00:00I'm going to let you set this up, man.
00:01So you were at the owner meeting, and you had the opportunity to talk to Jimmy Haslam,
00:06and you said to me this morning that, you know,
00:08some things that he said about Deshaun Watson was taken out of context,
00:13and I know you well enough to know when you're more bothered than not.
00:17This was something that really rubbed you the wrong way.
00:20Go ahead and explain it.
00:20Yeah, I mean, honestly, this conversation kind of stems from the one we just had
00:23where it's like Dylan Gabriel is kind of the punching bag of the quarterback room
00:27because he's the one nobody really wants around or whatever.
00:30And I think the same thing kind of applies to Jimmy where it's like people think
00:35Jimmy Haslam is just a goofball running a football team,
00:39and he's learned nothing along the way.
00:41And so everything he says is polarizing,
00:45and everyone tries to read into everything he says.
00:47And I think sometimes it gets taken a certain direction
00:50because they just apply it to the history since he's owned the team
00:53and how bad the team's been most of the time and the losing and all these things.
00:57But, like, when Jimmy – and I think we have this audio, by the way, too,
01:02of him talking about it.
01:05When Jimmy was asked about Deshaun Watson,
01:09yes, he presented the idea that he could be the starting quarterback this year,
01:15but I don't think he was – I don't think Jimmy Haslam was, like, misguided
01:22or overzealous at all about how he was trying to sell Deshaun as an option
01:31as the starting quarterback for this team.
01:34There was – for every quote that was, like, he has a great chance to start
01:40or to win the job and how he called it a fresh start for him,
01:45which in a lot of respects is true.
01:47He's got a new coach who has a different perspective on things.
01:50It is kind of like a last hurrah for him to see,
01:52is there anything left that we can salvage here?
01:55For those quotes, there was also – he used the term cautiously optimistic.
02:02And he – he – I asked him specifically if he could see a world
02:07where he's getting a contract extension at the end of the season
02:12and he said it's way too premature for that.
02:15Let's see what he does on the field.
02:16So – and we'll play you the quote here in a second.
02:18And this is what he told you?
02:19Yeah.
02:20Okay.
02:20So we'll play this here in a second, but my perspective –
02:25like, the perception versus reality were way different on his quotes
02:29because I think a lot of people took and ran with, like, the fresh start thing
02:32and he has a great chance to start thing.
02:33And they missed sort of the middle portion where it was like,
02:37no, I think Jimmy Haslam presented a very mild-mannered perspective
02:41and take on how they feel about Deshaun right now.
02:44And it's honestly the perspective that everybody who follows this team should have.
02:48Cautious – cautious optimism is a good approach, I think, to take
02:51to Deshaun Watson this year.
02:52Most of us think there's probably not anything left on that –
02:55there's probably not a lot of meat left on that bone
02:57in terms of what he can be.
02:58But Todd Munkin's talked about it.
03:00Like, at one point he was a top-five quarterback in football,
03:03so maybe Todd Munkin can be the guy to find that.
03:06We'll see.
03:07Here's the exact quote, and I think people will take this differently
03:09than what they initially took it when they saw the quotes.
03:13It's not for lack of effort, okay?
03:15I mean, I don't think anybody in our organization would question his effort,
03:19his toughness, everything he's put in the job.
03:22The reality is he's had major injuries, right?
03:24He broke his shoulder, tore his Achilles tendon twice.
03:28So he's been really ravaged by injuries,
03:32and that, along with the 11-game suspension, have kept him from playing.
03:36Now, Deshaun has a great chance, fresh start, offensive-minded coach,
03:40who has, in his past, been able to work with all kinds of different quarterbacks
03:45and make them successful.
03:46So Deshaun has a great chance to do that now.
03:49We talked to him the other day.
03:51He said he weighed the least he had in several years, was in great shape.
03:54He'll be here on April 7th when we start, and let's see what Deshaun can do.
03:59We're all excited.
04:01So, there was no, there was no, that wasn't the quote where he said cautiously optimistic.
04:05Right.
04:06But that was another separate quote that he had.
04:08And I think those, like, you have to take, you have to listen to all of it.
04:11And I understand this wasn't like a video recorded one, like, interview,
04:15so nobody saw all that.
04:16And there was only so many people there.
04:18But I just think it's important to realize, like, the full context of what he said.
04:21Because we were told that he can go from a swing and miss to a home run.
04:24Is that not correct?
04:25That's what I know.
04:26That was the quote that was floated around that Jimmy had said.
04:29That was out there.
04:29And I know people talked about that and ran with it.
04:32But he never said those words.
04:34He never flat out said he's going to go from a swing and a miss to a home run.
04:38And I think that's the important thing for people to remember.
04:40He had a very normal perspective on how this could go.
04:42So, we got a couple minutes left in this segment.
04:45But two weeks ago, like, bro, in all seriousness, do you kind of understand where I be coming from now
04:49to where I say, like, we got to be very careful what we say on these airwaves.
04:54And sometimes, like, I feel like that we be either pushing the narrative
04:58or we're trying to excite some type of emotional, like, rage inside this fan base for absolutely no reason.
05:06Because whomever put that quote out, if they were there present with you and they heard Jimmy speak,
05:11then why in the hell would you take that route?
05:13So, and I'm asking you, and maybe you don't know the answer to that, but that's what pisses me off.
05:18And it clearly pissed you off, too, because it's bad enough.
05:22And we try to do whatever we can to keep emotions as tempered as we possibly can.
05:26And it's a whole lot of stuff to beat Jimmy Haslam up for.
05:29But everybody in the city of Cleveland was mind blown when we saw that quote.
05:34It was like, man, here we go again.
05:36Jimmy saying this, Jimmy saying that.
05:38And to come to find out, he never even said those words out his mouth.
05:43Yeah, again, you're 100% right.
05:46As far as being an owner of this football team goes, I get there's a lot to criticize Jimmy Haslam
05:51for.
05:51But I also, I have to be fair.
05:53Like, as somebody who covers the team, I have to be fair to the things that he says.
05:57I don't think anything he said was, like, inflammatory or hyperbolic about Deshaun Watson.
06:03It felt like he had a very normal approach to the situation, which is, yeah.
06:10Honestly, I walked away feeling like the swing and the miss comments, he probably still felt that way.
06:14Where it's like, we don't necessarily think that anything's there.
06:16But we're willing to see what happens with the new coach, with the fresh start, all these things.
06:20So we're cautiously optimistic.
06:22I think that's the right approach that everybody should be taking to Deshaun Watson.
06:25And I honestly think that sets the – to me, it was just more context to they really are treating
06:31this like an open competition.
06:32They're going to see who wins the job.
06:33Tom Munkin talked about that as well.
06:35He wasn't ready to say Deshaun or Shador's the starter yet, like, because he's waiting.
06:40So I just think people took it and ran with it.
06:43And I thought it was unfair to Jimmy Haslam for that to be the way that it was perceived.
06:47Hey, man, great insight by you.
06:49I'm glad that you enjoyed the owners' meetings.
06:51I'm glad that you enjoyed the city of Arizona and all the good food.
06:56You came back with a tan and with some information.
06:58So mission accomplished by you.
Comments