CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – As Dorian Thompson-Robinson remains in concussion protocol, all signs point to Joe Flacco starting Sunday.
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8 is not great – Flacco is about to become Kevin Stefanski’s eighth different starting quarterback in the last three seasons. “It is a challenge, obviously,” offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt said. “Fortunate to have Joe (Flacco), who's an established veteran, has been in multiple systems that allows him to easily kind of translate his terms into our terms. There are some crossover terms he's used in different systems, so that definitely helps.” Flacco continues to take all the first team reps at UCLA this week while Thompson-Robinson remains sidelined. “He's an elite arm, there's no question. If you put it on a scale of one to five, I'd say he's a five,” Van Pelt said via Zoom. “His ball flight, his velocity on the ball at every level of the field is very impressive. But guys got excited. He threw some balls against the scout team last week, and guys in the back were kind of fired up.” Flacco, a former Super Bowl MVP and 16-year veteran, was signed on November 20 to the practice squad and he will be elevated for Sunday’s game either as the starter or No. 2 QB. “It's definitely exciting, the idea of it,” Flacco said. “There's a lot of things about being at this point in my life that make it really exciting, even besides just playing the game football. There's so many things that add to it now, having young kids and having - feeling their excitement about it. And when you are away, it puts things in perspective a little bit.” Having to adjust to another quarterback is nothing new for Van Pelt or Stefanski. So what does change when the QB changes offensively? “There are some nuances to some of the routes that we run,” Van Pelt explained. “I think the biggest thing for a new quarterback coming into any place is just having a feel for how each receiver runs each route differently. Some guys might not run. You might have the same route. You might get three different feels as a quarterback based on the individual that's running that route. That's the biggest adjustment, is just getting a feel for how the guys run their routes.”
Feeling Flacco – From Van Pelt, to players, the comfort they have with Flacco isn’t being hidden. “He looks good,” receiver Amari Cooper said. “He throws a very pretty ball. I don't know if it's intentional or what, but when he drops back and he lets it go, the whole motion is like poetry in motion. It looks good.” Left guard Joel Bitonio has seen 18 other quarterbacks take the field as a starter since he was drafted in the second round in 2014 but Flacco has already made quite the impression. “I think he's obviously the most experienced guy we've had,” Bitonio said. “We've had guys come in off the street and have to be a backup or something like that, but he's been in the office before. He had a week. We've done a walk through with him now and he seems like he has to play, calling down and stuff of that nature, so we're feeling good about it. I think he has a lot of experience and if he has to go out there and play, I think he'll be ready to.” Flacco spent last Sunday’s game watching with an earpiece to listen in on the plays as they are called in. Should Flacco start, there’s little doubt he’ll be ready. “Most of the game is played up here,” Cooper said pointing to his head. “And when you've been playing a game for almost 20 years, you have so much knowledge. That knowledge is power and it just makes things easier out there. So the game is going to be very slow to him, 100%. It's just better.”
Cooper returns – Cooper was back at practice Thursday according to multiple reporters covering the team this week at UCLA after undergoing x-rays on his ribs. “I'm feeling better than Sunday, but getting better every day, getting treatment every day,” Cooper told reporters. “We looking to go into Sunday as healthy as I could be.” Cooper was seen wearing padding during his media availability on the right side of his ribs where he got hit trying to catch a pass in the second half of Cleveland’s 29-12 loss at Denver. “I didn't see it. I still haven't seen it now,” Cooper said. “But I mean, he hit me here. Yeah, it's part of the game. It's a reason I love playing the game. Even though I was on the receiving end of know, if it was easy, everybody would do it… I thought it was a clean hit by way of what I felt. I didn't have any problems with it.” Cooper continues to lead the Browns in catches and receiving yardage this season and is approaching his seventh 1,000-yard season, just 235 yards shy, and second straight with the Browns. “Game day Amari, man is special,” Van Pelt said. “He fights through everything to get there. He'll do that again this week, it looks like, but then on game day, he lights up. So toughness is an area that you don't have to worry about with Amari. He's going to be there if he can, and on game day, he's going to be his best self.”
Garrett still out – Defensive end Myles Garrett continues to rest his sore left shoulder but defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz spoke as if he expects the four-time Pro Bowler to play against the Rams. “I think that's something that maybe flies below the radar nationally with him a little bit is his toughness and his ability to play through some injuries,” Schwartz said. “He's going to work really hard to get back, and we'll be prepared for everything and then everything in between. So we'll be prepared. If he's not able to make it, we'll be prepared. If he's able to go and play every single snap in the game, we'll be prepared. If he just has a certain role in the game, he feels a tremendous amount of responsibility to be on the field. He's wired that way. He wants to be out there. And I know this. If there's any chance that he can, he'll be productive once he is.” Even if Garrett might be questionable this week, his teammates have no doubt about his ability to play when he’s less than 100%. “He's like the Incredible Hulk,” safety Grant Delpit said “That dude is different. But any banged up injury, he's taking care of it right now. I don't know if he'll be out there this weekend. I hope he is, but if he's not. If we got to reload, we got a lot of good pass rushers. We have a great D line. These guys know what they're doing. We're going to be all right.”
Week 15 set – The Browns Week 15 game against the Bears, listed as TBD when the schedule was announced, was set Thursday by the NFL. The game will be played Sunday, December 17 at 1 p.m. on FOX.
Injury report – DNP: DE Myles Garrett (shoulder), CB Denzel Ward (shoulder), WR Marquise Goodwin (concussion), QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson (concussion), LB Anthony Walker (hamstring); LIMITED: LG Joel Bitonio (rest/knee), WR Amari Cooper (rest/ribs), C Nick Harris (knee), RB Kareem Hunt (groin), RG Wyatt Teller (calf), S Juan Thornhill (calf); FULL: Geron Christian (finger), DT Jordan Elliott (ankle), CB Michael Ford (ribs), TE David Njoku (rest/knee), DE Ogbo Okoronkwo (groin), LB Sione takitaki (knee)
