Dawgs By Nature
Speculation continues to run high, but until we hit the late summer, no one really knows how things will play out.
There are no guarantees in life because, as Heidi Klum would say on Project Runway, “One day you’re in. The next day you’re out.”
Even accepting that, there is one absolute certainty that can be said about the Cleveland Browns and their current situation at quarterback.
When the offense takes the field for its first offensive series against the Cincinnati Bengals on September 7, someone will be playing quarterback.
Until then, no one knows how the current competition will play out through training camp and the preseason.
There will be plenty of speculation until head coach Kevin Stefanski names a starter, of course, and there is nothing wrong with that, especially if the speculation comes with a healthy dose of context and common sense.
Take, for example, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero, who talked about the quarterback situation Friday on The Rich Eisen Show and pointed out that OTAs are built for quarterbacks like Shedeur Sanders:
“If you said what type of quarterback is going to thrive in OTAs, where it is a lot of seven-on-seven and maybe some 11-on-11 mixed in, it is going to be a guy who’s really accurate and Shedeur absolutely is. So it’s not a surprise (he is doing well).
“But let’s see where they are in training camp and how the reps are divided up. It will start to matter once you get into training camp because there are a limited number of reps. You are trying to build the rhythm, timing, and tempo in the passing game. If it is all Joe Flacco with the (starters) through the first couple of weeks of training camp and into the preseason, then that would probably be a strong sign they are going to go (with Flacco).
“If suddenly we see that the other quarterbacks are getting opportunities, then maybe (the Browns are) more open-minded than perhaps it may seem on paper.”
The key takeaway here is that it is still too early to read into anything happening in Berea right now. The offensive staff is still in full evaluation mode with Sanders and Gabriel figuring things out in their first weeks in the league. Throw in that they also need to keep an eye on Kenny Pickett in case Flacco starts playing like a 40-year-old, and anyone who tries to tell you they know what is going on is just being silly.
There will be more on tap this week as the Browns hold three more days of OTAs. After having Flacco and Pickett split the first-team reps last week when the media was in attendance, it would be a surprise to see Stefanski have Sanders and Gabriel working with the first-team this week, just to mix things up and keep the speculation meter running hot. After all, that is part of what these practices are for, as they provide a...
