<\/p>\n
BEREA \u2014\u00a0Dillon Gabriel\u00a0dismissed the emotions of his first win as an NFL starting quarterback moments after it was done. Three days later, the\u00a0Browns quarterback\u00a0hadn’t found himself getting any more emotional about the\u00a0win over the Miami Dolphins\u00a0than he did in the moment.<\/p>\n
“Yeah, I got a job to do it, and I want to do it at a high level,” Gabriel said Oct. 22. “Winning is fun, like I said before, but the sun comes up the next day and we got a new week. So every story lasts about two days and then you’re rolling.”<\/p>\n
Gabriel has maintained the same approach every week since he replaced Joe Flacco as the starting quarterback in Week 5. The only difference this week, as the\u00a0Browns\u00a0prepare to face the New England Patriots in Foxborough, Massachusetts, is that he and the team are coming off a win.<\/p>\n
The formula the Browns utilized to beat the\u00a0Dolphins\u00a0\u2014 admittedly, with a lot of help from 1-6 Miami’s four turnovers \u2014 was one in which the offense stuck to the run game at a significantly higher clip than normal. They ran it 39 times, by far a season high, and nearly 16 attempts more than their average number over the first six games of the season.<\/p>\n
Gabriel was just 13-of-18 passing for 116 yards in the game. Part of that was weather conditions, and part of that was game conditions.<\/p>\n
Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said he doesn’t believe any of that minimizes what the rookie quarterback was able to learn from the opportunity.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, I think with anything with young players, you\u2019re looking to build on both games and the work you get in practice,” Stefanski said. “I think that\u2019s a big part of this, too. So, certainly that game last week was different for a multitude of reasons, but you continue in all facets, whether it\u2019s run game or pass game, just to build on all the work you\u2019re putting in.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gabriel has taken care of the football so far in his first three starts, as well as the two other drives he had against the\u00a0Baltimore Ravens\u00a0and\u00a0Detroit Lions\u00a0as the backup at the time. He’s yet to throw an interception this season on 107 pass attempts.<\/p>\n
According to Pro Football Focus, 61.7% of Gabriel’s pass attempts have been either behind the line of scrimmage or traveled no more than nine yards through the air, with Gabriel going 52 of 66 for 359 yards and a touchdown on those throws. However, only 3.7% of his attempts, a total of four, have gone 20 or more yards downfield, with just just one completion \u2014 a 22-yarder to Isaiah Bond in his first start against the\u00a0Minnesota Vikings\u00a0in Week 5.<\/p>\n
Gabriel said he believes there are shots downfield to be had, especially going forward. He also said quarterbacks can’t get too aggressive with the downfield throws and not be willing to take what’s given to them in the short-to-intermediate range.<\/p>\n
“I think there’ll be a balance of either way, either pushing it down the field or maybe a balance of when people think you should check it down,” Gabriel said. “I think that’s the balance you work through as a quarterback. Whenever we’re in a meeting room, you try to continue to push that balance of when in zone coverage you can high-low and be more aggressive or bait a defender into taking something. Then there’s times where you want to have an immediate reaction depending on things happening up front or down the field.<\/p>\n
“So I think it’s just that balance you’re continuing to fight. But like I’ve said before, you want explosives in the pass game. Not only vertical throws, but also maybe a 5-yard throw that can go for 20. So any explosives really help.”<\/p>\n
The Browns are facing a team that’s had its issues with opposing passing games. The Patriots rank 24th in the league against the pass, allowing 235 yards a game through the air while ranking 29th in passing yards per play at 7.1.<\/p>\n
Gabriel will go into that game with now four starts under his belt. Not only that, but he’s gotten so many more practice reps compared to his time as a backup that have aided that growth.<\/p>\n
More than anything else, that’s what Gabriel points to as the biggest difference over the last three weeks.<\/p>\n
“You’re more comfortable with more turns, the more you do something,” Gabriel said. “It doesn’t mean you’re going to get better at it, but it does mean that you’re going to be more comfortable in those moments. So you’ll grow in that.<\/p>\n
“There’s still a lot for me to learn and I hope I never stop learning. I want to continue to learn and get better. That’s what I would say. But, like I said, it’s day by day, it’s week by week, you’re going to continue to grow and you want to keep that going in a positive direction.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
BEREA \u2014\u00a0Dillon Gabriel\u00a0dismissed the emotions of his first win as an NFL starting quarterback moments after it was done. Three days later, the\u00a0Browns quarterback\u00a0hadn’t found himself getting… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":36212,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36211","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cleveland-browns"],"yoast_head":"\n