DawgTalkers.net Forums The Archives 2023 NFL Season Looking Back: Browns 13 Steelers 10 Browns Plan To Start DTR

well, here goes nothing

Time to give him his shot. I don't think putting him in against the ravens on short notice was the ideal way to start a rookie.

They must feel a loss is acceptable.

Oh. Watson is out for the seaon. @$%^$#^$%^$%^$%!!@#

I do feel bad for Stefanski. Truthfully he's coached his butt off this year and even when I disagree with some stuff (not running it vs Seattle), he's done a nice job. He keeps being handed issues with injuries (and MAJOR issues at that)

hopefully we get more glimpses of the preseason DTR and not the Baltimore DTR.. I don't really agree with letting him start again against a team known for destroying rookie QB's, I mean come on. He needs a chance for success or you'll ruin him forever

the issue is that Walker is really bad ... turnover machine

Now if we could just get those players that are working in fast food, insurance and sitting on the couch he played against in preseason to be playing on Sunday.....

He did well against some starters in preseason

I'll say one thing. Dude is a damn magician when he's backed against the wall like this. We just beat the Ravens and hung 33 on them with our #4 and 5 OTs.

True, but isn't that DTR's MO coming out of college as well (can be careless with the ball)?

lol yeah, its not good

He never appeared on the field while playing an opponents first string players. It is what it is. People based their glowing opinion of him based on playing against mostly third string players and in clean up time against players fighting to make NFL rosters. Many of which are no longer in the NFL. That's nowhere close to the talent he will be facing in NFL games. I hope for the best but it is what it is. I suggest you check out the success rate of 5th round rookie NFL QB draft picks as a form of reference.

It's not his fault that he's in this position. A project QB forced into battle on the front line. That situation was created by people with a much higher salary than he makes.

It reallyl wasn;t fair to DTR on his previous start vs Baltimore. Little practice, not even knowing he was playing until about 3 hours before teh game. Let;s see how 3 days of reps helps.

I hope for his sake and the team's that he at least manages it weel and keeps TOs down.

No it wasn’t. If nothing else we now know the situation with DW we know who we’re starting and we can plan accordingly. I don’t like what’s happening I’m aggravated over it but we can move on with some certainty. Let’s all hope for the best 🙂

All of our QBs have been terrible about it this year, so it's probably moot. For as well as DW did this past Sunday, he DID throw as many TDs for them as Lamar, and that was like the 4th game this year where our QBs scored for the other team, and in like three of them it was in the 1st Qtr.

If DTR can simply avoid putting points on the board for the other team, he'll be fine.

the one caveat ... there's a pretty good chance we aren't having a game winning drive against a good team from here on out

until this past week, that chance was already the case, so not much has changed.

Where is this narrative coming from?

He threw 88 tds against 36 ints over his college career.

Everyone is pining for Dobbs who was a 4th round pick. In his first preseason he played against guys who are in insurance, grocery baggers, car salesman...you know the same criticism against DTR.

This place is bonkers.

I hear you. I was personally hoping that we started Walker this week and kept the O game plan conservative. Then let DTR cut his teeth in later, knowing he's the guy at the very beginning of game planning for the Broncos. I guess we'll see, though.

Dobbs has NFL experience. Dobbs isn't a fifth round rookie. Dobbs came into Minnesota with five days under his belt with never seeing their playbook before, played quite well leading the Vikings to a win. throwing for 20-30 and 2 td's with no interceptions. After being there for 13 days he led them to another victory throwing for 20-34 with 1 td and no interceptions.


Your comparison is bonkers.

I think you're reading too much into my statement. I was trying to recall what I had read about him when he was drafted. The criticism that he occasionally makes poor decisions with the football is out there, but isn't as consistent across all the different scouting reports.

I was pining for Brissett at the trade deadline, but that time has passed.

Well, let's take about 17% to 24% off the hyperbole and give the full picture: Yes, he did all of that, but it was against the Saints and the Falcons. Neither team is good. The Saints are 5-5, but it's not a good 5-5, and the Falcons just suck. Dobbs was able to step right into that offense because of his time here in this offense. It's essentially the same O. It's a very small sample size against bad to mediocre teams. Let him play a full fiscal month and then revisit things before actually going along with the stuff the media is going gaga over.

Well let's be somewhat realistic. One has years of NFL experience. One is a fifth round rookie. That's fine. Let's give the both a full month and compare. We both know that a fifth round rookie QB pick is a pure project. You may find that diamond in the rough like Purdy. But that's a very rare exception. The odds dictate that given the situation this won't end well. Is it possible? Yes it is. Is it highly unlikely? Yes it is.

at this point, we are hoping that DTR can limit his mistakes to the point that we can win 4 games and squeak into the wildcard playoffs

the 4 games we can win? I'd say we have to split the west coast trip, beat the Bears and Jets ... and then whichever one other game we can steal

Browns -1

Over/Under 33.5

oh, no doubt... if you noticed, I didn't mention DTR or his likelihood of success at all. I was just tempering the lofty picture being painted of Dobbs and what he accomplished. He came in and just managed to manage not screwing it up against weaker competition, that's all.

If DTR can do similar and manage to just manage the game and NOT put points on the board for the other team, for once, then he's gonna be alright. Doesn't mean he'll be good, but it means he won't be killing us, and with our defense, that's good enough.

I don't know about that. If one looks at just the stat lines one may draw that conclusion. But if one actually watched his play in those two games they would draw a totally different conclusion. He created time in the pocket and had great pocket awareness and scrambled well when he needed to. In the game against the Falcons he was the Vikings leading rusher. Rushing 7 times for 66 yards and a TD. Here's a look at some of his highlights from the Saints game...



I think he did quite a bit more than "came in and just managed to manage not screwing it up."

Honestly Peen, putting him up against the Steelers isn't a whole lot better.

Having said that, there isn't a good answer. Maybe getting Colt McCoy would be a good idea..He's still sitting out. Naa,, Never mind... LOL

Why not, right?

Purdy did it. DTR can do it.

We just need to give him favorable conditions and keep him upright.

Any word on our injured OT's?

DTR can't be worse than he was last time ... he was HORRENDOUS last time. He had zero prep time and we couldn't adjust the gameplan at all

I just hope he's more poised and under control

Steelers have a lot of injuries to their D. They lost a starting ILB the week before and his backup last week vs the Packers. And the Steelers still have Matt Canada and Pickett on offense. I think this will be a very close game. I think the Steelers are the worst 6-3 team ever.

The reverse to that statement makes it seem like ammunition for "if we dont make the playoffs" after this year's injuries ALL the criticism is valid.

Stef's been decent, I'm not sure who is better that wants this job (not going to rehash arians & shanahan) ... yes he is getting a bum deal this year doesn't change the fact it is the N(ot) F(or) L(ong)

no one is safe ever

I'm excited for the game and I feel the Browns will win this as a team effort

DTR has to make plays while not turning over the ball

Watsons first pass last week was a pick 6

And it looked bleak from that point

The team never quit and they won

I'm pretty sure they won't quit

On their young Rookie QB who can help win this game

Stefanski has to be comfortable with going three and out. He has to resist the urge to believe DTR can do something complex because the analytics say it's a good idea or he wants to push the ball down the field or he wants to be explosive.

Prioritize winning and they will win.

I’d have to watch the entire games to be sure, but in that highlight clip. He looked every bit as good as Watson has to me. I honestly don’t see a difference and think Dobbs may even be playing better. And that’s not knocking Watson, but the Browns for giving him away. They should have shipped PJ. Meh, hindsight is 20/20. When Dobbs was traded I felt nothing. We had never seen him ball out like that. He’s throwing dart and looks to be at the apex of his game. Good for him, but in light of the cir circumstances, it looks bad on the FO.

So I have to ask all of you a question. If you are Ski and you do start DTR this weekend, do you give him the entire game to figure it out if he gets off to a rough start? Let’s say it’s half time and we are down 6-0, does DTR come back out or PJ?

That all depends on how he look in the first half. Who knows?

Since the announcement of watson being out the line has dropped from browns being favored by 4 to just 1. Wouldn't be surprised if that changes to the Steelers being favored by Sunday

A team with a super bowl caliber defence and a great running game is now putting our championship hopes on a rookie QB. I felt awesome Sunday through Tuesday, then Wednesday happened.

But I’m all in, haven’t given up. Maybe DTR can manage a game enough to to let our run game and defence win games for us? Sigh, what crappy news today.

I have no doubt many browns fans felt the same thing

I've thought about this most of the day. We're all bummed out obviously. But we have to find a way to rally and overcome another big obstacle.

DTR was maybe the worst QB we've ever played back against Baltimore ... and we all know a lot of the reasons that could have added to his poor performance

BUT, he does have athleticism and upside. He has more upside than Walker, who basically won two games by miracle/flags/missed kicks

We have to do our best to play the field position game, run it efficiently, and somehow force 1-2 turnovers in each game.

It can be done

I truly like your spirit. We do have a great D, they’ll need to carry us.

As long as our choices are limited to DTR and PJ, I really don't think it makes a difference. I think if it's clear that continuing to play DTR is going to significantly harm his development, then you pull him out.

I give Ski a lot of credit for last week’s game plan and digging out of the hole. The half time change ups were solid. I think a win this week is on him again. He’s going to have to keep it real simple, dink dunk, get rid of the rock on the quick, rack up lots of clock eating 3 play 1st downs, un-cute fundamental possession ball. That 10 minute drive last week was a thing of beauty. 1/6th of the entire game on 1 drive. They’re DEFINITELY going to be head hunting this week. Going low on runners, going high on receivers, rattling the hell out of the rookie QB, clawing at the ball, that’s the Steelers. We can win. We just have to protect the ball and keep their O off the field. If we lose, I i would bet that turnovers will be key.

I think you stick with him no matter what happens. Treating the QBs like yo-yo's is no way to build continuity or confidence. You have to accept that there are going to be painful stretches and you have to help him get through those.

I leave him in until it seems like it is no longer a positive learning experience. Once it seems like he is no longer learning, then you pull him....

Yea, the only way I pull him is if it’s getting wildly out of hand. Like if he’s thrown 4 ints in a short span or it’s clear he’s completely lost or rattled. But if there’s even a glimmer that he’s ok for now, you leave him. If it’s 6-0 at the half, I’m definitely leaving him in. If it’s 32-0…