CLEVELAND, OHIO (TheOBR.com) - Good morning, Cleveland Browns fans! It's Gameday! That means I'll be spending most of the afternoon in the Insider Game Thread, either celebrating or commiserating with the OBR's VIP supporters. Please join me if you can, and we'll try to pull this one over the finish line.
THE DAILY BLOVIATION
I AGREE WITHTHIS FORUM POST: Forum user BrownsNotes is skeptical about the current Browns regime, but offers that "Sunday is a huge game for Kevin and his hand-picked guy." I completely agree.
Dillon Gabriel now has three games under his belt and started to get a little rhythm against the Dolphins, but still dinked-and-dunked his way to just 116 passing yards. I saw enough of Gabriel in college to know that he's capable of more than that, and it's time to show it against a Patriots pass defense that isn't as resilient as Mike Vrabel would want.
I'm willing to give Gabriel his first three games to adjust, particularly under these circumstances, but the offensive line should be settling down a bit with Conklin back and an experienced left tackle in place. I can't say that the receivers will get any more separation, but Gabriel has had a month to get reps with them and needs to find some connection with his top receivers. With the weather supposed to be something other than last week's monsoon, now is the time for Gabriel to firmly grasp the starting job. Otherwise, the calls to "see what we've got" in Shedeur Sanders will get louder and louder.
Dillon Gabriel
Go for it, Dillon (Photo: Getty)
JIMMY HASLAM HOLDS THE LINE: Jimmy Haslam effectively negated the clickbaiters and aggregators infesting the Browns mediaphere yesterday, as he stated that he wanted to see a bit more of Gabriel to get a feel for what the QB is capable of. Hopefully, this will muzzle the radio shows and other profiteers trying to build controversy out of Gabriel's mixed performance to date, at least for a day or so.
But Haslam did more than talk to friendly journos from NFL.com yesterday; he also made some remarks to Diana Russini of The Athletic. Haslam's comments to Russini again back up what we've been saying in Ask the Insiders and Rumor Central about Kevin Stefanski's job security. Haslam had this to say, per Russini:
"Kevin's done a really good job with us, and we've had some tough breaks," Haslam said, referencing the megadeal that brought Deshaun Watson to Cleveland. "… A big trade we made didn't work out, and you know, we're all suffering from that. Kevin, I thought, really did a great job of rallying the troops last week at a really critical time. You find out about leaders when things are bad, not when they're good, and he did a good job last week."
Again, Stefanski seems safe as he and GM Andrew Berry get a mulligan for their disastrous 2022 trade for Deshaun Watson.
Again, however, today's game against the Patriots and beloved old friend Mike Vrabel is crucial as a Patriots blowout will quickly erase Haslam's vote of confidence in the team's head coach. If the season spirals downward and shows that the Miami win was a fluke against a disheartened squad, it's Haslam who will start being the target of the hot-take vitriol for his support of the team's brain trust. That could alter the situation.
CBS HAS NO FAITH: While CBS Sports happily runs my idiotic bloviations on why the Browns stand a chance on Sunday, it's clear that they don't actually read them (who, after all, would other than you maniacs?) This becomes clear when reading their prediction on today's game, which pegs the Patriots to beat the spread and overwhelm the Browns' offense (they call it a "mismatch").
Clearly, they're not reading the suggestions from their man in the field. We'll see who's right, eh, big brother? I'm gonna tweak you hard if I'm right and you're wrong. Look at me, Mr. Rebellious here! That's right, I'm calling you out, CBS Sports.
There. That'll teach 'em.
Have a good one! GO BROWNS!
Newswire Bloviation Archive
OBR GOODIES FROM YESTERDAY
ARTICLES
OBR Roundtable: Browns - Patriots Predictions - Barry
Predicting The Cleveland Browns Inactives : New England Patriots - Jack
Instant Bloviation: Browns Owner Jimmy Haslam Wants to See More of Dillon Gabriel - Barry
Cleveland Browns News and Rumors 10/25: Wandering Aimlessly in the Dark - Barry
Cleveland Browns: 3 Key Matchups to Watch Against New England Patriots - Sam
ASK THE INSIDERS (VIP)
Jags - Its Travis Hunter isnt it?
Brian Thomas
Lane, gotta be Brian Thomas, no?
Another O line question (Jack)
THE WATERCOOLER
Now Time for DG n KS
OT: What was #1 for SC doing vs Bama?
NFL Week #8 The Other Games: nyj@cin chi@bal ten@ind SNF GB@Pit
OT - Penny stocks
Jimmy Johnson, Maye, Daniels, Gabriel, Sanders & first round pic
Dianna Russini Shares Haslam Comment on Stefanski
NEOtrans Report on Use of $100 Million from HSG
Browns Elevate Kamara and Zappe: Sanders has Back Issues
Rapp Ranks Top 10 from 2024 Draft
OT - College Ball Week 9
Browns Dead Last in Pass Protection
THE LIFT
Positive news from the world of sports and beyond...
95-Year-Old Man Starts Taylor Swift Fan Club in Retirement Home and Draws Nationwide Swiftie Support - (goodnewsnetwork.org)
I wanna still love music when I'm 95, assuming I make it that far. Maybe not Taylor Swift, or Taylor Swift-like musicians, but I want to keep my musically rebellious act going until the nurses give me the really, really good medications. Man, that's thirty years away.
WRAPPING UP
When not digging in an old box for his Dead Kennedys CDs, 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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