Browns OC Defends Dillon Gabriel amid Criticism, 'Nobody's Gonna Bat a Thousand

Cleveland Browns rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel has had his fair share of struggles this year, but offensive coordinator Tommy Rees came to his defense on Thursday. Rees said Gabriel "grades out pretty high" in terms of being where he needs to be and seeing the right things on the field. "Nobody's gonna bat a thousand. Certainly I don't bat a thousand calling it," he told reporters. "Nobody's going to bat a thousand in really anything they do. But I would say he grades out where we want him." Gabriel, a third-round pick out of Oregon, started the year playing behind Joe Flacco but earned the starting gig in October. In seven games, he's thrown for 869 yards, seven touchdowns and a pair of interceptions. Last week in a loss to the New York Jets, he had 167 passing yards and two touchdowns, managing to avoid any turnovers. Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski confirmed last week that Gabriel would remain the starter over fellow rookie Shedeur Sanders, adding that he wants to give the young player the chance to continue growing. "Obviously this is a young player that you're always trying to get one game better... we have to play better as an offense," he told reporters on Sunday. "We have to coach better, all the above."