Offensive Coordinator Tommy Rees (10.16.25)
Tommy, what did you think about Dillon (Gabriel) in his second start. Did you feel like he was as accurate as he had been in that first game?
“Yeah, I thought there were some really positive plays, maneuvering the pocket, being tough in the pocket. Like walked out of that game, seeing Dillon’s toughness really show through. Like we got into a tough circumstance there, when you play that team, get behind, don’t want to make it a one-dimensional game. It’s a tough spot to put a young quarterback in. I thought he hung in there, delivered the ball. Were there misses? Sure. You know, I think pressure obviously can contribute to some of those things. You know, we had a couple opportunities there, we had a couple balls that we just didn’t connect on. You know, I’m thinking of the one there late in the third quarter to Harold (Fannin Jr.) and you know, then we missed one with Jerry (Jeudy) on an extended play. So just, you know, we want to make sure that we’re putting them in those positions to continue get that work during the week. But all in all, you know, battled tough circumstances as the game went on. But mentally I thought he was in the right place for the majority of the game and did a nice job in a tough environment of communicating to our guys. So, you know, week to week with a rookie quarterback, you’re going to build upon what you do and what you ask of him. So going to keep trending the right direction with how we approach the week with Dillon.”
Obviously, you’re hoping to have David (Njoku) this week and we don’t know the answer to that yet. How important is he to kind of everything that you do in all aspects of your offense?
“Dave’s a critical part of the offense. You know, we trust and believe in those other guys too to come in and fill roles and you know, as you look at it, you got to be creative with when you have somebody out or somebody not being able to practice and all those things on how you approach the week. So, you know, Dave’s working hard to get right and to get himself in position to have an opportunity to play. And you know, he’s played this game for a long time. He’s been in this offense for a long time. So mentally he’s in the right place. So just got to continue to have him, you know, work through it and see where he is come Sunday.”
Is it difficult to stick with the run when it isn’t going well in the beginning? I’m talking about before the fourth quarter.
“Yeah, I think our run plan, we felt confident about going into the game. They have a good front. You know, the game takes so many turns throughout series, whether you’re getting behind the sticks or the circumstances of the game. So, certainly we had run the ball pretty effectively for a couple weeks and it’s something that we want to make sure that we’re always giving ourselves a chance to do. You know, Q (Quinshon Judkins) had a couple really efficient weeks running it. Our line was blocking well, our tight ends were doing a nice job, receivers competing in the game. So, look to make sure that we always have the ability to run the game, run the ball for all four quarters and staying in the game is part of that critically as well.”
How do you guard against pressing too much? How do you guard against guys that are pressing trying to force too much.
“Yeah, you know, you want the game to come to you a little bit. You also want guys to go out there with an aggressive mindset that they’re going to take the game. So, there is a balance there. You know, I think when you have a good week of prep, when you feel confident in what you’re being asked to do, when you feel confident in what the coaches are providing you, you can go out there and play free, and you don’t really feel like pressing. I think, look, the situation we’re in, the record we’re in, the way we’re playing on offense, you know, it’s probably natural to feel that way. To fight that, you just lean back into the process, lean back into the things that you did during the week to give yourself success on Sunday. And we got to keep our guys in that mentality throughout the week, and then on game day.”
Going back to Dillon, when he faces as much pressure as we saw on Sunday – he’s hit 16 times. How difficult is it to evaluate his performance, especially a young quarterback rookie performance when that’s kind of the case?
“Yeah, I mean, I think there are a lot of positives to draw from it. You know, we had a 22-yard completion called back where he did a great job in the pocket of extending the play in the pocket, found Jerry and we called for a pre-snap penalty there. You know, the extended play to Harold, extended play to Jerry, you know, like there are some movement things there that I think are really efficient and you see him keeping his eyes down the field and not seeing the rush. Like he was hit, but I never felt like he was, you know, feeling the rush and it got him off schedule, out of his plan. So, when you look at that and you evaluate his ability to maneuver in the pocket, keep his eyes downfield, still play within his progressions through some pressure, to me, those are all things that you draw on as positive and you want to build off of. And ultimately knowing there’s a lot of different things you need to do to protect better. Whether it’s the offensive line, the tight ends getting open, playing on time as the quarterback, like sacks, pressures, hits. That is not an offensive line stat. That is not a sole offensive line stat. When you look at the issues we had, it goes everywhere from the quarterback to the wideouts and everyone in between, participate in it. So, like, as an offense, holistically, we have to get that corrected.”
So, Tommy, I mean, looking at some of the drops among the pass catchers, especially on Sunday. Jerry on Sunday talked about sometimes feeling like when you guys don’t have a lead, guys pressing to try to make a play before they’ve actually caught the ball, I guess. Are you seeing that in the film?
“Yeah, we try to focus on the fundamental parts. Like, there are fundamental things. I think when you look at the drops that show up consistently across guys sometimes, you know, certain guys have tendencies when they’re trying to catch ball in traffic or trying to catch a ball on the sideline that show up. And our job as coaches is to coach those fundamentals and make sure we get those balls.”
Is the fact that Dillon does have that mobility in his game, especially with you guys having some tackle issues right now and trying to get those positions stabilized as much as possible. Is it critical to have the keepers, the boots, the movement that he can do?
“Yeah, week to week, we definitely evaluate how teams play those. And, you know, it’s part of our offensive identity. It’s part of what we have at our arsenal. And Dillon’s mobility, certainly getting him on the perimeter, getting him in the clear site, those things all help. And being able to pick and choose our spots to use them.”
Tommy, when you look at Miami’s defense, the pressure they’ve been able to put on the other team, what are you seeing in that, especially with Dillion stepping into this game?
“Yeah, they have two great – really three guys on the edges that do a nice job rushing at a really high level. (Zach) Sieler inside is a really good three tech rusher, interior guy that can win on guards and centers. He can bump out over a tackle. 30 (Alec Ingold) in the back is a very good blitzer, matchup for the back. So, they’re an aggressive defense. They pressure a good chunk of time. They do a good job in their different packages. On third down and then they have personnel that can win one on one situations. So, you know, every week you go against teams, and you know there’s a reason why those guys are drafted so high. It’s that important. So, every week we gotta have a plan to help our guys and to make sure that we can neutralize some of the rush patterns that we see.”
So, when you’re doing the the game plan on Tuesday when it was a beautiful day, but you know, Sunday’s not going to be with the forecast. So how does that affect your Tuesday game planning?
“Yeah, you definitely plan for it. To go into all the specifics probably wouldn’t be an advantage for us, but you definitely plan for it and account for it. You know, you put the ball security part at a premium. You look at maybe certain things that you might need more of or less of based on the plan. Weather’s part of the game and shoot, you saw it Monday night at the end of that game, weather playing a factor there. So, there’s certainly drills and things you do to work that with your players and then there’s planning that goes into it to make sure that you have enough of certain things.”
Going back to David, obviously you were with him last year. How have you seen his role change or evolve in the last couple of seasons and maybe with the addition of Harold as well?
“Yeah, well, I would say first and foremost, Dave is a guy that we look to as a leader. You know, he’s been great with Harold, very supportive of Harold and Harold’s role and how he’s growing. You know, I think the good thing about Dave and the special thing about Dave as a player is he is one of the tight ends that can do both, right? Like he can line up as a wide, be efficient at the line of scrimmage, he can win in the pass game and make plays there. So, you know, he has the ability to be on the field a lot because there’s not a ton going on that he can’t do physically. You know, mentally he’s really sharp. So, you know, learning the system and picking things up comes pretty natural for him. So, in that case, like, Dave’s a guy, that’s not a dying breed, but there’s not a lot of tight ends that you keep on the field to do everything. The great thing about Harold is, to get Dave at his very best, you know, you take a couple reps off of him and Harold can spot those things and continue to work towards that. But that working relationship has been really positive.”
There were some passes from Dillon that were just flat off target. So how correctable is that?
“Yeah, I mean, I think we just, again, like I said earlier, when we look at issues like that, we try to home in on the fundamentals and making sure that when we do miss or when we have issues, show up that we’re correcting those things and continue drilling during the week.”
And just to the follow up on that the pass that hit (Isaiah) Bond in the head, what, did he just not get, turn around and look for the ball or…?
“Yeah, it’s just a miscommunication there at the goal line.”
And then Dylan Sampson, what do you think the upside is for him? It looks like he showed a few things. I mean, do you think there’s more to be had there from him, like in the short passing game and stuff like that?
“Yeah, Dylan’s done a really nice job. You know, obviously when Q was out, he stepped into a role and did really well for us in that. Q is a like – being around the kid you see his love for football, he picks up things at a really high rate for a rookie. So, there’s a lot that you can trust in Samp and getting his ability to help this offense. And I think as the season goes on, you’ll see his comfort and ability to help continue to grow. And, you know, a lot of the best offenses across the league have a couple backs that can be out there and play at a high level. So, we certainly think highly of Samp and excited to see kind of where his trajectory goes.”
The wind is blowing like 50 (mph) on Sunday. How does that affect a quarterback’s decision making?
“Yeah, I mean, you gotta spin it in the wind. Dillon does that pretty well. Throws a pretty tight ball. Obviously, you got to play on time, you know, some balls that maybe get away with late, but if you’re playing on time, playing on rhythm, hopefully you’re pretty efficient still. And then there’s probably some things, if the wind’s really blowing, and you’re going into it, maybe you’re waiting until the field flips, but try not to focus too much on the exterior factors there.”
# # #
***Visit the Browns Media Center for materials provided by the Browns communications department, including media schedules, press releases, quotes, photos, media guides, rosters, depth charts and more.***