Mid-week thoughts

Unless Dorian Thompson-Robinson makes a miraculous recovery from the savage hit he took in the latter stages of Sunday's loss in Denver, it'll be Joe Flacco in charge of the Cleveland huddle Sunday against the Rams in Los Angeles.

Considering the alternative, that's not bad at all. In fact, it most likely will give the staggering Browns offense the emotional and physiological boost it desperately needs at this point in the schedule that almost demands a victory.

A 38-year-old Joe Flacco gives the Browns a much better chance of knocking off the Rams than P. J. Walker, whose National Football League résumé is pockmarked with much more failure than success. 

Makes no difference that he hasn't started a game since week 18 last season with the New York Jets. Flacco's experience alone in big games like this makes him the ideal candidate to start. And while they won't publicly admit it, players on that side of the ball would much rather see him than Walker. 

Flacco has been with the Browns for only 10 days. He went from street free agent to the practice squad to the main roster in the blink of an eye. How effective can he be in such a short period of time? Isn't offensive football all about timing and rhythm? How do you achieve that so quickly?

After 15 seasons of running successful offenses and knowing what it takes to play on this level, Flacco will not play like a neophyte once he gets used to the speed of the game. Head coach Kevin Stefanski, mentoring his fourth quarterback this season, seems to think so, too.

"No difference than a lot of the pros you bring in," he said, "whether it's a lineman or a quarterback or a defensive back. You spend a lot of time in the meeting rooms, you spend a lot of time with your coaches to get ramped up. Joe's done a nice job."

But preparing a quarterback this quickly entails much more preparation because of complexities of the position. Stefanski compared what Flacco is going through with new offensive left tackle Geron Christian, who stepped in for injured starter Jedrick Wills Jr. a couple of games ago and has played well.

Stefanski is smart enough to know that's not quite true. The amount of responsibilities for an offensive tackle are not even close to those of a quarterback, on whom the entire side of the ball relies. All he's expected to do is block for the run and protect the quarterback when pass plays are called.

There's much more sophistication to quarterbacking, like making correct line calls for pass protection,  changing the play at the line of scrimmage depending on what he initially sees in defensive alignments and making certain everyone in the backfield is lined up correctly.

We'll know soon enough, assuming Flacco starts, how quickly he has nailed down the timing with his new receivers because Stefanski lately has placed greater emphasis on the passing game. In other words, early passes. What we won't see is him scrambling in the event of strong pass coverage.

At 6-6 and 240 pounds with 38-year-old legs, his scrambling days are long gone. It's entirely possible Stefanski will incorporate a lot of quick-developing throws early just to get him into game rhythm before turning him loose on deeper routes.

A bonus lies in waiting: A victory would achieve a milestone of sorts for Flacco, who brings a career record of 99-81 into this one, 96 coming during 11 seasons in Baltimore. 

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Myles Garrett is listed as questionable for the Rams game with a banged-up left shoulder. The 
All-Pro defensive end says he will play Sunday. Stefanski and defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz praise him for his dedication to the cause, but will let him decide on whether to play. It probably will be a game-time decision.

It's obvious the Browns would love to see No. 95 suit up, but sometimes caution is the best medicine considering his importance to the overall defense. He owns 13 of the club's 33 sacks this season. Next on the list is Ogbo Okoronkwo with 3.5 and Dalvin Tomlinson with three.

No one knows for certain how badly Garrett injured his left shoulder is. An MRI reportedly revealed no structural damage. Only soreness in the affected area. He said he heard a pop late in the Denver loss. I'm not a doctor, but that is not something to ignore, especially playing a game professional football. Unless, that is, it's of the touch variety.

There is a worst-case scenario in the event Garrett chooses to put on the pads. He plays so hard and generally draws at least double teams, the odds he escapes with nothing more than even more soreness mounts is not worth the gamble. 

It's better (wiser?) to miss Sunday's game and theoretically be in better (relatively speaking) shape than he is now for the stretch run in the final five games than land on injured reserve and significantly weaken what would be left of the pass rush.

That's two fine lines the Browns, who have encountered more misfortune to this point than most NFL teams do in an entire season, will have to negotiate carefully the rest of the way. They have pushed the next-man-up mantra to its limits, but are still in the playoff picture at 7-4.

There's something to be said for that.