Ethan Pocic looks to clean up issues with flags on Browns' short-yardage snaps
BEREA — Ethan Pocic has had a problem with the officials the last two weeks. Or, it's actually the other way around — the officials have had a problem with the Browns center.
In each of the last two games, Pocic has drawn ill-timed penalties that have sabotaged third-and-short situations for the Browns. Both times, it involved adjusting the football before the snap.
"Yeah, I moved the ball up a little bit," Pocic said Wednesday. "It's something I got to do a better job of and got to make an adjustment. You don't want that to happen again."
The first time it happened came on the Browns' second drive in a 29-17 loss at the Denver Broncos. With the ball at midfield, trailing 7-0, the Browns went to a trusted play in which they line up tight end Harrison Bryant under center to pick up the 1 yard they needed for the first down.
The Browns eventually turned the subsequent third-and-6 into a fourth-and-1. They tried to run the same short-yardage play with Bryant lining up under center, but Bryant lost the ball to the Broncos on a fumbled snap.
The second time came after the Rams opened a 27-19 lead with 3:48 remaining Sunday. The Browns still had a chance to tie the score with a touchdown and a 2-point conversion.
Pocic's penalty push the Browns back 5 yards. They then turned the ball over on downs, leading to one more back-breaking Rams touchdown.
"They're just really looking for it on the short-yardage place, especially when it's getting closer on the hash mark," Pocic said. "I just got to do a better job. I just got to make an adjustment and be more conscious."
The last time Pocic was flagged for it, it led to coach Kevin Stefanski getting irate at the officials on the sideline. While many penalties will initially draw a warning from the officials before they actually draw the flag, there were no warnings given if they had seen Pocic try to do a similar trick earlier in the game.
That was what upset Stefanski the most.
"They definitely warn you on certain things," Stefanski said. "A lot of times what happens, I think in every single game, they warn your tackle about being too deep. That happens every week. And then you tell the tackle to move up. In this case, we did not get a warning. I don't know if that's something that moving forward, they will do. I think that would be fair.
"In this instance, if you see it on a second-and-5 and you see a movement that you would deem illegal or false, start whatever it may be, I think that would be fair."
Pocic is in his second season with the Browns after signing a second one-year deal at the start of free agency. He's started every game this season after playing in 13 games a season ago, which did include a trip to the injured reserve list in November with a knee injury.
Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on Twitter at @ceasterlingABJ
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Ethan Pocic looks to clean up flags on Browns' short-yardage snaps
