CLEVELAND, Ohio – The popular debate with NFL coin tosses is whether or not a team should take the ball or defer to the second half. The thinking is that deferring can create a situation where a team scores at the end of the first half, then gets the ball to start the second half.

But when it comes to FirstEnergy Stadium, teams might want to focus on that other coin toss choice: which goal to defend. Then make sure they’re set up to drive away from the Dawg Pound at the end of the game, when a kicker might be in position to decide the outcome.

Consider this:

Kickers are 10-of-16 on field-goal attempts and 20-of-24 on point-after attempts at FirstEnergy Stadium this season. Each miss has come when kicking toward the Dawg Pound.

Every single one.

“It’s kind of unpredictable,” said Browns kicker Austin Seibert. “I talked to Phil (Dawson) about it and he’s given me some insight on it. The stadium’s changed since he’s been here I guess. But really, the winds out of the south and southwest are gonna be what stirs up that Dawg Pound end. Just kind of unpredictable.”

Austin Seibert misses wide right against the Steelers.

Seibert is 1-of-3 on field goals facing the Dawg Pound. Both misses were last week against the Steelers. He has also missed three extra-point attempts in that direction.

Special teams coordinator Mike Priefer said he, too, talked with Dawson about kicking at the stadium, but never got an indication that the Dawg Pound end would be so unpredictable.

“But (Dawson) did say, once the ball gets up in the air, the winds do not always do what the flags are showing,” said Priefer. “I think that is what is happening.”

Five of the missed field goals have come in the last two weeks, as well as Seibert’s missed 48-yard extra-point attempt against the Bills after the Browns drew an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. One miss – a 44-yarder by the Steelers’ Chris Boswell – included a bobbled snap. The Bills’ Stephen Hauschka missed twice facing the Dawg Pound.

“I do not think it is that (Seibert) has not learned how to read it. It comes down to not overthinking it, to be honest with you,” said special teams coordinator Mike Priefer. "Phil just said hit your true ball. You hit a true ball, and sometimes you can’t really determine what the winds are going to do or would even guess what they might do. I think at the end of the day, you have to practice it, you have to go down there and keep working on it. Pregame is always important, and Austin struggled a little bit in (last week’s) pregame as their guy did on that end so we knew it was going to be an issue. We just have to learn how to kick the right kick at the right time.”

While the nine missed kicks facing the Dawg Pound have been split evenly on direction – five wide right, five wide left – it’s been a common sight to see the wide right kicks start off straight, then take a sharp turn.

It happened to the Rams’ Greg Zuerlein in Week 2 on a 48-yarder.

The Rams' Greg Zuerlein misses wide right in Week 3.

Seibert thinks FirstEnergy Stadium is the most challenging place he has kicked in his first year in the NFL. Fortunately for him, he has the opportunity to get in extra practice. While his teammates are practicing at the team’s facility in Berea on Wednesdays, the specialists head downtown.

“Just trying to gauge different winds, different angles you have to aim for, things like that," said Seibert, "so we can prepare for it as best as possible.”

Priefer noted on Thursday that Seibert was 12-of-12 facing the Dawg Pound during Wednesday’s practice session. "It was not that windy yesterday, but that gives him confidence going forward.”

This wasn’t an issue last season.

Kickers were 8-of-10 toward the Dawg Pound, and that included two blocks. Greg Joseph was 7-of-7 on field goals, although his first kick – in Week 3 against the Jets – seemed to be helped through the uprights by that swirling Dawg Pound wind.

Greg Joseph converts a field goal against the Jets in 2018.

Dawson told a story during his retirement speech in August about asking Lou Groza for advice on kicking in Cleveland.

“He goes, ‘You know those flags on the uprights?’ I said, ‘Yes sir.’ He goes, ‘They tell you which way the wind is blowing,’” said Dawson. “This is going to make headlines: Mr. Groza was wrong because I can’t tell you how many times I looked at those uprights and one flag was pointing that way and one flag was pointing that way. Not every day you get to correct a Hall of Famer.”

Earlier this season, Dawson was asked on Twitter how 20-25 mph winds might affect the Browns’ Week 6 game against the Seahawks.

“What direction?” responded Dawson.

When he was told they would be south, Dawson tweeted that “South is way more manageable than SW. IF south, should be less inside stadium than outside. IF SW, hold onto your hats!”

South is way more manageable than SW. IF south, should be less inside stadium than outside. IF SW, hold onto your hats! — Phil Dawson (@phil_dawson_4) October 13, 2019

Seibert has noticed that the winds can change quickly. Warming up at halftime might show the ball drifting left. But a kick in the second half can come off his foot straight, then veer to the right.

He said facing the other end of the stadium usually gives the kicker the wind at his back. Nobody has missed at that end this season.

“Last game (in warm ups) I was hitting 60 yarders that way,” said Seibert. “You hit a clean ball this way, but when you turn around (toward the Dawg Pound) it’s all over the place like, ‘Oh, what am I doing wrong?’”

But, as Seibert points out, being a pro means you work at it and learn as much as you can about those goal posts in front of the Dawg Pound.

“It’s very unique,” said Seibert. “But it’s a good challenge.”

More Browns coverage