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How Todd Monken's decision is paying off big early for Browns, Andre Szmyt playing hero again
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00:00What did you ask us during the break?
00:01Oh, I said, how many more starts is this by Deshaun?
00:04Because that's been the topic after every game, right?
00:06And not even flippantly, like there was a gleam in my eye going,
00:10oh, the conversation has to happen.
00:12Thank you very much, John.
00:13He's quarterback now.
00:14Until what?
00:15Eliminated from the playoffs?
00:16Doesn't it feel that way?
00:17At least until, no, at least until they're under 500.
00:20Right, yeah, they would have to go.
00:22I'm not going to sit there and entertain those thoughts on a victory Friday
00:25after Thursday night football.
00:26That ain't going to happen.
00:27It would not only be that.
00:28It would have to be he's playing terribly and they're losing all the games.
00:32Like if he plays bad and they win, like he's now,
00:35they're in such a position that they're going to be in this thing for a long time,
00:40if not the entire year.
00:41So, yeah, he's a starter.
00:44216-474-0092.
00:45Let me get to the phones here.
00:46Like he's the guy.
00:47Last night, that cemented it.
00:49That took care of it.
00:51Let's go to the phones.
00:52Kevin and Willoughby, you're next up on the fan.
00:54Hello, Kevin.
00:56Hey, what's up, fellas?
00:57Man, victory Friday is awesome.
00:59Same to you, my friend.
01:01So, a few things.
01:02Winning brings out the best.
01:04Willoughby South 6-0, North 6-0, Menner 5-1.
01:07So, everyone starts wearing all the gear.
01:09And I love it.
01:10You know, it's great.
01:11And the next thing is, you know, the wide receiver,
01:13he slowed down a little bit, Fannin.
01:15So, it's not all completely Watson's fault, I believe.
01:19And then the last thing.
01:20Yeah, I saw some people say Fannin didn't complete the route.
01:24That just didn't look like a, of all the confident, accurate throws Watson had last night,
01:30just that one looked bad coming out of the hands.
01:34And then the last thing, you said something about the mixed Trubisky effect.
01:37Kind of take offense to that, because I think Trubisky's awesome.
01:39So, I wasn't sure what you're getting at, Trubisky.
01:41But anyways, go Cardinals, go Patty, coin number 89, get your pizza at the Wild Goose.
01:46No, listen to Kevin.
01:46Kevin's throwing it all in there.
01:48Listen to him.
01:49No, what I meant by that is, there are quarterbacks in this league that they have a winning record,
01:56whatever, and it's not necessarily because of them.
02:00And I think his early Chicago days, he was just kind of, what, he went 11-3 that second year.
02:06And everybody was like, eh, eh.
02:10Like, he's there, he's playing okay.
02:13But they're not 11-3 because of him.
02:15It's honestly, it's a good comparison.
02:17But I don't think they're 3-1 without Deshaun Watson.
02:19No, it's totally different.
02:20That's what I'm saying.
02:21Watson is engineering fourth-quarter drives.
02:23Like, listen.
02:24He's just a different guy than we've seen for four years.
02:27And by the way, where's all the people?
02:29I need to, I got to do, I got to listen for all the people.
02:32Where's all the folks who are sitting there saying that Jimmy Haslam made the call on the quarterback, by the
02:36way?
02:36Where's all this?
02:39Either if either Todd made the call on the quarterback, or you got to admit that Jimmy knows football then.
02:43One of the two.
02:44One of the other, right?
02:44Good luck finding a fan base that's going to say their owner knows football.
02:48Even Jerry Jones' fan base ain't going to say he knows football.
02:51Look at the look on Owen's face.
02:53Like, oh, yeah.
02:54Yeah, you go ahead.
02:55Call in and tell me that Jimmy Haslam knows football then.
02:57If you really want to go the full way and tell me that the owner picked the quarterback,
03:01then you better call in and say, Jimmy knows football, Kenny.
03:05Jimmy knows, okay.
03:07All right.
03:07Which I think he's, he probably knows a lot more about football than a lot of people listen.
03:11I mean, hell, he's pretty close to it.
03:12But you call him a football guy.
03:14I call him a football guy.
03:15But you can't have it both ways.
03:16He grew up in a football family.
03:18Yeah, of course.
03:19His dad played.
03:19His dad played for the volunteers.
03:20Yeah.
03:20Yeah.
03:21Doesn't that make you a football family if your dad is a major D1 college football player?
03:27I think his dad played for Robert Nalen, if I'm not mistaken, the general.
03:30So, I mean, yeah.
03:31But so, look.
03:33Al Saunders has been to that stadium.
03:34We've all, that's right.
03:36We've all taken our turns being wrong about this team in one way or another.
03:41And even, hey, even Al Stenny Olive Branch, there was a bunch of people that thought,
03:46we all, by the way, we all thought it made more sense for Shador to start the season
03:50because he was younger and it felt like the Watson thing was doomed and had no future here.
03:54Whatever.
03:55He still may have no future here.
03:56Whatever.
03:57We've all taken turns being wrong, but I'll extend the olive branch.
04:00Like, it's fun to be wrong when your team wins.
04:02Yeah, that's fine.
04:03It's so much fun.
04:04Unless you have no vested interest in the Browns whatsoever and you're just rooting for a player.
04:09This is awesome.
04:10This is such a best case scenario that I never saw coming that he could dial up some of the
04:18old Houston stuff.
04:19And the reason, you know, this is pointed out is that, does Denzel Boston have this type of start with
04:25other people?
04:27Does Casey Concepcion, is he found with other, like, you gotta be able to have anticipatory throws.
04:33And at the beginning, it looked like a total disaster.
04:35I mean, Jacksonville was a mess.
04:36Jacksonville was an absolute fall apart, dumpster fire mess that made everybody sick to their stomachs about what this football
04:43team was going to be this year.
04:44We were talking about one and done with Munkin, whether or not that Tampa Bay was going to be Deshaun
04:48Watson's Waterloo.
04:50And we're only at the end of the first month of the season.
04:52But clearly, like, Denzel Boston looks like one of the best rookies in the league, if not the best rookie
04:57in the league when it comes to receiving the football.
05:00Casey Concepcion is right up there.
05:02You know, I had that conversation with Nathan.
05:04Like, the big conversation this week was getting Casey Concepcion and Deshaun Watson on the same page.
05:10And Nathan's like, you know, I think that's a bit of a narrative.
05:12We'll have Nathan coming on and dying.
05:14He's like, I think that's a bit of a false narrative there, where the first couple of games, he's right
05:18there.
05:18It was only this last game where there was a little bit of a mix-up.
05:20But there was plenty of receptions by Casey Concepcion.
05:23So I think with these guys, like, you needed that vet to be able to find him.
05:27But the vet needed to find himself, too.
05:29And I'll just keep going back.
05:31If he was looking to go back to 2020, I think we'd be in disaster mode right now.
05:36He needs to continue where he is.
05:38Are you playing complementary football?
05:40Yes.
05:41Are you playing competent football where you're trying to eliminate turnovers the best you can?
05:45Yes.
05:45Where you are shouldering a lot of the burden there.
05:47Your running game is still not very good.
05:49And you've got injuries now on that offensive line.
05:51So you're doing a lot.
05:52Here's how they're making up for it.
05:53Yeah.
05:53They're making up for it.
05:54So, yes.
05:55These young pass catchers add fan into the mix.
05:58Judkins last night out of the backfield.
06:00Where has that been?
06:01You know, that is something that I saw him at Ohio State do that stuff.
06:05And I was waiting, waiting for him to be, at times, a safety valve or include him.
06:10You know, maybe one of these weeks they're going to bust him out in a beautiful wheel route.
06:14But he is capable.
06:15He can catch the ball.
06:17It's not like he has these hard hands where the ball is just going to ricochet off him.
06:20And yesterday, in the passing game, he ends up with 43 yards.
06:24So, it makes up for his three yards to carry.
06:26Yes.
06:27You know, part of me always thought and knew that I'd be able to make it.
06:30You know, I knew I thought I had the talent.
06:32So, I just put one foot in front of the other and just keep working.
06:35And then, you know, good things happen and continue to grow and get better.
06:41Lake Forest, Illinois' zone.
06:44Syracuse guy shares something with tone.
06:47Andre Schmidt.
06:48Oh, that's right.
06:49Proud winners.
06:50Yeah.
06:50Thankfully, Cleveland's own now.
06:53Yes.
06:54And someone didn't get his way.
06:55I'm sure there's other kickers you can find.
06:57So, I'm not worried about them finding a kicker between now and next week.
07:01But, no.
07:02No more.
07:03I'm not.
07:03We're not doing an investment.
07:05We're investing in the future.
07:06There's no investment.
07:07It's a zero-sum game, sir.
07:08You either make the kick or you don't make the kick.
07:10You couldn't make the kick.
07:12Bye.
07:14Oh, wait.
07:15Did you say you wanted to hear more of it?
07:16No.
07:17No.
07:17Just hit that kick for crying out loud.
07:20That's great, Kenny.
07:20What are you talking about?
07:22I think he tried to hit the kick.
07:23Then, if you don't hit the kick, then find somebody else who did.
07:26You got what you wanted out of me.
07:27You want to be mad, and now I'm mad at 612.
07:30And I'm not even mad at him.
07:31I know he didn't try to miss it on purpose.
07:33I know he tried to make the kicks.
07:35But he didn't make the kicks.
07:36I'm sorry, son.
07:36You got to go.
07:39Football Conversation on 92.3.
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07:47Imagine that.
07:49Ken's foot in his mouth provided by Ken.
07:51Here's more.
07:52I want to be on the record for everybody.
07:54If they bring in a new guy next week and he misses kicks, get rid of him, too.
07:57And then if the next guy goes up against Green Bay and he misses kicks, off he goes.
08:02Formula for a football team?
08:03I don't care.
08:07Well, he can't get them all.
08:09No, he sure as hell can.
08:12Guess what?
08:12He missed it.
08:13Now I'm going to go to Gary and Ashton Bula.
08:15Gary, you're next up on The Fan.
08:18Hey, did you ever apologize to him for wanting him thrown out after the first week when he was a
08:24rookie and he missed a kick?
08:25Gary, I'm glad you brought that up.
08:26I actually did.
08:26I apologize to his face.
08:28He actually did.
08:28I swear to God.
08:29It's cold to hear.
08:30Glad to hear it.
08:30By the way, I looked up his stats.
08:31He was actually 24 of 27 last year on field goals for an 88.9% and 100% or
08:3825 of 26 on extra points for 96%.
08:43And he's 100% on both this year.
08:48He's fantastic.
08:49Pretty good.
08:51Whoopsie-daisy.
08:53No, Gary, honestly, you're right.
08:56And I'm glad I did.
08:58I felt – and Gary, thank you very much for the call.
09:00I'll leave the conversation between us.
09:03But I did, and I felt –
09:04Between you?
09:06Wait, wait, wait.
09:07Between Andre and myself.
09:08What more did you disclose or he disclosed?
09:11Oh, I faced him like a man and told him I was an ass and I was an idiot, and
09:18I just wanted him to know that it's never too late to learn.
09:21And I've learned something.
09:24And we won't go any further than that.
09:25I was a 39-year-old man then, and now I'm a 40-year-old man.
09:30And in that season, even though we finished with five wins, I learned that it's a really stupid thing to
09:37get on the air and demand removal of a field goal kicker.
09:43You'll at least wait another game.
09:44You just won't do it after the one.
09:46Oh, no, him.
09:47He's got currency.
09:48He has built currency.
09:49Well, look at the confidence.
09:51I mean, honestly –
09:52And now that I know him, forget about it.
09:55Well, a 56 –
09:57You think I made excuses for Kevin?
09:59You better wait.
10:00Well, hopefully we never wait.
10:01Hopefully he just keeps making a bunch of kicks.
10:03You know, guys in this league are making kicks from 55 routine.
10:07Like, in my youth, 50-plus was hard.
10:11Now these guys are drilling them, and it was so weird.
10:15Yesterday, with the game on the line, when have you ever felt that way about a Brown situation?
10:20Think of how many times that – I mean, the Ravens game back in the day where it got blocked
10:26and returned the other way and you lose a game.
10:28You're setting up to win a game and you lose a game.
10:31And yet, I had a weird – maybe it's my twisted psychology on these things.
10:37I thought they were going to be so bad before the season started that I just had a confidence about
10:42him yesterday.
10:44About him or about everybody?
10:46In the fourth quarter.
10:48Yeah.
10:48And I told you, that throw to Judy, that he put it over the one defender who jumped as high
10:55as he could.
10:57That's a tough throw.
10:57Judy in the middle of the zone, there were like three guys around him, and that he caught the ball
11:02too.
11:03I'm like, we're winning this game.
11:04We are winning this game.
11:05By the way, has he made 40 – is this right?
11:0842 straight kicks?
11:09That can't be.
11:10Yeah.
11:10If you add extra points.
11:12Well, Munga was – Munga was definitely confident in him.
11:15Here's Todd after the game.
11:17I mean, he said he could make it.
11:18So I said, well, go kick it and make it.
11:20I said, no pressure, but they're going to have the ball about midfield with one of the best kickers in
11:23the history of the NFL.
11:24No pressure.
11:24I'm joking.
11:25I didn't say that to him.
11:26I was thinking that, though.
11:28I'm going to hope he makes it.
11:29At first, I was like, he didn't really say that, did he?
11:31That would be ridiculous.
11:33That was a good inner monologue from Todd Munga because, Kenny, that was the thing I was thinking.
11:37As confident as I was, if he doesn't make it, this gets very precarious and dicey because he – and
11:46I was starting to go a little crazy there.
11:49At the end of that drive, they called two passing plays, and Watson got sacked.
11:53Yeah.
11:54So now you're going backwards.
11:55How many yards did they lose on that sack?
11:58And I'm like, oh, no.
12:01No.
12:01That was the one thing Watson couldn't do is take the sack.
12:04I didn't know why they were throwing the ball.
12:06I mean, obviously, to get closer.
12:07But you just had to – I think you could have played it a lot smarter there.
12:10Either way, build it out.
12:1156 yards.
12:12How did you want to – I mean, I know you could have ran it.
12:15As a smart Browns coach once said, well, you can run it or you can throw it.
12:19And they had to – I think you had a hot hand there at that moment.
12:23I didn't blame them for trying to throw it.
12:25I thought they had gotten down to the 40, but then went backwards.
12:27Yeah, they got in there.
12:28Here's Watson after the game.
12:30He had a conversation with Schmidt before they went out.
12:33Wanted to know where to be.
12:34Here's Watson on what Schmidt told him.
12:36That was money.
12:37I just knew it.
12:38I knew it was money.
12:38He told me, like I said, he told me the landmark.
12:40It was like the 42-yard line.
12:42But I knew he was like, man, you got me a little extra.
12:44So he was just lining it up.
12:46You know, we see it all the time.
12:48He's going to be money.
12:50And that's what he was.
12:51And just – 56 yards to finish.
12:52Because, again, if for some reason, you know, he misses that, they are –
12:58would anybody have picked the Browns to win the game at that point?
13:01If he misses it, you're thinking Aaron Rodgers.
13:03You just saw what Lamar Jackson did last week in that game,
13:06wherever they were playing it.
13:08I mean, it took six seconds.
13:09And he launched the ball down the field,
13:11and then they had the kicker win the game for him.
13:13That was what they were – you know, Andrew was bringing up on the radio last night
13:18that Aaron Rodgers is the greatest Hail Mary quarterback of all time.
13:22Of all time.
13:23Like, he just consistently has been able to complete the Hail Mary and had time,
13:28and it wasn't – didn't even really need it, right?
13:31He needed, like, 23 yards to get into field goal range.
13:34Yeah.
13:342-1-6-4-7-4-0-0-92.
13:36But is Watson the quarterback now, is what we're saying here?
13:40Is this an official show stance?
13:41Yeah, I don't even think you need a stance on this.
13:43I'm just making sure.
13:44Because, again, they go to New York next week, and, hey, the Jets are going to be –
13:48they're going to play tough.
13:50I would pick – if I were a lot, I'd pick the Browns.
13:53I'm not allowed to pick the Browns, so I can't pick the Browns.
13:55And I won't pick the Browns.
13:57But –
13:58No, now you've seen enough –
13:59It's going to affect the Browns to be the better football team.
14:01Yeah, you've seen enough good football from him.
14:04I know we went into this game yesterday and were like,
14:07ah, 9 out of 12 quarters has been shaky.
14:10But now – now you can see the confidence has changed with him,
14:15and they can actually operate an offense.
14:17You know, think about how their offensive line is gelling over the course of four games.
14:22I mean, I think he had a better pocket yesterday.
14:24Remember, those first three games, he had guys coming right at him in his face time and time again.
14:29But now, Munkin and Watson, they've got defenses off balance.
14:34And it was a joy to see the Steelers guessing last night with their front seven.
14:40Having to guess in big moments.
14:42Curtis Danberg, Guardians Vice President of Communications and Community Impact.
14:46He's in 15 minutes on the fan.
14:48Lori and Menner, you're next up on the fan.
14:49Hello, Lori.
14:50Hello.
14:52Lori.
14:52Hello.
14:53Got to turn down the radio.
14:54Go ahead.
14:55Or whoever's talking in the background.
14:56I'm sorry.
14:57Go ahead.
14:57We need it, right?
14:58Okay.
14:59Hi.
14:59Hi, Lori.
15:01I just wanted to say I am so excited about the Browns,
15:05and you coined it perfectly, calling Watson a marksman,
15:10because I didn't even know what I was watching last night.
15:14I talked to my husband.
15:15I'm like, what is this?
15:16I was just blown away.
15:20Well, I think – and Lori, thank you very much for the call.
15:23Considering what he's been, again, I think the conversation is done about him being,
15:27well, how many games, this, that, the other.
15:29No, I think he's the guy now.
15:31And he's the guy for the foreseeable future until otherwise.
15:35Like, I don't think it's like, well, well, well, we got contracts and things like that.
15:39I don't want to go that far just yet.
15:41But that's probably because of the history that we've had where it's like, hey, he's been bad.
15:46There's been some really bad times with him as the QB.
15:49Like, I don't think we're all the way through the woods.
15:51But, you know, last night was a great performance when they needed it the most.
15:55I know that he cooled off there in the third quarter,
15:57but that was a great performance when they needed it the very most.
16:00And he deserves that praise.