CLEVELAND — Greg Zuerlein’s ability to hit long field goals and JoJo Natson’s electrifying punt and kickoff returns are not the only concerns the Cleveland Browns have on special teams heading into this week’s Sunday Night Football game against the Los Angeles Rams at FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland.
Rams punter Johnny Hekker is no stranger to passing on fake attempts, and because of his successful track record doing so, the Browns are readying themselves to expect the unexpected against Los Angeles.
“I think you have to keep it simple for our guys,” Browns special teams coordinator Mike Priefer said earlier this week. “Every situation is going to be a little bit different, but to be quite honest, we have to be ready for a fake every single time we go out there. We have to be ready for a surprise onside with our kickoff return unit. We have to be ready for a counter or reverse with their kickoff return unit.
“There are a lot of different things that we have to prepare for. I will be honest with you, I started preparing for the Rams back in the spring, running fakes against our punt return unit and against our defense stage unit back in the spring, through the summer. Not that it guarantees success, but at least our guys understand where we are coming from when we are talking about it this week.”
Now in his eighth season out of Oregon State University, Hekker has completed 11 of his 19 attempts for 156 yards and one touchdown, and three of those passes have gone for at least 20 yards.
“I am nervous for all the fakes,” Priefer said while commenting on his beard. “It grows back really fast and grey when I am nervous about a team. They do a really good job of fakes. I think they had five that they tried last year. One they tried against us that we stopped, but they tried four others.
“I think three of them were successful. They have had a history of doing it. They are very creative. Their guys believe in what they do, and they have a punter that can throw the ball like a quarterback, so that poses a big-time threat.”
Although Priefer is concerned about the Rams running fakes, the Browns have a bit of an ace up their sleeve.
Before joining the Browns through waivers, wide receiver KhaDarel Hodge spent the 2018 season with the Rams, and he was very vocal in the special teams meetings since the Browns began their preparations for Los Angeles.
“I have a good idea of what they are doing, but he knows the ins and outs of it,” Priefer said. “He just gives us a little bit of insight, not exactly what they are going to do.
“He is a smart player that was very much involved with their special teams. He understands when they are going to run fakes, what type of fakes they are going to run, what their mindset is on kickoff return or whatever the case may be. His intelligence and his recollection of obviously what they have done during the past couple of years that he has been there, last year and this year, it really has helped us.”