PHILADELPHIA: Browns coach Hue Jackson’s decision to call for a fake punt with his team at its own 41 and down seven points early in the second quarter Sunday seemed baffling to most.
But after hearing left tackle Joe Thomas’ explanation after a 29-10 season-opening loss to the Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field, one might wonder instead how it didn’t work.
The Browns faced fourth-and-5; Browns punter Britton Colquitt wasn’t in formation; the snap went directly to running back Duke Johnson. Johnson tried to get around the right end, but linebacker Kamu Grugier-Hill came from the backside and dropped Johnson for a 6-yard loss.
Set up at the Browns’ 35, the Eagles were forced to settle for a 22-yard Caleb Sturgis field goal for a 10-0 lead.
Browns coach Hue Jackson gave few details, but took the blame.
“Totally my responsibility,” he said. “It was something that we saw in their protection unit we thought we could exploit.
“It doesn’t matter what the circumstances were, we didn’t get it done right. It put the defense in a tough spot, and I thought the defense responded by holding them to a field goal.”
But Thomas was willing to elaborate, and said the fake wasn’t to be called off unless the Eagles left their defense on the field.
“We had the look we wanted; they were in their punt return,” Thomas said.
He said the Browns ran the play “a number of years ago,” and it worked.
“We run our punt team on except for four offensive linemen, and then the snapper or the punter is on the backside staying out of harm’s way,” Thomas said. “I’m on the front side. We’re thinking, ‘We have four offensive linemen to the play side. We’re going to be able to outmatch their punt return, which is a bunch of skinny defensive backs, and we’re going to have no problem picking up 5 yards because it’s me, a tight end and three other offensive linemen smashing their punt returners out there.’
“It’s not meant to have a punter make them think you’re actually punting. You’re just trying to catch them and either make them call a timeout or run the play when they’re physically unmatched by our big guys.”
Thomas was surprised Grugier-Hill made the tackle from the back side because “usually on that play the ball runs out the front side and the back side is not an issue, they’re not really involved in it.”
Browns players supported Jackson’s decision to call for the fake.
“They kicked a field goal, so we can live with that,” receiver Terrelle Pryor said. “That was a great choice. Coach is always going to give us opportunities and put us in the right spot to give us a chance to win. I thought that was an aggressive move.”
Receiver Andrew Hawkins, who spent 2012-13 in Cincinnati with Jackson, thought it showed the Browns were in attack mode.
“We’re not going to sit on our hands,” Hawkins said. “We want to try to make plays. That’s the kind of coach he is, that’s the kind of players we are. We want an opportunity to go out there and be aggressive. We’re all for it.
“If it doesn’t work out, defense will knuckle up and make it right, and offense has to continue to do the same. That’s what a good team does.”
Marla Ridenour can be reached at mridenour@thebeaconjournal.com. Read her blog at www.ohio.com/marla. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MRidenourABJ.