00:00In the first half of that game, the entire time I was thinking,
00:04okay, it's a competitive loss, right?
00:06The defense showed up, still can't run the ball,
00:09but there have been a couple of nice moments in the past game here and there.
00:12And, hey, Andre Schmidt, what a kicker.
00:15Yeah, what a kicker.
00:16Oh, and Bohorquez, the way he pinned him at the 20, I think it was the 19.
00:20And then you got into the second half, and it was like,
00:23oh, well, that was a nice play by Deshaun,
00:24or that was a great play by Denzel Boston, or that was a good block.
00:28The defense continued to hold pace, and even then, like everybody else,
00:33I was debating, going back and forth in the impossibly long lightning delay,
00:38whether I thought that this was going to benefit or hurt the Browns.
00:43Lo and behold, it benefited the Browns and certainly hurt Baker Mayfield,
00:46who could not connect on any sort of pass once they resumed the game.
00:49The receiver was wide open in the end zone on that final play.
00:51It's fine.
00:52The first half, 59 yards of total offense, and I kept thinking to myself,
00:55it didn't seem like Deshaun looked that bad in the first half.
00:58I'm like, he's making the right throws.
01:00He's making pretty decent throws.
01:02No payoff happening at all.
01:03To have the second half, the Browns did, and to just not lay down and die
01:07when you're down 16-6, and it felt like that lead might have been a million
01:11at that point, that was huge.
01:13That was exactly the way that I think a lot of Browns fans doubted the Browns
01:17could do, and they did.
01:18And, as I have been incredibly vocal about my displeasure of Deshaun starting
01:23for the Cleveland Browns, that it absolutely bears discussion.
01:27The very first thing I say is, that was a very nice performance by Deshaun
01:30in the second half.
01:31That was a very nice performance by the defense.
01:34And I think Todd Munkin got bailed out a little bit because the coaching decisions
01:38in the first half had me just streaming at the TV, and I'm glad that that's not
01:43what we have to talk about today, or at least all of what we have to talk about today.
01:46It's funny how the Twitter algorithm works these days because it definitely
01:48keeps two-hour quotes still existing, and you just saw so many people that
01:53just want to complain about Munkin, comparing him to Freddie Kitchens,
01:56arguing over which former fired and bad head coach he actually reminds you
02:00the most of.
02:01And then to have the second half the way that they did, and Deshaun was.
02:05He was really, really good.
02:06We got a tip of the cap to Deshaun Watson.
02:08Now, it doesn't mean he's going to be good forever, so it is just one game,
02:11but that was a great game by Deshaun.
02:13I'm not going to A-dot people to death on this one.
02:15It was nice to see.
02:16I know it's going to happen today.
02:17So I'm upfronting this by saying I know we're going to be hypocrites about this.
02:23Okay?
02:23Me, too.
02:24I will also be a hypocrite about this.
02:27Can we just enjoy a Browns victory Monday?
02:30The amount of times I've heard every show in town, and I'm not just talking about
02:34our station, but every show in town, skip to, well, what does this mean for this?
02:38What does this mean?
02:38It's like, can we not just enjoy?
02:40Can we just set our weapons down for one day and just enjoy a Browns victory Monday?
02:47I'd love to do that, but that's not really how any of this works, right?
02:50The people that have been yelling at us that Deshaun is actually good, or Deshaun can be
02:55competent, and Munkin knows exactly what he's doing in making this decision.
02:59I wonder if Jeffrey calls today, by the way.
03:00He should.
03:01Like, this day is for you.
03:03He was quiet as a church mouse in the Jacksonville game.
03:06He was gone, and he was MIA, but he should.
03:09Like, this is the day, and this is where a lot of the Deshaun Watson are.
03:12I didn't even realize we had this many Deshaun Watson supporters, but, like, this is where
03:15you crawl out of your little hole that you were hiding in.
03:17I thought it was just Lima.
03:18And, well, he's one of them.
03:20And then you get to go ahead and gloat a little bit.
03:22Like, if they, I mean, this is, to the victor goes to spoil her, right?
03:26Like, you get to do this today.
03:28We all bask in a Browns win, but, like, that is, I would be wrong if I told them they
03:33don't
03:33get to celebrate in any sort of way, that their quarterback did well.
03:35Oh, no, no, no.
03:36I didn't.
03:36You should celebrate it, but it's the then taking it to, I told you, and this is how it's
03:42going to be.
03:42It's like, well, we'll find out next Sunday.
03:44Well, so nothing is definitive.
03:46That is something I think is important to remind everybody in this right here.
03:49We had a game last year where Shador threw for 350 yards and three touchdowns.
03:54Nothing's definitive because of one game in the NFL.
03:56But can we all meet each other in the middle of, that was nice at least for one week?
04:00Is that maybe the olive branch you're trying to throw out here?
04:02That's what I want to throw out, but I don't even know most Browns fans can agree that that
04:06was nice because of the implications that it guarantees Deshaun Watson a third start
04:13here.
04:13Not only a third start.
04:14That's a bogo, son.
04:15That's a third and a fourth start because you're Thursday night football against the
04:19Steelers.
04:19And I grew up.
04:20And I don't know why I called you son that way, but I just came out and it felt right.
04:23It's all right.
04:24I mean, it kind of took me back to the Dewey slopes of 1992, living on food stamps
04:28and whatnot.
04:28But he heard bogo, heard son, disappointment.
04:32I threw that one in there.
04:33I threw that one in there.
04:35Yeah, yeah, yeah.
04:35That's just a little old damage working its way around there.
04:38That's a bogo, son.
04:39Let me tell you about these buy one, get one coupons.
04:41But like, you know, we got the Watson Wars and those are going to continue on.
04:46And I'm sure the Shador Wars are out there to be fought as well.
04:49But the truth is, I expected the Browns to be competitive and I got to win.
04:54I, you know, I think, I think Todd Munkin needed to prove to me that whatever he saw
04:59that literally nobody else, I'm just talking about from the media perspective, from the
05:04fan perspective, saw in camp, the fact that he has that, that buys a little bit of credibility,
05:10a little more of that trust in Todd mentality.
05:13Like, I understand the far-reaching implications and I will not tell anyone you're wrong for
05:18feeling whichever sort of way you want to feel about it.
05:20But for me, I was just glad we won because one in one coming home against a winnable
05:26Panthers team, but certainly not a pushover Panthers team.
05:29It's a good Panthers team right now.
05:30Bryce Young is playing really nice football.
05:31This is, this is actually a good spot to be in.
05:34And it certainly keeps the Browns interesting in a good way, even if not everybody thinks
05:39this is a good way.
05:39That's it.
05:40They definitely remain interesting.
05:41Now, I will say this, as much credit as I want to give Munkin and Deshaun and everyone
05:45that is associated with this, Munkin or the powers that be with that leaked report before
05:50the game suggesting that Deshaun basically has to be awesome or he's done, you didn't
05:55help kind of showcase the confidence, did you?
05:58Yeah.
05:58This is the danger of those leaked reports.
06:00This is, this is why you don't do those.
06:02This is why you let it play out.
06:03If this is the, the, the turning point for Deshaun and Deshaun actually, you know, ends up
06:09being a cogent answer at quarterback for the rest of the season.
06:13And when we tell this story years from now, we're going to make a point of noting that
06:19not only did the Browns put out there, you know, they're going to think about this after
06:23this game, right?
06:24And Deshaun's going to have to be really good, but even winning might not be enough.
06:26Right.
06:27But there were a lot of media people who went very hard in the paint for Deshaun Watson
06:33that were, and I'm talking about this, like recent is like Thursday that we're singing
06:38a different tune this weekend.
06:41And I can't help, but think, I hope they know we all saw that.
06:45I hope we all did.
06:45We're just taking notes.
06:47We're just being quiet about it.
06:48We're just in the back.
06:49I'm not going to put names on it, but good God.
06:51The formula they had yesterday, I think that's the formula that I thought they were going
06:56to win with, or at least compete with in the preseason, which is you're going to get the
07:02ball to playmakers, not turn the ball over, let the playmakers do the work.
07:06Okay.
07:06But the difference here is you thought they'd have a run game to do this with.
07:08Yeah.
07:09No, that's, that's totally fair.
07:10The difference in yesterday's, they did all this without a run game to speak of at all,
07:14which I think makes it even more impressive.
07:15A hundred percent.
07:16But then you fall back on a quality defensive performance most weeks, and you will be in
07:21a lot of games that Vegas says you might not be in.
07:24So, I mean, I think just in terms of proof of concept, whether you wanted that from Deshaun,
07:29whether you were hoping next week would be Shadur, whatever the conversation is, I think
07:34being able to see what the offense should be here, at least in the beginning of the season
07:38and the fact that you got to win with it.
07:40I think that goes a long way into starting to think back to certain hosts who said eight and
07:45nine, that some people treated like it was going to be a Superbowl prediction.
07:49Well, again, we got a lot left.
07:50We did.
07:51It was nice to see that the morning show Lyman increased his win total from four wins to
07:54five after that game yesterday.
07:55That's good.
07:56So that was nice.
07:57I didn't know you could do that, by the way.
07:58I didn't know you could do in season.
08:01We reassign what our win total is.
08:02Yeah.
08:03If I knew that was on the board, I would just, I just do it like crazy then.
08:07Why not?
08:07Well, I mean, in fairness on Friday, I'll always be right.
08:09Then I'll finish 17 weeks.
08:10Always being right.
08:11On Friday, he was ripping Deshaun Watson.
08:14And meanwhile, after the game, he was attacking Colorado fans and Shador fans while proudly
08:20professing his love for Deshaun Watson.
08:22So I guess anything's on the table with Lyman.
08:24Well, Deshaun will change a lot of people's minds if he plays the second half the way that
08:28he did.
08:28I mean, in that game, I mean, the third downs, let's talk about that for a second.
08:320 for 6 on third down in the first half.
08:33And then in that, in the 12 play, six minute drive that finished with the touchdown to Whitehart,
08:38he converted four third downs in that stretch.
08:40Like it was that, that to me was one of the, one of the biggest differences is watching
08:45how clutch he became and an important drives, important moments.
08:48He just found a way to get the job done.
08:50I did not know he still had that in him.
08:52So if your reaction is, I don't, I don't like any win that involves Deshaun or any loss.
08:58And I just don't want Deshaun.
08:59I get it.
09:00The thing that annoyed me from yesterday was the goodbye arch tweets and like the, the
09:06sad saga, the sad sack saga that the Browns won't be able to take a quarterback next year.
09:12It's like, all right, this is where we get to say it's one win.
09:14Yes.
09:15It's proof of concept, but like just lock in and try and enjoy this as best you can, because
09:20there might be, you know, 15 more Sundays that are going to bring a hell of a lot of complications.
09:25Yeah.
09:25I mean, we might get to as, as soon as, uh, I don't know, a week from now after we
09:31would
09:31have played two more games in theory.
09:33I mean, you play, we play the Sunday game, I guess two weeks from now, and then the Thursday
09:36night game, uh, it's like a quick turnaround.
09:38And then all of a sudden you're entering week five and we can have a completely different
09:42interpretation of what Deshaun Watson is.
09:44It's just, that's the reality of it.
09:45I think what's crazy about, uh, about getting ready for today's show is I knew how I felt.
09:50I knew what yesterday made me think and feel.
09:52I did not know what to expect and not, not from you necessarily, but from the greater
09:57conversation, because it just felt like there were 150 different theories on yesterday's
10:04win on the positive and negative side.
10:08And I think they're, they're far reaching in a million different directions.
10:12Sure.
10:13And it's like, I usually winning is like this unifying thing.
10:16And I do think some Browns fans were unified with it, but to watch people continue to spiral
10:21off into a million different directions, it kind of made my head spin a little bit, whether
10:26that was on Tik TOK, or, or Twitter or Facebook, it was just wild to see that, that be the
10:33end
10:33result of something that usually does unify us all into a Browns win.
10:38Well, I should have told you, Nick, that this season isn't going to end up being an absolute
10:41waste.
10:41I mean, I guess there's always the potential.
10:43It could still just go right down the toilet, but the way they played yesterday against one
10:47of the, one of the better teams we'll have on our schedule outside of the AFC North.
10:51Like that's, that's such a positive.
10:53If you can beat the Bucks that way, I guys, our schedule, it's just absolute crap.
10:56We play a lot of really bad teams.
10:58If you look that good against Tampa Bay, like the, the sky's the limit when it comes to this
11:02thing being, all right, I don't, I don't mean sky's the limit as far as don't take it
11:06too far.
11:06Now let's, let's back, let's backtrack a little bit here.
11:08But the idea that this team can be a watchable every single week is like, that's, that's
11:13there.
11:13It's, it exists in a way that after week one, Nick, people were done.
11:17People were spent.
11:18They could not have done what they did last week and did that again, and then expect people
11:21to continue to come back.
11:22What they showed you this last weekend was a product you come back to.
11:25It was yesterday closer to the best case scenario or worst case scenario for the Browns.
11:31Isaac, we got about 45 seconds, buddy.
11:33What you got for us?
11:34Hey, yeah.
11:35I was just wondering and saying to myself that anybody that wants to not root for a football
11:41team because of the person that's playing, it's not really a true fan.
11:46I can understand it.
11:48And I'm trying to put, wrap my head around it.
11:50I'm looking for anybody that can get this team wins.
11:53I'm looking for now to see that the next four games, we have a chance to be actually three
11:59and one, four and one.
12:01And that's a great place to be.
12:03And anybody that doesn't like that really isn't a football fan.
12:07They have personal problems, I think.
12:09Isaac, we appreciate you.
12:10I vehemently disagree with you.
12:13Now, there are a lot of times where I might agree with the sentiment, but to try and gloss
12:19over the Deshaun Watson experience for Browns fans out there who could be offended by the
12:23experience and any myriad of ways to say one game should be the Band-Aid that changes
12:29their hearts and minds, I think that's foolish.
12:32And I think that's a, I get where you're coming from.
12:35And I am of the place of, I don't care if it's Deshaun, I just want to win.
12:39And if we get eight wins and he's the quarterback, I'll take it because I don't want to sit through
12:44another three or five win season.
12:47At the same point, if there are Browns fans still saying, nah, call me when somebody else
12:52is the quarterback, I can't fan shame you, right?
12:55I really can't.
12:56It's understandable.
12:57I also, I think where people went too far yesterday are the people that are like, that
13:00was a $230 million win.
13:02He beat Baker.
13:04That's what we were waiting for.
13:05It's like, guys, we sucked for four years up until this point with Deshaun Watson.
13:08Anytime he touched the field, this one win doesn't erase any of that.
13:12If you still have anger in your heart because of that, a win against Baker doesn't erase
13:17that and it shouldn't erase that.
Comments