00:00You kind of teased me on this one because there are only two games in which the Browns are favorites
00:03in this year,
00:05and I have no idea what they are.
00:08I haven't looked at this.
00:09So I think I can guess one.
00:12Okay, because I was surprised.
00:15Out of the two games, I think you might get one,
00:17and then the other one just really ended up surprising me.
00:21What's your first guess?
00:22The Jets.
00:23That's not one of them.
00:24Really?
00:25Yeah, the Jets are a point-and-a-half favorite in the Week 5.
00:27Now, a lot of that is because you're at the Jets, I would imagine, is why the hook ended up
00:33there.
00:33But, yeah, so not the case.
00:35Okay.
00:37All right, give me one more guess since there's only two.
00:39The Raiders Week 12.
00:40You got one, yeah.
00:41Raiders at Week 12.
00:43That is actually the highest favorite that the Browns are in a game, minus 2.5.
00:47Now, remember, for people, last year the Browns were not favorite in any games at this point, okay?
00:51So last year Vegas didn't have a favorite in not a single game as we entered the entire schedule.
00:57The other game, oddly enough, Week 14, Falcons at Browns.
01:02Okay.
01:03All right.
01:04The Browns are a point-and-a-half favorite.
01:07That feels like a random one.
01:09I just didn't see it coming.
01:12There's a lot of projections out there that have the Falcons being really pretty bad this upcoming season.
01:16I've seen some that have them as high as 24th best team in the NFL, which is, yeah, I know.
01:22But even still.
01:22They were like an 8-9 team last year.
01:24Yeah, and I don't know why.
01:26I think a lot of people thought that the – I mean, there's just too much talent on offense.
01:29You'd think that Stefanski would be able to do something with that.
01:31But the idea that Stefanski in this game could end up being a point-and-a-half dog against the
01:35Browns I thought was incredibly interesting.
01:37So I looked at the schedule.
01:39We did, again, the early analysis yesterday.
01:42The only thing that I look at that might actually be tougher than we realize is there's three stacks of
01:50games.
01:50You start the season on the road for the first two weeks, and then there's that week seven to nine
01:54where you're on the road for three straight weeks.
01:57And then late in the season in December, around Christmas, two more stacked.
02:01That's – that is a – they're bunching road games together.
02:04Yeah.
02:05Especially middle of the season, and that's always the tricky spot.
02:08Are you going to hit the gas and take off, or are you going to kind of muddle out and
02:12maybe end up in the, you know, top five, top ten?
02:16That looks like – even though those games look relatively easy, Tennessee, then Pittsburgh, then New Orleans, that's still a
02:21rough time of the year to have that, especially with a week 11 bye.
02:24No question about it.
02:25We can always look at something in the schedule and be like, that's weird.
02:27I mentioned how the two road games to start the season, but at this point, I'm just – we have
02:32the easiest schedule by strength of schedule.
02:35We have the least amount of airline, you know, flights and everything like that.
02:39And then we also have the added bonus of just kind of a lot of one o'clock games, one
02:44primetime game, and that's it.
02:45Like, I don't know that there's been a cushier schedule that we could possibly dream up.
02:50If anybody wants to argue and complain about the schedule, I just think you just want to find something to
02:54complain about.
02:55There was some guy yesterday – again, we had this stuff coming in in real time because Aussie NFL was
03:00leaking the Browns – everybody's schedule, really.
03:03At one point, didn't he have like 97% of games reported?
03:06Yeah, he was killing it.
03:06And so, well done, sir, because it ended up being 100% right.
03:10So he wasn't lying, and we're very appreciative of that because we would have looked like a-holes.
03:14Actually, it would have been funnier for me if we were just completely wrong.
03:17It would have actually been really funny, too.
03:19And because the first one was Jacksonville, which we spent the show talking about.
03:21And then we could have had a whole new, like, hey, this has actually happened.
03:24And – but that got burned.
03:25It is what it is.
03:26But there was somebody that – you know, you made the point about starting on the road for the first
03:30two weeks.
03:31And there was a comment that was like, quit crying about it.
03:34And I was like, I think you're confusing analysis with – I don't think there was any crying about it.
03:39You weren't like, well, I guess the season's shot.
03:41Jacksonville and Tampa, that's just too much right there.
03:44It's just unfortunate for a first-year head coach to start his first two games on the road.
03:48Okay.
03:49The funny thing about this –
03:50Crying again.
03:51So, Nick, I was trying to look at this through a – obviously, I've not been shy about the idea
03:55I want Shador Sanders to win the job.
03:56Not been shy about it.
03:58Hand up.
03:58I'll admit it.
03:59I don't think you pounded the table hard enough.
04:00And now that you're saying it, it doesn't sound like something I would remember you saying.
04:03Man enough to say it.
04:04Proud to admit it.
04:05Whatever.
04:06But when it comes to Shador, I was like, all right, do I want an easy schedule?
04:09Do I want a hard schedule?
04:10But in the back of my mind, I'm also trying to balance this out with, well, if it's to Sean,
04:15do I – obviously, I want – you know, I want him to struggle a little bit so Shador can
04:19have a chance.
04:19I'd like to see some wins, but it's just not happening with Deshaun.
04:22There's just no world that exists for me to see that Deshaun's going to have success.
04:27And so, there is a part of me of like, all right, load up the hard games early on and
04:31let's see what happens.
04:32And if he overcomes him, then Grady overcomes him.
04:34We'll have a different viewpoint on Deshaun Watson.
04:37All I can think about is when we started – when Joe Flacco won the job last year, we're all
04:42debating like, what's the quickest hook?
04:44And I remember – I remember thinking like – I think you had like a week seven buy and I
04:47was like, well, you get through the first six weeks and see where you are.
04:50It was four weeks.
04:52Because the schedule was incredibly hard.
04:54But with Deshaun, there's no way we're not having that exact same conversation in August if he wins the job.
04:59Yes, and of course we are.
05:00And it's a much easier schedule.
05:02I actually think if you have an easier schedule and you don't come to the gate firing, there should be
05:06a heavier – like a quicker pull on the leash.
05:09So, what's funny about this is that – and you said Jaguars and Buccaneers as if that's like a, all
05:14right, easy entry point into the season.
05:16Those two games on the road, those are actually two of the higher games when it comes to the Browns
05:22being underdogs that we see on this schedule.
05:25I consider them easy, but only if Deshaun is the starter.
05:31If Deshaun's the starter, those are easy games.
05:33If Shador's the starter, that's a real murderer's row he's got to face those first two weeks.
05:37Okay, good.
05:37You see, now we're getting there.
05:39Yeah.
05:39Now we're getting there.
05:40I just thought it was interesting.
05:42I'm trying to like root for – and it's like, what side are you actually rooting for?
05:46Are you rooting – like it doesn't – there's nothing you can even do at this point because you don't
05:49know who the quarterback is going to be.
05:50I think this is going to be kind of like the Cavs with Harden and everything where it's like,
05:55I'm going to have the way that I feel about this quarterback situation.
05:59And I am – not even staunchly Shador.
06:02I don't ever want to see Deshaun Watson start a game for the Cleveland Browns again.
06:06And I will say that for the empteenth – empteenth time?
06:10Not empteenth.
06:10Empteenth's not a freaking word.
06:11However, I will say that as much as I can.
06:15And then the second he is named the starting quarterback, all right, I got no other choice.
06:20Let's go.
06:21And the difference is, I think James Harden has done a lot to win me over, especially over the last
06:27couple games and certainly in game five.
06:29I just cannot think of what Deshaun Watson's going to do to win me over.
06:33Well, I mean, he'd have to – he'd have to win like 10 games, 10 or 11 games.
06:38Yes.
06:38It'd have to be – it'd have to be one of those things where you look back and you're like,
06:42this is him winning the games, not just because the defense is awesome
06:45and then all of these wide receivers they got are playing great
06:47and Judkins is awesome and Fannin's awesome.
06:50You'd have to look at it and be like, he is taking that team and moving them forward.
06:54And I just don't know that that's possible with Deshaun Watson.
06:56Maybe if you want to start 4-0.
06:57If you want to start 4-0, because that means your fourth win would be Pittsburgh, your only primetime game.
07:02Yeah.
07:02Maybe then I could start to delude myself.
07:05And again, it should be noted, it has nothing to do with what happened with Deshaun that brought him here.
07:10It's everything that's happened in Cleveland.
07:12It's all on the field.
07:13For me, at least.
07:14Like the idea that we've gone – I just – I can't believe we're back to a spot with Deshaun
07:18in general anyway.
07:18But the idea that three straight years we watched him just crash and burn
07:21and then not make it past week 10, but everybody wants to go back to this and it's so confusing
07:25to me.
07:26The spread on Jacksonville is the highest spread, obviously not in favor for the Browns,
07:31that the Browns would take on until week 16 against the Ravens.
07:34Is it the highest week one spread?
07:36No, it's second highest.
07:37Who's the first?
07:38I looked at it earlier.
07:39There's another game that's worse.
07:40I shouldn't have put you on the spot like that.
07:42But the point is, 7.5 points is a lot week one.
07:45I said this yesterday.
07:47That's just putting a lot of faith in a Jacksonville team.
07:51The next time they have back-to-back really good seasons will be the first time in a very long
07:56time.
07:56The highest spread week one is Cardinals at Chargers.
07:58That is a 10.5 point spread.
08:01I mean, that is 10.5.
08:03I mean, you should take it, but you should definitely not take the Cardinals in the points.
08:06But that is...
08:08Okay, so the Card...
08:10Good God, that's an insane amount of points for week one.
08:13It's an insane amount of points.
08:14Vegas loves this Chargers team, though.
08:16And they must hate this Cardinals team.
08:18They do.
08:18Not they do.
08:19Very understandable on the Cardinals side of things.
08:21We're kind of iffy on why they love the Chargers so much, but that is what it is.
08:25I guess it will protect them again.
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