Browns Pushed to Bench DTR Even if He Clears Protocol

The Cleveland Browns must choose one of several less than ideal options at quarterback as they prepare for a road game against a frisky Los Angeles Rams team this weekend.

Rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson remains in concussion protocol, backup PJ Walker continues to struggle every time he enters a game, and Joe Flacco is still a 38-year-old who has never taken a regular-season snap with this Cleveland team. The Browns are 7-4, coming off a blowout loss to the Denver Broncos and can’t afford to drop a second game in a row amid a crowded AFC playoff race.

Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com on Tuesday, November 28, made the argument that Flacco is the best of the three options, adding that the Browns should start him over Thompson-Robinson even if the rookie is healthy enough to play.

Chances are, Thompson-Robinson wouldn’t be cleared until late in the week anyway, but regardless if he is or not, the Browns should announce Flacco as their starter and move forward with everyone getting on the same page and knowing what to expect from the jump.

If Thompson-Robinson were a longtime veteran, he might be able to miss most or all of practice and still be ready to start. But as a rookie, it would be a tall order for him to implement and assimilate the game plan with mostly mental reps and meetings.

Thompson-Robinson has completed 53.2% of his 109 pass attempts this season for 429 yards, 1 TD and 4 INTs, though three of those interceptions came in his first start against the Baltimore Ravens. He has also rushed the ball 12 times for 65 yards, per Pro Football Reference, and has earned a record of 1-2 as a starter.

---

No Guarantee Joe Flacco is Adequate Safety Valve for Browns

Cabot’s suggestion has an internal logic considering the magnitude of Sunday’s game, but starting Flacco Sunday remains potentially problematic in a few different ways.

The first is that there is really no telling what kind of player Cleveland will be fielding if the coaching staff inserts Flacco into the starting lineup. He went 1-8 across the last three seasons as a reserve with the New York Jets and hasn’t posted a winning record as an NFL quarterback since 2017 with the Baltimore Ravens.

Secondly, Flacco has only been a member of the Browns organization for nine days. It is hard to imagine that he has a materially better grasp of the overarching offensive scheme than does Thompson-Robinson who has been studying it since May. Of course, game plans change week-to-week, but they are all part of a bigger picture, of which Thompson-Robinson almost surely has a better grasp than does Flacco.

Finally, interrupting the rookie’s growth and potentially impacting his confidence in a negative way doesn’t make big-picture sense if the Browns expect to start Thompson-Robinson down the line this season and/or keep him installed as the primary backup to Deshaun Watson in the years to come — both of which are likely outcomes.

---

Browns’ Playoff Chances Grow Precarious with Loss to Rams

Following the loss to the Broncos, which dropped the team to third in the AFC North Division, the Browns fell to No. 19 in the power rankings, according to ESPN’s Football Power Index (FPI). More importantly though, FPI still projects Cleveland to win 10 games and affords the franchise a 68% chance to make the playoffs heading into this weekend’s matchup with the Rams (5-6).

But considering the upcoming schedule, the contest in L.A. has become something of a crucial one. It isn’t fair to call it a must-win, but the Browns still have to play the Jacksonville Jaguars and Houston Texans, two prospective AFC playoff teams, before finishing the year on the road at the Cincinnati Bengals.

The Bengals won’t have quarterback Joe Burrow for that game, but the Browns should desperately try to avoid a situation where they need to win a road game within the division in the last week of the season to earn a playoff berth. Besting the Rams on Sunday will go a long way toward that end, which makes the decision of who to start under center between Flacco and Thompson-Robinson that much more critical.

0 Comments