00:00Titus Howard was introduced to the media today
00:03and talked about one of the people he met in Berea.
00:07I met Shadrude when I came in last week.
00:09He's a great kid, and he has a lot of confidence.
00:13I like that. I like that as a quarterback.
00:15He definitely has the pedigree. He has all the talent in the world.
00:19I'm a big fan.
00:21He actually went to Jackson State,
00:23which was in the same division as Alabama State,
00:26where I went to college, so I've been following him
00:28ever since he was there.
00:29I know that he has all the tools to be a really good quarterback
00:34in this league, and he's shown that he can be a great leader also.
00:38I'm excited to work with him.
00:40I'm excited to get to know him a little bit more,
00:43and I'm looking forward to blocking for him.
00:46I know Shadrude can be a great player in this league.
00:49It seems like we remember the Todd Munkin introductory video,
00:53day one, he meets with Shadrude there.
00:55It does seem like Shadrude has been all over Berea this offseason.
00:59I mean, I do like this.
01:00I like the idea that he's at least acting like he's the starting quarterback.
01:03Yeah, like that is kind of, well, okay.
01:05As long as he's putting all the other stuff with it,
01:07beyond just being in the building,
01:09which, again, it would be really weird if he was spending all this time
01:12in the building and then not putting the work in.
01:14What do people think he's doing?
01:16Is he just like staring at the wall while he's in this building?
01:18I mean, I think one criticism of Shadrude is that he is optics first
01:22and then substance later.
01:23It's not something you and I think, but that is one of the ideas out there.
01:27But to people like that, though,
01:29do you think that Shadrude knew that Titus Howard was going to say this
01:33on a Zoom call?
01:33Well, if you were that optically inclined,
01:36could you find out when players were coming in and be there that specific day?
01:41Just so that they would say it on a Zoom call a week later?
01:43Yeah, well, just on the idea that it's going to build idea of the optics
01:47of the situation.
01:48I mean, that is putting in an incredibly large amount of work
01:51to try to make the optics all work in his favor there.
01:54But even if that was something he was doing, all right, whatever,
01:57you're still accomplishing the goal,
01:58and the goal is to almost present yourself as the leader of this football team.
02:02Now, it's a bold play considering he is not the starting quarterback
02:05for week one, and if he doesn't become the starting quarterback
02:08for week one, I don't know, what's the worst that happens?
02:10He at least acted like he was for a couple months?
02:12It's not a bad deal.
02:13Yeah, I mean, he's the default starter week one
02:15until there's another quarterback in that room
02:18where we can pit them against each other.
02:20Yeah.
02:20Because I do think, and I think Zach Jackson's been all over this,
02:24I think Jason's been all over this,
02:26there's no way that Deshaun can see the field again.
02:31There are certain people who think that there's an upside to that.
02:34I'm not one of them.
02:35I don't think you're one of them.
02:36So I would be shocked if they didn't add at least one other quarterback
02:40to that quarterback room.
02:41But even if they take Carson back, yeah, I'm going to choose Shador
02:46as the presumptive week one starter over a third or fourth round rookie
02:50until that fourth round rookie or third or fourth round rookie overtakes him.
02:54Yeah, and I think Shador understands the politicking of all this.
02:56It's not the worst thing in the world to have guys like you
02:59and have guys on your side.
03:00There's a reason when they did that rookie pick very early on in camp,
03:04everyone, minus Dylan Gabriel, was putting up the wrist up.
03:07You know, like something that Shador has that I do think is a unique trait
03:12is he just gets guys around him to buy into what he's doing.
03:15And again, maybe we're just taking a couple photos and taking it too far.
03:19Maybe that reality isn't entirely true,
03:21but Titus Howard seems like he wants to go to battle with him.
03:23Yeah, I mean, it just makes sense right now.
03:26Like Deshaun doesn't feel like a real factor.
03:30Dylan Gabriel is the least talked about quarterback in that quarterback room.
03:33Oh, I can't find the guy.
03:34So it, well, it's got to look below the counter.
03:38Oh, I'm too tall.
03:39Oh, no.
03:39Sorry, Dylan.
03:40His head just doesn't come above the counter.
03:42You're actually there.
03:43He's a tiny little guy.
03:44Missed you the whole time.
03:45But so, like, to me, it's funny, like, when people are,
03:48ah, Shador isn't the odds on favor to start week one.
03:51It's Deshaun.
03:52It's like, all right.
03:54You just want to be different.
03:56Like, the people who tend to be Deshaun first in this quarterback battle
04:01that doesn't exist to this point, I think they're just anti-Shador.
04:05And I think that's just the way to say it.
04:06Yeah, and, like, I don't know anybody that should have a problem with Shador
04:09trying to be there at the facility a lot and make sure that his teammates like him.
04:12I'm sure they'll find a way.
04:14I'm trying to find it.
04:15Like, your spin on it might be the closest we get.
04:18It's all about the optics.
04:19It's all about it.
04:19He's just trying to make sure.
04:21I'd say that's a lot of work to make sure that Titus Howard a week later
04:23puts a nice thing around you when you do a Zoom call, though.
04:27I will say, to all the supporters out there, I do think, like,
04:32whether it's Kirk Cousins or Carson Beck or I think Trey Lance actually
04:37just re-signed with the Chargers, which was a little disappointing
04:40that we couldn't even get a Trey Lance siding in Berea.
04:44I do think whoever the other – even if it's Dylan Gabriel,
04:48I don't see anyone right now that you can walk in and go,
04:51that guy's starting for sure.
04:54Right.
04:55It's a competition.
04:55And so I think if you're looking for hope, like, again,
04:58I don't think Deshaun Watson is a serious factor in any of this.
05:02I think – I would not be surprised if they treated Deshaun this year
05:08like they treated Shador last year, where they told everybody
05:11it's a four-way quarterback battle and that it was really
05:14a three-way quarterback battle.
05:15I kind of envision that for the Browns with their –
05:18however many quarterbacks they have in that room.
05:20Yeah, we'll see.
05:21It'll be interesting to find out what exactly they do,
05:22because every national person just continues to go on this narrative
05:25that Deshaun's got a real chance.
05:26Well, but what's weird about it is it's either – everybody's picked a lane
05:32of it's either definitively Deshaun or it's definitively Shador,
05:35and I'm like, I don't think we have to do this.
05:37Well, we just don't know right now.
05:38But we can – at the risk of doing the thing that is anti-sports talk –
05:42That I hate the most.
05:43We can let this one play out.
05:44We're going to let this one play out.
05:45Yeah.
05:45So unsatisfying to every listener listening.
05:48Yep.
05:48But sometimes that's the way it's got to be.
05:50But with the caveat –
05:50Sometimes it's the way it's got to be.
05:52That by default, Shador's the week one starter.
05:54I just – I like that he's putting in the work, you know.
05:56Yes, it could be simple and easy for him to just kind of just, I don't know,
06:00go to Mexico and hang out for a couple months.
06:02But, like, he understands.
06:03This is his one chance.
06:04He might not even get it.
06:05But this is one chance, and I like him acting this way.
06:08It feels like he just might be emboldened by the fact that there's nobody –
06:11no real competition.
06:12A year after all he had was competition that was put on pedestals above him,
06:17I wouldn't be surprised if Shador's, like, the youngest kid
06:23that gets, like, a weekend alone with mom and dad,
06:25where it's like, wait, I get all your attention and all your focus.
06:29I never want my siblings to come back.
06:31Who needs competition?
06:32I mean, it seems like he likes this.
06:33He likes – there's a part of being a franchise quarterback
06:36that I think does suit Shador very well.
06:38It may never happen, but, like, these are the little things that are so easy
06:42that it just doesn't feel like anyone else wants to do.
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