00:00We welcome in Daryl Ryder, brought to you and powered by Scheiben Jewelers, Cleveland's premier jewelry store.
00:05Daryl, welcome to the show.
00:07Hello, boys.
00:08Hello.
00:09Hello, Daryl.
00:11So, JP, because I mischaracterized it one too many times for you, why don't you set it up for Daryl
00:16and see what he has to say?
00:17All right, Daryl.
00:17You're the one that says that this Browns social media team is intentional.
00:20I had made the case that because in the last week we have seen multiple Deshaun Watson touchdown throws on
00:28social media that the Browns have posted,
00:30and the only positive that we've seen from Shador can in fact be a negative in that it was the
00:35touchdown pass yesterday where they credited the offense for making a play,
00:40but reality was that was an interception that should have happened, and the ball went 20 feet in the air
00:44and then obviously landed in the receiver's hands.
00:46So, like, the only good thing we've seen from their sight has been, you know, Deshaun Watson videos, and I
00:53was just wondering why that was.
00:54And then, I don't know, 10 minutes ago they posted a Shador Sanders touchdown in acknowledgement that maybe they were
01:00getting one-sided there, Daryl.
01:02Well, or maybe Deshaun was just giving them more highlights to post.
01:08Maybe that's it.
01:09Maybe that is it.
01:10I don't know.
01:11Or they just happened to be rolling when Deshaun had the highlights, and I severely doubt this is it.
01:19I mean, come on.
01:20Because they've rolled on everything, but I was going to say, maybe they happened to miss a Shador highlighter, too.
01:24But, yeah, I'm going to—
01:24You had them in the first half, Daryl.
01:25The one interception that they posted that was a Deshaun interception, they posted in a way where you couldn't even
01:31see that it was Deshaun that threw the interception.
01:34Okay.
01:35Like, there's some cover-up.
01:36The angle's the angle, though.
01:37There's nothing you can do there.
01:38Oh, no, no, no.
01:38They can only—
01:39Listen, you can only shoot where you can shoot from, like, you know.
01:43Is that why you missed a Shador's touchdown today?
01:47Yeah, I had a pretty lousy angle on it, yes.
01:50Yeah.
01:51I try not to post videos that I either didn't shoot it well enough or I have, like, people in
02:01the way and the highlight is obstructed because I just don't need a bunch of comments telling me what a
02:06lousy camera person I am.
02:07I already know I'm a lousy camera person.
02:09I don't need people on social media to remind me of that fact.
02:12Seems pretty reasonable, JV.
02:13Very reasonable.
02:14Yeah.
02:15All right, Daryl.
02:15How'd they look today?
02:17Looked pretty good.
02:18A lot of touchdowns today, which was nice to see from the quarterbacks.
02:24I think both of them—
02:28Both of them through touchdowns.
02:30Don't mind Nick.
02:31He's just in a mood today.
02:32Don't mind him.
02:33They also threw an interception.
02:35You're lousy today and you know it.
02:36So there's that part of it, too, but also off the flexions.
02:41But, no, again, they're still going through this installation process.
02:45They're still working on their alignments.
02:49Coach Riz likes to call them the perfect plays where, you know, making sure they're getting up to the line,
02:53being where they're supposed to be.
02:55All the pre-snap things are going well and whatnot.
02:58But I felt a lot of energy at practice today.
03:02Again, I was confused about watching the Browns practice because I saw touchdowns being scored.
03:07I wasn't sure if I was at the right practice or not.
03:09But it was fun to watch.
03:13All right, Daryl.
03:14We talked in the previous segment about Harold Fannin Jr.
03:18and some of the love that he's getting coming off a strong rookie season.
03:23Do you think that the addition of Todd Munkin and the addition of better weapons around him will hurt his
03:30production this year?
03:31Or do you think it'll help it?
03:32No, I think it'll help it.
03:34I think it's going to help Jerry Judy as well.
03:36The fact that they have Devin Boston and Kaysen Concepcion to throw into the mix.
03:42Because now you're spreading defenses thinner, okay?
03:47All the focus just isn't on Harold Fannin Jr.
03:49All the focus just isn't on taking Jerry Judy out of plays and whatnot.
03:54So the more the merrier.
03:56And I think those two young kids, I think that they're going to be able to take a little bit
04:02of a load off of both Harold and Jerry
04:06and allow both of those players to increase their production this fall.
04:11Did you see anything with Deshaun today in some scrambles or any sort of...
04:16It felt like people on the timeline just kept referencing some running plays that he was doing.
04:22As if Munkin was getting in his bag and trying to do Lamar-type stuff with Deshaun.
04:26Did you notice any of that today?
04:28Yeah.
04:29I mean, look, he looks healthy, okay?
04:34I still want to see him when there's a defense on the field, okay?
04:38I've seen good Deshaun in practice.
04:40I've seen bad Deshaun in practice.
04:42Obviously referencing the training camp a couple years ago where he just looked absolutely miserable.
04:48Then the Vikings came to town and it was an embarrassing offensive performance.
04:52And unfortunately, a sign of things to come for the Browns there.
04:55But watching him go through the reps and the drills in these practices, and even today,
05:04with having him move the pocket, having him run a couple of keepers and whatnot,
05:09he looks physically healthy and able to perform.
05:14He threw a beautiful touchdown to Jamari Thrash.
05:17It was just right on the money.
05:19A lot of air under the football as well.
05:22So he looks healthy.
05:24And that's great.
05:25Like, that's step one of this process from my standpoint.
05:28Okay, he looks healthy.
05:30He's looking good in the practice.
05:32He's making some nice throws.
05:33The reads look really good.
05:35He's using his feet well.
05:36But I'm recognizing there's no live contact.
05:40There's zero chance that he's getting knocked over by anybody and whatnot.
05:45So I'm trying to look at it through a very balanced lens right now.
05:51Yes, looks good.
05:52Everything I'm seeing, looking pretty good.
05:55But, you know, there are a lot of Browns quarterbacks that have looked good this time of year.
06:00So I'm trying to temper my enthusiasm and my expectations because, again, he's not going against the full contact defense
06:08right now in pass rush.
06:10Darryl, not sure if you remember this.
06:12The Cavs really stunk it up in this Knicks series.
06:15Did they?
06:15Yeah, we're weird.
06:17We've now 48 hours removed from all that nonsense.
06:20We're full in off-season mode here.
06:22Do you think this summer is going to be about choosing between Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley?
06:27I think there's a chance that could happen.
06:30But, you know, I've been thinking about this because one thing I am honestly struggling with now, you know, what
06:38are the solutions?
06:39Right?
06:40They are going to keep the front office.
06:42They're going to keep Kenny Atkinson and his coaching staff, provided anyone doesn't leave, you know, for another opportunity or
06:48head coach opportunity.
06:49I know there's, you know, some guys that are in the running for head coaching gigs around the NBA right
06:56now.
06:56But I think that that signaled a couple of things.
07:00One, it was on the players.
07:02And I'm going to give James Harden some credit here.
07:04I did like what he said in his post-game press conference.
07:09And he said, hey, you know, Kenny wasn't out there missing shots.
07:11We were.
07:13And just for whatever reason, the Cavaliers shooting, especially behind the arc, it just completely went in the tank.
07:18In that series, they got three good quarters in game one, and then it was just hot garbage from there.
07:25They were building castle after castle after castle with all the bricks and the paint they were peeling off the
07:30rim.
07:31So I do think that the focus this offseason is going to be making significant adjustments to this roster.
07:41And quite frankly, I think everything has to be on the table.
07:45That doesn't mean I'm advocating for any specific player to be moved.
07:50The point that I'm just trying to make, Nick, is that I think everything has to be on the table
07:56this offseason to try and get this Cavalier team over the hump.
08:02Who would you choose between Donovan or Mobley if you can only keep one?
08:06I keep Evan, but I have some questions about Evan, too.
08:11I know he I kind of feel like he was the most consistent player in the playoffs, but I don't
08:15know that that's saying much because there were no consistent players in the playoffs.
08:19I still maintain that Evan and Jarrett don't work together, and I think there's a real good chance that one
08:30of them will not be on this team next year because someone's got to be an asset to bring in
08:37what they need on this team.
08:40I just I don't think the two big things work and hopefully Kobe Altman finally realizes that this offseason and
08:48makes the right decision to bring in a piece that can elevate this team.
08:51Were you surprised at how quickly the Cavs let it be known that they were not going to fire Kenny
08:57Atkinson or Kobe Altman?
08:58I was stunned, honestly, especially coming off of that.
09:05Certainly and I struggled after the press conference.
09:10You know, I hurried up and I got the video up of James Harden and Donovan Mitchell offering their full
09:15throated support for Kenny Atkinson.
09:18And I woke up the next morning.
09:21I kept rewatching those clips and trying to decipher, OK, you know, is this just, you know, players speak right?
09:27You don't want to throw your head coach under the bus.
09:29You just want you want to say some nice things about him or whatever.
09:32And the more I watched, I'm like, you know, they're really sticking up for this guy.
09:35They're really putting the blame on themselves for not performing.
09:39It wasn't Kenny out there missing shots and missing assignments and playing half, you know what, defense out there.
09:45And so but I was surprised that it was that quick.
09:50I really felt that maybe Dan Gilbert and his team would take some time to really deliberate Kenny Atkinson's future
09:59as well as Kobe Altman's because, you know, Kobe's the one to put this team together.
10:03You know, the deficiencies that showed up in the postseason, those are on Kobe Altman.
10:07You know, the fact that he went out and got James Harden, who at times looked like he should be
10:13in a retirement home, dribbling basketballs off his feet.
10:17And and then, you know, every once in a while we we get the glimpse of, you know, the great
10:22Hall of Famer James Harden.
10:24But he wasn't nearly as consistent.
10:26I think he had more games with turnovers than field goals than he did the reverse, where he had more
10:31field goals than turnovers.
10:33And, you know, that's a problem.
10:35Just very, very sloppy play from him.
10:37I thought he had quite a few lazy plays in that closeout game as well that I did not like.
10:45So, you know, there's going to be some very difficult decisions that they're going to have to make this offseason.
10:53I think it's four years in a row that the team that lost the Eastern Conference Finals came back the
10:58next year to win the Eastern Conference Finals.
11:01And now that's the tradition the Cavaliers are going to look to continue next season.
11:06I think significant changes are going to have to come, though, if they're going to realize that, just because looking
11:11at the landscape of the Eastern Conference, Boston going to be better.
11:14Indiana's going to be better.
11:15I don't think the Pistons are going anywhere.
11:17You've got Orlando and Charlotte in the mix as well.
11:20And I'm not saying they're on the same level, but they're going to be a thorn in the side, maybe
11:23even Atlanta, too.
11:24So this Eastern Conference is going to be a lot more competitive next year than it was this year.
11:29So, again, that's why I feel a major change is going to have to be made by the Cavaliers.
11:34Daryl, great stuff.
11:35Congrats on making the new Heights podcast, even though Ashley really got all the love out of that.
11:43But congrats.
11:44Listen, all I know is Travis Kelsey said that something I said was bleeping hilarious.
11:48My life is made.
11:49Yeah.
11:50That made your life?
11:51Yeah.
11:52You've got to shoot higher than that, Daryl.
11:53Well, no one thinks I'm funny, except for myself.
11:56So that's why I have to give myself the pat on the back.
11:58I am saying yes, yes, and oh, yes.
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