Camp thoughts Vol. III

 

Browns defensive line coach Chris Kiffin cranked up the hyperbole machine the other day when discussing one of his players to the media.

 

“From the day I met him. I could tell just how hungry he is, how eager he is and that he wants to be great,” the new assistant coach said of three-year veteran tackle Larry Ogunjobi. And then he added this nugget.

 

“He is chasing greatness. He has all the intangibles. He has the tools, the athletic ability, the skill set and the strength. . . . He sees all those other guys getting all the accolades as far as top defensive tackles in the league and wants to put himself up there.”

 

Kiffin sounds more like Ogunjobi’s agent than his position coach. Not only is that hyperbolic, it is borderline Coachspeak 101. You’d think Ogunjobi was on the cusp of superstardom if you didn’t know any better. Let’s take a closer look at this budding star.

 

There is no question Ogunjobi is a wonderful physical specimen. He is chiseled at 6-3, 305 pounds. He definitely possesses all the physical attributes that should add up to the kind of player Kiffin sees. He doesn’t.

 

What Kiffin does not see is the inconsistency the young man has displayed in his three seasons as a professional. He’ll get the chance up close and personal this season.

 

The Browns’ pick at the top of the third round of the 2017 college draft has racked up 102 tackles, including 20 for losses, and 11 sacks the last two seasons as a starter after making 32 tackles in part-time duty as a rookie.

 

Statistically, this might be as good as he gets. His National Football League stats are similar to the ones he put up in his two collegiate seasons at Charlotte: 127 tackles, 29 for loss, and 5.5 sacks.

 

He has proven he is not a game changer, a difference maker, a playmaker thiclose to achieving stardom. He can only dream of being great.

 

His inconsistency has been a puzzle searching for a solution the last two seasons. For every solid game he has, he’ll go AWOL the next two or three before turning in another solid effort.

 

No coach at this level has unlocked the secret that could elevate Ogunjobi to the next level. Defensive line coaches Clyde Simmons and Ken Delgado tried and failed in 2017 and 2018; ditto Josh Lupoi last season. Now it’s Kiffin’s turn.

 

He wants Ogunjobi to achieve the kind of consistency that would make him a three-down player. But unless he all of a sudden becomes the kind of player the Browns believed they got when they drafted him, that’s not going to happen.

 

He is not getting any better. His consistent inconsistency is what is holding him back. He is just good enough to not embarrass himself at this level. This very well might be as good as he gets. That’s something Kiffin will find out sooner or later.

 

Ogunjobi has the speed (4.95 in the 40), strength and brains (he was a double major in biology and computer science in college), but that’s it. It seems as though he has reached the zenith of his football growth pattern and this is as good as he will be.

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It appears the Browns are trying to scare placekicker Austin Seibert, who began training camp with no competition. That changed Wednesday when four free-agent kickers showed up in Berea and tried out. NFL veterans Nick Folk, Kai Forbath, Matthew McCrane and Cody Parkey accepted the invitations.

 

Folk (age 35) has kicked for Dallas, the New York Jets, Tampa Bay and New England; Forbath (32) with Washington, New Orleans, the Patriots, Dallas, Jacksonville and Minnesota; McCrane (26 next month) with Pittsburgh, Oakland and Arizona in 2018; and Parkey (28) for the Browns (2016), Philadelphia, Miami, Tennessee and Chicago. All but McCrane are NFL vagabonds.

 

Maybe the Browns are messing with Seibert’s head after his uneven rookie season when he connected on 25 of 29 field-goal attempts, but missed five of his 35 point-after boots. Then again, they might not want to wear him out before the season begins because he’s the only kicker in camp.