CLEVELAND, OHIO (TheOBR.com) - Good morning, Cleveland Browns fans! It's the day after the Browns played the Eagles in pre-season, winning by a meaningless score of 22-13, and there are a ton of recaps of the game available.
Long-time readers of his Massive Morning Missive may have noticed that I no longer provide a long list of links to stories that I discovered on the web early in the morning. I've moved that over to a new-fangled beast called the Cleveland Browns Daily News Ticker, which I publish each morning. The advantage of that "news ticker" is that it allows me to update the latest Browns stories several times a day rather than just in the morning.
This version isn't automated... the stories are hand-picked by me, as I try to avoid out-of-date news, clickbait, and paywalled stories in the list. Check it out to keep track of what the online media is saying about the Browns. Check it out.
THE DAILY BLOVIATION
This website has, over the years, been the site of heated debate about which quarterback will lead the Browns to the promised land. The correct answer so far has been "none of them", but that doesn't stop the ongoing debate given the importance of the QB position in modern football.
Who around here remembers the epic Couch vs. Holcomb debates of the 2000s, or the (still-continuing) drama around whether Baker Mayfield was the answer?
Mostly, though, we've hung onto vain hope that "maybe this guy will be the answer" throughout the years, but, generally, the well-read crowd at the OBR knew that such brief meteors lighting up the sky like Spurgeon Wynn, Colt McCoy, Jason Campbell, or DTR were fools' gold. Such has been the case in the Browns' endless search for quality play and stability at the position. Only in three seasons (2001, 2019, and 2020) has a single player (McCoy and Mayfield, respectively) played every game in a season at quarterback for the Browns.
The 25 years of futility at the quarterback position have been endlessly documented and meme'd, and require no further elaboration for the hardcore fans who frequent the OBR.
However, the debate is resurfacing, this time regarding quarterbacks who will likely be backups in 2025 if things go well for the Browns. (It likely won't.) The heated dialogue about whether Shedeur Sanders or Dillon Gabriel will be the eventual answer is center stage during this preseason. It has infiltrated OBR YouTube chat rooms and our beloved forums.
The OBR instructs our team to "tell the truth as you see it." Still, it meets a rough reception from backers of both quarterbacks, particularly from Shedeur Sanders fans, some of whom react adversely to even the most restrained criticism of their favorite player. The debate is such that taking any stand on the issue will result in harsh feedback. But we can take it. It's fine.
The debate took another step forward yesterday, following Dillon Gabriel's mixed performance in the preseason game against the Eagles. Dillon came out dealing, starting the game exceptionally well and making clutch third-down throws. The generally good performance was marred, however, by two turnovers, one on a questionable pass into traffic and another on a handoff to Pierre Strong.
Dillon Gabriel
Dillon Gabriel (Photo: Getty)
There's a lot to analyze here, including whether the preseason performances by Sanders and Gabriel are even comparable, given that Sanders was facing 2024's worst defense (initially the first-team defense) and Gabriel was facing the best defense (although it was the second-team).
Even pointing out this simple fact, however, can lead one to be accused of making excuses for one player or the other. It's a no-win situation for scribes trying to analyze the volatile issue.
A further challenge to level-headed debate on the subject is clickbaiters who will jump on any news about Sanders, even shoehorning his name into headlines that have nothing to do with him and turning inconsequential comments into inflated issues. Even official NFL accounts ran Gabriel's "competitors and entertainers" jab at the media without proper context. There's a mess of misinformation out there, which will exacerbate the intensity on both sides.
From my perspective, there isn't a real comparison between the two. I suspect, as does Geoff Schwartz, that Gabriel is a player who will be a steady backup and part-time starter for years to come. His ceiling is one I perceive to be similar to Russell Wilson, which isn't bad given Wilson's successful career.
Gabriel is a very smart player who will be able to execute an offense effectively, but is facing longer odds to bring the level of play associated with the "franchise quarterback" moniker. I hope that my sense is off, and that the young man achieves more than my off-hand and only moderately informed webdorkian assessment suggests.
Sanders, however, has an unknown ceiling. It's unknown because his level of competition and offensive line protection at Colorado makes his actual abilities a mystery. Sanders, unlike the safer pick of Gabriel as a quarterback who will steady the room, is more of a lottery ticket. I'm unsure what the upside is due to the issues listed above. His believers are certainly convinced he'll be a franchise quarterback, but I need to see more of him playing with and against high-level NFL players before I think any of us can make a serious assessment. I believe the Browns should play him later in the season to gauge whether they need to draft a QB high in the 2026 draft. I think we have a firmer grasp on who Gabriel is, thanks to his lengthy college career and the challenges he faced at Oregon.
So, if you look at it that way, there's no competition between the two. Gabriel appears to be a very good quarterback with certain limitations, who has the potential for a successful and lucrative career. In contrast, Sanders is more of a gamble, who may or may not become a franchise quarterback. It may turn out that he'll have a ceiling similar to Gabriel's. We don't know at this point.
And that's what makes the 2025 season and pre-season so urgent and involving for Browns fans. We don't honestly know the ceiling on either quarterback, and there's hope that one or the other will be the franchise quarterback the team has been looking for since the last century.
Have a good one! GO BROWNS!
Newswire Bloviation Archive
OBR CONTENT
VIDEO:
DILLON GABRIEL IMPRESSES? The OBR Postgame Show - (youtube.com)
ARTICLES:
Cleveland Browns News Ticker 816 - Barry
Cleveland Browns News and Rumors 8/16: Why I'll Watch Todays Game - Barry
Cleveland Browns Rookie Quarterback Dillon Gabriel to Start Against Eagles - Joe
Quick Takeaways from Browns 22-13 Win over Eagles; Dillon Gabriel Leads 3 Scoring Drives, Defense Shows Up - Fred
Cleveland Browns Snap Counts vs Philadelphia Eagles Quick Takeaways - Jack
FORUM POSTS
Gabriel good to go? (VIP)
Carson not playing (VIP)
Any OBR pre or postgame shows today? (VIP)
LANE-Sanders stuff being a distraction (VIP)
Gabriel rookie qb (VIP)
QB issues (VIP)
D-Hop (VIP)
Mike Hall (VIP)
Judkins (VIP)
BROWNS VS. EAGLES: Vip Game Thread (VIP)
LIVE GAME THREAD: Browns vs. Eagles
I Went To The Future - Record Prediction With A Twist
OT: Wrestling a Grizzly
OT: RIP author Greg Iles
Gabriel has looked as bad as advertised
Should be saying goodbye to the following..........
What player if cut doesn't make it to the PS
Gabriel smack talking Sanders?
OT: How many here used to receive Bernies Insiders in print?
Cheerleaders
For Those Who Wanted Abdul Carter At #2
Dome trouble?
For my 5000th post
1st time to Cleveland
THE LIFT
Positive news from the world of sports and beyond...
These Trees Survived Hiroshima, Group Plants Their Seeds Worldwide to Preserve Their Memory
There's a term "hibakujumoku" in Japan, which relates to trees that survived the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Somehow surviving the devastation in Hiroshima, a eucalyptus tree about a half-mile from the drop site survived and continued to grow.
Since then, 41 countries have planted descendants of these trees (which numbered about 170), as a way of remembering one of the world's most difficult times. There's a UN organization that is dedicated to making the bombings a one-thousand-year memory (read: lesson) for the world to remember about the devastating powers our technology has unleashed. I'm glad they're out there.
WRAPPING UP
*When not putting his neck on the 2025 rookie quarterback guillotine, 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. *
CONTACT Barry to sponsor the OBR. We have plans for nearly any budget!
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