at Arkansas Pine-Bluff has its own odd story. He explained it on the Houston Texans podcast “TexansWire” in April:Having played soccer all his life and then his devotion to the game of rugby definitely brought some kicking experience to the game of American football. But both of those sports have different styles of kicking, and sometimes off a tee which neither of the other sports even consider. Gillan just assumed his future would become as a professional rugby player. He loved the sport and loved the contact. In that game Nick Chubb Browns Jersey , more and more players are donning some sort of protective padding to areas such as elbows and knees, and recently even wearing headgear, but mostly the entire body is uncovered. At the 2019 Coach Zauner’s College Senior Combine held in March, Gillan was named the best punter. This link displays his highlights: Colquitt vs. the HammerFor comparisons, Gillan averaged 43.4 yards a kick for Arkansas Pine-Bluff, which is a D-1 school. Colquitt averaged 45.4 yards per punt last year and has a 45.5 career average over 10 seasons. Photo by Mark Brown/Getty ImagesColquitt is 34 years old while Gillan is 21. Gillan had 27 drops inside the 20-yard line last year while Colquitt dropped 32 of 83 punts inside the 20 in 2018. In 2018, Gillan was 20 of 29 FGs with a long of 52-yards, and was a four-year kickoff specialist. Colquitt just handles the punter position. And Colquitt himself has booted a 79-yard punt in a game but has never been bequeathed with a cool kicker nickname.Why the Browns?After a solid showing at his pro day last month, he was contacted by 20 NFL clubs to sign as an undrafted free agent after the draft. He narrowed it down to the Browns and the San Francisco 49ers. Both clubs had sent FedEx packages of NFL footballs to him previously. He had four balls and literally destroyed three of them as each one was coming apart at the inner seams. Both Cleveland and San Francisco gave him actual tryouts. He chose the Browns because of two things: special teams coach Mike Priefer, and Colquitt. Gillan knew of Colquitt’s experience, technique and fundamentals and if nothing else, could train from one of the league’s best while at the same time trying to display his job interview to the rest of the NFL coaches if Cleveland does not become his new home. Gillan developed a bond with Coach Priefer. An unexpected injury has kept Gillan off the field during the rookie minicamp, but the Browns seem patient to wait and see what the Scottish Hammer can do once he is completely healthy and performs in actual preseason games.