DTR Sends Strong Message on Second Chance as Browns Starter

Alright, let’s try this again.

Cleveland Browns backup quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson played marvelously during the preseason. Then Week 4 rolled around, Deshaun Watson was sidelined by a shoulder injury and the Baltimore Ravens came to town. This was the rookie’s shot. He took it, and he air-balled.

Thompson-Robinson finished the game with 121 passing yards and 3 interceptions as the Ravens routed the Browns 28-3. The coaching staff had seen enough, at least for the time being, and called on third-string quarterback P.J. Walker to play in Watson’s stead while relegating Thompson-Robinson to the bench. That could have been it for the 24-year-old signal-caller, but Walker faced struggles of his own and after Watson’s shoulder worsened and required surgery that will end his season, Thompson-Robinson is back in the game.

The rookie will start Week 11 when Cleveland hosts the Pittsburgh Steelers, and he said on Thursday, November 16, that things will be different this time around.

“I know what to expect now. Unlike many other people out there, I’ve been in an NFL game, so I’m not stepping out there for the first time,” Thompson-Robinson said. “So, I’m not just going out there wide-eyed anymore. I’m going out there with things to look at, things to focus on and a plan to be able to tackle.”

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Dorian Thompson-Robinson Doesn’t Have to Be Great for Browns to Succeed

If Walker’s tenure under center in Cleveland this year tells us anything, it’s that Thompson-Robinson won’t have to be flawless for the Browns to win games.

Walker completed fewer than 50% of his passes and tallied 1 TD to 5 INTs in five appearances, including two starts. He played the majority of the team’s snaps in three games, in which Cleveland earned a 2-1 record.

If Thompson-Robinson is able to play merely competently, the Browns’ top-rated defense and second-rated run game should be enough to keep Cleveland in just about every game remaining on the schedule. Based on the rookie’s comments Thursday, he expects to be competent and more during his second go around.

“Like I said, you kind of knocked all the rust and the stuff off after your first go around,” Thompson-Robinson continued. “I think I said this a couple of weeks ago, it’s going to be night and day. It’s going to be night and day. Just my progression, the maturity, how I’ve handled the week this far and all the weeks before. Just being able to learn from that first experience.”

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Dorian Thompson-Robinson Has Advantage Against Steelers That Was Absent Against Ravens

An underrated element of Thompson-Robinson’s struggles in his first career start a couple months ago is that he was unaware he would be starting that game against the Ravens until just a couple of hours before kickoff.

Browns offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt said Thursday that just the preparation time this week with advanced notice of Watson’s absence should help Thompson-Robinson tremendously.

“I think he understands now that he’s going to be starting Sunday as opposed to, hey, I probably didn’t think he was going to play last time,” Van Pelt said. “No excuses, but he’ll have the whole week to prep. That’s the biggest thing. I thought he did a great job Tuesday night into Wednesday of digesting the plan. He was great in the huddle yesterday as far as play calls. … So just a week of preparation, knowing that you’re going to be the starter on Sunday is only going to help for him.”

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