LONDON — Rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel prepared Friday for his first NFL start against the Vikings at Gabriel’s Football Pitch, the actual longstanding name of the field at The Grove, where the Browns stayed and practiced.
To Browns players who have worked with Gabriel since he was drafted in the third round out of Oregon in April, it was the perfect name for the field.
“I mean, he just runs the offense like this is his offense and that’s all you can ask for from any quarterback,” said Myles Garrett. “You know, he comes out, smile on his face, chest out, gives a call, and it looks like he’s been doing it for years, the way he manages the offense. So I’m looking forward to doing the same thing on Sunday.”
More Cleveland Browns coverage
One reason Browns fans should feel hopeful despite the team’s 1-3 start
Browns’ defensive line set to feast on Vikings’ battered offensive line
Bulldozers roll as Browns gear up for Brook Park stadium construction (photo gallery)
To a man, Browns players describe Gabriel as calm, poised, confident and at ease.
They’re the same qualities that helped him navigate intense criticism during training camp, including one observer stating publicly that Gabriel shouldn’t be ahead of the ballboys on the depth chart. Others ripped him for his 5-11 height, and some knocked him for being a lefty.
Many national experts expressed shock that Gabriel was ahead of Shedeur Sanders on the depth chart, and Sanders stole the show all over the national media each day even though he was the fifth round and fourth-team quarterback.
National reporters came to town for the Sanders circus, and overlooked Gabriel on a daily basis.
But Gabriel stuck to the process, put his head down and went to work, and prepared for his big moment taking place on Sunday here.
“For me, I’ve always lived by, I’d rather be uninformed than misinformed,” he said after practice Friday. “Everyone has the right to their opinion, and I understand that. But instead of, I don’t necessarily block out the noise. I just choose not to be a part of it. And I think that’s just a singular focus, and emotional regulation of there’s a job to do, and there’s something that you just want to focus on and do it at a high level.
“So that’s what I do. I respect everyone’s opinion, and everyone can say whatever they want. That’s freedom of speech.”
Was he blindsided by the criticism over the summer? Afterall, he’s been a winner everywhere he’s gone, starting an FBS-high 63 games across three programs, and winning 47 of them. He was a Heisman Trophy candidate, and beloved everywhere he went. So how did he become the whipping boy of the Browns four-way quarterback competition?
“You know, it’s been my journey,” said the Hawaii native. “It’s unorthodox. How funny is it that I’m starting here in London? An unorthodox beginning. I’ve just played a lot of ball, been around a lot of different people, lot of different situations. Everything for me is never too high, never too low. Nothing surprises me at this point. There’s a job to be done and I want to do it at the highest level.”
Somehow, Gabriel, who was promoted Wednesday ahead of Joe Flacco, didn’t let it get to him.
“I’ve been through a bunch of competitions at every stop,” he said. “Going back to high school, even into my freshman year at UCF, going into Oklahoma, even at Oregon. I’ve had a bunch of guys I’ve played with that I’m still close to. QB rooms are important to be able to build relationships and feel really good about it, so that’s how I kind of approach and navigate everything.”
Even on Wednesday, the day he was named the starter, Gabriel was upstaged by Sanders conducting his locker room interview in pantomime, mouthing the words with no sound coming out. The performance, in response to Sanders getting ripped mercilessly earlier in the week by Rex Ryan, grabbed all the national headlines just like Sanders, son of Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, did during camp.
Once again, Gabriel passed through it unscathed. He had the Vikings to prepare for and a gameplan to learn.
“I don’t want to speak for anyone, but for me it’s like ‘hey, we’re a team, we do this together as a unit,’” he said. “We can only control what we can control. I don’t want to speak for anyone in particular.”
Even when Gabriel looked uneven at times during camp because he and Kenny Pickett were taking the brunt of the installation, he never veered from the process. But on Friday, he admitted the feeling was different.
“There’s excitement,” he said. “I’d be a liar to tell you there’s not. This is what you live for as a competitor. But I think emotional regulation is so important too. Being able to just say, there’s a job to be done. Do it at a high level. Of course you wake up with some kick in your step and wanting to get everyone going.
“But once you get in that moment and the first ball is snapped, it’s game on so that’s where the extreme focus is.”
He challenged the notion that he’s impervious to criticism or outside noise.
“I am human,” he said. “I’m not a robot. I definitely approach my craft with diligence and respect for my competition. But I love this game. I simplify the complex. I wanna win ballgames and I want to do it with people I enjoy going to work with. I think as you focus on that and focus on the right things, at some point none of that other stuff even matters.”
Even though his first start is coming across the pond, after flying all night on Wednesday, and after the beloved Flacco was benched, he’s finding familiarity in the irregularity of it all.
“For me there’s comfort there, being from Hawaii,” he said. “There’s a lot of reminiscent of when we travel as a team together and we’d have six to eight hour flights to look forward to. Our team prepared us for it, so we’re extremely excited all together and now that we’re here, it’s a lot easier to settle in.”
This post will be updated.
More Cleveland Browns coverage
One reason Browns fans should feel hopeful despite the team’s 1-3 start
Browns’ defensive line set to feast on Vikings’ battered offensive line
Bulldozers roll as Browns gear up for Brook Park stadium construction (photo gallery)
XXXXXXXXXXXXX