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Factoid

Shayne Graham's short kickoffs

Could cause problems for Cleveland's special teams

The Browns let Phil Dawson sign with San Francisco. They signed Shayne Graham to replace him, but Graham's leg might not be strong enough on kickoffs.

I'm a big fan of Phil Dawson. He's gone 14 of 15 over the last two years on field goals from 50-plus yards. Considering he's been kicking in Cleveland, where he faces some tricky field and weather conditions, that's remarkable.

So I believe the Browns could be making a big mistake trying to replace him with Shayne Graham. Graham is accurate on field goals, but his leg doesn't have the same kind of pop. He won't fare as well on long field goals, and he could hurt Cleveland's kick-coverage unit.

Graham last year kicked in the friendly confines of Reliant Stadium, yet only 30 percent of his kickoffs resulted in touchbacks. Now that he's based in Cleveland, my hunch is he could be the worst kickoff guy in the league.

How much will that hurt the Browns?

Team kickoff stats, 2012
KOAvgTBPct
Tampa Bay8765.85867%
Denver9964.36566%
Minnesota8668.15362%
Indianapolis7969.14557%
Chicago8665.64957%
Baltimore8967.44955%
St. Louis6866.33754%
Oakland7362.53852%
Tennessee7463.93750%
New Orleans9264.04549%
Carolina7762.83748%
Atlanta9465.34548%
Miami7165.23448%
Kansas City5864.12747%
New England11264.95246%
San Francisco8866.04045%
Arizona6462.52945%
Seattle8865.93641%
Green Bay8865.23540%
Cleveland7763.83039%
Pittsburgh7563.82939%
San Diego7865.13038%
Jacksonville6964.82638%
Philadelphia7063.32637%
Washington9163.73336%
Dallas8462.03036%
Detroit8762.23034%
Cincinnati8866.32731%
Houston9262.92830%
Buffalo7362.12027%
NY Giants9464.52426%
NY Jets6963.21217%

--Ian Allan

Fantasy Index