CLEVELAND, OHIO (TheOBR.com) - Good morning, Cleveland Browns fans! I hope you're having a great start to your weekend and that you get out to enjoy the nice weather we have on tap for today in Northeast Ohio. I'm going to try to find some excuse to pry myself away from the computer and get outside a bit. You never know when winter is going to come crashing down on the Cleveland area.
THE DAILY BLOVIATION
NUMBER 41: I'm not sure who keeps track of the number of starting quarterbacks a team has had over a given period of time. It would seem a relatively niche objective in one's working life, but someone out there can tell you how many starting quarterbacks, say, the Carolina Panthers have had since 2017. If you produce enough humans, every crevasse of the occupational spectrum will be filled.
It turns out that Dillon Gabriel will be the 41st quarterback the Cleveland Browns have started since they returned 26 years ago with Ty Detmer briefly at the helm. Pro Football Talk goes ahead and lists them all: Tim Couch, Ty Detmer, Doug Pederson, Spergon Wynn, Kelly Holcomb, Jeff Garcia, Luke McCown, Trent Dilfer, Charlie Frye, Derek Anderson, Brady Quinn, Ken Dorsey, Bruce Gradkowski, Colt McCoy, Jake Delhomme, Seneca Wallace, Brandon Weeden, Thad Lewis, Jason Campbell, Brian Hoyer, Johnny Manziel, Connor Shaw, Josh McCown, Austin Davis, Cody Kessler, Robert Griffin III, DeShone Kizer, Kevin Hogan, Baker Mayfield, Tyrod Taylor, Case Keenum, Nick Mullens, Jacoby Brissett, Deshaun Watson, Joe Flacco, Dorian Thompson-Robinson, P.J. Walker, Jeff Driskel, Jameis Winston, Bailey Zappe, and now Gabriel.
That's quite a group, right there.
Every single one was named a starter, gained headlines, and then, in most cases, promptly went out and started losing football games. Some of them had no business starting a football game in the NFL. Others, like Tim Couch and Baker Mayfield, had talent that they were unable to fully maximize in Cleveland due to a litany of reasons. Not surprisingly, this has led to an avalanche of downright lazy trolling and insipid content on social networks, a stolen bad joke that gets regurgitated every few weeks or so.
Browns quarterbacks
This year's potpourri of QBs (Photo: Getty)
Often, these changes were greeted with enthusiasm by the Browns fanbase, but none of them have worked out in terms of creating a franchise quarterback. Is it any wonder that there's skepticism about Gabriel, who has handled himself professionally from the jump?
I suppose that Gabriel will make a couple of rookie mistakes, but the Browns stand a reasonably decent chance of winning his first start - a rare occurrence in the world of the post-1999 Browns. There are few fans who are closely tracking the Cleveland Browns who believe that Gabriel will be that "franchise guy", primarily due to his height. But, maybe after all this time, the 41st time is the charm. Or perhaps Shedeur Sanders becomes #42 later this year. All I've learned from chronicling this is for a quarter-century to refrain from making predictions, keep expectations low, and watch.
CHANCES SPRING ANEW: Ex-Browns CB Cameron Mitchell watched his career melt down when forced into action against the Baltimore Ravens earlier this year. The Browns clearly felt that this was not merely a one-off bad game, as they held onto Mitchell for two more weeks on the bench before releasing him.
But there's always someone willing to rescue players off the scrap heap, or at least evaluate doing so. I saw that Mitchell had a tryout with the Indianapolis Colts yesterday. I always feel bad for discarded players, who have been working their whole lives to achieve NFL success, but chances always seem to come for veterans who want to keep playing. Good luck, Cameron.
THE LONG INJURY LIST: The Vikings have already ruled out edge rusher Andrew Van Ginkel, quarterback J.J. McCarthy, left guard Donovan Jackson, right tackle Brian O'Neill and centers Ryan Kelly and Michael Jurgens. While the consensus is that the Vikings will be devastated by the Browns defensive line Sunday morning, I've seen weird sorts of games where replacement lines do much better than expected. I remember a season finale against the Bengals where Lee Suggs went off behind a makeshift line. This is why I embrace Myles Garrett saying it doesn't matter to him that the Vikings offensive line starters are out. Assume nothing.
The Browns have Greg Newsome and Jack Conklin listed as questionable, which is a relatively small injury list in Browns-world by the fifth game. Both of those guys are very important to the Browns, and this likely close game may swing based on whether they can play. Or it may not. The Browns just sent out a press release that cornerbacks Tre Avery and Dom Jones were elevated for tomorrow's game. Perhaps one of them will have the game of a career if Newsome can't go. It's all unpredictable.
THIS WAS INEVITABLE: A few years ago, concussion scares had some predicting doom for the NFL, as studies showed that repeated head impacts can lead to the buildup of proteins in the brain, leading to CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy), which leads to all sorts of negative consequences, including early loss of life.
The news, which dominated headlines a decade ago, led parents to shift their kids away from football at the academic level, sparking some prophecies of doom among observers about the game's future. It was quickly becoming a significant threat to the game. It still is, to some degree.
The NFL has scrambled to address the issue, improving helmet design (including the introduction of Guardian caps), eliminating certain types of tackling from the game and practice, and modifying the kickoff dynamics to eliminate a 40-yard head start for tacklers.
The NFL has been promoting flag football as a less-harmful version of the sport for a few years now, with a focus on adoption by youngsters and women, and generally taking it seriously. Now, Roger Goodell is saying that the NFL is going to launch a flag football league in a few years. This is a far-sighted move on the NFL's part, in case further discoveries about the dangers of head impacts are made in the years to come. More than anything else, the risks inherent in the game are the biggest threat to its hold as America's favorite sport.
Have a good one! GO BROWNS!
Newswire Bloviation Archive
OBR Daily News Ticker
OBR GOODIES
BROWNS VIDEO
Browns 3D- Dillon Gabriel debuts in what will be a Browns victory - (youtube.com)
BROWNS ARTICLES
Cleveland Browns Film Room: Why Isn't Dylan Sampson Playing? - Sam
Cleveland Browns News and Rumors 10/3: What I'm Watching Sunday Morning - Barry
Browns Dillon Gabriel Hopes to Bring "Great Juice, Great Energy" to Offense; Full Injury List: 6 Out for Vikes - Fred
Cleveland Browns Film Room: How Harold Fannin Jr is Being Used as a False Key in the Run Game - Sam
Cleveland Browns Film Room: How Good is Cam Robinson? - Sam
Browns-Vikings: OBR Prediction Roundtable - Barry
Cleveland Browns Week 5 Rooting Guide - Jack
MESSAGE BOARD POSTS
ASK THE INSIDERS (VIP)
Veteran perspective on the change to Gabriel?
Whats the vibe in the locker room regarding Gabriel?
Could the Browns sign Mac Jones his offseason?
Can we expect Larvadain to be active?
Gabriel , Puts a little more pressure on Kev ?
49ers vs What we are doing
Packers OL Brant Banks???
Apologize if covered Ford
INSIDER DISCUSSION (VIP)
VIP Game Thread: Minnesota Vikings vs Cleveland Browns in London
THE WATERCOOLER
2025 Cleveland Browns and 2025 Cleveland Guardians
Gruden big win over NFL in court
LiveWire Thread for 103 - Twitter, Video, Articles
THE LIFT
Positive news from the world of sports and beyond...
'Alien: Earth' predicts a transhumanist future, but could we ever digitize human consciousness? We asked the… - (space.com)
Death, like taxes, is an unpleasant aspect of life. I, for one, largely enjoy life, despite its range of challenges and this whole notion of "aging", which I disapprove of. Also, I disapprove of the fact that the tastiest food makes you fat, which seems inherently unfair. I'm going to have to discuss this with someone in charge.
Since we humans, by and large, are not happy about the notion of someday expiring, the sudden loss of life is a scary threat exploited by horror movies such as the "Alien" series. However, the recent Alien: Earth series took that a step further by postulating that human consciousness could be transferred into nearly immortal robot bodies. Its plot was built around the adventures of young children whose consciousnesses were "moved" into synthetic bodies.
For me, the mystery was whether consciousness was actually "moved" or whether it was digitized, ended, and then merely copied to the hybrids. This was never fully answered.
In any event, living forever is the dream of a group of people who call themselves "transhumanists" and today Space.com looks at it from a practical standpoint.
WRAPPING UP
When not looking askance at his old-man waistline, Barry McBride is the Publisher and Founder of the OBR and bloviates this nonsense every morning. You can follow him on Twitter @barrymcbride or write him at barry@theobr.com if you are so compelled.
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