00:00Do you think they, last night, you see them signing autographs, all right?
00:05You see them on the Prime broadcast with Kaylee Hartung.
00:10She asks them, what's your why?
00:11I mean, that's a, I don't really like that question, but whatever.
00:16There's been some very flowery stuff towards Deshaun Watson here
00:21over the last 24 hours in the media.
00:24Do you think that that makes any bit of damn difference to a Browns fan?
00:27No, not the ones I talk to.
00:29Yeah, not the ones I talk to at all.
00:30Someone sent me a video.
00:32I don't know who Coe Wetzel really is.
00:34He's a country singer, country artist.
00:36He was at the Wolstein Center.
00:39He was having a concert.
00:40He mentioned Deshaun Watson because this Wetzel fellow is from Texas,
00:44and he played, obviously, for the Houston Texans,
00:47and he was resoundingly booed for that.
00:50But those are fans going to a country concert.
00:52They weren't at the Browns game.
00:53Maybe they're not the most hardcore Browns fans there,
00:55but that's just one little snippet of it.
00:57But I think it's still the matter.
00:59If he plays well, I think that's what's really going to lighten people up.
01:03But if he goes out there and he's still bad,
01:05they don't care about sideline interviews or anything like that.
01:08You're still a representation of bad football,
01:09and this week has been hellish.
01:11I mean, I'm starting to see the – I told you, and I might have said it on the air,
01:16it felt like 2022 all over again.
01:18I got Joe Postnansky saying he's done.
01:22Lifelong Browns fan, I'm done.
01:24Were you done in 2022?
01:26Are we reprinting things?
01:28I always love that from the individuals that don't live in Cleveland.
01:32I mean, Candace Buckner went after the fans.
01:34She went after the fans.
01:36And I'm like, hey, ma'am, I'm here.
01:39Like, I – there were not a lot of fans.
01:42Like, there were definitely some fans who were like, hey, he's a good quarterback.
01:45We're going to give him a chance.
01:46But there were a lot of fans who were really upset.
01:48But went after the fans for what?
01:49For supporting, accepting any of it.
01:53Like, any of it.
01:54Like, she seemed to be upset that –
01:56But who's – I don't understand.
01:58Well, you can go back and read the article.
02:00But she said, Browns fans got to look themselves in the mirror.
02:03She went after everybody.
02:05You know, they had Lindsey Jones on in the afternoon.
02:07And, like, to some of this stuff, it's understandable.
02:09But it's like, sir, ma'am, like, they are football fans.
02:14This is a league where you kind of start to leave some of the things that you would
02:19in polite society at the door.
02:21I mean, they've proven it over and over and over again.
02:23So, I'm not going to go after Bill and 537 for getting excited if Deshaun Watson
02:29throws a touchdown because he's a Browns fan.
02:32And it felt like – I looked at you and I go, this is 2022 all over again
02:36with some of these folks.
02:36Well, also, to me, 98% of the fans hate his guts.
02:40So, what – is she talking about the 2% or the 98%?
02:44You're an athletic subscriber.
02:45I told you what I took from it.
02:46You can go ahead and read it if you want to.
02:48But I'm just telling you what I've seen over the last week.
02:50And, clearly, it's been not good.
02:54And then we see the article or we see the interview yesterday.
02:57They're saying a lot of nice things about him.
02:59And I think there were some Browns fans watching this going,
03:02what the hell?
03:04Is this some alternative universe here?
03:06Well, it was definitely interesting to see not only the way that they told the
03:11story of Deshaun Watson and, obviously, the comeback story, right?
03:16And, you know, you have Kaylee Hartung talking about, you know,
03:21why are you even still doing this?
03:22You don't have to.
03:23And they're like, man.
03:24Kirk Herbstreit's like, well, he has all the money.
03:26So, for him, they really were painting the picture of a triumphant comeback story.
03:30Yeah, do I need to thank him for his sacrifice and his hard work and effort
03:34or anything like that?
03:35Or am I going, football's probably the only thing he has left.
03:38But so, it did kind of conjure up.
03:41And, obviously, they talked to the Browns coaches
03:43and they had unfettered access to the Browns this week.
03:47You know, aside from all the other eye-rolling that, obviously,
03:51you and I are both doing and I think a lot of fans are doing,
03:53it did make me think back to Todd Munkin after that first preseason game,
04:00how cool he thought it was.
04:01I think he even used the term cool that Deshaun was able to come back from this injury.
04:07And so, I do think we have to divorce ourselves from a lot of the negativity
04:12surrounding Watson, just to at least have the conversation of,
04:15in that building, they do think it's pretty cool that he is coming back.
04:21And I do think that it has to paint a very different picture
04:25of what's going on in the building.
04:27We're doing the Sports Talk radio thing and talking about the last four years,
04:31how horrible it's been for the fans and all that.
04:33But his teammates, like you saw Carson Swessinger before the game
04:38with a smile on his face, you know, dapping up Deshaun Watson.
04:42He had a smile on his face.
04:44I think the conversation we are having in this city
04:47is not the same conversation they're having in that locker room.
04:50And I do think we have to illustrate that.
04:52I get that.
04:52And I agree with you.
04:53And I think that that is part of the difference between the fans and the players.
04:56Like, it is still a workplace.
04:57He's allowed to work.
04:58And you're going to try to get along with the people you work with.
05:01And I can't just sit there and throw all these things in his face
05:04if I work with him every single day and I'm in a huddle with him every single day.
05:07Well, and there has to be a level of belief.
05:09See, this is what I go back to.
05:12And we are guilty of this.
05:13We have been mostly negative about Deshaun Watson, almost entirely negative.
05:19But Todd Munkin, that's part of his job, is to breed, you know, not only opportunity, but hope.
05:27And I kind of think he's done that.
05:29Now, who knows if it works?
05:31Who knows?
05:31Like, obviously, we have our doubts.
05:33And they're going to be underdogs in so many of their games this year,
05:35with or without Deshaun, but certainly with Deshaun.
05:38But are we falling short in being able to somewhat chronicle how they are feeling?
05:45Because we are so negative, but they don't seem negative at all.
05:49But I also think that we try way too hard to bend over backwards and understand players.
05:54And I think that we've done way too much of that here over the last decade.
05:57Because for a fan, they don't need to give a damn.
06:00The difference between players and fans has never been wider.
06:03Is it our job to talk about the fans and their reaction entirely?
06:08Or do we also, is it our responsibility to talk about the locker room?
06:13And what those guys are going through.
06:14They're a conduit for it.
06:15It's both.
06:16But we're doing 98% fan stuff.
06:17We haven't been really doing the team stuff.
06:19We have brought up the team several times.
06:20You brought it up earlier this week, and I agreed with you wholeheartedly.
06:23They don't dislike Deshaun Watson in there.
06:26In fact, you usually hear of something bad with the players and with the teammates.
06:30You didn't hear any nastiness there.
06:32Well, and when he won the competition, if it were anything other than that,
06:38if there was like a revolt in the building that they chose the wrong guy, we would know it.
06:43Because that's how it works.
06:45Like, players are able to get their message out when they want to get their message out.
06:50That hasn't been the case.
06:52Which leads me to wonder, are we all wrong?
06:55Is there a chance that we have been driving the wrong points home about this the entire time?
07:02Because when you look at Todd Munkin and you listen to him, he is excited about Deshaun Watson.
07:07Let me ask you this.
07:09At the end of it, do you believe that he's going to play well?
07:13No.
07:13Then you're not driving the wrong points home.
07:15Then you're not.
07:16But is it what I think, or is it what those guys think in there?
07:20Is it about the head coach?
07:21They can think whatever they want.
07:22They've got to talk themselves into it.
07:23Didn't we say when he was hired, like, what was part of his pitch to the Browns?
07:28And part of his pitch was clearly, oh, there's still something there.
07:31The past coaching staff failed him.
07:34We can make it better.
07:36Because, and this is where I disagree with you, I'm willing to bet there were some people
07:39in the building who were like, if he just retired and went away, we could recoup some
07:43of this and we wouldn't have to pay such a strong penalty and we could all just move
07:46on with our lives.
07:47And if they're going to hold on to him, because they had to hold on to him because of all
07:51the
07:51massive penalties we've talked about this week, then yes, somebody's got to try to take
07:55up for it because you don't want to go and trade up any assets for Anthony Richardson
07:59or J.J. McCarthy or any of the other guys there.
08:02He is your bridge quarterback.
08:04He just happens to be an exceptionally expensive one.
08:06But again, I ask you, and you just gave me the honest answer to it at the end of it.
08:10Do you believe he's going to play well?
08:12And if you don't, then no, you're not hitting the wrong notes.
08:15And that's where I still stop.
08:17But does Todd Munkin think he's honestly going to play well?
08:18Todd Munkin has to talk himself into it because he has no other choice because he thinks
08:22he's the best quarterback for the job.
08:23So you think he's talking himself into it?
08:24Of course, wouldn't you if your job was on the line and this was your one chance?
08:28I just know the way he's been talking, it does seem like he's excited.
08:32And even on the broadcast last night, they again, they talked about all the running plays
08:35that are going to be in there that we haven't necessarily seen, you know, in the RPO stuff.
08:40Yeah, the RPO stuff.
08:41Kevin Stefanski didn't really run a lot of that stuff with him.
08:44Is there a chance that Todd has a way to effectively use this guy, even if he's a bit compromised
08:51with his arm and all that stuff?
08:52I surely hope so, but I don't think he's going to be able to do so.
08:56And I don't need to be ranting and raving and screaming and mean for the next two weeks.
09:00But that also doesn't mean I have to change my opinion.
09:04And I think a lot of fans are not going to change.
09:07Like, I'm looking at the reactions on social media.
09:09I'm going to get to the phones here in a second.
09:11But they're not going to change their reactions until he plays well.
09:15And basically, and some people are going, well, isn't that just sad?
09:18No, that's sports.
09:19That's football.
09:20That's the way that goes.
09:21Pro football.
09:22That's pro football.
09:22That's the way that goes.
09:24If he plays well against the Jaguars or the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, it'll change.
09:31If he plays poorly and he starts week three, he's going to come out to a chorus of boos.
09:36If he plays poorly in week three, he's going to get booed.
09:39And I don't even know, like, definitely that gets brought up.
09:44The accusations, they all get brought up.
09:46Let's not be silly, but it's also for playing badly.
09:50And it's also for a trade that gave away a tremendous amount of assets that's put us in arrears right
09:57now in this roster.
09:59It is a generation, four years is a long time, five years now, of bad football, of wasted opportunity.
10:08You had a taste of success for just a moment.
10:11And the worst thing that possibly happened to him, you saw when they had a complete roster, you saw what
10:17a capable quarterback was able to do with that roster.
10:19They went to the playoffs.
10:20I don't care if they got hammered in the first round, they went to the playoffs.
10:23So, I mean, that's asking a lot as it is with the Browns.
10:26So, all that adds up.
10:27They don't just boo him for an afternoon of bad football.
10:31All that comes out.
10:33Sure.
10:34Honestly, I think the more interesting question is if they boo him if they're 2-0 or 1-1 and
10:37he's playing well.
10:38That, to me, is a bigger test.
10:40That, to me, is the bigger test of how much the Browns truly hate him.
10:45But I don't think he's going to do well.
10:47And you don't.
10:48And Ryan Fitzpatrick clearly doesn't.
10:50So, if we don't think he's going to do well, then I'm not going to tell people, well, you know
10:55what?
10:55You should really soften up.
10:58Yeah, I know he got upset, but he's – technically, he didn't apologize.
11:01But he tried to explain himself, and he came off contrite back on Monday.
11:05And he said what he said in the interview about the city of Cleveland with Kaylee Hartung.
11:11And I'm going, yeah, none of that matters.
11:13Because if he don't play well, and plenty of people don't believe he's going to play well,
11:17then I don't need to tell anybody to lighten up on him.
11:21If he's not going to do good, then we're going to have a problem.
11:25It's that simple.
11:262-1-6-4-7-4-0-0-92.
11:28We get to Anthony in Cleveland.
11:29Hello, Anthony.
11:31Hey, Ken.
11:31How you doing?
11:32Doing well, Anthony.
11:33Go ahead.
11:34Great.
11:34Hey, now, have we not seen this before?
11:37Have we not seen Deshaun show flashes of playing good?
11:42Yeah, but this is weird because he didn't even play well.
11:44He played really badly, and all he's done is give a couple of interviews where everybody was nice to him.
11:49So, like, there wasn't even a flash.
11:53Exactly.
11:54And we haven't seen this.
11:55And when he has played well, he either comes back and he plays like this, or he gets hurt.
12:01You know what I'm saying?
12:01And I have a question for you guys.
12:03Okay.
12:03Do you think, if he does play well against Jacksonville and Tampa, if he does play well, let's say we
12:10come out one-on-one.
12:11Do you think, or even plays well the whole season, do you think the Browns will re-sign him?
12:17No.
12:21No, but it depends on how well he does.
12:23Like, even if you're Super Bowl good, and I don't think they have the roster for it whatsoever, but even
12:30if you're Super Bowl good, I'd probably just tag him.
12:34Okay, because, I mean, it's like, if they're not, if the plans are to get a quarterback in 2027, it's
12:40like, what are we doing?
12:42You know what I'm saying?
12:42We have a young team, young talent, you know, we're putting this guy out here.
12:47We've seen what he's done.
12:50I mean, it's the same thing year in and year out.
12:53Yeah, but I think a lot of people, like, if you bring that up, and thank you for the call,
12:57like, yeah, we all dare to dream.
12:58That's what makes us.
12:59I can't yell at somebody for dreaming.
13:01You've been a Browns fan your entire life.
13:03Most of it's been dreaming of a better day, but I don't think a lot of people think that that's
13:07going to be very realistic, and they think he's not going to play well, and if he does, I guess
13:14we'll talk about that.
13:15But, you know, one step after another.
13:17But you're right there with me.
13:18Like, as good as he could possibly do, if we're daring to dream, yeah, probably just a franchise tag.
13:25And, hell, depending on where you're at, how many assets you have, because if he plays well, I don't know
13:30if you're going to raise everything here.
13:32But if he plays well, then I think other pieces might play well.
13:35You could make an argument for trading up and going after another quarterback if you really wanted to.
13:38And I think that that's probably a bit far-fetched, but we've got to go one step at a time.
13:42And for the most part, people don't think he's going to play very well when he goes out there and
13:45he starts.
