- 2 days ago
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00one guy who's been reporting to Berea for the last 12 years not reporting this year
00:04i'm not breaking news here i'm just setting up an interview uh joel batonio former browns guard
00:09joins us now on the wise heart right we make it right call kyle right hotline joel welcome to the
00:14show thanks hey guys thanks for having me well it's it's great to have you here i do want to
00:20know
00:20i mean what are the emotions that you're feeling as you watch your former teammates report to camp
00:26and and you yourself or not for the first time in a decade yeah you know all off season i've
00:32kind
00:32of been asked that question like how does it feel how does it feel and it hasn't really hit me
00:35till
00:35probably um right after fourth of july right we uh that's when i kind of finally like would flip a
00:42switch in my head like all right it's football season um and so this year i didn't really have
00:45to do that and then now seeing teams report and in practice updates you know the videos of the guys
00:50walking in there's a little bit of emotions but um i was ready you know i was ready to be
00:55uh be done
00:56and call it a career so um no bad emotions but you feel it you know i've been playing football
01:00my
01:00whole my whole life you know 20 some years so to not you know be putting on a helmet uh
01:05tomorrow it's
01:06a little bit different but um i'm at a good place how are you filling your time now um a
01:13lot of family
01:13time you know i was at the park this morning with the kids um enjoying some of that i'm still
01:17trying
01:17to work out a little bit trying to play golf uh as much as i um possibly can i got
01:22a couple tea times
01:23later this week so we'll uh we'll keep doing that stuff so it's interesting uh and i'm gonna
01:29preface this joe thomas took a shot at you about a year ago on the show that he was talking
01:35about
01:35himself having dropped all the weight uh and and i think it was uh jc treader having retired and lost
01:42all the weight and he's like we got a nice string of of offensive linemen doing this not that joel's
01:48going to do it i promise you i'm not making this up i think we can text uh joe and
01:53uh get him on
01:53the line about this i do want to know are you planning on joining the masses of former browns
01:59offensive linemen that dropped mass after playing i i mean yes but not to their extent i mean these guys
02:06are are uh him and you know joe and jc are both too skinny now you know like there's a
02:12certain point
02:12like you're big guys you know and and so you got to keep a little bit of weight on there
02:16yeah i'm going
02:16to try and lose a little bit of weight and uh no i i wouldn't expect anything you know different
02:21from joe or jc on i'm saying something like that um but no i'm i'm gonna um i've lost a
02:27little bit
02:27of weight already you know i'm making my way slowly but surely you know make sure it's a uh something
02:32i
02:32can you know commit to and stay to but uh i'll never be as skinny as i have too big
02:36of a head to
02:37you know get that skinny like people are like oh god this guy looks sick or something like that so
02:41we'll get to a comfortable way to help weight but uh nothing where you're going to be like is this
02:45guy
02:45coming back to play tight end or receiver or something like that do you have plans already
02:50set up to come and hang out during training camp at any point maybe do kind of what joe has
02:54done
02:54which is teach teach some of the lines some things and just a sparing role um you know i haven't
03:00got
03:01anything super dialed in i know i'm going to be at camp a couple times doing a little bit of
03:04content
03:05stuff with the browns um you know maybe one of the preseason games be around a little bit i haven't
03:10jumped into the the coaching atmosphere i know it's a new coaching staff and uh i i've had good
03:15conversations with you know ab and and uh jw and stuff but i i haven't made my presence felt it's
03:20kind of you know like right away like you just finished playing you know a lot of the guys like
03:24like joe's been gone now for seven eight years and so it's a little bit different when he comes back
03:29you know as the first year you know you want to give him some space before you rush back in
03:34and be
03:34like all right this is how you do it young and you know so uh they they didn't just have
03:39to replace
03:40you this offseason they had to replace all five starters and they went even beyond that i mean
03:45there's eight new guys i think in that room that all could be vying for for meaningful playing time
03:50this year and one of the big conversation points is you know how quickly that level of turnover takes
03:57to gel so from the from that side of things like what are what are the things that have to
04:02happen
04:03for that offensive line to gel quickly which i think then is going to set the rest of the offense
04:08up for success this year i think it's reps right like you need reps in practice with guys you need
04:15um reps and scrimmages and maybe even some reps in preseason games you know i know
04:19like all these guys if you look at them on paper like elton jenkins um pettis howard um zion johnson
04:25like
04:25these guys have played a lot of football in this league so like they're not not experienced playing but
04:30then when you play next to a new left tackle and a new center and and um with a new
04:34quarterback
04:35and a new system like that takes time and so it might take a little bit of building but i
04:39think
04:39the reps in practice the reps from otas and and just building it up and they might not be at
04:44full
04:44strength you know till week four or five like it's going to take a few weeks to to truly understand
04:49what
04:49the people are doing around you but i think they have a talent and you know you hope the the
04:54rookies
04:54come in and do a good job and you figure out who's playing center and who's playing guard because i
04:57know
04:58there's um some of that up in the air but but you know you get the group together hopefully you
05:03get
05:03the group of five that you want to be out there and then they get as many reps as they
05:06can um in
05:07practice and in games to to really be the best version of themselves so given that you we don't
05:13just have over you know kind of figuring out who are going to be the five starting offensive linemen
05:17you're also trying to answer the quarterback question as well how does a quarterback battle impact that
05:23timeline of trying to get yourself again gelled and being the best offensive line you can be
05:30it's part of it right you wish you could have just like day one starter like this is your guy
05:34and you
05:34can you can gel with like that's the perfect situation every team wants to have you know their
05:38their guy uh their problem solved at quarterback but i think for the whole line it's more like let's
05:43figure out who's playing the positions and work with each other and then we'll kind of uh worry about
05:48who's behind us because you got to do that anyway in games sometimes but um i think they'll get the
05:52reps
05:52and they'll split reps with the sean and chador and and you know see who comes out in front but
05:58i
05:58think the whole line will will mesh and the quarterback matters but um i think it's playing
06:02next to your center playing next to your left tackle if you're the left guard and really feeling
06:06comfortable with those guys in playing with both of them what is it something you want the fans to
06:11know about each quarterback and deshaun and chador yeah i think deshaun is as healthy as he's been
06:16right since i mean he he came back probably that first year and he hadn't played football in
06:21in you know so many years because of injury and because of the lawsuits and everything like that
06:26but i think he's finally healthy like he took a another year off from that achilles and
06:29is moving and healthy and and i don't have i i'm not talking to him on a daily basis or
06:34anything but
06:35just from the videos and from his confidence i think he's the most confident he's been in a few
06:38years as well which is huge and then you know chador i think has put in the work and he
06:45is not afraid
06:46of those big time throws right like i think you saw that and i think that's what sparked the interest
06:50of the team and the coaching staff last year was like there was some big time plays and you know
06:56it's hard to go on 15 play drives every time in this league and so to have those big 30
07:0140 50 yard
07:02plays in a quarterback you can you know show some consistency in other aspects of the game
07:06like i think that's a huge um plus on on chador side all right now i gotta put you in
07:11the hot seat
07:11who do you see winning the starting quarterback job uh you know it's it's such a tough question
07:18and i'm uh i don't know you know i don't know how who's gonna you know come out on top
07:23i don't know
07:24what the coaching staff is thinking or what ab and his team is thinking like not being around you know
07:28it seems like from an outside and i haven't been at ota i've just seen i'm i'm a fan now
07:33you know i i've
07:34just seen what's happening on uh on twitter and stuff it seems like the sean might get the start of
07:39the
07:39year which which you know from your perspective is like you see what he can do is he healthy is
07:43he
07:43confident again like you've invested a lot of money in this guy and you go out there and let him
07:47play
07:48and if it goes well you know okay you you win some games and if it doesn't then you have
07:53chador and
07:54maybe there's less pressure on chador when he's coming in not having to start the season not you
07:58know winning a comp um a competition so um that's kind of my perspective from the outside but
08:04you never know i mean chador could could dominate in the preseason and be like hey we got to roll
08:09with this young guy and and you know it's the future and it the time is now you know yesterday
08:14we talked a lot about whether or not you know players have favorites right it was off the jerry
08:18judy commentary on the internet and everything and and and it's just interesting like last year you
08:22guys had it was four different quarterbacks and i'm sure there was a bunch of different opinions in
08:26that locker room how what what do you see over the years when you have quarterback competitions and
08:31whether or not people are uh split the locker room is split like who's it on to maybe speak up
08:36or
08:37maybe just stay quiet in those moments about what they think should happen yeah it's so as a player
08:44especially as a younger player like you're so worried about yourself right like my first few years i was
08:49always like i just got to be the best person of myself to play um and be the starter at
08:53left guard
08:54and then as you get some time with the team and some relationships with the coaches maybe you have a
08:58little bit more of a say on things you know um and you start getting the vibe there's definitely people
09:03that have favorites like there's receivers and in tight ends that get the ball more with a certain
09:07quarterback and then there's linemen that are like oh yeah this guy gets rid of the ball in two seconds
09:11like let's put him back there he gives us a great great chance to be successful as a group
09:16um and you know i think it's it's really the coaches and the front office that end up making
09:21those decisions but you can have your input like like going into last year like you you know i was
09:26more comfortable with flacco as our quarterback right like i had played with him before
09:30kenny figure was injured so i never got a chance to play with him in the preseason and i was
09:34like
09:34in my opinion it's like joe has to be our guy to to kind of start off the year and
09:38then
09:38you know we'll see what happens from there so there's definitely like a feel of what you want but
09:43at the end of the day you know the coaches and the and the staff are the other ones making
09:47those
09:47decisions joel one of the big things we've heard about the differences maybe from munkin to
09:53Stefanski was just their approach and and you know the whether it's the energy difference whether
09:59it's kind of the day-to-day energy difference you went through quite a few coaching changes
10:04with the browns what do you see as the similarities of coaches that got it right and that were able
10:10to have success versus the coaches that maybe didn't have the kind of success you guys are hoping
10:15for and maybe found themselves quickly out of a job right i think my best years were or the time
10:23we won
10:24the most games right was was ped my rookie of the first half of that year and we had coach
10:29pedman
10:29coach shanahan who was running the offense and it was like this consistency these expectations
10:35all the things you you hear about these coaches and i think that was a great you know start to
10:39my
10:39career of like all right this is nfl like this how you win games in this league and then you
10:44know
10:44when greg williams took over the after you got fired um there was discipline there there was
10:49accountability and i and it's one of those things where like i think greg williams was a great coach
10:54and it's like does that wear on you for two or three years if he's the the head man but
10:58for an
10:58eight game interim coach like it was what the team needed and we we you know went five and three
11:02i think
11:03when he was was the head coach and and the guys bought into that and then when coach the fancy
11:07came
11:08he laid out expectations he had a standard and he was the same guy there was no emotional
11:13like highs and lows that you have with some of the some of the years that we weren't as good
11:18and you know we went to the playoffs twice with coach the fancy so i think guys want to be
11:22coached
11:22right and i think expectations want to be laid out and you don't want any of this like you just
11:27tell
11:27it to them you know you hear stories about like coach belichick and and some of these guys that call
11:31tom brady in the meeting room or you know coach frable would call guys when when he was the head
11:36coach of the titans and now the patriots like like those moments it's like it's okay to call guys out
11:40guys want to be coached and if you mess up like it's okay like i have a holding call on
11:44third down that cost us
11:45a series like it's okay to let the team know that um and so i think those people that have
11:50expectations that coach guys kind of the same right like we know there's a difference between
11:54the starting quarterback and the 53rd man on the team but if you can coach those guys and make it
11:59appear that it's the same and have those standards like i think that's what guys want and um from all
12:04accounts munkin has done that and and the guys have kind of bought into that we'll see you know how
12:08it
12:08goes with the wins and losses but i just think from that initial spark the guys seem bought in and
12:13excited to play for from a mentality standpoint though how hard is it to play when and i get
12:18it everyone's got to play every down as hard as they possibly can but they you know brown's trade
12:23miles garrett in the offseason and it really does feel like the sentiment is everyone's gearing up for
12:272027 not necessarily 2026 but gearing up for 2027 yeah as a player i never thought that way right and
12:35we had some i mean if you would ask me before we went oh and 16 if we're going to
12:40own 16 i would
12:41have probably been like no way like there's no chance like this team is is that bad you know
12:46and so it's not delusion but it's like you're around the guys that are working and you see the
12:50work that's put in and you see the practice time and the amount of time so you don't know what's
12:55going on at other teams but in your mind it's like we've put in the work we have guys here
12:58that want
12:58to be here and want to win um and so that part is is never in your mind of of
13:04what you had a great
13:04draft last year you bring in a draft class that you think is supposed to be good you know you
13:08have a
13:08few linemen some receivers um in you know some help in the secondary like that are highly touted a
13:15good draft as well and so you're like if we can develop this and find someone at quarterback
13:19to in the new revamped offensive line can come in and be successful like there's no thought in your
13:24mind that you can't compete you know you know with other teams and win some football games um so as
13:29a
13:29player you never had that thought maybe if you got the week eight and you're like dang we're one in
13:32seven or oh and eight you're like all right we we weren't what we thought we were but i think
13:37the
13:37mentality of going out there and and trying to win every game is there and with such a young team
13:42like you can coach it hard and you can practice hard and you can develop and uh continue to push
13:47to win as many games as possible joel i know you said you're laying low enjoying some family time but
13:52big picture down the road the three buckets we see a lot of football players go into are coaching
13:59scouting like front office or broadcasting which of those three buckets do you see yourself most likely
14:05to go into uh in the relatively near future if you were to ask me like when i started my
14:11football
14:12career i would have said coaching for sure but after seeing what the amount of time these people put
14:17in um is is unbelievable like they put more time in the players you know not as physical obviously but
14:22the mental time and the time away from families is crazy so i think you can mark coaching unless you're
14:27talking about like my daughter's eight-year-old soccer team maybe i'll maybe i'll learn a little bit of
14:32that um and then broadcast i don't i don't know i'm not sure on the i don't think scouting i'll
14:37give
14:37into unless it's like uh a very small thing like hey here's like five linemen to go take a peek
14:43at
14:43and and you know kind of see what they're doing in college or free agents maybe something of that
14:48nature um you know i'm gonna do a little bit of content stuff with the browns this this training
14:52camp and see how i kind of like it um nothing too crazy but but just be around and be
14:57connected with
14:58the browns still because you know they're my team 12 years and and i'll always be a fan and always
15:02be
15:02appreciative of uh my career there so i mean if i had a guest it'd probably be into the the
15:07content
15:08broadcasting side but i'm not doing anything where i'm like taking a full-on like cannonball into it
15:12and being like all right this is this is my next goal i'm just going to kind of see what
15:16happens and
15:17kind of let it flow that sounds pretty sensible now if you ever do get the urge to get your
15:21own
15:22podcast what i'm thinking is the obvious is the the jewel betonio podcast right i was thinking
15:28only lineman and i want to tell you i would be willing to co-host that podcast with you isn't
15:33that very yeah magnanimous of me yeah i mean you know you need a great co-host right like that's
15:40what
15:40i tell people all the time i'm like if i'm getting into this i don't know all the ins and
15:43outs you know
15:44i i have a little bit of a little bit of history playing the game but um but there's a
15:49lot that goes
15:49into it i like that i'm here to ride your coattails joe uh joel we appreciate you buddy
15:54thanks joel yeah thanks for having me guys uh former browns offensive lineman there joel betonio
Comments