00:00The Notre Dame football color analyst. He also hosts the Golicks with his son, Mike Golick Jr.,
00:0610 a.m. to noon on ESPN Radio on The Wise Heart Ride. We make it right.
00:10Call Kyle Wright Hotline. Cleveland's very own Mike Golick Sr. joins us.
00:15Mike, welcome to the show.
00:16How are you guys doing?
00:18Well, we're dealing with this Deshaun Watson thing, Mike.
00:22And I gotta say, I thought you guys, I saw a great video from you and your son
00:27talking about how impossible it is to have an even-keeled conversation about Deshaun,
00:33which I agree with while also thinking clearly that if I didn't have to watch Deshaun
00:39start another game for the Cleveland Browns, I'd be quite happy,
00:42especially after his comments in his press conference yesterday.
00:46I'm quite honest, I'm not sure about the decision Todd Munkin made.
00:50I mean, I think it certainly seems Deshaun Watson's best days are behind him.
00:57You know, as I mentioned on the show, he's coming from a bad lane where off the field,
01:04people don't obviously like his actions, and that's the more important thing.
01:08But this is a sports show.
01:10We talk about the sports.
01:11On the field, you know, between injury and not playing anywhere near the way he played
01:16when he was with Houston, I don't understand why he's on the field.
01:19I mean, now in the comments that he makes in press conferences, I mean,
01:25I don't understand what the upside is.
01:28You can't tell me that he played that much better than Shadour Sanders
01:32to not get a look at Shadour Sanders.
01:35I mean, Deshaun Watson is not going to be the future quarterback of the Cleveland Browns.
01:39There's no shot at that.
01:41See what Shadour Sanders is.
01:42I don't know if Shadour is either, but Shadour is younger and has more of an upside possibly to him
01:50because we know he wasn't a fifth-round quarterback.
01:52Let's see what he can do before you go into next year and maybe choose a different quarterback
01:57again for the future quarterback of the Cleveland Browns.
02:01But, yeah, Deshaun Watson's doing himself no favors on the field, no favors behind the microphone.
02:07Now, the offense, listen, it's not like he's the only one bringing the offense down.
02:12The team is struggling big time.
02:15But I just don't see enough upside to have Deshaun Watson in there,
02:19and it wouldn't shock me if he were already benched by the Browns' home opener next week.
02:24All right, take us inside the locker room then.
02:26You know, Ronnie Hickman said that that's above my pay grade
02:28in talking about why Deshaun Watson is starting for this upcoming week.
02:31Like, what does this do to a locker room if you have a guy that just is so obvious,
02:35he just cannot do it, and they continue to put him out there?
02:39Well, I mean, you know, it's obviously a team sport, and you want the team to do well.
02:45But players start to, you know, also when a team isn't expected to do well,
02:50you go out thinking you're going to win every game.
02:52It doesn't matter what the analysts think.
02:55You go out and think you can win every game.
02:57But when you see reality setting in, you start playing for yourself.
03:03You start playing for your career.
03:05Are you in a contract year?
03:07Are you trying to remain on the team?
03:09Are you an established starter?
03:11What is your deal?
03:13But I also think that the team, and you'd obviously have to ask them,
03:18and I'm sure reporters, you know, will in a way,
03:22I'm sure the players are thinking, this guy is not going to be our quarterback.
03:27He is not going to be the quarterback of the future.
03:30If there is a possibility of the quarterback of the future on this team,
03:34it's Shador Sanders, and we're not even sure about that.
03:37But let's see what he can do.
03:39So there's a sense of frustration by players,
03:44but also there's also a throw your hands in the air
03:46because you can't make any of the decisions.
03:49You're just listening to the coaches.
03:51Mike, I'm going to preface this by saying I understand that it is just week one,
03:56but Jim Schwartz was a beloved defensive coordinator.
04:00He left the Browns because he didn't get the head coaching job.
04:03Week one, there are two things that stand out
04:06after a really bad defensive performance.
04:08One, the Browns, who ran the most man coverage in the NFL the last three years,
04:13ran zone 67% of the time, 6'7".
04:16And then two, Jared Verst said today, week one, he was not playing fast.
04:21He was thinking too much.
04:23All of that scares me for a defense that I think, at worst,
04:27should still be a top 14 defense.
04:31How quickly should we expect Mike Grutenberg to kind of adapt to the system at hand here
04:36in what we've got going on defensively?
04:38Well, that part of it is more the way football is today,
04:43with the preseason the way it is, the lack of you can't go two days in a row with pads,
04:50and what you can get accomplished in training camp, not playing a ton in preseason.
04:57You always start the season a little bit slow.
04:59So there's the decision of Deshaun Watson that we can all debate.
05:03But as far as a new coach coming in, you've got to understand the new scheme coming in.
05:08For a defense, that was very good.
05:09Obviously, you lost the defensive player of the year in Myles Garrett.
05:12But still, you're right.
05:14It should be a top half of the league defense.
05:16But now you're changing roles.
05:19You're changing scheme.
05:21And Jared Verst saying that, any player listening to that on the team or on another team,
05:28anybody who's ever played knows that is almost one of the worst ways you can play football.
05:33You can't be thinking.
05:35You have to react.
05:36And you have to go full speed.
05:39So if that's the case and there are others like that,
05:44then that is going to be where you see what week one does,
05:49and then you have to wait a few weeks to kind of get in the groove.
05:52What week one team is and what week six team is is going to be two different things,
05:57especially if you have a new system with new terminology.
06:00It's like learning a different language.
06:02And, yeah, if you're thinking, you're definitely not playing at full speed.
06:08Browns are taking on Baker Mayfield this week.
06:10So we've done a lot of Baker Mayfield and kind of going through the history of it all.
06:14Are you, in knowing everything that we're talking about here,
06:18are you surprised that this is how it all ended up for Baker
06:21and just how wrong after the Deshaun trade and that decision the Browns ended up being?
06:26Well, I mean, unfortunately, and this hurts me, being from Cleveland and growing up a Cleveland Browns fan,
06:31it's the decisions they've made.
06:33Listen, the quarterback situation just hasn't been now for the Browns or Baker.
06:38It's been way before that.
06:40You know, we've seen the list of quarterbacks that, first off, a guy like Joe Thomas played with.
06:45I mean, it's been one head coach, GM after another who has gone through this, which blows my mind.
06:56So, yeah, looking back, hindsight, it was absolutely the wrong decision.
07:00But hindsight's always 20-20.
07:02They felt they were doing the right thing at the time.
07:05But, like I said, it's been through a multiple of decision makers that they've made the wrong decision.
07:12So, I guess you just kind of shrug your shoulders and say,
07:16well, they just have been doing what they've been doing for the last couple of decades.
07:20Mike, we were talking about Joe Burrow with his tight back ahead of their Week 2 matchup this weekend.
07:26And we were talking how it looks like every time you think the Bengals have finally got to figure out
07:31around Joe,
07:32he gets injured.
07:33And every time Joe gets healthy, they seem to not figure out around Joe.
07:38And that got into a conversation, a debate between us.
07:40If you're the Bengals, you know, how long before you start questioning whether you can trust Joe Burrow's health?
07:47I maintain, give me a decade of it.
07:50I don't care.
07:51You got the quarterback and then just hope that the health comes.
07:55JP, my partner here, said another injury.
07:59And what was it?
08:00Well, five years, I think.
08:01Five years.
08:01And so, it'd be like three more years of injuries.
08:03I don't have the shortest leash in the world.
08:06But you can only miss the postseason so many years in a row.
08:08And if a guy's made of glass, he's made of glass.
08:12I don't even have a leash on him.
08:14There's no way, I think, about moving on or changing directions.
08:19Listen, unless he gets hurt every single year, I get it.
08:23But no, I mean, who are you going to get?
08:27I mean, Joe Burrow.
08:29You give him all the possible leash that you can.
08:32The offense, their offense is Super Bowl ready.
08:36Their defense, actually, I equate their defense with the defense of the Cowboys.
08:41Two defenses that were horrible last year.
08:44And they've made major changes.
08:46Now, the Cowboys, I call the Giants-Cowboys game.
08:48That Cowboys defense is still bad.
08:50But the Bengals defense, four sacks, four turnovers.
08:54They play a lot better to help Joe.
08:57No, Joe gets, Joe gets, there's no leash.
09:00Like I said, it's not even about giving him a longer leash.
09:03He still has no leash as far as I'm concerned.
09:06Yeah, I mean, we're still playing about three years from now.
09:08But, like, the idea you'd pay him $65 million a year to just get injured every single year.
09:13Like, at some point, if he continues to have the injuries,
09:16I think everyone looks at the Bengals situation and wonders if Joe's going to get tired of the Bengals.
09:20I think the Bengals will at some point get tired of Joe.
09:23But we've got a lot of season and a lot of years left before we get there.
09:26Yeah, a lot of time.
09:27Definitely a lot of time.
09:28All right, so let me ask you about the Ravens, because they were really impressive in week one.
09:32And some are making the suggestion that Lamar is as good as he's ever looked,
09:36and Declan Doyle has saved the day and put the cape on, and everything is awesome.
09:41How do you see it with the way that Baltimore started off the year?
09:44Well, I mean, listen, Lamar being healthy helps.
09:46I did a couple of their games last year when he was injured, and I kind of equate it with
09:51Buffalo.
09:52With Josh Allen, he ran a lot his rookie year,
09:55and they tried to rein him in, I think his second or third year, Josh Allen,
09:59and the offense wasn't as good.
10:01You have to let dual-threat quarterbacks be dual-threat quarterbacks.
10:05Josh Allen is a terror when he runs.
10:08Lamar Jackson is an unbelievable threat when he runs.
10:11And obviously rolling out and throwing the ball and throwing from the pocket.
10:15You have to let him do that.
10:17And when he was hurt last year, they stopped doing that, understandably,
10:20because he was injured, so I get it.
10:22So he's another one you have to – hopefully he needs to stay healthy, so he is that threat.
10:28But also, it's a new trend in the NFL as well.
10:32Under center now.
10:33That seems to be catching on everywhere.
10:36He was under center a lot more than he normally was.
10:39And under center helps your play action because it turns your back to the defense
10:45when you're going to fake to the running back, if you ball fake on a shotgun to a running back,
10:52the defense can clearly see you're not giving him the ball or you are giving him the ball.
10:56So it's not much of a play fake.
10:58Doing a play fake from under center is a whole different ball game.
11:01That can freeze the defense, both whether the ball is given off
11:05or the ball is faked and you're going to pass.
11:08And you're seeing a lot of teams go to more under center.
11:11That was a big change, and you have right now a healthy Lamar Jackson.
11:15So that's a very, very potent offense.
11:17Mike, switching gears here to college, I saw you guys were talking about this earlier today,
11:23and I always love getting your opinion on guys like Lane Kiffin.
11:27I like when there's a villain in college football, and the bigger the program, the better,
11:33because I think that adds something beyond just rooting for against your own team.
11:37Where do you stand on Lane Kiffin's endless antics now that they rest in Baton Rouge?
11:44Well, I mean, listen, if you like villains, you love Lane.
11:47There's no doubt about it.
11:48And listen, he brings a ton of it on himself.
11:51But you know what?
11:52He's not the first coach that left his team, right?
11:56I mean, and now he's left a team that was going to the playoffs.
12:02That certainly is something that has not been the norm in the way he did it.
12:08Listen, he left Mississippi to go to LSU like Brian Kelly left Notre Dame to go to LSU,
12:14thinking that both they thought had a better chance to win a national championship at LSU.
12:20That was Brian Kelly's thought.
12:22He was wrong, and that's Lane Kiffin's thought, and he's just in his first year.
12:27But, I mean, the antics are all over the place.
12:29Look at the Mississippi, what Mississippi did with the two players that went to LSU.
12:34All of a sudden they served them papers in the parking lot this week about how they signed an NIL
12:40deal
12:41and they broke the contract and they want the money back.
12:43That happened in July.
12:45Why couldn't you serve them papers then?
12:47You waited until this week.
12:48So that was Mississippi doing some antics.
12:50So, antics have been going on all the time with schools and with coaches.
12:57Lane Kiffin has to be a big name.
12:59He's a big-time sought-after coach, so his antics are going to be magnified.
13:03And, listen, you do shake your head at some of the things he has done.
13:06There's no doubt about that.
13:08But, again, he's not the only one, but he's the one that it's magnified on right now.
13:13A lot of Browns fans paying attention to Notre Dame quarterback C.J. Carr.
13:17Give us the lowdown.
13:19Give us what you like.
13:20Give us what you think the expectation should be for C.J. Carr.
13:23Well, I mean, you see the way quarterbacks move around in college football.
13:29Now he's become a rarity two years in a row at the same school.
13:33Has a great relationship with the offense coordinator, Mike Denbrock.
13:36He's got a great arm.
13:38He's great from the neck up in making decisions.
13:41So he really has it all.
13:44He's got the total package.
13:46Which they maybe won't, Notre Dame won't have at least now as good a running game as they had with
13:51Jeremiah Love and Jadari and Price.
13:53But hopefully that will come along and they still want to be a running offense.
13:57But he's as good as there is.
13:59I mean, without a doubt.
14:00It's interesting.
14:01You know, we thought last year's quarterback group was going to be really good in the draft.
14:07It turned out to just be a couple of quarterbacks.
14:09Now they're saying this quarterback draft class is great.
14:12But you see Dante Moore already struggling from Oregon.
14:15So you're just never sure what you're going to get through the season.
14:20But CJ Carr has it all.
14:22He's got size.
14:22He's got the arm.
14:23And most importantly, he has the smarts.
14:27You have to be able to make quick decisions.
14:29And he can do that very well.
14:30Mike, one before you go, and again, thank you for being so gracious with your time here.
14:36I think it's been said by Texas followers that this is the best team Steve Sarkeesian has had.
14:42I have a friend that is a Notre Dame fan, actually a Notre Dame alum, and he swears to me
14:48this is the best team that Marcus Freeman has had in South Bend.
14:53Do you agree?
14:54Yes, it's definitely the deepest.
14:56The defense is about as deep as can be on all levels, Z-line, linebacker, and secondary.
15:01They were one of the best defenses in football last year.
15:05They could be the best defense in football this year.
15:10One of the things they need, and they brought in a couple of portal guys in the wide receiver room.
15:16One still hasn't played yet, Quincy Porter, but the other has.
15:19They don't major in the portal.
15:21They minor in the portal on positions that they need.
15:24They just need to get the running game going a little bit, and I think it will in time.
15:28And they are going to be a strong out for anybody.
15:34Everybody looking at the schedule, they look at BYU, SMU, and Miami as really the three tests.
15:39And you hope you don't give one away along the way, which Notre Dame has done over the last couple
15:45of decades, even under Marcus Freeman.
15:47But they took care of business against Rice and Wisconsin, Michigan State this week.
15:51Yeah, they are definitely going to be in the mix at the end of the year.
15:55Mike, it is great to have you back on the National Radio Network again.
16:00It is great to have you back on air in Cleveland, at least for these last ten minutes or so.
16:06We appreciate you, sir, and thanks again for being so gracious for your time.
16:10You got it, guys. Thanks.
16:10Thanks for having me.
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