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against former NFL tight end Kellen Winslow II Jim Brown Color Rush Jersey , who faces a slew of sordid charges that cumulatively could put him behind bars for the rest of his life.As noted by Dan Wetzel of Yahoo.com, the defense could hinge on the argument that Winslow’s sexual misconduct resulted from mental illness sparked by brain trauma from playing football. (As noted by 10news.com, the defense plans to call a pair of psychiatrists to testify, but the substance of their expected testimony isn’t yet known.)If Winslow pursues this strategy, he’ll essentially be admitting that he’s guilty — but disputing that he’s legally responsible for the crimes. Wetzel suggests that Winslow’s lawyers could try to blame the aberrant behavior on football.It won’t be easy to make the connection, especially since there’s no way to prove that Winslow suffers from Chronic Traumatic Encephelopathy, because there’s still no test for detecting it in living patients. (Even if it could be detected, there’s not enough research as to what it means to have it.) Ultimately, however, the warped reality that regularly unfolds in open court entails one side finding an expert witness who for a fee will provide testimony supporting a point and the other side finding an expert witness who for a few will provide testimony opposing that point.In the end, the opinions cancel each other out but the jury has a vehicle for showing mercy, regardless of whether there’s any validity to the notion that football made Winslow do the things he allegedly has done.Opening statements are due to begin on May 20, and at that point Winslow’s lawyers will begin to outline their theory of the case. Given the perils of presenting a “he didn’t do it but if he did it football made him do it” defense, Winslow’s lawyers could essentially concede factual guilt but make the trial about avoiding a finding of legal guilt, by claiming that Winslow’s actions were the product of cranial dysfunction caused by repeated blows to the head.Will that be “bad for football” if it happens? The sports media’s anti-football crowd will claim that it is, but the reality is that Winslow’s lawyers, faced with apparently overwhelming evidence of guilt, are simply throwing the equivalent of a legal Hail Mary pass, trying to come up with something/anything that could spare Winslow from spending most if not all of the rest of his life behind bars. Whether the facts actually support the argument is immaterial to the question of whether the argument is simply the best/only argument the defense has. Competition for both kicker spots will heat up soon enough" />Skip to main contentclockmenumore-arrownoyesDawgs EDTShare this storyShare this on FacebookShare this on TwitterShareAll sharing optionsShareAll sharing options for:Meet the Scottish Hammer, Browns punter Jamie GillanTwitterFacebookRedditPocketFlipboardEmailPhoto by Mark Brown/Getty ImagesEveryone knows that the Browns have one of the best punters in the NFL with veteran Britton Colquitt who was named second alternate to the Pro Bowl last season. And at kicker? That is where Cleveland has struggled in recent years. The answer was supposed to be Zane Gonzalez who was drafted in the seventh-round of the 2017 NFL draft. Gonzalez broke the career record in college football for field goals with 96 and owns the record for most points with 468. But he struggled with the Browns. In the second game against the New Orleans Saints in 2018 he missed two FGs, two PATs and then missed the potential game-winner in the final seconds. The week before against the Pittsburgh Steelers, his final FG attempt was blocked. Ultimately, the Browns could have begun the season 2-0-0 Jamie Collins Jersey , but instead found themselves 0-1-1. The day after the Saints fiasco, Gonzalez was cut.Cleveland then signed Greg Joseph, an undrafted rookie who had been cut in Miami Dolphins camp. Joseph completed the year going 17-20 on FGs and 25 of 29 PATs. The Browns seemed to want a bit more production out of their field goal team and drafted K Austin Seibert out of Oklahoma in the fifth-round of this year’s draft. Siebert shined at this year’s Senior Bowl. One of these two will become the franchise’s kicker this year. Hammer TimeGM John Dorsey has placed an emphasis on making the special teams unit better this upcoming season. The Dallas Morning News ranks every NFL club’s special teams units annually, and last year ranked the 2018 Browns number 30 (of 32 teams).Now that Dorsey has provided excellent competition at the kicker position, he looked at a battle at punter as well. Not that the Browns are unhappy with Colquitt. But when a professional athlete thinks that his job is on the line, many times that single player will elevate his game and get to another level he didn’t realize was inside of himself. Years ago, the Kansas City Chiefs had future Hall of Famer Morten Andersen as their kicker. Management brought in a young buck by the name of Lawrence Tynes as camp fodder, but Tynes ended up winning the job from the highly-acclaimed veteran. Years later, Tynes would win two Super Bowls with the New York Football Giants. So with the kicker competition set, Dorsey brought in University of Arkansas Pine-Bluff punter Jamie Gillan as one of the team’s Top-30 player visits on April 10 to tour the facilities and have dinner. Next, he was signed to a training camp contract to compete for the starting job.Who exactly is Gillan? Why is he the beholder of one of the most awesome nicknames “The Scottish Hammer.” Gillan was born in England, but grew up in Scotland because his father is a member of the Royal Armed Forces. Equipped with a copious Scottish accent, that part of the nickname falls into place, but what about that “hammer” bit? His high school coach gave it to Gillan after he reeled off an 80-yard punt in a game. Oh, and get this: Gillan (6’-2”, 207 pounds) attended the same Maryland high school as Dorsey.The game of football is full of rugby-style punters these days, and yes, Gillan is a former soccer and rugby player. And because of this, he enjoys contact. He is also a kickoff specialist and enjoys contact there, too. He came to the United States at age 16 after his father became employed at the Naval Air Station Patuxent River in Lexington Park, Maryland. As a former rugby player in England, he witnessed his very first American football game at his new high school. Although the game itself was foreign, the kicking aspects were not. After several games Christian Kirksey Color Rush Jersey , Gillan told Leonardtown High School head coach Brian Woodburn that he could kick better than the horrible job their kicker was giving his team. At a meeting set up with Woodburn the following day, the high school coach gave out instructions such as to boot a spiral, launch a punt end-over-end, torpedo style, kickoffs and then attempt some field goals. After beginning at close range, once he started nailing the longer FGs with consistency, all of the kicking functions with the squad were suddenly his. He was playing soccer on the high school team at the same time, and on one particular Friday night finished a game with the varsity soccer team in early afternoon and then was rushed to the football field for that sport’s evening game. The Rugby Star off to CollegeGillan was courted by several NFL teams to sign as an undrafted free agent and ultimately chose the Browns. He also had a few colleges interested in him to kick from them out of high school. How he ended up at Arkansas Pine-Bluff has its own odd story. He explained it on the Houston Texans podcast “TexansWire” in April:Having played soccer all his life and then his devotion to the game of rugby definitely brought some kicking experience to the game of American football. But both of those sports have different styles of kicking, and sometimes off a tee which neither of the other sports even consider. Gillan just assumed his future would become as a professional rugby player. He loved the sport and loved the contact. In that game, more and more players are donning some sort of protective padding to areas such as elbows and knees, and recently even wearing headgear, but mostly the entire body is uncovered. At the 2019 Coach Zauner’s College Senior Combine held in March, Gillan was named the best punter. This link displays his highlights: Colquitt vs. the HammerFor comparisons, Gillan averaged 43.4 yards a kick for Arkansas Pine-Bluff, which is a D-1 school. Colquitt averaged 45.4 yards per punt last year and has a 45.5 career average over 10 seasons. Photo by Mark Brown/Getty ImagesColquitt is 34 years old while Gillan is 21. Gillan had 27 drops inside the 20-yard line last year while Colquitt dropped 32 of 83 punts inside the 20 in 2018. In 2018, Gillan was 20 of 29 FGs with a long of 52-yards, and was a four-year kickoff specialist. Colquitt just handles the punter position. And Colquitt himself has booted a 79-yard punt in a game but has never been bequeathed with a cool kicker nickname.Why the Browns?After a solid showing at his pro day last month, he was contacted by 20 NFL clubs to sign as an undrafted free agent after the draft. He narrowed it down to the Browns and the San Francisco 49ers. Both clubs had sent FedEx packages of NFL footballs to him previously. He had four balls and literally destroyed three of them as each one was coming apart at the inner seams. Both Cleveland and San Francisco gave him actual tryouts. He chose the Browns because of two things: special teams coach Mike Priefer, and Colquitt. Gillan knew of Colquitt’s experience, technique and fundamentals and if nothing else, could train from one of the league’s best while at the same time trying to display his job interview to the rest of the NFL coaches if Cleveland does not become his new home. Gillan developed a bond with Coach Priefer. An unexpected injury has kept Gillan off the field during the rookie minicamp, but the Browns seem patient to wait and see what the Scottish Hammer can do once he is completely healthy and performs in actual preseason games.