00:00We head out to the wise heart, right? We make it right. Call Kyle Wright hotline.
00:04You're going to hear this voice a lot on Sunday because he'll be on the call.
00:09Sorry about that. I'm going to choke first. I'm just getting so worked up about this game.
00:13That's what it is. It means a lot to you. Of the Browns Jets game. Clearly,
00:16it means I'm willing to subject myself to real punishment on social media.
00:21Andrew Catalan joins us right now. Andrew, welcome to the show.
00:25Hey guys. Thanks for having me. How are you? We're doing all right here.
00:29I'm sure you don't look at the lines every single day.
00:33Would you be surprised to find out that in a matchup between the 3-1 Browns and 1-3 Jets,
00:39the Browns are two and a half point dogs on Sunday?
00:42I do not check the lines daily. I did hear about that though.
00:46And I am a little bit surprised. I mean, I really think this Cleveland team is playing well.
00:52I know the point differential and the yardage differential and the turnover differential
00:57are all in the negative category, but I give them a lot of credit for the way they fought
01:02in these last three wins, especially late in the game. And again, I'm not really studying the lines,
01:08but I guess I was a little bit surprised when I saw that.
01:12Yeah. It's interesting. When you think about both these teams, a lot of people are wondering
01:15if the Browns at 3-1 are really a 3-1 team. And that's fair, I think. And then other
01:19people are
01:20wondering if the Jets at 1-3 are actually better than a 1-3 team. Which way do you see
01:25it?
01:25Do you feel like the Jets are actually a 1-3 team or are they misdiagnosed? Both teams
01:30misdiagnosed? Browns really 3-1? I just gave you a ton right there, Andrew. I'm sorry.
01:35The one thing I would do is throw out last week's performance by the Jets in Chicago. I mean,
01:40that game got so sideways. I'm sure you guys have talked about the fact that the Bears ran
01:4589 plays to the 32 for the Jets. So I don't really think this Jets team is what we saw
01:51last week.
01:53You know, you look at them week one, nice win, although Tennessee is 0-4. They had the Packers
02:01ended up blowing that one, but Green Bay is not really looking like the Green Bay of old
02:05so far. And then, you know, they played really well in Detroit. So, you know, I look at this
02:10Jets team and I think that they're not what they were last week, but they are probably,
02:13you know, in that just under 500 category. And then for me, for Cleveland, I mean, look,
02:19I think the national narrative coming out of week one was, wow, the Browns are terrible.
02:25And I think that I give them credit for proving, A, they're not, but B, we're also seeing how good
02:30Jacksonville is. I mean, I think they are really a legit, you know, 3-1 football team. So, you know,
02:37I've been really impressed by the way that the Browns have bounced back. And look, who cares if
02:42they look like a 3-1 team? They are 3-1. They have a lot of momentum right now. And,
02:47you know,
02:48certainly some good feelings with the way they've been playing football.
02:51Andrew, I'm trying to enjoy a 3-1 start that I didn't see coming. I did, I did have, I
02:57think,
02:57the highest win total of any of the hosts on the station, because I thought they could be a,
03:02you know, sub-500 team, like an 8-19 was my final prediction here. But 3-1 is still surprising
03:07to me. But I would, I am surprised at the amount of people on this station asking if, if about
03:12playoffs right now or saying that that's where, you know, their mind is. I, I just, I think it's
03:18too early for me to change my expectations. What wins the time? Like, is there a magical,
03:25mythical week where we can start to look at a, a hot Brown start and go, all right, now it's
03:30time
03:30to go ahead and take whatever you thought in the preseason, throw it out and let's, let's reset the
03:35expectations. Yeah. I mean, it's a great question. I think in baseball, you know, as a baseball fan,
03:40I don't really check the standings till Memorial Day. Um, I think in the NFL, you can say the
03:46cliche is Halloween. I mean, if the Browns are still in first place or right behind the Ravens
03:52or whoever, uh, by come Halloween, I mean, why not? I mean, meaningful football in November and
03:58hopefully December. I mean, that's what you want. So I don't think a Browns fan needs to apologize
04:04for being three and one or having a negative point differential. Who cares? I mean, it's so hard to
04:09win in this league. You know, I've seen the chargers, uh, two times already. They're Oh,
04:13and four. I mean, they'd be dying to be having people say they're not as good as a three and
04:18one
04:18record. So, you know, I say, enjoy it. Yes. Expectations are one thing, but there's no reason
04:24a Browns fan shouldn't be pumped up to watch this game to see if they can get the four and
04:28one on
04:28Sunday. Have you guys done your meetings yet with the Browns? I know some broadcasts do it Friday.
04:32Some, some do it a little bit later. Have you met with the Deshaun and spin specifically yet or no?
04:37We met with the jets today, but we're not meeting with Cleveland until tomorrow.
04:41Okay. I've just, I was curious because we've seen a different Deshaun Watson in the past couple
04:44of weeks, the relative to what we saw in the preseason. And then really, even when the season
04:48got underway, it's just a more confident Deshaun. And I wanted to know if that's come across to
04:52you. Maybe it has just even before you meet with him tomorrow. Well, the one thing that I have a
04:57little different perspective is that I do the bills preseason game. So I was in Cleveland for that
05:02game when they booed him. And when I'm doing my prep for this week, I think back to that time
05:08in August and just how different things are right now. I mean, that is, it is a total 180 from
05:13the
05:13way I felt about the Browns. And I'm sure a lot of people felt about the Browns walking out of
05:18that
05:18stadium in a lightning storm in the middle of August to where we are right now. And look, I called
05:24a
05:24number of Watson's games when he was on the Texans, you know, pre COVID when he was, you know,
05:28certainly one of the better quarterbacks in the league. And, you know, I think you see the way
05:32that he's running the football and hearing the Jets talk about his scrambling ability today.
05:37That's one thing that I think has changed a lot. I mean, he is showing that even at the age
05:42of 31,
05:44coming off, tearing his Achilles twice, that he's giving them something, whether it be moving the
05:50pocket, taking off and running, maybe zone read stuff. I think that's the biggest difference that
05:56I've seen from Deshaun in terms of his on play field. And I think that's a big part of why
06:01the
06:02Browns are having some success offensively as well. All right. So obviously from the Jets side,
06:07the Browns are super banged up here. Mike Hall Jr. is not going to go Mason Graham. These are some
06:12of the names that aren't going to go for the Browns, but from the Jets side, Adonai Mitchell and
06:16Brees Hall, which one of those injuries do you think has a bigger impact on the Jets side of things
06:21on Sunday? Brees Hall, no doubt. I mean, he is a really good running back. And, you know,
06:26the Jets might be getting Tim Patrick back, who's a bigger receiver. I think that's what they lose
06:32in Mitchell, kind of that size. But Tim Patrick has big size. So, you know, I think a lot's going
06:37to fall on the shoulders of Braylon Allen, the running back who they Jets used last week. But
06:42Brees Hall can do a lot in the passing game as well. That's a big loss for the Jets, especially
06:47with the weather we're expecting. I'm actually from New Jersey. So we're supposed to get a
06:52decent amount of rain. Now, when it comes in will obviously be the question if it starts at kickoff
06:58or it starts in the second half. But if there's any type of rain and that run game is going
07:03to be
07:03needed more, I think the Jets will be really wishing they had Brees Hall out there in the rain
07:09at the Meadowlands. Geno's fourth in the league in passer rating. He doesn't have an interception on the
07:13season. He's playing, completing 72% of his passes. What's the perception right now of Geno?
07:20Because I say all those really nice things, but they are in fact one in three. And it doesn't
07:24seem like people are talking about Geno Smith in the most positive of ways necessarily.
07:28Yeah, you know, I think, you know, last year in Vegas, he just got crushed. I mean, he had,
07:33he was sacked 55 times. The offensive line out there was a mess and it totally revamped it this
07:39year signing Tyler Linderbaum of the Ravens, among others. I don't know how much of a fair shake Geno
07:45really got last year. And I think a lot of people just looking around and seeing the numbers and the
07:50record of the Raiders thinking, all right, that's the old Geno Smith. The days in Seattle are gone.
07:54He's too old, whatnot. But now that he's had some decent protection and he has some weapons, I mean,
07:59Garrett Wilson is still one of the best wide receivers in the NFL. I think you're seeing what
08:04he can do in a simple West Coast type offense that Frank Reich is running. So I'm not totally
08:10shocked that, you know, the numbers at least look good. Now, can he make a big play in the fourth
08:15quarter with pressure in his face? We'll see. But in terms of how he started the season, I'm not
08:22shocked. I think that he still has something left in the tank and he's shown it so far.
08:27Andrew, some of the criticism of Aaron Glenn so far, I find to be mystifying considering the team
08:35he took over, the quarterbacks he's had, the fire sale from the defense last year. I recognize as
08:44a Cleveland fan, I have jumped the gun too quickly. And as a media member, I've jumped the gun too
08:48quickly on head coaches before. How much of the Aaron Glenn criticism from Jets fans where they're
08:54thinking if he loses this game on Sunday, he might be shown the door, you know, in the coming weeks
09:00here, how much of this is actually fair of the job he's done so far? Yeah, I think that you
09:06make a
09:06great point that especially last year, there was not a lot of talent on that roster and they didn't
09:12really have a quarterback that could play the whole year. I mean, they ran into a lot of problems,
09:16especially at the end of the season. So that kind of got away from them. I think that, again,
09:22in living in this market in New York, you know, you turn on sports radio and a lot of people
09:28question his in-game strategy. And that is one thing that a lot of people want to see a coach
09:35do
09:35well in. That's one thing that you're really judged, especially from the fan perspective. So I think
09:42that's been a work in progress. He's even admitted that as much as a first-time head coach. But I
09:47think
09:48that's the one thing that people want to see him improve upon more than anything. And they also,
09:53you know, look, last week was a step backward. We kind of chronicled it earlier with all the number
09:59of plays that the Bears run, but the penalties and not moving the ball and, you know, that got
10:04away from them. I think if they get back to playing the way they did in the first three weeks
10:07of the
10:08season, Jets fans will be a little more understanding that, you know, this is a young team that could be
10:13in
10:13position to draft a quarterback next year. And they want to make sure that Aaron Glenn is the guy.
10:18And I agree that he hasn't really gotten a fair shake, but in this league, you don't always get
10:23a fair shake and he's going to have to start winning some games or at least not have a performance
10:27like
10:27he did a week ago in Chicago. Is there a first or second year player, a young Browns player that
10:32you're the most excited to see up close and personal in this game? I mean, like, obviously everyone's
10:38going to point to the receivers and I am definitely looking forward to seeing that personally. He's not a
10:42first or second year player, but I think Quincy Williams is going to have all the juice in the world
10:49for this game. He even kind of said it as much. I saw some of the quotes from the locker
10:53room in Cleveland
10:54today. So I'm fascinated to see. I always love that angle of going against your former team. You know,
11:00that he kind of hinted that he wanted to maybe come back and that wasn't going to happen. I think
11:06that
11:06Quincy Williams could be in for a big day and I'm curious to see how that plays out on Sunday.
11:11Andrew, I'm asking this because I know you've done two Chargers games this year. So I'm going to do a
11:18little left turn, but we'll get back to the Chargers in a moment. Titans head coach ahead of the Texans
11:23matchup called this Texans team the best 0-4 team greatest and greatest in NFL history, which I found
11:33to be slight bit hyperbolic and I'm known to be hyperbolic myself. I actually, I think you could have a
11:38real
11:39conversation about which team is, is, is maybe the better 0-4 team. Would you, would you pick
11:45the Chargers after watching them two out of the last four weeks or would you maybe agree with Robert
11:51Sala? You know, I was just doing another interview before this and I said, I can now see maybe why
11:57the Chargers are 0-4 playmakers, injuries, new coordinator doesn't seem to be gelling. I am much
12:04more surprised the Texans are 0-4. I think that, I don't know if they're the greatest 0-4 team
12:11all
12:12time, but I do think that I'm much more surprised that Houston is where we are and I still think
12:18they
12:18have a chance in that division, even though I think Jacksonville is legit to get back in it.
12:23I have a lot of doubts about the Chargers right now. I think that they're really in a bad spot.
12:28I just
12:28saw their injury report for Sunday. It's a mess again. They have some issues out there in LA.
12:35All right. Are the Browns the greatest 3-1 team in history? No pressure.
12:40You know, you'd have to give me some other teams to compare them to, but I will say, I love,
12:45I mean,
12:45I loved watching that game Thursday night and I'm sure Browns fans did as well. I mean,
12:49just the energy in that building, seeing Munkin and his energy and, and swag for a 60-year-old on
12:55the
12:56sideline is fun to watch. You know, when they were dancing after that late interception,
13:01when they knew they were going to win, I mean, look, I think it's a great story. And,
13:05and I think that for the NFL, it'd be great if it continued. I think that it's going to be
13:09a
13:09challenging game on Sunday. Every game's challenging, but you know, it's certainly a fun team to watch
13:14right now. Andrew, great stuff. Enjoy the game on Sunday. Hopefully we're talking about a 4-1 Browns
13:20team on Monday, but have a great weekend. You too. Thanks guys. Andrew,
13:25cattle on there, the CBS, our NFL on CBS. He's on Browns Jets call on Sunday.
