00:00Shall we go to Berea? I think we shall, because joining us on the Wise Heart Right, we make it
00:05right.
00:05Call Kyle Wright Hotline, the man who calls Brown's action for us on the Brown's Radio Network.
00:10Ladies and gentlemen, world traveler, Andrew Siciliano.
00:15Hello, Andrew.
00:16Happy training camp to you and yours.
00:18Yeah, thank you, buddy. And to you. You ready to roll?
00:20Right back at you. I'm ready. I'm excited. Like, legitimately excited.
00:26It's always, like, these mixed emotions, because there is still a month left in the summer for the rest of
00:34the world.
00:34A month, three weeks, whatever.
00:36Not us.
00:38Not for the football world. And so there's this, wow, I wish I could have more of a summer.
00:44But you're like, no, it's football. Let's go. Let's get excited.
00:48And it is, like, the excitement is palpable. How about that? You could also taste it.
00:53Nice.
00:53Nice. What most excites you on day one, Andrew Siciliano?
00:58What have we got to look forward to today?
01:01What is it, pal?
01:02Oh, Tom, the quarterback tracker.
01:04Oh, here you go. Get it out.
01:06I'm kidding. I'm kidding.
01:08What excites me the most?
01:10The rookies, I think.
01:13But just to see everyone out there, like, we're not going to – nothing is decided day one.
01:19But I think day one sets the tone. Does that make sense?
01:22It does.
01:23Like, there's – no one's winning a job today.
01:24It's like week one. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
01:25Yeah, no one is winning a job today.
01:27But day one sets the tone.
01:30And I think it's great to have Denzel done.
01:34I think for a number of reasons.
01:38Like, look around the league.
01:39Jameer Gibbs and Bijan Robinson and Vita Vey, all these people are, quote-unquote, holding in.
01:43We don't have that.
01:45None of that.
01:46So, you reward Denzel, and it is well-deserved.
01:50And then you start training camp, and you hope, fingers crossed, everything goes well.
01:55We just talked about the offensive line.
01:58On paper, we can pencil in every starter.
02:02You think that paper holds, or should that pencil have an eraser on it?
02:06I think everything is movable.
02:09They're movable pieces, as you laid out.
02:11I think the biggest question is at center, and the biggest question is,
02:14can the rookie, Parker Brailsford, the fifth-round pick, win this job?
02:19I don't know if he can.
02:20I think he certainly has a puncher's chance.
02:23If he can, then as you laid out there, Jeff, the question is, what do you do at right guard?
02:27I think Elton Jenkins would be your right guard if Parker Brailsford is your center,
02:32and you sign Elton Jenkins because of his versatility, which is great.
02:37But right guard is not a position he has played in the NFL, at least as a starter in the
02:41regular season.
02:42He has started at right guard in the preseason with Green Bay,
02:47but never in the regular season.
02:50His experience is center, left guard, left tackle for the most part.
02:56So that, to me, is the question.
02:58If it's Elton Jenkins at center, then it's likely Tevin Jenkins at right guard.
03:05Is there a world in which Zion Johnson plays right guard?
03:08I don't think so.
03:09He's been all left guarding.
03:12Well, no, he played right guard as a rookie in 2022 with the Chargers.
03:15And then moved to left guard, right?
03:17Correct.
03:18So there is position flex, but you have some guys that aren't necessarily comfortable everywhere.
03:25So that, to me, is the question.
03:27If DeJuan looks good, doesn't DeJuan have to play and maybe start somewhere?
03:33You signed Titus Howard to be your right tackle.
03:36I know.
03:36But if DeJuan looks good.
03:40Looks good where?
03:42Does it matter?
03:45Does it matter?
03:45And, Andrew, I'm not trying to be funny.
03:47I mean, we've thought for some time, this guy could be unbelievable.
03:52If he comes in and he's unbelievable in training camp, doesn't he have to start?
03:57I think DeJuan's your swing tackle.
04:00Okay.
04:01That's what I think.
04:03Is there a world in which he is amazing and you say Spencer Fano's not ready and then DeJuan's your
04:10left?
04:11Maybe.
04:12But I think, barring an injury, DeJuan is your swing tackle.
04:17Okay.
04:17That's just me.
04:18Yeah, Spencer Fano.
04:19A lot of expectations and some pressure for Spencer here.
04:24High draft pick taking over an incredibly important position spot here for these Browns.
04:33What's your general assessment of him from the spring, Andrew?
04:36What did you think of Spencer?
04:37I was really taken by, first of all, his personality.
04:41I didn't get to watch him as much as I wanted to on the field.
04:44But what were your general thoughts of him?
04:47So, it's hard to tell, obviously, offensive line and running back play, for that matter, without pads on.
04:53Yeah, exactly.
04:53It's shorts.
04:54I mean, everything in the spring is in pajamas, basically.
04:58And the pads come on next week.
05:00You'll get a far better feel for it.
05:01But he checks every box when it comes to attitude, athleticism.
05:05I think he's a culture builder, honestly.
05:07As much as Jared versus on the defensive side of the ball, and you're going to hear Jared out there
05:12today,
05:13you hear him before you see him.
05:15Spencer Fano is a culture builder.
05:17And I know he's a rookie.
05:18He's not going to be the loudest guy.
05:20But he's a culture builder on the offensive line.
05:23From day one, when he got here on Friday, after they took him ninth overall,
05:29the second he walked in the building, he was different.
05:34I mean, he walked up to everybody and gave them hugs.
05:38And they weren't just like quick, hey, dap it out.
05:40Like, give me a bro hug.
05:41Like, he goes, I'm a hugger.
05:43And they were like these warm embraces.
05:46The level of excitement that he had, legitimate excitement, to meet everybody in the building.
05:53It wasn't an act.
05:54He's a different dude.
05:56And he's also really good at football.
05:58But the football is the most important thing right now.
06:00It is hard to play left tackle in this league as a rookie.
06:04I think he has it.
06:05I know he has the talent.
06:07But the Browns offensive tackles gave up the most pressures as a group of any group in the NFL last
06:14year.
06:15He's got to show that he can play the position and keep the quarterback clean before you put him out
06:20there as a starter.
06:21Andrew, I'm just going to say, hugging at this level will cost you 10 yards.
06:25I'm just, you know.
06:27I'm not talking holding.
06:29Although they were warm embraces.
06:31Ah, that's nice.
06:33That's very nice.
06:36What does Deshaun Watson have to look like for it to be a very easy decision for Todd Munkin?
06:43I mean, either quarterback's got to look like the better quarterback.
06:46I don't know that it really is this complicated.
06:50Todd Munkin's going to play the quarterback that looks better.
06:53Truly.
06:54He is a first-year head coach.
06:58And you have to give him the right to stand up in front of this team and convince this locker
07:05room, whether it is the 90 out there today or the 53 out there week one, that this is a
07:12meritocracy.
07:13And that the best quarterback on the grass in Berea against the Bills in a joint practice and in the
07:20three preseason games in Chicago and at Huntington Bankfield, the best quarterback will win the job.
07:26I don't know who that is going to be.
07:28I mean, honestly, I got stopped in Sicily on the street.
07:31I'm not kidding.
07:32Are you serious?
07:33Three weeks ago.
07:34I swear.
07:34Who's going to win the job?
07:35I don't know who is going to win the job.
07:38I don't.
07:39I really don't.
07:41I don't know that anyone.
07:44Look, if somebody had won the job in June, we would know.
07:48Nobody won the job in June.
07:50And that should tell you something.
07:52Was that by an Italian or somebody from Parma on vacation over there?
07:55It was somebody.
07:57I don't know if they're from Parma, but it was somebody from here.
07:59Yeah, definitely somebody from here.
08:01Andrew, how quickly do you think Coach Munkin wants to have this decision made?
08:05I kind of look at.
08:06About a month ago.
08:08Yeah, no kidding.
08:09I'm looking at that August 20th, 22nd gap or couple of days there with the Bills as vital in this.
08:18Do you think he wants to have it done before then, though?
08:21I think August 20th is the key day because that obviously is the Bills' joint practice.
08:26I think he would love to have it decided before the Bills' game.
08:32I think the realistic target date, and this is just me spitballing here, truly, is the 24th.
08:39Because that's the Monday before the final preseason game, the game against the Patriots, the TNF game.
08:45That's just me spitballing here.
08:48Because remember, that's when Kevin named Flacco last year.
08:51Maybe he did it the Saturday after or the Sunday after the second game.
08:56To me, that makes sense.
08:59I can't imagine we go into the New England game without knowing.
09:04I don't think he's going to name a quarterback next week.
09:07It's just that's not going to happen.
09:09No, I hear you.
09:10Hey, we've been kicking around this.
09:12You know, the idea that Deshaun went 700 days between starts when he...
09:19693.
09:20It'll be 693 this time.
09:22It was 700 the first time.
09:24Oh.
09:25So, my point to these guys was that, you know, when he came back this past time, before
09:31the Achilles, the shoulder was not right.
09:33I think we could all see that.
09:35What do you think it's going to look like when he's out there, you know, against the Bills
09:40or the first exhibition game against the Bears?
09:43How do you think he's going to look?
09:46I got no idea.
09:47Yeah.
09:47I kind of feel the same.
09:48Like, I'm not trying to duck the question.
09:50No, I know.
09:51I got no idea.
09:52I know.
09:52I mean, I know there were days...
09:55Like, let's go back to the spring.
09:58And joking about the quarterback tracker aside, there were days in which Deshaun looked better
10:05and there were days in which Shadour looked better.
10:07I would agree.
10:07There were days in which Deshaun, you were here, looked really good.
10:11There were days where Shadour looked really good.
10:13And there were days where you were like, eh, for both of them, because it's a work in
10:19progress.
10:19Now, some of that is because you're working with young wide receivers and the other vets
10:24weren't here other than the mandatory minicamp.
10:26Some of that is you're installing a new offense.
10:29Some of that is working with a new play caller.
10:31I mean, there's so many reasons.
10:33No one's being overly critical for performance in the spring at all.
10:37But I don't know who's going to win this job.
10:39And I don't know what Shadour or Deshaun, what either is going to look like.
10:45I mean, I am fascinated to see what Shadour can do in year two.
10:49Truly fascinated.
10:51I hope we get the chance to see a lot of that.
10:53I know we will.
10:54I know we will this summer.
10:57Is there a chance that Deshaun can find the magic again?
11:00Wow, that would be great.
11:02But it's been a long time.
11:04I mean, forget about the 700 days.
11:07The last time we saw Deshaun, we were like, that's the guy, was week 10 in 2023.
11:18Yeah, the Baltimore game, right?
11:19The Baltimore game.
11:20Like the second half of the Baltimore game.
11:24That's where we're like, I see it.
11:25Like, I know that guy.
11:27Yeah.
11:27I know him.
11:29I know that guy.
11:31That was a long time ago.
11:33Yeah.
11:33Andrew Siciliano joining us.
11:35Browns' first practice of training camp today.
11:39Todd Munkin coming up at 1250.
11:41When Jim Schwartz was not hired as head coach and Jim Schwartz didn't stay as defensive coordinator,
11:47Browns went out and brought in a guy and said, okay, we're going to run a similar system,
11:52aggressive, everything else.
11:54But a Mike Rutenberg defense isn't going to be exactly like a Jim Schwartz defense.
11:59That just doesn't happen.
12:00What tweaks do you want to see?
12:02What tweaks do you think you might see?
12:04And obviously, you've got one big difference on that defensive line, too.
12:08How's it differ?
12:10So, I mean, conceptually, they're going to play a wide nine.
12:12They're going to get after the quarterback.
12:14They're going to attack.
12:14That's all the same.
12:16But he's not Jim Schwartz, and you can't ask him to be Jim Schwartz.
12:20You can't.
12:21That's unfair to him.
12:23Now, he has a lot of the same pieces.
12:25Because there's one big change at right defensive end.
12:28I think noticeable from a fan's perspective, they're probably going to play a little bit more zone.
12:35They will probably, I mean, they drafted Emmanuel McNeil-Warren.
12:39They will play the three safety look a little bit more than they have in the past.
12:43And I think you're going to see more pre-snap disguise.
12:49Not to oversimplify what Jim Schwartz did, but Jim Schwartz threw you the fastball, right?
12:54Here it comes.
12:55Hit it.
12:56And he blew it by you a lot.
12:58A lot.
13:01Here, I'm not suggesting this is going to be Mike McDonald's defense.
13:04It is not Mike McDonald's defense, but the Seahawks just won a Super Bowl.
13:08Jesse Minner's now coaching in Baltimore with showing you one thing and playing another post-snap.
13:15That's the way the NFL is going these days.
13:17We're going to see a little bit more of that.
13:21But he's still going to throw a fastball because with Jared Verse, and you would hope with if Malik Collins
13:28is back
13:29and your defensive tackles can get after the quarterback and Alex Wright on the other side,
13:33you still hope to have a fastball.
13:37Along those lines, Andrew, Quincy Williams is a guy who knows Rudenberg's system better than anybody.
13:42Yep.
13:42What kind of impact do you think he needs to have with this defense?
13:47He needs to get back to the all-pro level, which we saw a couple of years ago.
13:52You put him with Carson Squestinger, who I think you could make an argument, could have been an all-pro.
13:57Forget about a pro bowler.
13:59Could have been an all-pro as a rookie.
14:01Agreed.
14:01He was not.
14:03That is a great tandem.
14:04My question, Tom, is what's behind it.
14:06And right now, there is not a lot of, if any, NFL experience behind it.
14:12Winston Reed and Buki Watson both coming off injuries.
14:17And then go ahead.
14:19Name another linebacker.
14:20DeJuan Jones.
14:21We'll throw him back there.
14:22Linebacker.
14:23Yeah.
14:24I mean, go.
14:26I would love to see DeJuan by linebacker.
14:28Jeff's desperate to find a spot for him.
14:31I mean, I put him at tight end.
14:33Put him in goal lines.
14:34Talk about a personality, though.
14:36Low red zone.
14:36Talk about Quincy again for a second, Andrew.
14:38Talk about a guy with a personality.
14:40I was kind of, I was really struck by, again, you know, a guy that you're going to hear before
14:45you see on the field.
14:47How much do you think that helps, this group that had a pretty good connection last year?
14:53I think it helps a lot.
14:54He fancies himself the Joker.
14:56Yeah.
14:56Another guy that you're going to hear before you see.
14:59He, it's very different than Carson Swessinger's personality.
15:03It's almost exactly opposite, actually.
15:07I like that.
15:08But from everything I've been able to see and hear, they're getting along great.
15:12And I think it's good to have that contrast.
15:16You can't have the two loudest guys in the room be your two linebackers.
15:22I think it'll work.
15:24Andrew, enjoy today.
15:26First day out there.
15:27Good look at everything.
15:28You guys coming out?
15:28Go get them.
15:29Hydrate.
15:29I'll see you later.
15:30I'll see you next week.
15:32Okay.
15:32There you go.
15:33Dequille Bartscott can't wait.
15:34There it is.
15:35Thanks, buddy.
15:36See you, boys.
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