Perhaps Browns quarterback Dillon Gabriel was feeling a bit philosophical on Sunday following his team’s loss, by a 27-20 count, to the Jets on the road, a loss that may well have knocked out what little wind was left in the sails of this season. Gabriel was not great in Week 10, but he wasn’t all that bad (17-for-32, 167 yards, two TDs, not interceptions) and though he took the fourth loss of his five-game stint as the starter, he wasn’t even the biggest reason the Browns lost.
Giving up two special teams touchdowns was. Still, Gabriel knows that for a team that has underperformed and is now 2-7, the possibility of change is lingering. It has to. Gabriel cited the philosophical notion that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.
“When things aren’t going well, there’s always going to be change,” Gabriel said. “That’s part of it. Because if you don’t change anything it’s insanity.”
Browns’ Stefanski Makes Call on Dillon Gabriel
If that’s the case, many Browns backers will point out that coach Kevin Stefanski is insane for continuing to start Gabriel, the third-round rookie, without giving fifth-round rookie Shedeur Sanders a sniff at the quarterback’s job. (They’ve called him much worse than “insane,” of course, but that’s neither here nor there.)
Every time Stefanski backs Gabriel, there is controversy, in Cleveland and beyond. But Stefanski, often accused of being anti-Sanders, said after Week 10’s loss that he is sticking with Gabriel in the starting QB role for Week 11, against the Ravens.
And veteran Browns insider Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com says he’s right to do so, for two prime reasons: One, the Browns turned play-calling duties from Stefanski over to Tommy Rees in Week 10, and there was promise there; and two, there are still eight games left and Gabriel needs more than a five-week trial.
Browns Operating With New Play-Caller
Here’s what Cabot said about the way the Browns offense moved on Sunday with Rees at the helm, speaking on the “Orange and Brown Talk” podcast:
“They just turned the play-calling over to Tommy Rees,” Cabot said. “And I saw some flashes of efficiency, I saw some creative formations. I saw a more up-tempo scheme. I saw some things that I really liked.
“I think that Tommy and Dillon deserve a chance to work together a little bit more. I thought that Dillon, when they moved him out of the pocket and did some different things with him, using that quarterback movement—he actually ran for 54 yards. I thought the things he did with Tommy at the helm looked pretty good. Looked promising enough to warrant a longer look.”
(Photo by Evan Bernstein/Getty Images) Head coach Kevin Stefanski of the Cleveland Browns
Dillon Gabriel: ‘We Didn’t Execute’
There may still come a time when the Browns turn the reins over to Sanders, it’s just not happening yet. After the game, Gabriel said the team did a number of positive things, but that a lack of execution at the right times did them in.
That’s tough to accept against an outfit like the Jets.
“I feel like at times, there’s things that went well and we sustained and executed,” Gabriel said. “And in certain moments, we didn’t execute and that starts with me. But it’s always frustrating when it’s not going the way you want it to when you put in the work and time but in crucial momentum you gotta have it and execute. And we didn’t.”
For better or worse, Gabriel will get another chance at showing he can get this team to execute.
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