00:00We're about to talk about the Browns with Sal Palantonio from ESPN's NFL matchup show.
00:05And he will join us in just a few moments here.
00:07Of course, we love having Sal on.
00:09You know him from ESPN.
00:10Probably one of the most trusted and respected reporters, I would say, on ESPN.
00:14Love watching him, especially on game day, too.
00:17So we will get to Sal here in just a second.
00:21It's hard to believe, you know, a week from tomorrow we're talking about the draft.
00:24All right, let's go to the Make It Right.
00:26Call Kyle Wright Hotline.
00:28And we bring in Sal Palantonio, the best thing.
00:30Yeah, I know he's from New York, but he's the best thing from Philly.
00:32Better than cheesesteaks, better than Rocky.
00:34Hi, Sal.
00:35How are you?
00:36Oh, wow.
00:37That's pretty high praise.
00:39I don't think so.
00:40I think I come in maybe third or fourth on that list.
00:43I don't know.
00:45Rocky's number one.
00:46I actually don't eat cheesesteaks because I want to fit in my suits on Sunday morning.
00:52Uh, and my wife makes enough ravioli for me to avoid a cheesesteak when I'm on the road.
00:58So, but I do love them, uh, whenever I, whenever I can.
01:02But thanks for having me on.
01:03Thanks for inviting me back on your show.
01:05I appreciate it, Andy and Jeff.
01:07Sal, you know, we love having you on the show.
01:08First of all, let's talk about what you have going on right now.
01:11The NFL matchup.
01:12Uh, you guys did your draft show last night.
01:14Anyone who wants to watch that, it's on ESPN Plus and on demand right now.
01:18Uh, Greg Cosell, outstanding, uh, the way you guys dive into film.
01:22Just, uh, your, your thoughts on the show that's out right now and what can viewers expect if
01:25they missed it last night?
01:27Yeah, well, our mandate on the show is a little bit different than all the other draft shows,
01:32Andy.
01:33Uh, what we try to do is find the players that are going to create matchup problems on offense
01:40and are going to solve matchup problems on defense.
01:44In the current game and how it's played in the NFL right now.
01:48So, uh, that's our mandate.
01:50That's our job.
01:51That's why we're called the matchup show.
01:52And we take a little bit different approach.
01:54And, uh, you know, to me, when I look at this draft and the study that we did at NFL
02:00films and the conclusion that we drew, uh, on the show is there are really five, only five
02:09because there's a paucity of quarterback talent.
02:12We all agree in this draft after you get past Fernando Mendoza, who I think is going to be
02:17a terrific pro by the way.
02:18But after Mendoza, there are really only five matchup problems in this draft in the first
02:26round that are bonafide blue chip, no doubt about it going to be a problem at the NFL level.
02:33And it starts with Jeremiah Love, the running back out of Notre Dame, then the tight end
02:38out of Oregon, Kenyon Sadiq, and then, uh, three defensive players, Caleb Downs, a safety out of
02:45Ohio State, Reuben Bain Jr., the edge rusher out of Miami and Sonny Stiles, the linebacker out of OSU.
02:52So those are the five big matchup headaches, nightmares, if you will, in this draft.
03:00And frankly, if I'm the Cleveland Browns, if I'm Todd Munkin, and I want to try to build this
03:09offense into something that it wasn't last year, namely scoring points.
03:14And, you know, Kenyon Sadiq is sitting there when the Browns pick in the first round.
03:20He may not be.
03:21He's moving up on the boards.
03:23Uh, but, you know, if the Browns are there at six and Sadiq is available, I take him.
03:29I take him right away.
03:31You got to create matchup problems on this offense.
03:33You only scored 16 points a game last year.
03:36You only had 16 touchdown passes.
03:38To me, you got to find somebody.
03:40There'll be plenty of wide receivers.
03:42I know people say Carnell Tate to the Browns there, and I'm all about getting guys who
03:47can put it in the end zone.
03:49You can find a lot of offensive tackles in this draft, especially lower in the first round
03:54and in the second round.
03:55You got to have matchup problems.
03:58And to me, after Love, it's the tight end out of Oregon.
04:02You know, he ran a 4-3-9 at the Combine.
04:05That's the fastest at the tight end position in the last 20 years.
04:10He is a very aggressive player.
04:13He is big and strong.
04:15He will patrol the middle of the field, which will help the run game and help your quarterback,
04:21whoever's going to play quarterback for your football team.
04:24So I think this guy can do a lot of things for your offense.
04:28Just put him on the field, line him up anywhere.
04:31Sal, with that thought in mind, what if Jeremiah Love is sitting there at 6, and you drafted
04:37two running backs last year?
04:39Well, to me, and Darius Butler, my teammate on the matchup show, said this on the show,
04:46and I was like, wow, I agree with him 100%.
04:49Jeremiah Love, after Mendoza, to me, is the best player in this draft.
04:54No question about it.
04:55And I would take Jeremiah Love if he's there at 6.
04:58But I don't think he will be there at 6.
05:01I think he'd be gone.
05:03You know, to me, if I'm the Giants, even at 5, I'd take him.
05:07Even though you've got a running back coming back from a pretty gruesome injury and showed
05:13some flashes, he's not Jeremiah Love.
05:16Jeremiah Love is Saquon Barkley.
05:20That's high praise.
05:21That is.
05:22When you guys do the show, like, how can you, what are the difference makers?
05:26Like, you just named five guys.
05:28What do you see on tape that makes them pop out against college competition that makes
05:34you know that, hey, this is going to work.
05:35This is why I'm calling them a blue chipper.
05:37What are you guys looking for?
05:38Okay.
05:40Well, let's switch it to the defensive side, and let's look at Caleb Downs.
05:44Okay.
05:45So, Caleb Downs played 146 snaps for Matt Patricia.
05:49It's defense at OSU.
05:51146 snaps each at deep safety in the slot and in the box against the run.
05:59146, 146, 146.
06:02That's the very definition of versatility.
06:05And you want multidimensional safeties.
06:09Let me give you a number so that you can look at this from the perspective of the NFL.
06:15Last year, NFL teams scored an average of 23 points a game.
06:19That's a five-year high.
06:21So, scoring is up in the regular season.
06:27However, in the last two Super Bowls, they have been won by defense.
06:33The Patriots were held to 12 points.
06:35The Chiefs were held to 22.
06:38The two defenses of Seattle and Philadelphia manhandled those offenses.
06:44And if you look at Fangio's defense and McDonald's defense, the one thing that they had in common was multidimensional
06:53defensive backs so that they could rush four, drop seven.
06:59And they could do damage against the quarterbacks, both at the line of scrimmage and then picking them off.
07:07And that, to me, is what you get with Caleb Downs.
07:11This guy is the number one defensive player in the draft, to me, hands down.
07:16You can line him up anywhere.
07:18He will be a matchup nightmare deep along the line of scrimmage.
07:23He's got terrific blitz timing.
07:26He is Cooper DeGene 2.0, maybe times two.
07:32I think he's that good.
07:34Reuben Bain Jr., second thing that flashes for him is, other than his obvious edge rushing, drops in coverage.
07:44Every time he touches the ball carrier, the ball carrier goes down.
07:48He's got great strength in his upper body and his hands.
07:51He's another guy you can line up anywhere along the line of scrimmage.
07:56Same thing goes for Sonny Stiles, who played stacked linebacker only two years at OSU.
08:01And you'll see it on our show.
08:03He just jumps right off the screen in terms of his size, his speed, his anticipation.
08:11I mean, virtually unblockable.
08:15I mean, to me, if I'm the Giants and I'm sitting there at five, and Jeremiah Love's already gone to
08:21the Titans,
08:21and I got Downs and Stiles sitting there, I don't know what I'd do.
08:26I don't know.
08:26I might have the next Ed Reed.
08:27I might have the next Ray Lewis.
08:30What am I going to do?
08:31Tough, tough call.
08:33But for me, it's Caleb Downs.
08:35I would take Downs.
08:37Let me ask you this.
08:38When it comes to rating these guys out as blue chippers, right, when you're playing for Matt Patricia,
08:43does that give you a little bit more street cred?
08:44Because you're watching a kid in college that understands the pro concept
08:49because you've got somebody who's respected in the NFL like Matt Patricia.
08:53So, like, if you're a kid looking to go play college football, you probably want to try to –
08:57I mean, if you have your druthers, you'd probably want to try to hook on with a guy who's been
09:01in the NFL
09:02because that's – if your goal is the NFL and you can learn that NFL style in college
09:06and be even better off.
09:07Like, so how much street cred do these guys get because they were with Matt Patricia?
09:11You got two of your top five played for Matt at Ohio State.
09:15Well, of course, Matt Patricia's one of the best who's ever done it.
09:20He is super smart.
09:22Knows the game inside and out.
09:24And when you talk about an NFL-level defense, again, he is looking at players and how they match up.
09:30And he's got contingency plans if they don't, something he learned from Bill Belichick.
09:36You know, Matt Patricia went to RPI, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
09:40Right.
09:41He wanted to be an aeronautical engineer.
09:44You know, he wanted to put people on the moon.
09:47So he's a smart man.
09:50You know, he was the one that designed the defense for Malcolm Butler to intercept Russell Wilson at the goal
09:56line.
09:57That was Matt Patricia.
09:58You know, he gave Tom Brady an extra Lombardi trophy.
10:03And I hope Matt Patricia gets his case of wine every year from Tom Brady.
10:07But, I mean, so, yeah, street cred, it goes beyond street cred.
10:11I mean, and that's the reason why you see so many defensive players at the top of this draft from
10:18Columbus is because of Matt Patricia.
10:20But, you know, it also takes speed, power, strength to be that kind of multidimensional player.
10:30And you look specifically at styles and downs, and they have those ingredients.
10:35Sal, with the guys you're talking about, it sounds like the Browns are going to have somebody on the board
10:42at six who fits the bill, who you'd be really intrigued to get if you were running the Browns.
10:48Because we keep hearing trade down.
10:50If you're the Browns, would you?
10:51No way.
10:52No way.
10:52No way.
10:53No way.
10:54Listen, here's what's going on.
10:56I don't have to tell you what's going on with your team, but I've studied the Browns a little bit,
11:00knowing I was going to come on the program.
11:02And because they're, you know, they're drafting in the top, in the top 10, and I'll be embedded with the
11:08Jets, which always is a tremendous possibility for disaster.
11:16So, you know, that's why they send you there, Sal.
11:19You'll make sense of it.
11:22No, for some reason, I'm in charge of the disasters.
11:25I don't know why.
11:26But that's why you're always welcome here.
11:29I've been there for two of them, Tim Couch and Johnny Manziel.
11:34I was there for both of those drafts.
11:37Thanks.
11:38So, I look at the Browns, and you have the easiest schedule in the NFL.
11:45Your opponents this year had a record last year of 43% of their games, which is the easiest in
11:52the NFL, .429.
11:55You had five wins last year.
11:58If you have some semblance of consistency at the quarterback position, you can get from five to eight wins this
12:09year based on the fact that you have the easiest schedule in the NFL.
12:13So, two things have to happen for that.
12:16One, I think Deshaun Watson should be your starting quarterback.
12:20If he can, he will play.
12:22I think he'll beat out Sanders and Gabriel if he's healthy.
12:26And the big question is, will that Achilles heel hold up?
12:31Will he remain healthy, and for how long?
12:34Because he's the best talent that you have.
12:37I mean, a lot of Browns fans are not going to want to hear this from me right now, but
12:41he is still the best talent at the quarterback position, potentially, that you have.
12:46You had three different starting quarterbacks last year.
12:50You've got to have consistency at the quarterback position.
12:53And the other thing is, what is going to be the profile of Todd Monskin's offense for this football team?
13:01And the answer to that is simple.
13:04They must be a lot more balanced than he has proven to be in Baltimore.
13:11You know, I'm looking at your numbers last year, you only had one back have over 100 yards rushing last
13:20year, Judkins against Minnesota in week five, right?
13:24Am I looking at that correctly?
13:26Sounds right.
13:26So, yeah.
13:27So, you need to get help for these guys on offense, these quarterbacks that you're going to put out there.
13:36And Monskin has to be committed to running the football, which he wasn't when he was calling the plays for
13:43the Ravens in the AFC Championship game against the Kansas City Chiefs in Baltimore, the game that they lost, when
13:52he had Lamar Jackson drop back almost 40 times and Gus Edwards only had three carries.
13:59And then they go up to Buffalo in the divisional round.
14:04And, again, he's got Lamar Jackson throwing it all over the place.
14:08And he's got Derrick Henry on the roster.
14:10And Derrick Henry only has 16 carries in the game.
14:14So, he has to be committed to balance on offense.
14:17And not sexy.
14:19I realize that.
14:21You'll probably want a little bit more from me.
14:24But they've got to have balance and a run game and calm things down.
14:29And you get from five to eight wins.
14:30And the season is a success.
14:33There you go.
14:34Sal, we're looking forward to seeing you here next year for the draft because you only come here when we
14:38have quarterbacks.
14:39So, I guess we'll see you next year.
14:40Here comes Arch Manning.
14:41You may as well book your ticket right now.
14:44We're looking forward to that.
14:47That's awesome.
14:48Keep up the great work on the show, the NFL Matchup Show.
14:51And, again, you can watch last night's show on ESPN Plus and On Demand.
14:55You're a good man, Sal.
14:56As I always say, thank you for your service.
14:57And thank you for the excellent job you do on TV.
15:00We appreciate you.
15:00Thank you, Sal.
15:02Thanks for inviting me on the show.
15:03I really appreciate it.
15:05All right.
15:05We'll talk to you later.
15:06Thanks, Sal.
15:08There it was.
15:08Sal Palantonio, ESPN.
15:11ESPN NFL Matchup Show.
15:13And make sure you check that out.
15:14It's on ESPN Plus and On Demand right now.
Comments