00:00We have a lot to cover. A lot was said by both Andrew Berry and Todd Munkin, but also Brown's
00:07ownership.
00:09Some things I did not expect to hear. Maybe I will admit that I was hoping to not hear.
00:15But here we are. It's going to be a reality. And we're going to get into it all.
00:22Buckle up. Shadour V. Deshawn, here we go.
00:27Well, the thing is, I like the idea of what they've said. I know a lot of people have gotten
00:32a lot of pushback.
00:33And I understand that as well. You know, there's some shrapnel that has happened over the last couple of years.
00:38But that's not what Munkin's thinking. So I think it's a good thing in terms of they're trying to win
00:42now.
00:43And everything that I hear week after week and, you know, you listen to everybody's got to build towards the
00:48future.
00:48If I'm a football coach and I'm six years old, I've got to win right now.
00:51And it doesn't mean that you necessarily are going to see Shadour or you're going to see Deshawn.
00:55It just means hopefully they're competing and hopefully they're both ready to play.
01:00That's the way I see it. I didn't see it as a negative, but some people do.
01:03And I understand that as well.
01:05So let's sort of start with the Jimmy Haslam comments that were out there.
01:09Obviously, the only ones that we don't have, like, a recorded record of, but that were very well circulated.
01:14I think this was the only time I actually took a break.
01:17Like, I usually go on vacation. I'm like, I'll open social media, but I'm not going to post on social
01:22media.
01:22That's way too much work. The one thing I ended up posted was the Jimmy Haslam comments off of Deshawn
01:27with just a simple of, like, oh, I'm sure my timeline, the rest of it here, is going to be
01:31nice and calm and collected
01:32after seeing this at the very top.
01:34And lo and behold, I was correct. It was anything but calm and collected.
01:37Everybody had their reactions based on the comments that went along the lines of, hey,
01:42just because I said swing and a miss last year doesn't mean that this year it can't be a home
01:45run.
01:47I think I start with, like, where the right place to weigh with, how much weight you actually put into
01:52comments like that.
01:54Because innately, it obviously explains to you exactly what we were thinking,
01:58that Deshawn's going to be in the competition.
02:00We've been told this multiple times, that he's going to have the opportunity to go fight for the starting job.
02:04That part's not news to you, but the way that I saw so many people take it was like,
02:09oh, this means Deshawn Watson's going to be the week one starter,
02:12which I understand the reaction based off it, especially when it's coming out of ownership's mouth,
02:17but that's also not exactly directly what was said either.
02:20It was, hey, I called it a swing and a miss, but that doesn't mean it can't be a home
02:24run.
02:25A.K., doesn't mean he can't come out, win the starting quarterback battle,
02:28and then go have a really good season.
02:30Now, I don't know that I think he can have a really good season,
02:33but I understand that the Browns clearly are in that thought,
02:35and that's really all I took away from it.
02:37I live in this little bubble I like to call reality.
02:42And I understand how it can come off as me throwing shade at Deshawn or hating on Deshawn.
02:49And I'm just here to tell you, from a football standpoint,
02:52I just don't think it's realistic to have much in the way of expectations
02:59of what Deshawn's going to be able to give you this fall,
03:01and it's why I just would rather see Shador Sanders.
03:05This is a guy who's only played 19 games since the 2020 season.
03:10That includes two full years off.
03:12One was a sit-out when his final year in Houston in 2021.
03:16Last year out with the multiple ruptured same Achilles injury, right?
03:23And so the times that he was on the field for the Browns,
03:28which have been few and far between,
03:29whether it was coming off of the sit-out plus suspension a year and a half,
03:34whether it is coming off the shoulder injury, to now with the Achilles,
03:39like I have no doubt Deshawn is going to look great in practice, okay?
03:46There's no contact.
03:47There's no fear of contact and whatnot.
03:51But what we have seen from him is once he gets out on the field against the opposition,
03:57where he is a target, it's not gone well.
04:01And that includes the practices, I should say, against the Minnesota Vikings.
04:06Now, we're going to get, for me, the real judgment of Deshawn
04:11begins when the Buffalo Bills will come to town for the joint practices
04:14because he's going to be going against another team,
04:17that they're going to be working on their own stuff and whatnot.
04:20That's when the judgment, for me, is going to begin.
04:22Again, not during the minicamps or the OTAs.
04:25It's going to be when the joint practices start and, obviously, the preseason
04:30because, again, it's been rough watching this guy after these long layoffs.
04:37But I have no doubt if he's healthy, he'll win the starting job from Shador
04:42because he's the one that has the experience, and I expect that to pay off.
04:48But I also expect that that's not going to bear fruit come the regular season.
04:55I think they've got a better shot to win with Shador.
04:57That's just my take on it.
04:58Well, you know, I would say this, and I've had people say, you know,
05:03winning less with, you know, Shador is better than winning more with Deshawn.
05:07And I just have to disagree.
05:09And the reason I like what has been said about Deshawn Watson
05:13is that everything that's happened in the past absolutely means nothing.
05:16And that's a good thing.
05:16And that's good for everybody.
05:18Again, this is a ripple effect of what happened when you get rid of your head coach.
05:22But for me, when people say he's going to look good in practice
05:26and he'll look better than Shador, then that's a problem for Shador
05:29because you're right, Daryl, they're not getting hit.
05:31They have red shirts on.
05:32They're not getting touched.
05:34So that's the opportunity where Shador's got to look better
05:36because there is no live bullets, and that's an issue.
05:39So for me, I've looked at this as more of a positive,
05:42even though people have pushed back.
05:44This is, if he's the best guy, I'm not looking to develop.
05:47I'm not looking to do all these things.
05:49I'm looking to win week one.
05:51And if Deshawn Watson gives me the best chance to win week one,
05:55then I'm going with Deshawn Watson.
05:56And I like Shador, and I like Dillon, and I don't really care who the quarterback is.
06:00But for me, it's not a – and all the shrapnel and everything that's happened,
06:04that's all real with Deshawn.
06:06It doesn't matter if he gets healthy.
06:07If he gets healthy, he wins the job.
06:09If there is a true competition.
06:10I don't – you know, how they do these things, we'll see.
06:12I'm looking forward to see how Todd Monken runs his practice.
06:14By the way, Coach, I think Deshawn is healthy.
06:17Okay.
06:17Like, I don't think that's in question here.
06:21I think he's healthy now from the start of everything, which is a good thing.
06:27Well, you know, like I said –
06:28Because that positions him to put his best foot forward, right?
06:31Mm-hmm.
06:31I do feel – that's just my take on it, watching the Instagram videos
06:36that he puts out on social media and that, like, he looks healthy to me.
06:42But we'll see – you know, we'll see how that translates.
06:45For me, I just – I think everybody's kind of right on what they're thinking about
06:48if he should play, the future, all that.
06:50But as a football coach, I want to win right now.
06:52And what do I have to do to win right now?
06:54And I think if he gives you the best shot –
06:56Now, if he is healthy, and Shador beats him, that's a great thing for Shador.
07:00Once again, I look at more of what do the Browns have to do
07:02because whoever's been in that quarterback, they haven't won very much.
07:05So now, Todd Munkin, the big thing for me is that when they said QB competition
07:09last year, first of all, I don't care if there's just two QBs.
07:12It's really hard to measure quarterbacks sometimes the way Kevin Stefanski
07:16ran his practice.
07:16Lots of guys run it like that, so it's not wrong.
07:18But if you don't have more live bullets, if you don't have live action,
07:21it's tough to evaluate, especially the quarterback.
07:23It doesn't mean he has to be live, but is everybody else a little bit more live around?
07:27So, again, I think it's a good thing.
07:28I think it's a positive thing because they're not set into what they're doing,
07:31and hopefully Todd Munkin is, like, not caring what is being said.
07:35I hate to say that, but, like, I'm playing the best guy.
07:37That's what I want to see from him.
07:38See, because I'm an interesting spot because there's part of me that does think,
07:42okay, what does Deshaun look like right now?
07:45Like, I'm interested to see it in some ways because not only are you coming off
07:49of two injuries where you expect the rust, and we've seen what we've seen
07:51on the field over the past few years, but we're also talking about an offense
07:54that was never really designed for him.
07:56They brought in Ken Dorsey and tried to mix the two offenses,
07:58but when we compare it to the Bill O'Brien-Houston offense,
08:02I mean, they're irrecognizable to each other.
08:04That was an offense that was set up for Deshaun to succeed.
08:06This was an offense that was somewhat adapted for him to hopefully succeed,
08:10but not set up for him to really go where we talk about Todd Munkin.
08:14He's going to set up your best guys to go forward.
08:15If one of those guys is Deshaun, you expect the offense to be set up pretty well
08:19in an area for Deshaun to succeed.
08:21So there is part of me of going, okay, I know he didn't look good on the field,
08:24but if he's put into a spot where he's comfortable, we know what the ceiling ends up being
08:29or what closer to the ceiling we can get to.
08:31I guess more of the problem I have is with Jimmy's individual comment of
08:36the swing and a miss can turn into a home run.
08:39Because I think home run is far gone at this point.
08:42Deshaun could come like the world on fire.
08:44One, the contract is still a swing and a miss because you got one good year
08:48out of your quarterback that you paid $230 million.
08:50Two, that's assuming you get a good year, by the way.
08:53That's a big assumption on your part.
08:55Nothing personal.
08:56That's a pretty big assumption on your end.
08:57It's a massive assumption.
08:58But it could happen.
08:59But it's an assumption, but it could happen.
09:01We are in like the...
09:02I could win the lottery.
09:03If I'm generous, 5% possibility, and I think it's lower than that,
09:07but 5% possibility that Deshaun returns to Houston Deshaun
09:10and plays at the $230 million level.
09:12Where they go 4-12, but he leads the NFL in passing yards?
09:15Oh, I'm sorry.
09:15My bad.
09:16I more so probably meant like the years prior when he was making the playoffs.
09:19Listen, I couldn't resist, okay?
09:21It was on the table.
09:22He was there.
09:23But even if he got to that level and led the Browns to the playoffs,
09:26anything short of like you knocked out of the park
09:29and looked like a top-five quarterback
09:30still leaves you in a terrible position organizationally moving forward
09:34because now you're right back in a much more convoluted Baker Mayfield situation
09:38of, okay, the guy's good, but is he good enough to get me over the hump?
09:41Am I trusting what I've seen for one season
09:43or am I trusting what I've seen out of Deshaun for the previous six?
09:47And that's not a head coach evaluation.
09:49Todd Munkin goes, that guy's great.
09:50Well, it's an availability issue.
09:52To me, that's what it comes down to.
09:54It's not just the injuries that he has suffered.
09:57It's an availability issue, okay?
10:00The human body can only take so much.
10:03Like, again, I am trying to look at this situation through a very practical and realistic lens.
10:10I understand what you're saying, Jake.
10:13Coach, I understand what you're saying.
10:15I just don't want to sit here and get people hyped up with these lofty expectations
10:20that, okay, because Deshaun's healthy, he's going to look like the dude from six years ago
10:25or the dude that walked onto the practice field in 2022 with the Browns
10:31during the offseason program as he was going through all of his off-the-field issues.
10:35And, you know, I'll be honest with you, those practices, that was some of the best quarterbacking
10:43I had ever seen in a Browns practice, okay?
10:47I'll acknowledge that.
10:49But then he started to not become available.
10:53The 11-game suspension comes back.
10:55You know, rusty, right?
10:57We're making excuses.
10:58Well, he hadn't played a year and a half.
10:59What do you expect?
11:00He's a little rusty.
11:00Got to take some time to get the old game thing going again, right?
11:05And then, you know, off-the-shoulder injury, same thing, right?
11:08Oh, looks a little rusty.
11:10You're going to need some time to get back healthy again.
11:12And now the ruptured, you know, Achilles, and not once but twice.
11:18So physically, I think right now, as I said, I think he's healthy,
11:23and he would be cleared to play by the medicals right now, okay?
11:27I just have no expectation that he is going to have the feel for the game
11:34that is required for him to play at that elite level that pays him $46 million a year.
11:41So I was, what got my attention wasn't the Haslam comment.
11:45It was the Andrew Barry pondering, well, we'll see what happens,
11:49but, yeah, maybe we do extend to Sean.
11:51That's when I had the heart attack, not because Jimmy Haslam talked about,
11:56well, you know, yeah, I could go from a swing and a miss to a homer.
12:00That's Jimmy Haslam, okay?
12:01Jimmy Haslam's very good in front of the cameras and the microphones,
12:05and I know he said, well, I could have articulated that better last year and all that.
12:09No, he's very good dealing with the media.
12:12He's very quotable.
12:13He says what's on his mind.
12:14He speaks with passion and energy and all that, okay?
12:18I believe him when he says we're frustrated, we want to get this right, yada, yada, yada, right?
12:25My issue is they just don't know how to get there.
12:29Like, I have no doubt that they want to win, okay?
12:32They spend like it.
12:33They spend over 300.
12:35They're the top spending franchise in the National Football League each of the last three years.
12:40They should get a trophy for that, okay?
12:42And they have nothing to show for that.
12:44So that's where I got nervous, where Andrew Barry's like,
12:48well, you know, we'll see how it goes.
12:49But, you know, there is a world maybe where we do extend Deshaun.
12:52Yikes!
12:53But you know what?
12:54That means that he played 17 games.
12:57He played at the Houston Texans level, that all-pro level, right?
13:02A lot of passing yards, a lot of touchdowns, not a lot of interceptions,
13:05not a lot of sacks, negative plays, right?
13:09And, yeah, but for me, I just think right now it's totally premature to even, not reminisce,
13:18but contemplate that particular world.
13:20For me, a lot has to happen before I can get there romancing the greatness of Deshaun Watson
13:27on a football field right now.
13:28Yeah, I live in that tunnel.
13:29That's funny you say that.
13:30I live in that tunnel where I say, I think, absolutely, I think Deshaun Watson can be
13:35really good again.
13:36I think Shador Sanders is going to continue to get better.
13:38I think Dylan Gabriel in the right spot can help and be a player in this league.
13:43That's okay if they're not.
13:44But I don't have, I think as coaches, and once again, it's always good to have different
13:48views of it.
13:49But I'm hoping Todd Munkin has this view where I'm going to get everybody better.
13:52I'm going to get everybody to their peak, and then we'll decide.
13:55And that would be, as a coach, that's what I'm hoping they do.
13:58So I don't really necessarily, you know, the reality part of it, me, I kind of live on
14:03the edge of that because I say to myself, I'm not disappointed if Deshaun doesn't do
14:08it.
14:08I think he can.
14:09And if he doesn't, okay.
14:11But I think when you have that belief that the attention to detail in practice, how you
14:15plan, how you take care of your body, how you eat, every little thing matters because
14:19you think you're the guy and your coach thinks you're the guy.
14:21I don't know.
14:21There's something to be said about that.
14:23What everybody's saying is very, very true.
14:25But I think with all these guys, I think in that lane of, I'm going to get the max out
14:28of all these guys, and then we'll see who's going to play.
14:30I think the big thing for me is, hey, you're going into this year.
14:34We ended last year, at least, thinking we're heading into this year with, let's put Shador
14:38in a quarterback competition.
14:39If he goes and wins that out, then he shows you he can be the guy or he can't be
14:43the guy
14:43on the field.
14:43Right.
14:44I think right from week one, if you can't beat out Deshaun Watson, probably have your answer
14:48there anyway, is that Shador probably wasn't going to be the guy.
14:50You're going to be turning to an alternative method, probably the 2027 draft.
14:54At some point, either way.
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