When Dorian Thompson-Robinson went back and watched the film from his first start of the 2024 season against the Bengals, he dissected each play as its own and honestly measured himself on each play.
He watched the good and noted the positive elements of the plays. He also watched the bad and searched for how they can correct for Week 17. Through that first start of the 2024 season, he learned something about himself.
“These guys, they have my back,” Thompson-Robinson said. “They were encouraging me not only during the game, but after the game. I think everybody in here sees the potential. And that’s probably the most frustrating thing to me, is that I’m not showing it right now. And so that’s what I’m working towards is trying to be able to put a complete full game out there on Sunday.”
2024 Browns Practice for Week 17 Matchup vs. Dolphins
Check out photos of the team working to prepare for their game this week against the Miami Dolphins at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus
Thompson-Robinson will have the opportunity to do so, as offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey said they are planning for Thompson-Robinson to start Week 17 against the Dolphins – reiterating head coach Kevin Stefanski’s message from earlier in the week.
It will be Thompson-Robinson’s second consecutive start of the 2024 season, and his fifth overall start in his first two seasons with the Browns. In his first start in the 24-6 loss to the Bengals, Thompson-Robinson finished the game completing 20 of 34 passing attempts for 157 yards and two interceptions.
“I think Dorian made a lot of good plays and there was a lot of — you see some of the physical traits,” Dorsey said. “But I think there’s definitely some things we can improve on. We missed a couple things just from a ball placement standpoint that I think we could get better at. And then obviously, some of the turnovers we have to get corrected. And that’s something that we’re going to continue to harp on and emphasize just to make sure we continually focus to get those things corrected.”
One of those areas to correct also comes in the decision to extend plays and dealing with taking sacks. Thompson-Robinson uses his legs to extend plays and can run with the ball, as he totaled nine carries for 49 yards in Week 16. Yet, Thompson-Robinson was also sacked five times for a loss of 32 yards.
From a protection standpoint, Dorsey said it takes all 11 members of the offense on the field, but the quarterback position plays a significant role in the results. The biggest goal is to not put themselves in situations where they have to play behind the chains from taking sacks.
“There’s plays where a guy like him extended some plays and made some big plays with his feet and got out of the pocket and did some good things. So, there’s definitely a balancing act you have to have when you have the physical abilities that Dorian has,” Dorsey said. “The biggest thing for us is to continually focus on, there’s a time and a place to try to extend plays. And worst-case scenario, if we got to throw the ball away, let’s do it and live to fight the next down and not put us behind the chains.”
And Thompson-Robinson recognizes the importance of not only protecting the ball but also avoiding those situations where he takes the sack for a loss of yardage and the Browns have to play from behind the sticks. When he went back and watched the film, Thompson-Robinson noted how he has to step up in the pocket more in Week 17, so that if he is sacked, the loss of yardage isn’t as significant.
He also believes he can correct the interceptions, as they stemmed from his decision-making in the moment and reacting to what the Bengals defense was showing. After watching the film, he noted what he should have done in both scenarios and how he can improve to not put the ball in harm’s way.
