QB Dillon Gabriel (8.27.26)
That had to feel good.
“Coming together and playing good feels good for sure.”
Has it been a frustrating camp for you?
“I don’t think frustrating is the word, I think challenging is. It’s interesting, you know, as somebody who just comes to work every day and tries to put one foot in front of the other, maximize what you get. That’s all I’ve tried to do. I think really going back into spring OTAs and mandatory minicamp, I really flipped the switch for me with Danny Breyer, just looking at how my reps go, and like some days it’ll be three, some days it’ll be eight. Of course you love to count them, but I say that because when I look at the end of the week, it is like 20, 25 reps, and we try to say it’s like half a game. I appreciate Danny, because that mindset helped me. You don’t feel like you have to chase or push in three reps. Maybe that day you’ll get two runs and a throwaway, and you’ve got to sit with that the rest of the day. What really helped was just going into each week saying, ‘Hey, we’ll watch it on Sunday, let’s just stack good reps.’ But at some point, you want to see your hard work come to fruition in a real-life setting, and of course it wasn’t exactly what I wanted the first two preseason games. That’s probably the frustrating part on my end. But then being able to go out today with a bunch of great dudes and make the most of it, maxing the moment, that’s really what it’s all about.”
How about the way Luke Floriea came through for you tonight and you guys had a great connection going on?
“Yeah, I love Luke. I think everyone out there, you know, Malachi (Corley), Gage (Larvadain), Ben (Patterson), who came here a week and a half ago. You’re all competing and trying to maximize the moment, and I appreciate those guys, love them to death. It’s always fun competing. I think when you look at it, everyone coming together when it’s good, it’s usually because everyone helps out, the run game’s going well, the play-action sells the protections well, that gives you time, and receivers are getting open because they have the ability to work. So, it all goes hand in hand, good or bad.
A lot of times you’ll get to the line with 16, 18 seconds.
“I take pride in that. We talk about the four twos. Two seconds getting the call in, trying to be faster on that, two seconds in the huddle, two seconds out, like can we subtract that? Really the four twos, also getting through our cadence. You take pride in that, because then then there’s no stress. You want to eliminate anxiety, like Coach (Todd) Monken always talks about, and that’s what we try to do.”
What do you think the next few days hold for you?
“God knows. I’m just worried about today, and the rest will figure itself out.”
Does it feel uncertain?
“That’s the league for you. But I know what I’m about, and I’ve just got a good head on my shoulders. I take pride in that. You know, I went into this game a certain way, of course, but it is what it is.”
It seems like Todd Monken really has an appreciation for your game, for your approach, for the way you operate the offense. How do you feel that connection has gone with him, and what’s he been able to bring out in you?
“You know, it’s tough, like you kind of understand it as well. There’s obviously a competition going on, and there’s a lot of energy being poured into the two guys, rightfully so. So don’t take that in a negative way at all, it’s a very positive thing, you want to pour into that. Of course, there’s times where you’re not going to get that much coaching. It kind of is what it is. I don’t even know what you call it. You get what you emphasize, so you focus on that. That’s why I go back to Coach Baker, Matt Baker, Danny Breyer, sometimes you’ve got to stay extra to watch your reps, because you can’t always get to them, and that’s really helped me. Even with James Cook, like the walkthroughs in the morning, after practice or throws. I say that because you don’t really get reps enough to make excuses, that’s part of the whole deal. You don’t get reps all week, but you’ve got to stay after and throw it with James Cook and D-Felt (Demetric Felton). That’s just part of the gig. I would just say the people who help around there help you out and make it so you’re best prepared for when your time comes.”
When it is like that and you get a chance to do what you did tonight, do you say like this was your chance to prove something?
“I just treat every opportunity like its own. I’m not going to put pressure on it like this is my one opportunity, I’m just unaffected by whatever it may be. I’m just focused on, of course, maxing the opportunity, but not making it more than what it is. I’m not naive of what this all comes with, but I want to play well and put good s*** on tape.”
What did you think of Taylen (Green) tonight? You’re not getting a lot of reps, but he’s getting even fewer than you.
“That’s what I’m saying, we were laughing about it, we were just telling each other, ‘F*** around and find out.’ We’ve all played a bunch of football, but there’s still timing with guys and all that s***, but we’ll figure it out.”
Where are you better? We can only see so much in practice or games, how has your game developed?
“I went home and fixed a bunch with Coach (Jonathan) Reyes. You hear Hawaii and you probably think I’m just sitting on my a** on the beach, but I really put a lot of work in and that’s all I could do too. I think after last year, you try to learn what you can from those moments, as a rookie, and when you go in early like that, you get thrown in the fire, and you’ve got to figure it out. I think the best thing was I got all that tape looked at things I can improve on, really attack certain routes, and certain things that could help me just to be more consistent. I know there’s throws I can hit, but it’s all about consistency and doing it one more time than the other person. I don’t want to put it on one thing, but in all, I’m more experienced. I know what to expect on a game day, I know how to approach a certain practice. There’s just more comfortability with that and more experience with that, so it just led me to be more comfortable and maximize moments.”
How much do you want to be here? You have so much invested here, last season, this season. How much would you like to see this through here with the Browns?
“In what way, sorry?”
I’m imagining you’re going to be here, but I suppose anything can open over the next…
“Anything can happen. We don’t know. But I’ll say this: I’m right where my feet are, and with maximizing the moment, you just try to stack those. Stack practices and obviously stack games, but you know.”
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