00:00We always look at, okay, who's in the lead, right?
00:02Who's the leader today?
00:05And we've heard Todd Munkin, after practices,
00:08talk about it bouncing back and forth for him,
00:13like why he can't make the decision,
00:15because one day it's Deshaun, the next day it's Shador,
00:17then he's back to Deshaun.
00:19Now we're back on the Shador train, right?
00:21And now I attribute that to, well, they just have been inconsistent.
00:26Nobody has been able to really grab the reins of this thing
00:30and be consistent on a day-to-day basis.
00:33I know from the few OTA practices that we've gotten to watch,
00:38plus the minicamp practices, I can attest to the inconsistencies.
00:43You will go from a, whoa, I can't believe what I just saw type of a moment,
00:49to, oh, ooh, I can't believe what I just saw type of moment.
00:57And so this is what Andrew had to say when I asked him about
01:03the quarterback competition, how he thinks it's going,
01:07and who's going to win this thing?
01:09How's this thing going to play out?
01:11Come seven, eight, nine, ten weeks from today.
01:15This is Andrew Siciliano yesterday right here on The Fan.
01:18Well, I think this is the right way to do it.
01:20We don't play a game June 11th,
01:22and we certainly don't play one today June 14th.
01:24The idea that a quarterback had to be named on June 14th,
01:27I get we want this to end and we all want some clarity,
01:30and Todd Munkin had said, hey, I want to kind of be in that position
01:33where when we get to camp at the end of July we have an idea
01:37and we can divide the labor appropriately, but I don't think it's a big deal.
01:41I do think camp matters.
01:42I do think the preseason matters.
01:44I do think the joint practice against the Buffalo Bills matter.
01:48All that stuff matters.
01:50Deshaun has the advantage of being a guy who, now it was 2020,
01:54it was six years ago, has led the NFL in passing.
01:56So the idea that a guy who has not played football in 18 months
02:00but is in good shape physically, very good shape,
02:02let me phrase it this way, look like a veteran quarterback
02:04who knows what he's doing is not exactly a shock,
02:06but I do think it's fair to say that Chador's had a couple of really good days
02:09and that it is a legit competition.
02:10I don't know that there is somebody in front and I'm all for a training camp battle.
02:16I don't know how it's going to go right now.
02:18I wouldn't be surprised if it goes in either direction.
02:21They have both had good days and they've both had days,
02:24but overall this team is going to win with defense.
02:27You've got to figure out one of the two quarterbacks
02:29who can get you 20 points on the board
02:31because we all know that the record would be a heck of a lot different.
02:33If the last two seasons this team could score, just give me 20 points.
02:36I really couldn't care less which one starts as long as you put some points on the board.
02:41He's not wrong.
02:42I mean, look, it's only been eight times since this team's come back in 27 seasons
02:48that the Browns have averaged the baseline,
02:51the baseline in the NFL of 20 points per game.
02:56And four of those years were under Kevin Stefanski.
03:03With that said, the interesting part that made me think after talking with Andrew
03:17about how he looks at this.
03:20We look at it as a horse race.
03:22Who's in the lead?
03:23Of course.
03:24Who had the better day?
03:25Who has taken the lead?
03:27Who's on the scoreboard out in front?
03:29Who's got more points than the other guy?
03:32More completions, less interceptions.
03:34Yes, yes, yes.
03:34Right.
03:35That's not how the Browns look at this thing.
03:39And I think that's where, and I will admit and self-report myself,
03:45even I get caught up in the day-to-day who's in the lead.
03:50Not usually because it's whether I'm on this show
03:53or I pop on with the morning boys, the afternoon guys,
03:57or Jake in the evening.
03:59That's usually the question I'm always asked every time I'm on the air is,
04:03okay, so who's the leader in the clubhouse in the quarterback competition?
04:07And usually I have a different answer,
04:09or I'm like, yeah, neither.
04:10They both stink.
04:10Right?
04:14But I loved the perspective that Andrew brought on that,
04:19in that we're looking at this as a horse race,
04:25and we're looking for the leader after each and every day.
04:31And that is not the lens with which Todd Munkin or Andrew Barry,
04:38members of the front office, members of the coaching staff,
04:41that's not the lens with which they look at this situation on a day-to-day basis.
04:48Yes, I would have really, really appreciated it
04:51if Todd Munkin would have came out last Thursday and said,
04:55so-and-so is going to be our starting quarterback on day one at training camp.
04:59And that's who we're going to prepare to be on the field in September in Jacksonville with.
05:07Now, that is a very selfish ambition for me,
05:11or a selfish desire, I should say, by me,
05:14but that's what I was hoping for.
05:17But they lost nothing.
05:19They've lost nothing by not doing that.
05:22That's all of us.
05:24We all want clarity.
05:26For the first time in 20-some-odd years,
05:29we just want clarity at the quarterback position.
05:32Well, first time since 2023.
05:37But even that was fleeting.
05:38Yeah.
05:39That was fleeting clarity.
05:40And even during that bit of clarity,
05:43there was still a chunk of people going,
05:45this guy sticks, get him out of here.
05:47And I mean, I think we're going to run into that whomever is here,
05:49unless that person happens to be a Hall of Fame-level quarterback.
05:52You're always going to run into such things.
05:54But everyone is Veruca Salt right now.
05:58We are all Veruca Salt from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.
06:00Right?
06:01We all want our quarterback now.
06:03Yes.
06:04And the problem is,
06:05Well, we've impatiently been waiting for it.
06:08Correct.
06:09For generations.
06:10Correct.
06:11Since Bernie, basically.
06:13I mean, we thought maybe Baker for a while,
06:15but then that fell apart.
06:16Then it was supposed to be Deshaun,
06:18and that fell apart.
06:19Right.
06:20So, yeah, impatiently waiting.
06:22There is nothing wrong with having to take this into camp.
06:26Do I need to go down the list of the guys we've talked ourselves into?
06:29Oh, dozens.
06:31Even dozens.
06:32Brady Quinn, Brandon Whedon, Johnny Manziel.
06:33Guys who didn't even hit the field people tried to talk themselves into.
06:36Charlie Fry, we even talked ourselves into him for a little bit.
06:39I remember you and I at one point having to talk about.
06:41Hugh Jackson talked himself into Cody Kessler.
06:44Trust me on this one.
06:45I remember you and I having to talk to each other about Kevin Hogan at one point.
06:48I mean, that's where we have been on a couple occasions.
06:51You know what was the biggest bummer about Kevin Hogan not sticking here?
06:57Is all my Hogan's Heroes jokes went out the window.
07:00Shucks.
07:02And I had a litany of material to fire off there.
07:04We could try to get you a Schultz and see where it takes you from there.
07:08I know nothing.
07:11So, I get that.
07:13There's nothing wrong with taking this to the camp.
07:14The thing that I take away from that Andrew Siciliano quote that haunts me in my sleep
07:19was the amount of times he used the word was.
07:23I'm so tired of hearing was.
07:27Because we're living in this world where we're praying that the past becomes the present
07:31instead of realizing that the present is not the past or that that's not going to happen.
07:37I'm so tired of hearing was.
07:40Especially when it comes to Deshaun Watson.
07:41Listen, I'm so tired of was.
07:44Because was doesn't win me games today.
07:47And that's the situation I'm in.
07:49And I want the Browns more than anything else to look the fan base in the eyes and go,
07:54I am also sick and tired of was.
07:57And being in this situation where we're all hoping and praying that magic can happen
08:02and this guy can come back to who he previously was in a different life.
08:06And it's not there anymore.
08:08It's just not there.
08:11We've watched it on the field enough.
08:13Then add in two Achilles tears.
08:16Then add in everything else in between that has happened.
08:19Done.
08:20Hold the phone.
08:21Literally and figuratively.
08:23If you didn't like that, then you're really going to love this from Andrew Barry on the fan on Friday.
08:31I think everything's on the table.
08:33I think it would be silly to go into a season and say, hey, something absolutely can or cannot happen.
08:39And I think particularly at the quarterback position, we've seen it with guys, whether it's Sam Darnold or Daniel Jones
08:44or Geno Smith or even Baker after he left us in Carolina.
08:49I think you have to be open-minded and flexible.
08:51Yeah, I wouldn't rule out anything.
08:53We're looking for guys who can perform and who can lead.
08:57That was the response to whether or not Deshaun Watson could be here next year.
09:04Let's lay that out a smidge, okay?
09:08One, you kind of have to say that.
09:10I just turned your was into a could.
09:12I'm just pointing that out to you.
09:14You have to say that, right?
09:16You have to say that if you're the general manager.
09:19Let's break this down.
09:20Sam Darnold never dealt with two Achilles tears nor shoulder surgery at any given time.
09:23He was just on a really, really crappy Jets team, found his way to a better team with far superior
09:27quarterback philosophy that reprogrammed his brain, right?
09:31Okay.
09:32So that one we could throw off to the side.
09:35Geno Smith would be the one that I would circle if anybody here is thinking that that's the direction it
09:39could go because that is someone who also was in some pretty crappy situations on top of that.
09:44Let's be really honest with ourselves.
09:46The difference is that there was never a question that Geno could fling it.
09:50I'm now in a situation of watching Deshaun Watson the last time on the field where I had questions if
09:54he could fling it.
09:55He was underthrowing receivers the last time he was on the field.
09:58Right.
09:59Did that shoulder heal up enough?
10:00We all don't know.
10:03The highlights that I've seen on social media when it's come to Deshaun Watson, again, it's social media.
10:08It's highlights.
10:09Right.
10:10Very rarely do you see people throw out low lights or anything else that's typically the highlights.
10:14But even those, it looks like he's underthrowing wide receivers a little bit.
10:18So who knows what this is going to end up looking like?
10:21But, like, you go down the lines.
10:23Daniel Jones is another one.
10:24I'm still not sure if Daniel Jones has put it together because he ended up ripping that Achilles and he
10:29was using his mobility when he was with the Colts last year.
10:31And Shane Steichen also knows what he's doing and how to game plan some stuff up.
10:35So I want to see what he looks like this year before we all throw our hands in the air
10:38and go,
10:38Yes, the Colts have saved Daniel Jones.
10:40Like, pop the brakes.
10:42Let's watch five to seven weeks of football and let's come back and have a conversation then.
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