00:00Mary Kay writes about the Browns for Cleveland Plain Dealer and Cleveland.com and we are very thankful to have
00:04her here this morning.
00:04Mary Kay, good morning to you.
00:07Good morning, guys. How are you doing?
00:08We're doing well. I want to get to something later about the past.
00:11I want to start with the now and the present right now. This is big stuff.
00:15Alright, Deshaun Watson is going to start on Saturday.
00:18Shador Sanders is going to start next Saturday against the Bills.
00:22This is after the joint practice.
00:24Is the joint practice against the Bills more important than both of these games together?
00:28It could be. I'm curious to see how Todd Munkin handled the reps in that game.
00:33If he gives the majority of those reps to Deshaun Watson, I think that's going to be significant.
00:38But he has also been making a little bit of noise about splitting some of those first team reps in
00:45that practice.
00:46So I think that's something to watch right there.
00:49Well, we've been wondering, you know, for the last few days,
00:53does it make a difference who starts this game as opposed to Buffalo?
00:58I thought this was a good opportunity for Shador over those next two games and that scrimmage,
01:04the joint practice, to be able to actually win the job.
01:07But others totally disagree.
01:08They think now this is totally slated for Deshaun Watson to win.
01:13Well, I think this shows that at this moment in time that Deshaun Watson has the slight edge in the
01:19competition.
01:19I think you would probably go ahead and start who you think might be your starting quarterback in the first
01:25preseason game.
01:26That's what makes sense to me.
01:28But next week is a pivotal week.
01:30It really is.
01:30It's a pivotal week with that practice and with that game against the Bills.
01:35Once those two things are over, I believe that they will know the identity of their starting quarterback.
01:39I don't think they will necessarily announce it by then, but I think they will know.
01:44And I think that Deshaun going first is meaningful.
01:48I think it means that right now he has the inside track to win the job, and it's almost his
01:53job to lose.
01:55But again, things can change next week.
01:58Deshaun has to go out there and show them certain things, and then Shador has to do the same.
02:04Mary Kay, is it your reading and seeing the stuff that you've been able to see every day that Deshaun
02:11Watson has the edge?
02:12Or is there stuff behind the scenes that we can't possibly account for that is the reason he has the
02:18edge?
02:19Well, some of it is behind the scenes, but some of it is at the line of scrimmage that you
02:23can't always see when you're out there.
02:25You can't necessarily understand when they're far away from you what's happening pre-snap in terms of changing the play
02:34or IDing or sliding the protection or whatever, handling the cadences.
02:41Those are all things that are happening right out there on the field, and so a lot of it is
02:47what's going on on the field.
02:49Now, once Shador does get that ball in his hand, he's done a really, really nice job with fitting it
02:55into some tight windows.
02:57I will say that there have been more wobblers this year than I remember last year, but it's still, for
03:04the most part, getting where it's supposed to go.
03:06And he has made a lot of really nice passes, a lot of completions.
03:10He's protecting the football, and he has risen to the occasion.
03:13Every time they throw down the gauntlet at him, he comes through in a big way, including after they took
03:20away his first team reps on Saturday and gave those to Deshaun Watson.
03:24Mary Kay Cabot joining us here on the show.
03:26Is there any fear for them that, because there were a lot of people going, well, they just don't want
03:30the fans to boo Deshaun Watson next Saturday at home.
03:34Is that any consideration whatsoever to the organization?
03:38I think it is.
03:39I think that they need to see that Deshaun Watson is going to be able to handle what's coming his
03:45way, and it's going to be very, very significant in this competition, I think, for him to prove that he
03:53has the mental toughness to handle the boos that he is going to hear for himself and the calls and
04:00the cheers that he is going to hear for Shador Sanders.
04:02Everybody is human.
04:04Everybody is human.
04:05That's probably going to happen in the stadium, and I've said this a few different times.
04:10If they start Deshaun Watson this season, the fact that their first two are on the road and six of
04:15their first nine are on the road are actually going to benefit him because he will probably see more of
04:21a hostile crowd at home than he will on the road.
04:23But having said that, that's what he's got to show.
04:26Now, he said yesterday, he told us he's mentally tough.
04:30I asked Todd Munkin last week, what is the number one trait for you in a starting NFL quarterback?
04:37And he said mental toughness.
04:38So that is what they have to see from Deshaun.
04:41He's going to have to go out there and prove that he can play good ball under those circumstances.
04:47Mary Kay Cabot with us.
04:48It's been four-plus years since the Browns traded for Deshaun Watson.
04:53And what we continue to hear from the national people is bewilderment why he was even up to compete for
05:01this starting job.
05:02Obviously, we have a new head coach in Todd Munkin.
05:04But what are your thoughts on that as you are a lot closer to the situation than some of the
05:09national pundits who are criticizing the Browns?
05:11If you just look at the surface of this whole thing and you just look at the statistics and you
05:17look at some of the film, I can see why people on the outside would no way be able to
05:21understand a decision like this or giving Deshaun Watson a chance.
05:26But people really don't dig into it and take a deep dive to know exactly what's gone on on the
05:31field and just what has gone on in the three years that he tried to play here.
05:36The first season, complete wash because of the suspension.
05:39There was no way he was coming back in those last six games and going to be able to accomplish
05:45very much at all.
05:46So that one was just a wash.
05:48And then you get into 2023, and that season was really all about the shoulder from the very beginning.
05:57I believe he suffered a serious injury in week three.
06:00I saw him even after that not being able to raise that arm to lift anything out of his locker
06:05or to do anything in the time after that.
06:07And then we come to find out that he had suffered a torn rotator cuff at that time.
06:13But I don't know.
06:15I still suspect that perhaps there were the beginnings of the fracture at that point.
06:19He was never the same after week three.
06:21Never, never the same.
06:22And so then ultimately you get to the Baltimore game, and we find out after that game that he has
06:31a fractured glenoid bone.
06:32But his surgeon had told him that it probably happened before that.
06:36We don't know how long before that, but it happened at some point before that.
06:40And everybody could see that he didn't have it from an arm standpoint that year.
06:43And then he comes back in the next year.
06:45He still didn't have it.
06:46I watched him at the Greenbrier not be able to throw a pass 25 yards away from him into a
06:50net.
06:51So I just never saw the Deshaun of old in 2024, and the offense was just messed up that year.
07:00It was very, very messed up.
07:02If you really took a football person and analyzed everything that happened from the Greenbrier to the moment that Deshaun
07:09ruptured that Achilles,
07:10it was not conducive to good football for a quarterback at that point.
07:15So I just don't think he has had any kind of an opportunity to show what he can do under
07:21sort of normal circumstances
07:23with a good supporting cast, with a game that is called specifically for his strength and when he's healthy.
07:30Mary Kay Cabot joining us here on the Wise Heart Right.
07:32We make it right.
07:33Call Kyle Right Hotline.
07:34Does Watson's salary have anything to do with him starting?
07:38No.
07:39I really do believe that they're trying to do everything that they can to win football games this season.
07:46They know they're going to be better later in the season, which is part of the reason why I have
07:51always believed that in this particular year
07:54that Shador Sanders might be better served to go in later than in the first couple weeks of the season
08:00when they're trying to figure out how the offensive line is going to come together, how the young receivers are
08:05going to come together.
08:06Things are going to be gelling much more in week four, five, six than they are in weeks one and
08:13two.
08:14So I don't think the money has anything to do with it.
08:17I really don't.
08:17I mean, they have to pay that money no matter what happens.
08:20And chances are, I mean, it would probably be a long shot at this point for Deshaun to earn a
08:27next contract here.
08:29So I don't think that's it.
08:30I think Todd Munkin wants to win now.
08:33That's how he's wired.
08:34That's what this is all about.
08:35And I think the Browns understand they need to get this thing turned around and get some winning football on
08:42the field.
08:42What do you make of the Dylan Gabriel reps right now?
08:46And Todd Munkin obviously had said that he had a chance to earn more reps.
08:50And it seemed like on certain days he was getting them, on certain days he wasn't getting them.
08:55Is there any method to the madness here?
08:58Well, I just think you have decisions to make and you have to see what he's all about.
09:01You have to see who's your number one, who's maybe your number two.
09:05I mean, we don't know where this is going yet.
09:07And maybe you want to make sure that other teams are going to be able to see, too, that he
09:13can play some decent football in case somebody wants to offer you something for him.
09:18So there are a lot of things that go into a decision like that.
09:21But I think he's also got an opportunity over these next three games, these first three preseason games, to show
09:29that he's got some value and some merit.
09:31And I think that he was also put in a very difficult situation last year, as all the quarterbacks were.
09:37Mary Kay Cabot joining us here on the show.
09:39Did anybody ask Todd Munkin yesterday about these alleged blisters that was on the Internet yesterday?
09:46No, but I did ask Shador about the blisters.
09:50Okay.
09:51So, yeah, I asked him.
09:53And he said that he did, in fact, have blisters at the very beginning of training camp.
09:57Okay.
09:57And that they worked through those.
10:00So he's not using it as an excuse right now for some of those wobblers that we're seeing there.
10:07But he did acknowledge that that was an issue very early in training camp.
10:12Mary Kay, do you care about some of the wobblers, like the great Isaiah Bond pass?
10:17I didn't even see until I saw two different vantage points that it was a total wobbler in the air,
10:24but it got to where it needed to get to, and it was caught.
10:26So what do we make of passes like that?
10:31Well, I actually want to look into that a little bit more.
10:34I'm curious about the whole thing.
10:36I saw that Warren Sharp of Sharp Football Analysis put something out just yesterday about the spin and the revolution
10:44on the ball.
10:45I think it's an interesting topic.
10:47I do think, for the most part, in a game that it probably does matter because you're not always going
10:55to be going up against Trey Avery.
10:57You're going to have some defensive backs out there that are just going to be licking their chops for a
11:02pass they think they can get their hands on.
11:04And not to knock Trey Avery, but it's different going against Trey Avery than it is a five-time Pro
11:10Bowl cornerback like Denzel Ward.
11:12So I think those kinds of cornerbacks would be looking for opportunities to get picks.
11:18And if you see a little bit of a wobbler that might end up getting a little underthrown or whatnot,
11:24then that could be an issue.
11:26Mary Kay Cabot joining us here on the show.
11:28Spencer Fano, he's going to start left tackle, correct?
11:30Yes, that is correct.
11:31Okay, who's going to start over at right tackle?
11:34As of right now, Titus Howard.
11:37But once again, I do think that let's see what happens in this next week.
11:42They have to get the best starting five out on the field.
11:45And if DeJuan Jones establishes that he is one of those guys, then they might decide to get him in
11:51there somewhere, somehow.
11:53That would possibly involve moving Titus inside a little bit to right guard.
11:58But I don't know.
11:59I mean, George Warhop doesn't really want to do that.
12:02He doesn't want to upset the apple cart that much.
12:04So I'm not sure if that will happen or if they will just find someone else to play right guard
12:09and kind of go with what they've been doing.
12:10Is Elton Jenkins going to start the season at center?
12:13I would say yes.
12:14They need a veteran presence in there right now.
12:16And Parker has been hurt.
12:17He's been wearing a wrist brace.
12:18So yeah, that will be Elton.
12:20We still have all three preseason games ahead of us, Mary Kay.
12:24Is there a name that we know that is possibly like on the bubble that we would be surprised with?
12:31Well, the only one I would say right now would be probably Cedric Tillman.
12:35I think he's had a very nice camp, but we can see that Denzel Boston has kind of taken over
12:41that big body wide receiver role.
12:44And so therefore, I would think that Ced is someone that if someone came calling that they would be willing
12:50to part with him.
12:53What about the nickel cornerback spot?
12:57Well, that's been Miles Harden's spot throughout camp.
13:00And right now, I don't see that changing anytime soon.
13:02I will say, however, that they have some injury issues at cornerback.
13:08And I think they're still going to need to kind of look around and maybe tweak that position a little
13:13bit.
13:14So that's just something to keep an eye on.
13:16Okay, we have some audio I would like you to hear.
13:18Baker was on the 4th and South podcast.
13:21Here is what Baker said about the Browns and circling week two and that there were some people in the
13:29building that weren't as committed to winning as he thought they should have been.
13:32It was eye-opening to see that it wasn't just football.
13:35For me, going from college to the NFL, it wasn't just about how do we win.
13:38There was a lot of people that are involved in it.
13:39And not everybody was trying to help us win.
13:41Not everybody was trying to do their part and do their role to do that.
13:44So I think that was the most eye-opening part.
13:46There was ups and downs for sure.
13:47When I came in in 2018, the amount of high draft picks they had had in the past couple years,
13:51the free agent signings that we had before I got drafted, the culture was really starting to change.
13:55And that's a credit to John Dorsey, Elliott Wolfe, Wazo Highsmith for bringing in football guys to truly try and
14:00change it.
14:01Some things you can't change in a building, but you can change the locker room and the makeup of that.
14:04And they did a good job of building that.
14:05Is there a team circled on the schedule this year?
14:08First home game, week two, Cleveland.
14:09All right, that's a lot in a short amount of time.
14:11Do you think Baker is referring to – my question is, who is he referring to?
14:15Do you think Baker is referring to a teammate, certain teammates?
14:19Do you think he's referring to anybody in the front office?
14:23I don't know who he's referring to there, but there was a lot of dysfunction going on at that point.
14:30There was a ton of dysfunction.
14:32Baker's last season was one of the most dysfunctional seasons I've ever seen, and I've seen a lot of them.
14:38But there was a disconnect, and why didn't he talk about that with Jarvis?
14:42There was a disconnect between Baker and then Jarvis and Odell.
14:46Those guys felt on the outside of the quarterback room in a quarterback sort of clicky situation they felt was
14:51going on there.
14:53There were a lot of things going on.
14:55Baker Mayfield and Miles Garrett were at odds, and they didn't see eye-to-eye on things.
15:01And then Baker Mayfield really wanted nothing to do with Kevin Stefanski,
15:05and that's another large reason that he's not here.
15:09He did not like the way that he was being used.
15:11Something was going to have to give.
15:13And I had written a story before all of this went down that if things did not change,
15:19that he was probably going to ask to be traded.
15:22So there were a lot of things there.
15:23I don't think it was people didn't want to win.
15:26I just think that it was difficult for that team to get anything right that year.
15:31Mary Kay, you're a glorious individual.
15:33We love you so much.
15:34We thank you for your time.
15:35Safe travels out to Chicago, and we'll talk to you again next week.
15:38Sounds good.
15:39Thanks, guys.
15:39Mary Kay Cabot on the Wise Heart Right.
15:41We make it right.
15:42Call Kyle Wright Hotline.
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