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Dawson taking nothing for granted
Steve King, Staff Writer
07.29.2008
At year ago at this time, Phil Dawson was put on notice.

But by the end of the 2007, the Browns kicker hadearned all sorts of notice -- in a positive way.

Such is the life of an NFL kicker, whose worth is measured every time he walks onto the field.

"I've always said that you're only as good as your last kick," Dawson said this week following a training camp practice.

For the first 7½ years of his career, Dawson was about as accurate as any kicker in the game's history, somehow finding a way to succeed against the tricky, windy, cold and sometimes icy conditions on the shores of Lake Erie.

He was cruising along midway through 2006, setting a franchise record with six field goals against the San Diego Chargers. Overall, he was at 85 percent, hitting 17-of-20.

Ho, hum, another season, another Dawson success story.

Then he experienced the first slump of his career, going just 4-of-9 the rest of the way to finish 21-of-29. His 72.4-percent success rate was the lowest since his rookie year.

How off was he? Consider that in 2005, he also had attempted 29 kicks but made 27 of them for a career-high 93.1 percentage.

"I was still hitting the ball well late in 2006, but they weren't going in," Dawson said.

Head coach Romeo Crennel knew that since his offense was struggling at the time to score touchdowns, the team needed an accurate Dawson to be able to score enough points to be competitive in games. He was right, for when Dawson was having his issues down the stretch in 2006, the Browns lost six of their last seven games. In four of those defeats, the club scored seven or fewer points.

You can't win like that. So Crennel told Dawson he needed to do better -- much better.

So the kicker spent the entire offseason busier than he had ever been, skipping the normal after-the-season respite he took to let his body -- and his leg -- recover from the long, grueling year. If he wasn't studying tape, he was working out or practicing his kicking. It was all football, all the time.

Dawson entered 2007 under the first real pressure he had faced since his rookie season of 1999, when he had no NFL resume and was trying to make an impression on head coach Chris Palmer.

His work paid off. All the things that had gone wrong in the last half of 2006 suddenly started going right.

"I was hitting the ball the same way last season as I had in 2006, but the bounces began to go my way," Dawson said.

Bounces? Yes, literally and figuratively.

His kick at the end of regulation in Baltimore hit the goal post support bar and then caromed back out on the field. Originally signaled as no good, the ruling was eventually changed to good following several minutes of discussion and after the Ravens had left the field, tying the score and forcing overtime. The game was won 33-30 by a Dawson kick that went cleanly through the uprights, sans any drama.

A month later in an 8-0 win over the Buffalo Bills, Dawson, in an effort that defied the laws of physics, somehow kicked two field goals, including a 49-yarder, during a virtual blizzard.

Browns special teams coach Ted Daisher, who has been in coaching for nearly 30 years, was impressed by both kicks but said the 49-yarder, which was aimed to the left, halfway between the left upright and the sideline, to compensate for a strong wind blowing left to right, was the greatest kick he has ever seen.

By the end of the year, Dawson had hit 26-of-30 field goals, a success rate of 86.7 percent, the third-best of his career, and scored 120 points, No. 2 in franchise history behind only Jim Brown (126 in 1965), and ahead of Lou Groza (115 in 1964).

Brown and Groza. You may have heard of those two.

"I'm almost embarrassed for my name to be used in the same sentence with Jim Brown," Dawson said. "He's the greatest football player of all-time."

And Groza?

"I have all the respect in the world for him, Don Cockroft, Matt Bahr and Matt Stover, the people who have preceded me here in Cleveland," he said. "I feel very honored to be mentioned in the lineage of great kickers this franchise has had."

Getting back on track last year, starting strong and staying strong throughout, also meant that Dawson moved back into the top five in the NFL in career field-goal percentage. He is fourth at 82.7.

So, what means more to him, his place in NFL kicking history, or in that of the Browns?

"The Browns," he said, "because I know how hard it is to kick in Cleveland."

But the best part to come out of last season for Dawson is the fact the Browns, after so many struggles since returning to the field in 1999, won a lot of games -- they went 10-6 and nearly made the playoffs following four straight losing years -- and he had a big hand in it.

"I took a great deal of satisfaction in that I was able to help this team win," he said. "At the end of the day, all that matters is if this team wins or not. I had gotten tired of all the losing over the years. I want to win. I'll trade all the personal accomplishments for a win anytime."

He didn't have to last season, and he won't have to this season if the Browns perform as well as most people predict they will.

Yes, things have certainly done an about-face for Dawson and the Browns from last year at this time.

"Did I deserve what Coach Crennel said about me last year?" he asked rhetorically. "Yes, certainly I did. Believe me, I wasn't happy with the way I kicked, either.

"But when you struggle, you can't just abandon everything you're doing. You have to fix only the things that are wrong and stay confident that the other things you're doing -- and all the stuff you've believed in over the years -- are solid. That's what I did."

And when Dawson followed that strategy, you couldn't help but notice the difference.

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His game-tying against the Rats was priceless, his kicks against Buffalo amazing & clutch.

Dude is class act. Really fits the team and organization... amazing since he's been here so long.

Exactly how many people were ready to give up on Dawson after 2006?

Phil Dawson has long been one of my favorite Browns. Before my Dad got me a Cribbs jersey a couple years ago, I was planning on having a Dawson jersey made up. Every season he endures plenty of criticism from both media and fans and continues to be steadfast, even when he's going through a difficult time. It blows my mind that people try to find ways to discount the fact that he's in the top five in the history of the NFL in field goal percentage.

When the Browns win the Super Bowl, I hope Phil is one of the first to hold the Lombardi Trophy over his head. He sure as hell will have earned it.

Ahh, I know that Kash,, makes me very very glad that cooler heads prevailed.

Man, that Buffalo game I was there and I had no idea it was good till I looked at the screen and saw the Browns celebrating. In fact I was asking my buddy why the hell they were even trying the kick in the first place. Dawson has been here since the beginning and has my total respect and admiration!

Until that ball bounced off the "Dawson bar" , I honestly thought the quick kick was on. In those weather conditions, even trying that kick was a terrible idea.

That he made it? Inconceivable!!! (yes, that means what I think it means)

The guy sitting next to me couldn't see the football and had no clue until the replay on the big screen. He still doesn't believe that I saw it, even though I described exactly what happened to him.

edit: It is nice to be into August and not have to defend Dawson's "short kicks" and "inability to hit a critical kick".

Someday when Phil retires, Browns fans will look back on his tenure, dedication and positive impact he has made over these years (this will be his tenth year kicking for the Browns) fondly.

Next to The Toe, he'll be considered the second greatest in team history and will belong in the Browns HOF.

I agree but for now, there is always someone that will say he's not that good... amazing....

Hopefully he'll cap off his career with a Super Bowl FG. Nothing crazy or necessary, mind you...

Why is it unreasonable to question a kicker who kicks 72% in 06 after a career of kicking 82%?

Look, I like Dawson, and I'm willing to chalk off 06 to a bad year, and believe me, I want him to kick well, and want him to put another season together like last year.

If Jamal starts fumbling the ball, and only holds onto the ball 85% of the time and it costs us games, don’t we question him the next season? (Is he still up to it, does he really want to play for us, was he only in for a contract year, and so on.)

This isn’t high school where, Golly Gee, everyone has a bad game or bad season, and Gosh, we are really hoping they can pull through and make it happen, this is the pros, they are expected to make it happen, and mistakes and bad season should get questioned and corrected or bye bye.

About this time last year I made a post concerning Dawson complete with stats and the conclusion I came to IIRC was :
1) below avg, kickoff distance,bottom 1/3
2) below avg. PAT ( bottom 1/3)
3) above avg. FG pct. (top quartile)
4) max FG distance, about avg.

IOW, Dawson is a bit above "average". But let's keep in mind that he is an "outdoor" kicker on the shores of Lake Erie complete with wind,snow, rain, flying beer bottles etc.Dawson,in fact, compared favorably with California and Sunbelt kickers, in some cases he has better stats than some indoor kickers. If you look at his stats they don't look like anything special on the surface, however after crunching the numbers my conclusion was that Dawson was the #2 outdoor snow belt kicker behind Matt Stover. As an "outdoor kicker" IMO, he's a keeper.

IMHO Phil Dawson is the least of our worries.....

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and mistakes and bad season should get questioned and corrected or bye bye. ....

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He Was questioned and he made corrections nuf said

I've been wearing a Groza jersey since 99 until 05 when Katrina destroyed it

After those two kicks I'm almost ready to buy a #4 but I won't buy the jersey of a
currently active player.

I'm still a Groza fan even though most of his records have been beaten he's Still a
HOFamer and a childhood hero.

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Why is it unreasonable to question a kicker who kicks 72% in 06 after a career of kicking 82%?

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Because I said so

I've always wanted to answer a question like that.. finally, I got my chance and took it

Seriously, he had been, up until 06, a very very consistent, solid kicker.. basically the least of our MANY worries.

So the guy has a down year. It happens.. so what.

But here is the real issue as I saw it then, he wasn't just being questioned, he was being bashed beyond belief.. we had Receiver issues, Oline issues, QB issues, DB issues, Dline Issues, LB issues and people were worried about a kicker that heretofore had been Mr Consistent...

If all it was was questioning, I'd have been fine.. But it wasn't questioning, it was out and out bashing for the sake of bashing.. no reason or ryme as to why.. it's just, he had a bad year, get him out of here, he's a waste product..

How dumb does a person have to be to take that hard line of a stance after a good guy has a bad season...ONE BAD SEASON...

Same could be said if Lewis had a bad year.. In fact, he did have a bad year or so and the team that rode him into the SuperBowl kicked him to the curb..

See what jumping to conclusions gets ya sometime.. each situation is different. so theres not a cookie cutter answer or one size fits all answer.

But there is a big difference between questioning a guy and bashing him..

Question all you want.. I'm good with that..

I've always liked Dawson (I though he wore No. 15, or was that a few years ago?) Anyways, I did question him during and after the 06 season, however, I don't remember really bashing him, I believe, the only thing I said is if there was a better prospect/upgrade that it would not hurt to give a look see.

Well, I'm certainly glad the Browns did not feel too concerned about Dawson. I think he's corrected himself and he'll be fine.

I find it really hard to question Phil Dawson's Kicks. He's got the 7th highest FG % in the history of the NFL, and if you only include those with 100 made FG's he's 4th behind Mike Vanderjagt, Shayne Graham, and Matt Stover. linky (Kaeding, Gould, and Bironas have yet to make 100 fg's)

Considering Vanderjagt kicked half his fg's in a dome, I'd say that's pretty good company.

And besides after Phil's two kicks in the game against Buffalo last year, I don't want anyone else kicking for the Browns until Phil's done.

The game part is still there bro It just starts in pre-game warm ups, and ends an hour after the final gun

It was Oakland.

Phil's strength has never been distance.

His accuracy is typically dependable, particularly with a familiar center and holder. His Willie Mosconi impersonation during the Bills game was simply incredible and those two kicks should live on in Browns lore.

I think Phil is solid from 45 yds in and any attempt to improve his position is not simple. Replacing his dependability is wrought with possible agony and wasted offense. The Bengals struggled with just that until they got Graham.

I like Dawson and he's one of the best kickers this team has had in its entire history. Dawson actually will be passing up Cockroft within the next two years to sit at second place in career points - behind only Groza. That says a lot about Dawson. He definately has been worth keeping around.

i have madlove for Phil. he's the only player who's jersey i would actually buy.

Kickers drive me crazy, but Dawson has been pretty good overall. Pontbriand is a big part of his success. I long snapped some, and it is MUCH tougher than it looks sometimes and it is easy to overlook.

I love Phil! During halftime warm ups yesterday he was hitting 63 yard field goals.