00:00Aditi Kankabuala, Brown's pre-season sideline reporter.
00:03She's also on the NFL on CBS, and she joins us right now on that Wiseheart Right,
00:08We Make a Right Call, Kyle Right hotline. Aditi, good morning.
00:11Good morning. I sure hope it wasn't me. I'm not the person that most disappointed you.
00:15No, you did not disappoint me, but I think when you listen at 845, Aditi,
00:19on the free Odyssey app over there, you are going to be surprised by who I have to say
00:24that disappointed me very, very much over the weekend.
00:28It was a sad thing to see, and even though it's been one week of pre-season games,
00:34it's starting to make me wonder something that maybe Lyme is going to have to rein me in,
00:38and I might be going over the line about that, but we'll find out at 845.
00:41Is it Browns-related, or is it NFL at large?
00:44It is technically NFL at large, but it is Browns-related,
00:48and that's as far as I'm going to go with it.
00:50It's as far as I'm going to go. You'll have to find out in 40 minutes.
00:53Aditi, who's got the leg up in this quarterback competition? Go.
01:01It's really a philosophical question, I think.
01:05Okay, let's get philosophical about it here, Hemingway.
01:08Is it, well, is it, are you, who gives you the best chance to win at this moment right now?
01:16Who do you feel most comfortable with?
01:18Or is it, what is better for the future, and is there potential to be assessed?
01:26So what I mean by that is that Shadir Sanders is still very young.
01:30He is rising.
01:31As Todd Mankin told us, he is night and day different from the first week that Mankin was with him.
01:37He has improved a ton.
01:39He is steadily rising.
01:40You don't know what his full potential is.
01:44You don't know what his cap is.
01:46But you don't find that out if he's sitting on the bench.
01:49So the only way to know how good he can actually be is by playing him.
01:56And you haven't seen the same consistency, but you've certainly seen a lot of flash, a lot of splash.
02:04Is there more flash? Is there more flash? Is there consistent flash?
02:08You don't see that unless you play him.
02:11But there's no question that Deshaun Watson handles the operation a bit more smoothly, that he is indeed the veteran,
02:18that he's seen a lot more defenses.
02:20I'll tell you, in all the years that I have been around Deshaun Watson, this is the best that he
02:27is mentally.
02:28The space that he is in right now, his focus, the way that he stayed in Cleveland all summer, went
02:35to work quietly every day, didn't ask anything of any of the staff in the building at all, was simply
02:43focused on living with his wife and working on football and his rehab.
02:47Just the conversations I have with him on the side, different.
02:51And I think that there's an acknowledgement that this is it.
02:54This is his opportunity.
02:55If he's going to still be a player in this league, be a starter, be a force of any kind,
03:01this is his chance right here.
03:03But we should also say the fact that he hasn't pulled away with the job, the fact that he hasn't
03:08done enough, means that Todd Munkin is enticed by the potential that Shadour is showing and the growth that Shadour
03:17has shown.
03:18And let's not minimize that.
03:20Let's not diminish that.
03:22Yeah, if you're asking me the question, I think that boils it down.
03:27Who are you more comfortable with?
03:29I mean, if I'm starting the season, I have to say, and I'm a much bigger fan of Shadour Sanders,
03:34but I have to say Deshaun Watson personally.
03:36Tone, where do you come out on that?
03:38Well, I think that's been made pretty abundantly clear.
03:42Yeah, but you don't hate Shadour the way that some people think you do.
03:45No, not Shadour.
03:46The fan base, obviously, we could talk about, but I don't think Aditi's very interested in having that conversation right
03:52now.
03:52I don't know if she's subjected to it.
03:53Why would we?
03:54Well, you haven't been here every day the way that you don't have daily opinions on Shadour Sanders.
03:59No, no, no, no, but we all feel it.
04:00Everybody and anything that you say can be twisted in any way, even when you say something incredibly positive like
04:06somebody has grown.
04:07But, you know, my broadcast partner, Joe Thomas, made the point on the broadcast that it is far easier to
04:13go from Deshaun to Shadour than it is to go from Shadour to Deshaun.
04:18So to your point of, OK, if you are currently more comfortable with Deshaun and you really believe in the
04:25ability to win games here, and I don't think there's anybody that thinks, oh, this is a lost season.
04:31And that defense, I mean, I wasn't thrilled with what I saw in the second team, the third team, the
04:36fourth team defense for sure.
04:38But we know the potential there.
04:40We know the talent there.
04:42We know the ability there.
04:43I think Quincy Williams will be a great add next to Carson Schresinger at the linebacker spot.
04:49And these wide receivers, I have not seen a group of wide receivers like this in Cleveland in all the
04:56time that I have been around Cleveland.
04:59The talent that Denzel Boston and Casey Concepcion bring, and not just the talent, the demeanor.
05:06I mean, both of these young men seem like seasoned veterans.
05:11Their approach, the way they work together, and I think there's a positive impact on Jerry Judy, too.
05:16I asked Deshaun about that, and he said, well, you've got these really young, hungry guys.
05:21Of course it forces you to sort of elevate your game to some degree.
05:25So you expect Fannin to take a jump.
05:28Quinshon Judkins is healthy and has had a whole offseason.
05:32We haven't seen much of this first team line together, but you've got a whole rebuilt line.
05:36So there are a lot of pieces here.
05:38Why would you give up on the season right at the outset?
05:41So if you think you can indeed win some games, go and try to win some games.
05:46Aditi, I thought it was pretty noticeable after the game how excited Todd Munkin was for Deshaun to get back
05:58on the field.
05:59Regardless of how he looked, he clearly thought he looked decent enough for not having been able to play in
06:05a game in so many days in what felt like years.
06:08So did you kind of sense that from Todd, that just from a human standpoint, forget everything else, that he
06:16was excited about how all that went down?
06:19Oh, 100%.
06:20And that is Todd Munkin.
06:22Todd Munkin is a guy that genuinely gets invested in the guys that he's coaching, that he's around, who calls
06:30it like it is.
06:30If he thinks that you should be practicing and you're not, he's going to call it out.
06:34If he sees you working hard, he's going to make note of it.
06:37And again, this comes back to Deshaun Watson seems to be in a very, very different place than he was
06:45when we all first met him, when he first came to Cleveland.
06:48And he really, really, truly has been laser focused.
06:52And I'll tell you, watching on the sideline, every drive, he would come off.
06:57He immediately sat down next to the quarterback coach, Mike Bajakian.
07:01Am I saying that right?
07:02That's right, right?
07:03And he spent the whole time the defense was on the field going over the tablet, talking in a very
07:09demonstrative way, discussing things.
07:12If Shadur or Dylan Gabriel said something to him, he responded, said something in like, what are you seeing here?
07:20What was this?
07:21He was talking to his wide receivers, extremely engaged, very serious about all of it.
07:28And then when Shadur was on the field, he still had the tablet.
07:31And when Shadur comes off, he was helping him.
07:33He was talking through things with him.
07:35I mean, it's just, these are things you notice.
07:39Like, what players are really engaged, even in a preseason game?
07:42Who's paying attention to exactly how things went down?
07:46What broke down?
07:47What was the right read?
07:49Where was the mistake?
07:51And Deshaun was the victim of a few drops, too.
07:54He was throwing an accurate ball.
07:56He was throwing a ball with a nice dip.
07:58He was moving.
07:59He had that quarterback sneak on fourth and one.
08:02I asked him about that during the game, that he's got that twice-torn Achilles, twice-ruptured Achilles, and yet
08:07there he is going on a quarterback sneak looking forceful.
08:11He jokingly said he doesn't like that.
08:12I said, well, he didn't look like he doesn't like it the way he did it.
08:15So, he's clearly not having anxiety about his health or his body holding up.
08:22It is genuine.
08:24Todd Monken's excitement is indeed genuine, in my opinion.
08:27Didi King-Wallel joining us here on the Wise Heart Right.
08:30We Make It Right called Kyle Right Hotline.
08:31You mentioned that secondary and the lack of depth.
08:33Is that the situation you're most concerned with other than quarterbacks, or is there another spot in the locker room
08:39or on the roster that you're very concerned with as well?
08:44No, I think that that's basically it.
08:47I like the D-line.
08:48I like the potential of the D-line.
08:50This Adarius Smith thing is sort of interesting.
08:52I thought he was a sure deal.
08:54I mean, I asked somebody on Saturday.
08:56I'm like, are you going to sign him today?
08:58But I love Jared Burse.
09:00The rest of that line has not gotten maybe its fair due of attention because of Miles.
09:06I think it's a strong line.
09:08I like those linebackers.
09:09If Carson can get healthy, that's interesting to me.
09:12I don't have any further detail on that.
09:14Do you guys?
09:15Do you have any ideas?
09:16I wish I did, but now it seems that he might end up wearing Atlanta tone is what we're hearing.
09:21Supposedly he was going to do a workout with them.
09:23A strong business right there, Didi.
09:28Well, yeah.
09:29So it is the secondary.
09:31It's the depth of the same.
09:32I love Denzel and Tyson Campbell.
09:35You hope that both can stay healthy, obviously.
09:37But what comes after that?
09:39And I like the safeties a lot.
09:41Yes, I think that the rookie, Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, has tons of potential.
09:47He's got a lot of versatility.
09:49Really cool story.
09:50He said that he grew up actually watching Delpit film, that he really liked the way Grant Delpit played.
09:55And he was number seven.
09:56So I guess when Emmanuel was young, he was a seven also.
10:00I like Delpit's steadiness, how smart he is.
10:04So, yeah, it's depth.
10:06You need some depth there.
10:07But this is when the maneuvering should happen.
10:09Now that there are games, now that you've got film on guys and teams are sort of...
10:16I don't think the Browns are done.
10:18This is when there should be some additions before the final roster is set.
10:24Do you notice anything, Aditi, now that Miles Garrett is out of sight?
10:28Is he out of mind?
10:30They, in the past, could probably just rely on him being able to cover up for mistakes or whatever just
10:37because he was such a freak of nature.
10:39And, of course, no Jim Schwartz there as well.
10:41Is that something they seem to have been able to remove themselves from?
10:49I don't think anybody's sitting here talking about where is Miles.
10:52We miss Miles.
10:53I think it's, you know, it's a business.
10:55You move on.
10:56It's a business.
10:57You play with who you've got.
10:58I don't really...
11:00I look at...
11:01The reason I ask the question, Aditi, is in the NBA, when a superstar is gone, it permeates everything.
11:07That's the identity of a team.
11:09Does it not work that way for somebody like Miles Garrett, who's a transcendent superstar, almost in a similar way?
11:16Like, he was winning games last year.
11:18I've never seen a defensive player just win games by themselves like he did.
11:22Yeah, but, you know, it's an awkward thing.
11:24And now we're starting an argument with each other between...
11:26And Aditi's right there because my whole thought was, and you didn't disagree with this,
11:30I was like, yeah, Miles has a lot of stats.
11:33He's one of the greatest to ever do it.
11:34But I think at this juncture with this team that's trying to build something again,
11:38I think that Jared Verse, like, yeah, you're not going to have 23 sacks,
11:43but I think his leadership actually matters more to this organization
11:45than what Miles Garrett would have in year nine going out there
11:48and just getting a bunch of sacks for a five-win football team again.
11:51Go ahead, Aditi.
11:52I don't even think that was a question, but I had to get it all right.
11:54I agree with you completely, Ken.
11:55I think that this is, again, Miles Garrett is one of one.
11:58He is a generational player.
12:00We will tell our children that we watched Miles Garrett up close for the years that we did.
12:06So this is not a knock in any way on Miles Garrett.
12:09Demeanor-wise, what this team needs, Jared Verse is a force multiplier.
12:15He brings all of the energy.
12:18I use this example with Todd Mocken, and I said, is this fair?
12:21One of the all-time best leaders I have ever been around, Roquan Smith.
12:25I mean, I remember Mike McDonald when he was defensive coordinator
12:28talking to me about Roquan, he's just a magnet.
12:31He brings everybody along.
12:33He brings it every day.
12:34That's what Jared Verse is.
12:36Every play, every rep, he brings it.
12:38He doesn't take a snap off.
12:41He is constantly talking.
12:42He is working with his teammates on his side of the ball
12:45and on the other side of the ball.
12:47The time that he has put in with Spencer Fano, the, wait, Fano?
12:53Fano.
12:53How do I say it?
12:54Fano.
12:55Like, I was taught how to say it.
12:57Nathan told me the night we drafted him, he goes,
13:00the trick to it is, is you think of a deer like a fawn,
13:05and then you put O on the end, Fano.
13:08Boom.
13:08Fano.
13:09Fano.
13:09There we go.
13:10Thanks.
13:10Okay.
13:11I better not screw that up.
13:12Anyway, the way that Verse works with everybody,
13:15the way that Verse has genuine enjoyment.
13:17I mean, yesterday he was talking about how he liked the rain in Cleveland.
13:20I mean, he is leaning in in every way to his role on this team.
13:25And like I said, Mankin said he absolutely is a Roquan Smith.
13:28And that's something very, very, very special.
13:33And right now, this team that has lacked strong leadership for so long,
13:38they need that.
13:39This lacqueroo needs that.
13:41They need a guy that invites players over to come watch NBA games,
13:45that gets everybody going, that brings the juice,
13:49that is constantly talking.
13:51So, yeah, for where, yes, where this team is right now,
13:57Jared Verse is the right player, the right fit.
14:00Somebody that can do more than just sack quarterbacks
14:04and have enormous sacks, have enormous fat numbers.
14:09And I think that can help win games too, Lima.
14:13I think that can be a big deal as well.
14:15And you think about the picks.
14:17Look, the Browns had a really good draft a year ago.
14:18They have a lot of excitement about this draft class.
14:21They need those picks.
14:23I'm sorry, Aditi.
14:24I was laughing.
14:25What's the point in sitting here?
14:26You're laughing at me?
14:27No, I was laughing at you when you mentioned him talking about
14:29how he was watching the rain because I made the joke to Owen
14:32before the show today.
14:33I was like, what is it like he's Bear Grylls now?
14:35He lives in Northeast Ohio, so he gets to see the wilderness
14:38instead of whatever they have in L.A.
14:40I've never been there.
14:41Yeah, we got deer.
14:43All of that.
14:44We have all those fun things.
14:46Aditi, we will be watching on Saturday.
14:48We thank you so much for your time.
14:50You will be?
14:51Won't you be?
14:52Aren't you encouraging everybody to listen to you?
14:54Well, no.
14:55I mean, well, yeah, but I'm on the pregame.
14:57And then when I get home, because I'm not going to be home
14:59until a little bit later on in the day, I'm going to go back.
15:03I'm going to watch.
15:03And obviously, I'm going to watch on your guys' broadcast
15:06with Chris Rose and Joe Thomas.
15:08Well, thank you.
15:09That's how it goes.
15:10That is very, very much appreciated.
15:12But I love you all.
15:13All right, guys.
15:13You know, that's the way it goes.
15:14Thanks for having me.
15:15Thank you very much.
15:16Thank you very much.
15:17I like how you spread that around.
15:17Yes.
15:18All right.
15:18Talk to you soon.
15:19You too.
15:20Goodbye.
15:21Aditi, kick a ball up.
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