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It's not really "difficult" per se; we've come a long way in simplifying the process. Having an indoor ecosystem the size of a football field definitely has plenty of challenges beyond run-of-the-mill landscaping though. It also requires a very expensive infrastructure to set the stage for what turns into a huge horticulture project.

Beyond the football, you'll need an elaborate plan to protect the grass when hosting other events... which was one of the big selling points of building a dome in the first place.

I believe they grow it outside and roll it in.

We don't need to debate this. The field will be turf field. I either read or heard we just lost our two top guys from the groundskeeping dept. because they were hired away. They saw the handwriting on the wall.

As you stated, maintaining a natural turf field indoors creates problems in both cost and maintaining quality.

We may not have a true starting QB on this team but DG is looking like he might be the best option. It shows what a mess our QB room is in.

Its only a matter of money. With good lighting and irrigation it would be like a gigantic grow lab with end zones. But that would be a lot of money. And I would venture to say it would limit the facility's ability to host events other than Browns Football. So let's just say it would take a mountain of cash.

I will always believe that a grass surface is superior. My little podunk university has a facilities department that is weighing the cost/benefit of those surfaces right now. Grass is more expensive over the life span of a turf installation. Add to that the cost of grow lighting, irrigation, mowing, staff to monitor the turf for condition/disease/damage, and it would probably make the Watson deal look like financing a used Kia.

Monken knows offense. He's had good QBs in the past so he knows one when he sees one. None of these guys have any ego or sentimental value to him because they are leftovers from the previous ruling junta. We may very well be looking at a situation where we are deciding on who gets to be the backup for 27. Should I just start drinking now and beat the rush once the season starts?

I'd love to see Sanders just all of a sudden come to life and be The QB. The media attention, the ad revenue, the cost savings in the upcoming draft; that would be a dream come true.

Someone has to play QB. Looks to me like it is a race to the bottom with our current lineup.

Maybe we can get Mel Kiper as a QB consultant for Shedeur. He can tell us if we’re doing anything wrong and correct us since he thinks Shedeur has such potential.

Along the same lines....

I have to assume that part of the pitch for getting a new stadium is being able to utilize it for other events year-round. Turf mitigates the risk of a busy stadium schedule. Look at Pittsburgh and how their field would turn to slop at certain points during the season.

For the record: both Arizona and Vegas keep their turf outdoors. Both have more real estate at the site than we do, and both have much more favorable weather. I'm not sure about the science involved with dealing with harsh weather when your field is on wheels, but I would think there would be a lot more curve balls and expense in our harsh climate.

I don't want you dawgs to worry about our field. Jimmy will top that slab with the best damned turf known to man.

And J-Dubs will make a vid bouncing his kids off of it to prove it.

I'm with you 100%. The idea of playing in a dome on AT makes me physically nauseous.

And in the Top 14... the entire 2018 draft class (minus the bust-Josh Rosen)

Baker and Darnold tied at 14. Boy, what I wouldn't give to look Bake in the eyes and sing... "Here I am, stuck in the middle with you" lol

Could you imagine? Having a middle of the road QB again?! 🤣

Concentration, quick twitch muscles, and hand/eye coordination all have to fire at a different level to complete catches like this.

Oh man if Stefanskis Super Computer is getting reps...thats not a good sign at all.
Andrew Berry 7 years in , despite all his ineptness at trying solve
The QB room ...still has a job . Its so laughable. This team is headed toward another 4th place finish
And Haslam keeps on cashing all those season ticket holders checks .
This is worst QB room Monken has had to work with in his coaching career.
He has to take a Swansons TV dinner and turn into Cracker Barrell.
Good luck .

Honestly - meh - I don't think a single poster on this board didn't believe we have the worst QB room in the NFL based on everything we have seen from them so far. The only (faint) hope is one of the rookies from last year steps forward and takes a quantum leap forward and gets to as close as possible to 'average'.

I agree. Pre-season positional rankings come from past performance. Watson has not played football since 2024, and he was not very good then. He has not been good since 2020. Sanders and Gabriel overall played poorly last season in limited action as rookies. Green is a 6th round draft pick. I would expect our QB room to be ranked dead last or very close to it pre-season. Pre-season rankings are a reflection of past performances it does not mean the QB's will be doomed to stay bottom of the rankings. They might. If Watson or Sanders do not improve these rankings will be spot on. Performance changes rankings I would suspect Sam Darnold would have been pretty low before the 2024 season in Minnesota. Probably down where Watson and Sanders are ranked now.

This got a big chuckle from me. Spot on.

I hope Judkins is ready for a full workload. I think we are going to run the ball a LOT.

I really want to thank you guys for sending me down this Rabbit Hole of Knowledge. Instead of obsessing over whether the Browns get it right this year, I've been studying the money pit of big time sports turf maintenance. Wow. What a money pit.

I have a friend who got the contract to do the grading and "dirt work" for the last turf job at Ohio Stadium. I thought he was yanking my chain on the cost of the project. Now I think he was just being modest.

In northern Ohio I could see rolling grass in at the beginning of a season and then using the stadium exclusively for football for the duration. That would still free up the venue the rest of the year. I don't know exactly where they would have their sod farm but if it was a once a year project it could be done. Management could just hit the easy button and order turf and not have to deal with that. Doing it multiple times during the season would put you at the mercy of the weather and we all know how merciless that can be at times.

My friend is driving around the West right now getting on his inner Lewis and Clark but when he gets back I'm going to have questions. Thanks for keeping me off the cliff during training camp. I might make it until mid-season before despair set in this year! That would be a major milestone.

I certainly won't speak for everyone but I believe those being realistic see it that way. I mean it's possible to convince yourself of anything you have already decided you want to believe. And being a poster on Dawg Talk/Dawgtalkers combined since 2019 I've seen that quite often. I have fallen prey to it myself mainly in the earlier days of the teams return so I get it. But at the end of the day it is what it is.

It's pretty crazy, Jeep. Glad to keep your mind off the (seemingly annual) impending nosedive. 🤣

It's funny, you touched on something that I thought about when I went down the rabbit hole... wouldn't it be easiest to just wheel in new turf every season rather than try to micromanage the turf for the entire calendar year? Donate it to a playground when you're done and start over the next year lol.

I get that. I do think that would be the ideal solution if it were strictly a "football stadium". I'm pretty sure most Browns fans alone would agree with.

But that's not what this is. It's a multi-purpose dome designed and built to be a venue for multiple uses. Everything from concerts to rodeos, to monster trucks and more. As much as we may not like the idea of a turf surface I do believe that an artificial turf field is far more practical for those in charge of building the stadium for the long haul and its many intended uses.

I feel like I'm becoming the de facto cheerleader for Gabriel, which I don't mean to be, but... folks, just take a moment to remember what he did in a single season with Oregon in 2024:


2024 Season Stats & Accomplishments
Completion Rate: 72.9%
Passing Yards: 3,857 yards
Touchdowns: 30 passing touchdowns (breaking the all-time FBS career record with 155 total career touchdown passes)
Postseason: Named Big Ten MVP and led Oregon through a historic inaugural conference run.
Beat Ohio State 32-31 in the regular season before the Ohio State defense turned the tables in the playoffs.

Give him a line and WRs and that is what he can bring to the position.

Not to be overly-dramatic, but this appears to be happening so far. Let's be honest, all FOUR quarterbacks are likely to play this season. It's the Browns, and our QB room is just that bad. We were bad last year, and all we did was swap Flacco for Green.

This is not conclusive evidence he will get a chance to be or be the starter, but it does seem to indicate the door isn't closed. I'm not sure at this point Gabriel isn't in contention to be the starter as things are certainly taking an unexpected, by some, development..................

Browns QBs: What could lead Dillon Gabriel back to challenge Sanders, Watson

Dillon Gabriel’s play in Browns training camp is making it difficult to ignore his case to start this season

The biggest storyline entering this season’s training camp was whether Shedeur Sanders or Deshaun Watson would earn the starting quarterback job for Week 1. Unexpectedly, Dillon Gabriel’s name has already started to generate some buzz early in camp and has shifted the conversation slightly. Head coach Todd Monken mentioned to the media that if Gabriel continues to stack good days, he will get more reps. Early reports are showing impressive development from Gabriel.

On the other hand, both Watson and Sanders have received significant criticism for their performances in camp thus far. It’s still too early to draw any conclusions, and plenty can change, but Gabriel’s emergence as a contender is an unexpected development.

At the end of the day, the coaching staff needs to start whoever gives the team the best chance to win. If that ends up being Gabriel based on the product he is putting out on the field day after day in training camp, then the team should start him. Ultimately, if he wins that job, it will mean that he truly proved he deserves to be there.

https://www.dawgsbynature.com/cleve...gabriel-back-to-challenge-sanders-watson

I don't know, Bone. It's starting to look like a three-headed monster.

I thought about that yesterday then immediately thought "wow, I wonder what this poop show looks like to rookie Taylen Green??"


I so wish SNL would do a skit "inside the Browns QB room"... it would be priceless. 🤣

Deshaun getting disgusted, Shedeur still non-stop joking and trying to be everyone's friend. Dillon trying to undercover answer all of his girlfriend's non-stop tweets. "Yes, babe... I'm getting first team reps today!" Taylen texting his agent "Is there any way to get out of here? Can I fake a mental breakdown??"