Flacco's statistics have been mediocre in his four starts, completing fifty-eight percent of his passes for 815 yards with two touchdowns and six interceptions.
However, I don't think those numbers are all his fault, as it's not his fault he's been saddled with the worst receiving group in the league, and half of those interceptions weren't Flacco's fault either.
And the offensive line's instability (four different lineups in the four games) hasn't helped a forty-year-old's immobility avoid the pass rush, so the Browns haven't exactly set Flacco up to succeed.
Still, perhaps a more mobile quarterback is a good idea, and Gabriel brings the ability to move around the pocket and along with a reportedly renowned "processing" speed as reported by Cleveland.com's Mary Kay Cabot. Gabriel does make some sense to give a try.
Gabriel completed three of four passes and a touchdown in mop-up time in two games against Baltimore and Detroit.
But, other than the added agility against the rush, I'm not sure how much the Browns are going to gain by this move.
It's the same terrible receivers who just lost a starter for a few weeks (Cedric Tillman due to a hamstring injury) and the same offensive line that will be inserting a starting tackle who wasn't even a Brown when they last played, so I don't see any difference there.
The third-round draftee was thought by most to be overdrafted after a stellar college career that saw stops at Central Florida, Oklahoma, and Oregon, and at 24 (25 in December), Gabriel isn't really a young QB (Gabriel is ten months younger than Jacksonville's Trevor Lawrence, who is in his fifth season) either.
In typical Haslam/Berry/Stefanski fashion, they think they see something that no one else does, and by golly, they are gonna show us!
Every year, some quarterbacks in the draft are undersized and underskilled for the NFL, but were great college quarterbacks who just don't make it. The Browns always seem to choose these players.
I'm not sure I believe in this supposed "Super Power" as a "Master Processor," and considering the people who do believe in Gabriel, I'm even more suspicious.
I'm not Anti-Gabriel or even Pro-Flacco, I question the talent around either player, I question the rush to make this call ( what do you do if Gabriel is bad), and I really question the people making these decisions.
I'll be rooting for Dillon Gabriel just like I root for all of them.
I'm just not optimistic that Cleveland has found their guy.
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