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00:00Early in the week, it really felt like they had no initiative to make a change.
00:06But then as the week prolonged into yesterday, it kind of felt like, okay, maybe they're not as in love
00:11with this thing as we were led on to believe.
00:13And then last night, I heard from somebody that gave me a little bit of a clarification on the whole
00:20thing that's out there already about Todd Munkin shortening the play calls.
00:24And about that, you know, of course, part of the purpose of that is to try to clean up the
00:29operation today.
00:31Think back to week one in Jacksonville.
00:33There was a time in that game where it was first and 30.
00:36Like they had a really tough time operationally getting the play call from Munkin's headset into Deshaun's helmet and then
00:44relayed into the huddle.
00:45But the explanation that I got was that part of the reason, too, could be for the rest of the
00:5110 dudes in the huddle to kind of get used to what a younger quarterback would sound like calling those
00:59plays,
00:59which would be a little bit shorter just because their terminology is going to be a little bit condensed.
01:04What they can ask to do the offensive line, what they can ask the receivers to do is just going
01:08to be a little bit less than what a veteran like Watson, you know, was thought to be able to
01:12handle.
01:13He clearly can't.
01:14So I do wonder if today a change could be made in game just because, hey, everything's already shortened, everything's
01:24already condensed to maybe a way where Shador can stomach it.
01:29I mean, we're talking about making a QB change in season feels early after two weeks.
01:34How early would it feel a week and some change, you know, a week and a half or a week
01:39and three quarters if they made a change today?
01:41It would feel so early, but I really can't ignore the fact that they're kind of cleaning up some of
01:47this offensive language.
01:49And to me, it feels less about cleaning up an operation today in Tampa and it feels more so like
01:54getting the rest of the team prepared for what's to come after this week.
01:57Yeah, I mean, those stuff all makes sense.
02:00I just don't think that you're going to see this turn into Deshaun being benched in the middle of the
02:05game.
02:05One, because all they've said all week is positivity, right?
02:09And the coaching staff is the one who has to bench him in the middle of the game unless, you
02:13know, Jimmy's got a hotline down to the sideline or Andrew's got a hotline down to the sideline.
02:18They're like, get that guy out of there.
02:19Oh, and last time that happened, we got some phones taken away.
02:22We got some suspensions handed down.
02:25Last time that happened, that was not kosher.
02:28No, no, not allowed to do that.
02:29So they're not going to have that.
02:31I don't think Todd's going to make the decision to bench this guy after, you know, whatever, six quarters of
02:35football.
02:35And it does feel like a message coming from up top more than it feels like a message coming from
02:39Dodd Munkett at this moment that, yeah, this can't happen.
02:42Which, like, yes, we agree, but at the same time, if that's the guy your head coach is picking to
02:51go through and make the change this early after two weeks,
02:54it kind of sounds like it's a whole lot more for the business side of things than it is for
02:59the absolute football side.
03:00And, like, listen, I think the football is going to be better with Shador.
03:03There's no question in my mind.
03:04I legitimately don't think there's any way that it can look any worse.
03:09But just because, oh, it's time to reevaluate the quarterback after two weeks, that sounds like let's not get this
03:15entire team booed heading in front of our home crowd and, you know, take impacts to anything else.
03:19We're already taking a hit, I'm sure, as it comes to trying to sell PSLs and everything else.
03:24So let's just get this thing cleaned up and over with.
03:28And it seems more of an organizational decision than it does Todd Munkett, just based on what we're hearing.
03:32Like, I can't say that for a fact.
03:34And Todd did go through, not name a quarterback after Sunday, reconfirmed Deshaun on Monday.
03:39But it's been just too positive throughout this week.
03:41It has been.
03:42You know, the one thing that I'll say, though, to your, you know, kind of conspiracy, if you will, is
03:47what have we heard out of the building?
03:49We've heard that it was, in fact, Todd Munkett's decision, but ownership supported that decision.
03:55Maybe now ownership is starting to waver in their support of that decision.
03:59It's a possibility.
04:00It's an outcome.
04:01You know, they've really pushed back on the notion before that Haslam put Watson on the field, that it was
04:07ownership's decision to play Watson.
04:09They've pushed back on that mightily.
04:11And they were like, look, ownership isn't going to step on or trip over a head coach that we just
04:17hired his first major decision.
04:18It's his decision to make, but ownership supports it.
04:22And obviously, they are going to support it because they're trying to get a little bit of return on their
04:27investment out of the guy that they're paying all this money.
04:29They're going to want somebody to work for their money.
04:31That's understandable, too.
04:32But I do wonder if maybe they are starting to waver in their support of Munkett's decision, and maybe they
04:38do understand that, hey, this is a business.
04:41And at the end of the day, we have wider business objectives, which include but aren't limited to winning football
04:47games.
04:47Of course, that's the main one.
04:49But we understand how this works.
04:50Jake, you've got to sell tickets.
04:51You've got to have intrigue.
04:53You've got to have, you know, people tuned into games on television so the league can continue to make these
04:58massive TV deals.
04:59You've mentioned the big elephant in the room being the PSLs and the new stadium set to open in 2029.
05:06All of that embodied.
05:08You probably have some business analyst people inside that building who are looking at the way that the organization is
05:16being portrayed publicly right now and saying, hey,
05:19hey, this is not benefiting our larger business goals and objectives.
05:24And again, it's not even benefiting your future football goals either, right?
05:28Like that was the main sticking point throughout the entirety of this, because I think the average fan could care
05:32less about the Browns business goals, right?
05:34Correct.
05:34You just want to see winning football, but that's obviously something they think about.
05:38But even on the football side of things, everybody who cares about this team trying to win football games and
05:42eventually be in a good spot was like, no, you play Shador, right?
05:45We don't want to see Deshaun and you have young quarterback who showed any bit of promise last year.
05:50Why not just run back out with him?
05:52And it feels like the organization might be coming to that reality too.
05:55But I want to get to some of you guys.
05:572-1-6-4-7-4-0-0-92.
05:58Let's go out to the phones.
05:59Shane is in Madison.
06:01What's going on, Shane?
06:02Hey, morning, fellas.
06:03Good morning.
06:05I feel like we're in such an impossible situation as Browns fans.
06:09It's not just today, but I want to focus on today.
06:12I think that, you know, today I'm not going to root against my team.
06:16I think that's a loser mentality.
06:18Obviously, I want the Browns to win.
06:20But at the same time, I'm actively rooting for Deshaun to fail.
06:24And so it puts us in a tough situation as fans because you want to see your team do well.
06:28But we want to get this guy off the field so we can see what we've got in Shador.
06:32And so, you know, I think the best-case scenario for today is we go out there, we get smoked
06:37in the first half, we sit Deshaun,
06:39we get Shador a look for the second half, and get him ready for the rest of the season.
06:43I'm curious to hear your thoughts.
06:45Yeah, and Shane, I appreciate it.
06:46I don't think you're alone in that thought process, by the way.
06:48I think there's a lot of people who feel that way.
06:51The only problem I have with this is the idea that, and listen, like, there's two things that pop into
06:58my brain off of this.
06:59One, Shador hasn't even been taking all the practice team reps.
07:02Is he really ready to take over the offense against Tampa Bay?
07:05I don't know.
07:06We haven't seen him, you know, we haven't seen him, just because in the short window where practice is open
07:12to the media,
07:12you don't really get a big, deep look into the scout team quarterback.
07:16You just don't.
07:18I do wonder, to Shane's point, though, as we're talking about, you know, the organization's perception,
07:25if you do bench him mid-game today, it at least does silence the chat.
07:30Like, it lets you go into tomorrow a lot easier, does it not?
07:35Like, hey, the decision's been made.
07:36We're gonna turn the page here.
07:38And it makes, like, the post-game show with Jeff and Tyvus later today a little less crazy.
07:44It makes Ken and Lima's show in the morning before Todd speaks a little less crazy.
07:49Like, I do think that there are things that the Browns can do today to show you, hey, let's not
07:54freak out yet.
07:55It could look bad today.
07:56Like, it's not gonna look bad forever.
07:58It's a fascinating point that Shane made there on the phone.
08:01Yeah, my other thing, and we can talk about this coming up in five minutes,
08:04is, and I know Nate in West Salem wants to jump in on this.
08:07We're gonna get to you coming up here in five as well.
08:10They're talking about re-evaluating the quarterback spot.
08:12They didn't say they're benching Deshaun.
08:13Right, that's true.
08:15What if he actually, like, I don't think he can play well, but if he plays better today,
08:20if he plays a brand of winning football, if the Browns manage to pull off the impossible and get a
08:24win,
08:25it's gonna be really hard to bench a guy after that, and I don't think the fan reaction heading home
08:30is going to change either.
08:31Agreed.
08:31At some point today, there will be 31 other pregame radio shows like what you're listening to right now.
08:38None of them are like this one.
08:40No.
08:40They're talking about the games.
08:42They're breaking down the different angles, how their team could get a win.
08:46Not here.
08:47We barely even have talked about the Tampa Bay Buccaneers yet, Jake,
08:51just because we're so caught up in this Deshaun Watson thing, because really, it's what matters.
08:55Yeah, and, like, I would kill today to just be sitting down and being like,
09:00man, they gotta figure out this run game.
09:02Agreed.
09:02Like, offensive line's gotta start opening up some holes, let Quinshawn get through them.
09:05Can they do it against this Buccaneers defense that struggled last week that didn't have a single defensive lineman log
09:11a sack?
09:12No.
09:12Instead, we're tasked with the idea of sitting here and having to break down the fact that Ian Rapport is
09:18reporting,
09:18we're gonna evaluate our quarterback after the game that we have yet to start today.
09:23Don't, yeah, don't put that out at, you know, Sunday at 5 o'clock after this game's over that we're
09:27gonna do some evaluation.
09:29Ah, let's just throw it out there today at, you know, 7 in the morning, and then we'll go through.
09:34They're earlier than that.
09:34It's, like, it is so unbelievable ridiculous.
09:37There is a game going on today, though.
09:38And because of that, let's go ahead and get our kickoff conditions that are brought to you by our good
09:43friends over there at Expert Renovations.
09:45That's expertrenovationslc.com.
09:4775 currently in Tampa, but it'll be much warmer.
09:50We know the humidity will be high.
09:51This is Florida.
09:52We're back-to-back weeks of doing this.
09:54Humidity's at 90% already this morning.
09:57It's gonna be about 86 degrees for kickoff.
09:59I'm sure it'll feel significantly warmer than that.
10:02Also, something to keep an eye on.
10:03Looks like there might be some showers rolling into the second half of this game.
10:07Yeah, later in the game, it definitely does look like it could.
10:09That's Florida for you, by the way.
10:11When it gets that hot, when it gets that humid, you're good for a good 20, 30-minute downpour.
10:16And then it stops, and it goes back to being a picturesque day on top of that humidity, though.
10:21Right.
10:22So, it's gonna be there.
10:24I mean, if we're looking for a Browns win, and obviously, I think we are today, right?
10:27Nick, still rooting for the Browns to get a win today?
10:28Still rooting for the Browns.
10:30Like, at the end of the day, when I sit down and watch this thing, you know, I'll hear the
10:34people that, you know, are gonna root for Baker.
10:36I told you guys last week, I have no soapbox to stand on anymore.
10:40No soapbox here.
10:41If you want to root for Baker today, go ahead.
10:43If you want to root for draft pick today and Arch Manning today, go ahead.
10:47You know, no soapbox for me.
10:49I personally can't do it.
10:50I have to, you know, when I sit down and watch these games, try to be, A, as objective as
10:55I possibly can, and what I'm watching.
10:58But, B, I just can't find it in me to sit there in the back of my mind and hope
11:03that the Browns lose.
11:04Like, I just can't do it.
11:05But for the people that are gonna do it today, no, I can't judge you.
11:11Yeah, and I'm in that same boat.
11:12Again, our kickoff conditions are brought to you by our good friends over there at Expert Renovations.
11:16That's expertrenovationslc.com.
11:20All right, let's talk about it, because Deshaun obviously had the quote earlier in this week that he thinks the
11:25media feels he has to throw for, you know, 400 yards and five touchdowns in order for it to be
11:30considered a good game, which was a long, drawn-out way of him basically getting to this idea that he
11:35thought he played good football, and the media's never going to acknowledge that, which was wild to me.
11:40But I think we all kind of sat back, and there's two things off of this.
11:45Do you have realistic expectations for Deshaun today of, like, here's what you need to go and do.
11:50Here's what I expect of you.
11:51Like, for me, it's very similar to what it was in week one.
11:54It's pretty much the exact same thing.
11:55Like, as a Browns fan, I'm sitting there and going, okay, if we want to win this game today, Deshaun,
11:59the expectations for Deshaun are go out there, operate the offense, complete the easy stuff, take a couple of shots
12:05to keep the defense honest, but just find a way to move the ball and find a way for it
12:09to look clean.
12:10And that would be a successful day for Deshaun in the offense.
12:13Yeah, you know, those are the expectations for him, certainly.
12:16He thinks that the media has this expectation of him to throw for, you know, he said 400 yards and
12:23five touchdowns.
12:24Well, my math showed, Jake, that he has never thrown for 300 yards, let alone 400, in a Browns uniform.
12:32He's only gone over 250 yards in a Browns uniform twice, so his whole 400-yard benchmark, well, you only
12:39have gone over 250 twice, and he's only gone over 200 passing yards in eight of his 20 starts in
12:47a Browns uniform.
12:48So that means 12 to 20, more than half the games that Deshaun Watson has started with the Browns, he
12:54has failed to surpass 200 passing yards.
12:57Now, Deshaun will tell you, because he is a, you know, delusional individual, in my opinion, that cannot take accountability,
13:05that that's the media's fault.
13:06It's the media's fault, because we're expecting him to have 400 passing yards and five touchdowns today.
13:13I'm here to tell you, Jake Volnick, on the pregame show this morning here on Sports Radio 92 through the
13:18fan,
13:18that my expectation for Deshaun Watson is to look like a veteran quarterback, to run the offense, to take completions,
13:26to try to get the ball into the hands of your playmakers, to not turn the ball over, and to
13:31not make an ass of yourself
13:32when they put a microphone in front of your face at some point after the game.
13:35That's my expectation for Deshaun last week as well.
13:38He failed to live up to it, because he was a complete nightmare on the field,
13:43and then after the game, he continues to say all of the wrong things.
13:48So, I do feel like I have realistic expectations for Deshaun to just go manage the game.
13:54I am a member of the media that is not searching for 400 passing yards and five touchdowns.
14:00I am a member of the media that's looking for you to look like a 31-year-old quarterback in
14:06the National Football League
14:07and to not infuriate your fan base every time that you open your lips, but he's incapable of doing that.
14:14So, I don't know what we're really, you know, expectations for him.
14:18I guess we have to have no expectations for him, because if we have any, to him, that's too much.
14:24To him, that's the media, you know, the media controlling his narrative, which he does not like.
14:30I think it's funny, because I don't know that I've heard that very many people even put a number
14:34to the expectations for Deshaun, and, like, you didn't do it there.
14:37He didn't say it'd be nice to see him throw for 250 yards.
14:39200 would be nice.
14:40We saw it last week.
14:42The expectation 200 would be nice, and right, and the last week was, you know, his eighth game
14:46ever hitting 200 yards or more in a Browns uniform.
14:49Very nice.
14:51$230 million.
14:52Really well spent.
14:54Yeah, if you could get a passing yard for every million of the dollars, it would be nice,
14:58but not the expectation.
15:00Like, don't need you to throw for 200 or 230 today.
15:02If he goes out there and throws for 165, but it's a winning brand of football,
15:05and I don't even mean, like, you win the game.
15:06I mean, the offense plays a winning brand of football, and they're not the reason you lose.
15:11Agreed.
15:12Good job.
15:13I brought it up before we went to break, though.
15:15Like, what is the expectation?
15:16Like, not the expectation, but what happens if Deshaun plays well?
15:19Because, obviously, Ramport had this report, and it's, they're going to reevaluate.
15:24If Deshaun plays well.
15:28Now, apparently, week two of the preseason was supposed to be some evaluation of the quarterback.
15:32Deshaun stunk it up.
15:33Shador looked really good, and it didn't make a difference.
15:34So, maybe that'll just be the end result.
15:36But if he goes out there and plays well today, you can't walk away and be like, ah, got to
15:41bench Deshaun.
15:41Like, that's not going to make any sense.
15:44That's going to be the most obvious, you're not doing this for football reasons type of move.
15:50And I don't think no matter what happens, you could go out there and throw for 400 yards and five
15:55touchdowns today.
15:55I don't think the fans are going to be happy to watch Deshaun Watson take the, I don't think fans
15:59will be happy if Deshaun Watson stayed on the sidelines for Sunday.
16:03And there will still be boos.
16:04Those are still going to happen.
16:05If that's what you're protecting yourself against, you're not going to win that.
16:09Like, you are ultimately going to lose that battle because week one already completely solidified it.
16:14If it wasn't solidified before then.
16:17Right.
16:18I definitely don't think that there's any, like, goodwill that he can really even buy today.
16:24Like, I think we're just past that point.
16:26Like, unless he, you know, goes off and it's in a win and you could come back here saying, wow,
16:34Watson did throw for, you know, 300 yards and a couple of touchdowns and quieted the naysayers, you know, before
16:42this home opener.
16:43Like, sure, then the narrative would change, but you see, Jake, he controls that.
16:48He controls that narrative.
16:50It's not the media, even though he doesn't believe that.
16:53And I just can't see it going that well.
16:56Like, I do think there was a world where, you know, maybe it does.
16:59And maybe week one just was a game that got away from them.
17:03And then they were trying to press.
17:04And then some of the issues just snowballed.
17:07Sure.
17:08I could be sold on that.
17:09I could be sold on just about anything right now.
17:11Because I'm desperate and I'm looking for paths to try to, you know, find ways for this Browns team to
17:17win.
17:18I just don't see it transpiring that way for him today.
17:21No, I don't see it either.
17:23I mean, I think this is going to be an ugly game.
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