The Cleveland Browns are currently in Philadelphia conducting joint practices and preparing for their second official preseason game on Saturday. Though there\u2019s always going to be a lot of different areas to focus on in preseason matchups, there are three specific things that stand out heading into the weekend.<\/p>\n
Can Dillon Gabriel push the ball downfield?<\/p>\n
First off, it looks like Gabriel will be getting the start this weekend if his hamstring allows it.<\/p>\n
We all know he\u2019s effective and fairly efficient at the quick-game stuff, but he has to be able to consistently make downfield throws in Kevin Stefanski\u2019s offense. Those deep play-action \u201chole\u201d shots are vital to Cleveland\u2019s offense, both as a chunk-yardage option and to keep defenses honest. He\u2019s been kind of inconsistent in that area throughout the summer, and Saturday\u2019s game will be his first test to do it in a live game setting. Gabriel certainly has enough arm strength to do it, but he needs to show a little more touch out there.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m also extremely interested to see how he moves in the pocket and if he\u2019ll be able to extend plays like Shedeur Sanders did last weekend.<\/p>\n
How Cleveland\u2019s DL performs against Philly\u2019s talented OL<\/p>\n
Yes, Cleveland\u2019s defensive line won\u2019t see the Eagles\u2019 top guys for the entire game, but Philadelphia\u2019s offensive line is much better than Carolina\u2019s. The Browns\u2019 defense dominated the Eagles\u2019 offense in joint practices yesterday, and hopefully that carries over into the game on Saturday against a step up in competition.<\/p>\n
Dylan Sampson\u2019s overall workload<\/p>\n