00:00Mary Kay is on the Wiseheart Wright. We make it right. Call Kyle Wright. Hotline. Hi, Mary Kay. How are
00:07you?
00:08I'm doing great, guys. How are you doing?
00:09Hi, Mary Kay.
00:10We are doing just dandy. Let's talk about the rookies here for a second. They get a chance to really,
00:15you know, kind of meet each other this weekend and see what kind of contributions they'll be able to make
00:21once the season starts. Just your thoughts on rookie minicamp and explain to everybody what happens there.
00:28Well, it's a three-day camp, and we are out there able to watch for the first two days. So
00:33I'm really, really looking forward to this because you get, for the first time, to actually see in person what
00:41these guys look like out on the field, what they look like physically, hear them talk at the podium, and
00:47you get a great first impression of what these guys are all about.
00:51Sometimes a guy will pass the eyeball test. Sometimes they won't. Sometimes you see a guy struggle in his first
00:58practice, and sometimes those things carry over a little bit.
01:02Sometimes you see someone stand out and shine early on, and sometimes that carries through. So there's a lot to
01:09glean from these two days of rookie camp, and I'm really, really anxious and excited to watch it.
01:15I can't wait to watch Talon Green and see what he brings to the table in terms of his arm
01:20strength, his accuracy, his mobility, his speed, the two receivers, Spencer Fano.
01:27I mean, there's just so much to watch over the next few days.
01:30Mary Kay, is it shorts and T-shirts, or are they allowed to pad up on this thing?
01:33No, they're not going to be padding up. It's shorts and shells and whatnot.
01:37But, no, this is not a contact camp. These guys, this is their intro to the playbook, their intro to
01:45each other, and they don't usually go too crazy hard in rookie mini camp.
01:51They'll be able to see some things. You'll be able to tell certain things about guys, but they are not
01:56going to be hitting or anything like that.
01:59I'm really intrigued at seeing Talon Green as well, Mary Kay, and I'm tempering that with the reality that we
02:07know quarterbacks taken after the first round really have a tough time.
02:13And now the Browns have three of them. Are they okay there?
02:19Well, we shall see. They have to solve the quarterback problem.
02:23And the truth of the matter right now is that we don't know if they have their quarterback of the
02:31future on the roster at all or if they're going to be back at that next year in the draft
02:36or wherever or in pre-agency or the trade market.
02:40So this season will be very telling in terms of what they have and what they still need in that
02:46department.
02:47But when I look at this roster right now, when I look at this roster, I think that it is
02:53good quarterback play away from contending for at least a wild card spot in the playoffs.
03:00And if they can even get that this season, I don't see any reason why they can't do that.
03:05So that's what they need. That's what they've needed for a long time.
03:09And that still has to be job number one.
03:11You know, with Boston and Concepcion coming in, I'm just – we haven't spent a lot – maybe other people
03:17have talked about it, but we haven't – Cedric Tillman and where he kind of falls.
03:20Because, you know, you talked about Jerry Judy and his place on this team.
03:23Todd Monken did right after the draft.
03:26Where does Cedric Tillman fit into this whole thing now?
03:29Well, Cedric is going to have to, like every receiver in that room, they're going to have to elevate their
03:36play.
03:36They're going to have to show that they deserve playing time because it's getting a little bit more crowded now,
03:41and they added these two rookies.
03:43So, unfortunately for Cedric Tillman, he has been injured some, and he really hasn't been able to realize his full
03:51potential yet.
03:52But I think he has an opportunity to elevate his game this year, and I think all of the receivers
03:57will look much better with consistent quarterback play.
04:00It's been a tough road for a lot of them over the past several years.
04:05So, if they can get some good QB play, I think you'll see better receiver play.
04:11Were you caught off guard, surprised at all about DeJuan Jones and the contract situation, Mary Kay, taking a pay
04:19cut?
04:19Obviously, they brought in other tackles, and they're not counting on him.
04:23But I thought, boy, that's – as if the new players coming in wasn't a big enough message.
04:29Here comes another one, and could Cedric Tillman be in the same boat?
04:33Well, I don't really know about Cedric Tillman.
04:37We'll have to see how that goes.
04:38I can't say that he's in that boat at this point.
04:41But I was not surprised about DeJuan, because they have worked so hard to completely overhaul that line,
04:50and they ended up with a lot of offensive tackles.
04:53Now, maybe this doesn't happen to him if they don't come back and draft an Austin Barber after they got
05:00Fano.
05:00But once they got Barber, then you're starting to kind of push him down the depth chart a little bit.
05:06And, you know, he has an opportunity.
05:08He's still around, and he's got a chance to maybe contend at another spot.
05:13Perhaps he can try to be a guard or be the swing tackle or whatever the case may be.
05:17But when you have someone that has been relegated to a backup role, then it probably will be reflected in
05:23the paycheck.
05:25We'll learn not only about the rookies, but don't you think we'll learn a little bit more about Todd Munkin,
05:30too,
05:30in this when he's got all the guys that have no experience here in camp and trying to lead them?
05:36Like, don't you think we'll see – I don't know.
05:39This is kind of a – I know the vets have been in, but when the rookies come in,
05:42and now you see maybe a different side of the head coach, or maybe we learn even more about what
05:47he's all about
05:48and what he might even just, you know, get into the offense.
05:53Well, you can always learn things by standing out there watching and listening
05:58and seeing how a guy coaches and seeing what their demeanor is
06:03and seeing how hands-on they are with guys.
06:05So I'm very curious to see what he's like with Taylan Green, what he's like with these new receivers,
06:11and how these guys really kind of handle this whole situation.
06:16Because when you look at the roster this year, they are going to have potentially four rookies
06:22on that offense in Fano, Parker Brailsford at center.
06:27I think that's a key thing to note here is that they might have a new rookie starting center,
06:32and then you've got the two new rookie receivers.
06:35And these guys all need to come up the learning curve very, very quickly,
06:38and they need to acclimate to the team, to the offense, to the city as fast as they possibly can.
06:46And so I think it is going to be interesting to see how hard they push them,
06:50how much do they put on their plate.
06:52Generally what happens with the rookies is you just throw a bunch of things at them,
06:58and you try to see what kind of sticks in the early going.
07:01But it's time to put on your big boy pants really, and that's the best way I think to approach
07:09it
07:09is you throw a bunch at them, and then you kind of see who can handle that
07:14because that's what you have to do now.
07:16You have to be able to learn quickly.
07:19You have to be able to get up to speed because the next time they're out on the field,
07:24they will be going up against veterans, and they will be with veterans
07:29and competing against the veterans.
07:31So you really have to be on your P's and Q's.
07:35You've got to be studying, and you have to know what's going on out there.
07:39Mary Kay Cabot joining us from the PlainDealerCleveland.com.
07:42I know you're happy.
07:44I know I'm happy about bringing in wide receiver talent finally,
07:48and I think everybody's happy about adding offensive line talent,
07:52and they added a ton of it through free agency and a trade
07:56and then three guys in the draft.
07:59The only thought I have about it, Mary Kay, is what took you so long?
08:05It's weird to me that those two positions in particular were seemingly neglected for a while.
08:14Well, let's put it this way.
08:16When you look back to last year, I think they felt that the offensive linemen
08:21that they had in place would certainly be good enough to get them through the season.
08:26But they had a ton of injuries on the offensive line,
08:30and by the end of the year, it was being held together with chewing gum and glue
08:35and whatever else.
08:36They did not have their starting five out there.
08:39You had injuries just completely across the board.
08:44So I don't think they neglected it.
08:47I think they targeted this year as the year where they were going to have to deal with
08:51all of the expiring contracts for Ethan Posick and Jack Conklin and Joel Batonio.
08:57And I think they felt like they did have that one more year to squeeze out of that particular
09:04offensive line.
09:05So that's what happened to that position.
09:07And then, as far as the receiving core is concerned, I don't think anybody really foresaw Jerry Judy
09:15having the kind of year that he had.
09:16And I know they're confident he's going to bounce back.
09:19But a number of people have said, as Jerry goes, so goes the Browns offense.
09:24And he just struggled last year with a lot of different things, especially the inconsistency
09:31at quarterback.
09:33So when you have that happening, then it just kind of goes downhill from there.
09:40And they had other young guys, but Cedric Tillman had some injuries.
09:45And it just didn't go the way anybody thought it would go.
09:49But it was in part because of what was happening at quarterback.
09:52Mary Kay, what have you learned about him in the short window of time?
09:59And how is he different than Kevin Stefanski in a very, very small window?
10:03I know I'm asking a lot.
10:05I'm not asking you to compare.
10:06But what are the significant changes that you think you've kind of noticed here over the
10:10last couple weeks?
10:12Well, it looks to me like there will be more situational football, more 11-on-11s.
10:17And I've been long saying that I think that this team needed to have more of that kind of
10:23football in practice, where you're actually practicing at a very fast pace the things that you are
10:28going to be doing in the game.
10:30And I think that will continue on through training camp.
10:33I think we're going to be seeing a whole lot more team drills.
10:36And that's vitally important.
10:38So that's one thing.
10:40And then I think he's a little bit more forthcoming in terms of the things that he says to us
10:46and
10:46the answers that he gives us, which really is answers that fans want.
10:51I mean, we are out there helping to provide information that fans want to hear.
10:55So I think he's much more forthcoming in that regard.
10:59And then I think he's running a, I think he'll run a tougher camp.
11:05I really do.
11:05I think that we will see, if it's up to him, I think we'll see, you know, less guys taking
11:11or fewer guys taking days of rest.
11:14They'll still, I'm sure, do some of that.
11:16But I just think that he's going to push these guys a little bit more in the offseason.
11:20I was going to say, Mary Kay, better quotes, first and foremost, entertaining.
11:24That's good.
11:25He's talked about mobility at quarterback.
11:28Do you think Deshaun has the mobility still?
11:30And we haven't had a great look at him yet.
11:33Do you think he has the mobility to fit that bill?
11:37I mean, clearly, clearly Green is the guy who has the mobility, but he's a sixth round pick.
11:43So, you know, you can't bank on that.
11:44I'm just wondering about Deshaun.
11:47We don't know.
11:48We just don't know yet exactly what he's going to look like coming off of two Achilles surgeries
11:54and then before that, the fractured shoulder surgery.
11:58So if he can come back and be anything like the quarterback that he was in Houston,
12:05then they have a decent shot if they decide that he's the starter.
12:09But he has to be healthy, of course.
12:11And that's the whole key for him is just to be healthy and to stay healthy.
12:16And so, like I said, there are a lot of X factors at quarterback this year,
12:20and there's nothing where you can point to it and say,
12:23we think that this person is going to be able to give us this or that.
12:28I just think there are a lot of unknowns, and we'll have to see how it plays out.
12:35All right.
12:36Well, here we go.
12:37Rookies, let's see what happens.
12:39We're at the next stage of the game, and I can't wait for camp to get here
12:42because I'm ready for some football.
12:44I hate to say it.
12:45I know it's early.
12:46It's May, but I'm ready to see what these guys look like.
12:49And I'm also looking forward to the challenge that we're going to see
12:52with a new head coach.
12:53I'm also wondering, and I'll throw this for the last question at you,
12:57that the offensive line, the way it's built right now,
13:00is it more conducive for one or another quarterback right now the way it's built?
13:04I mean, I know we haven't seen it together,
13:05and I know it might not be a fair question this early in the game,
13:08but I'm wondering if one of the two quarterbacks between Sanders and Watson
13:13will have a better chance to flourish.
13:15Like, did they build it for Shador, I guess, maybe is what I'm asking.
13:18No, I don't think so.
13:19I think that it's a line that has size.
13:22It's got athleticism.
13:24I think it can pull and do all those things that you're going to need it to do.
13:29I think it's going to be a very good run-blocking line,
13:33which is going to be vitally important.
13:35But I don't think it's necessarily geared towards one quarterback or the other.
13:39I think both can flourish behind this line.
13:42Very good.
13:42Mary Kay, go ahead.
13:43Keep doing a great job, despite what family members may say.
13:48No problem.
13:50All right, Mary Kay.
13:51We'll talk to you later.
13:52Of course, we're reading you every day in the Plain Dealer at Cleveland.com.
13:54Thanks, Mary Kay.
13:56Okay.
13:56Take a look.
13:57We'll talk to you soon.
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