00:00It's interesting. I haven't seen a lot of people react to this, but it's something I actually feel kind of
00:05strongly about.
00:06Today, we've talked about the Browns running woes, and we've talked about the Browns under Munkin going,
00:13and I think the stat on Sunday was 95% of their plays have been out of the shotgun as
00:18opposed to being under center.
00:20And that is a stark shift from the Kevin Stefanski era where, I mean, it'd probably be closer to like
00:2780% to 85% were out of being played under center.
00:31And so we've been talking about this correlation between those two things, the run game woes, Deshaun, his comfort.
00:37And so Deshaun today was asked about plays under the shotgun and whether he has a preference.
00:42You know, it just depends on what Coach Munkin want to do each and every week.
00:46And, you know, we've been so multiple, and we can attack different ways, but it really just depends on the
00:51game plan.
00:52Why are you more comfortable on the shotgun?
00:54Who?
00:54You.
00:55I mean, I think every quarterback would probably necessarily say that, but I don't have a preference.
01:00You think you run the ball better out of the shotgun?
01:02I mean, you personally?
01:03I mean, that's the only way you can kind of get, you know, QB runs is from the shotgun.
01:08You know, I don't think necessarily you're going to do it on the center.
01:10All right.
01:10So outside of that last line there, I don't think there's a problem if Deshaun just says,
01:15yes, I have a preference.
01:16I've had a majority of my success in college and in Houston out of the shotgun.
01:21And so that's what's, you know, that's where I'm most comfortable.
01:26And I kind of think of being like, I don't have a preference is kind of what's gotten Deshaun in
01:31trouble.
01:32And what, why Kevin Stefanski for so long was so insistent on running the same single formation under center crap
01:40that Deshaun wasn't comfortable in.
01:42Well, so it was interesting because he says like, I don't have a preference, but then he says every quarterback
01:46in the league would have a preference of playing under, under shotgun.
01:49So like, I, I don't, I don't know why he doesn't feel like he can just be honest in that
01:53moment.
01:53I mean, my guess is, and this is where I think it's a little, this is where I don't want
01:58to, I don't want to use the word I was thinking of because it's a very heavy handed word, but
02:02I do think it's, he's being a little sly.
02:04I hear is the nice way I'll say this.
02:06I think people are starting to realize Quinshawn Judkins is struggling running out of the shotgun.
02:11And if Deshaun says, well, yeah, most comfortable in the shotgun.
02:15And that's something Monk and I've talked about a lot.
02:17People are eventually are going to get around to Quinshawn struggling out of the gun.
02:21The quarterback wants it this way.
02:23Is the quarterback holding the running back back?
02:25Which is ridiculous because the quarterback's preference is what should take priority here.
02:29If the quarterback clearly is better in one situation or the other, I'm sorry.
02:34You get the, you get the answer there, but I think he knows how it'll look.
02:37And it'll look selfish if he's not willing to be like, yeah, I'll, I'll go under center.
02:40Cause it's some of the advanced numbers, Nick, like they are, it's not even close.
02:43They're a much better offense when out of the shotgun than under center.
02:47And it's, it's, again, it's not even, it's not even really like, oh, it's three, it's plus three or plus
02:52two.
02:52No, no, no.
02:53It's, it's a massive difference between the two.
02:55Yeah.
02:55And I think it's interesting.
02:56A former Browns offensive lineman, Ohio state, great LaCharles Bentley on his sub stack.
03:01Uh, you should go read the whole piece because he did talk about how, you know, in Houston,
03:07there was a correlation between how Deshaun played really well, but they couldn't run the ball.
03:12And they kind of says, you can't, you know, the NFL's changed.
03:16You can't, uh, acquiesce to the quarterback in the same way.
03:19And I would actually disagree with LaCharles.
03:21I disagree completely.
03:22Like I would actually, I like, I, I wish LaCharles was still on radio in town.
03:26I think he's one of the coolest, smartest dudes that going in terms of the media side of things.
03:31He also has a very successful O-line, but I say that so I can disagree with him now.
03:35No, when it comes to Deshaun Watson, who hasn't played good football in five years, no, I'm going
03:40to go ahead and try and cater to everything he might like, because I'm going to give him
03:44every chance to be good, which is exactly what Munkin has done.
03:47Yeah.
03:47It's interesting.
03:48Uh, you know, I, and just pulling up Houston's rushing numbers when he was there, some of
03:53these things are skewed, even like the Browns rushing numbers this year.
03:56If you look at it as a whole, they're 21st in the NFL.
03:59And it's like, well, why is that?
04:00Well, it's because Deshaun is running, running a lot.
04:02And so I get all gets baked into the numbers, right?
04:04If Deshaun is running for 40 yards a game, you're going to look like as a team, you're doing
04:08much better.
04:08But in Houston, 2017, 2018, 2019, they were fifth, eighth, and ninth.
04:13And that was with Lamar Miller for two of those years.
04:15And then Carlos Hyde in the third year.
04:16Okay.
04:16Now the very last year, it completely fell off the table.
04:19And that was what that was.
04:20But like, I just, I wonder how much of that is just Deshaun having a rushing impact than
04:25it is Lamar Miller having a rushing impact.
04:28216-474-0092.
04:30You heard what Deshaun Watson said.
04:32And it does seem like Deshaun's trying to sidestep the idea that he has this preference of playing
04:37out of the shotgun, because I think he might be, he might just be intuitive enough to understand
04:41that people might start to blame him for Quinshawn Judkins.
04:45I can't blame Deshaun or the Browns for wanting to run a system that best benefits Deshaun, even
04:51if that's at the expense of Quinshawn.
04:54So the other big news today is that Shador Sanders has hired an agent.
04:59And what makes this interesting is there were a lot of people in the draft process that said
05:04Shador Sanders should hire an agent.
05:06But Charles Robinson, you hear him on Baskin and Phelps pretty frequently there.
05:11He sent out today that he kind of compared it to the Marvin Harrison Jr. thing where
05:16Marvin hired agents last month to seek and facilitate a trade.
05:20And Charles wondered whether that could be the case with the Cleveland Browns as well.
05:24So I think this is interesting and I think it's fascinating.
05:27I don't think, and I would tell Shador straight up, like if you think you're going to get traded
05:31before the trade deadline, that's dumb.
05:33Don't think that way.
05:33Because you still have a chance to play this season and this is probably the best chance
05:37you're going to have to play football this year is being on a team this year.
05:40What I think this is about is I think Shador realizes the Deshaun Watson thing is here and
05:45it's real and there's no chance of him really at this point.
05:49At least it doesn't look that way that he's going to play in 2027 with the Browns.
05:52That would either go to Deshaun or they just draft a quarterback and go a completely different
05:56direction.
05:56So I think he's getting his ducks in a row and I can't figure out why you'd hire an agent
06:03when you already have your rookie contract figured out unless you're trying to make sure
06:06that everyone around the NFL knows that you're open for a trade.
06:11Yeah, I think it's interesting because most recently, and I don't check in with the Shador
06:17fans, the Shahaiv as they were.
06:18I don't check in with him all the time, but one of the kind of consistent narratives I've
06:23heard here slowly suggest here is that, you know what?
06:28Hey, not everybody gets a chance to develop and learn and just take time in the NFL.
06:34And it's almost like, oh, Shador being on the bench is a good thing for Shador.
06:38And I don't know how much of that is coping.
06:40And I don't know how much of that is maybe they see the value here.
06:44But I thought it's interesting that that's where I thought Shador fans were most recently.
06:49And I do think his fans are informed by a lot of people in his camp.
06:56So I thought it was interesting that then literally a day after I watched the most recent
07:00video on this from a Shador fan, somebody that was actually in the camp, I can't remember
07:04his name, in the camp, all of a sudden it's Shador's hired an agent and this could certainly
07:08be the Marvin Harrison Jr. situation.
07:10I mean, it just makes sense if you're Shador, like coming to the realization that your future
07:13probably isn't in Cleveland is not, again, you're just getting your ducks in a row.
07:17And like realistically, as of right now, because he hasn't had a chance to play and it seems
07:22like he's blocked within a chance to play, especially if Deshaun is playing the way that
07:25he continues.
07:27What's his roadmap for 2027 or beyond?
07:29I'm not making the case for this year.
07:31I don't think it's happening this year.
07:32I'm just thinking, I'm thinking about after this season for Shador.
07:34I just think, I don't know, this is kind of like when people suggested a couple weeks
07:38ago, oh, I bet, I bet Shador, or no, it was like last week.
07:41Oh, I bet Shador's real disappointed with how this turned out.
07:44It's like, it was me.
07:45I said that.
07:46Yeah, I know.
07:46I was, there were other people that said it too, and I was trying to soften it.
07:49I just thought it was silly.
07:50Like this, I know he's 23 years old.
07:53He should have, he should see the forest from the trees.
07:55There's still a significant chance that Shador is going to play this year.
07:59So five weeks into the thing saying, well, I guess this is Deshaun's spot, and I'll, I
08:04guess maybe Houston will have me as their backup next year.
08:06It's like, I think there's still a chance that Deshaun plays less games than Shador does
08:11this season because of injury.
08:14And I mean, Deshaun is coming off his worst game of the season, no matter the context around
08:20him.
08:21This idea that, you know, Deshaun has infinite time isn't a given thing either.
08:25There, there should be a little bit of like, uh, I got to stay ready for my moment.
08:29Cause it could happen literally at any moment with Deshaun as a starting quarterback.
08:31Definitely.
08:32Uh, but I, I think he's coming to the understanding that his own team doesn't have the personal
08:36connections and, uh, and operating around the NFL for if in fact, he doesn't get that opportunity.
08:42And that's all this is.
08:43He's just, he's just getting everything ready for in case something, in case he never gets
08:47that chance or that opportunity.
08:48And if you think that's a 10% chance, a 25% chance, it doesn't matter.
08:51The percentage exists.
08:53And so he has to be thinking about that.
08:55And I think that, I think it's nice that he's acknowledging that he can't just do it
08:58all on his own and does need an agent to go ahead and maneuver behind the scenes to, to
09:02kind of broker the spots and figure out a landing spot for him.
09:05If in fact, he doesn't play at all for the Browns this year.
09:07It's just, if the, again, and I think right now, this is the most likely thing.
09:12It makes sense that, uh, Shador in the midst of, uh, halfway through his rookie contract would
09:17be hiring an agent for this specific reason at this specific time.
09:21And my, my response would be patience, grasshopper.
09:25Like I've not given up the idea that Shador is going to play this year and maybe play within
09:29this month.
09:30Well, that's why I would say, like, if it leaked out, he's like, Oh, I'm trying to find
09:33a team right now.
09:33I would tell him that's a mistake.
09:35I would say your time is probably still ahead of you here, at least to, to showcase for the
09:39rest of the NFL or whatever you need to do.
09:41But I think he's also understanding if he doesn't get to play to week 11 or week 12, that's not
09:46going to be enough time to then convince the Browns.
09:48Oh no.
09:49Hey, cancel your 2027 draft plans or cancel getting a quarterback in a different way.
09:53Like I just, I think he understands he's, he is up against the shot clock in a sense.
09:57I mean, my rebuttal to that would be, you know, Jalen Hurts showed the Eagles enough in
10:02four games in 2020 to give them all of 2021.
10:06And now that's a little different because Jalen, I think was a rookie, but at the same
10:09point, like that's four games, four games was enough for the Eagles.
10:13I, there are a lot of things up in the air and I can understand feeling a little frustrated
10:18or whatever, but like, I, I just, the idea that Shador is thinking about that.
10:23I just like keep the main thing, the main thing, stay engaged, stay locked in because
10:29I think you're going to get a chance.
10:30And it would not surprise me if that chance was still coming in the month of October.
10:33I don't blame him for thinking this way.
10:35You got it.
10:35You got to be preparing yourself.
10:37We're not even halfway through the season.
10:38I know, but he, he doesn't, again, most people have agents already.
10:41He just didn't, he didn't have one.
10:43He tried representing himself.
10:44Like, like if anything, it's like congratulations for getting to where the rest of the NFL is.
10:48Yeah, but how long does it take an NFL agent to set this stuff up?
10:51I don't think it takes 13 weeks, the rest of the season and the off season.
10:55Like a pretty good agent can hit the ground running.
10:58The idea that you're thinking about a week five, I mean, that, that means that there's
11:02a little bit of defeatist from that, that I don't think he should.
11:05I think this kid's got a chance to play when football still means something.
11:09I think the way it's been framed is, well, when the Browns are out of the playoff picture,
11:13then it's going to be Deshaun.
11:15No, there's a segment where you keep playing, you keep winning enough games and then Deshaun
11:20falters in a big way and you go to Shador to save the season, not to end the season
11:24or evaluate.
11:25Sure, that exists, but that is, I don't even think that's the highest probable outcome
11:29right now.
11:30But the idea that you do have all these different outcomes, you have to prepare for all the
11:34different outcomes.
11:35You can't just, you can't only look at the rosiest of pictures and say, that's the only
11:38one I'm preparing for.
11:39It's week five, going on week six.
11:40I think that's where it's at.
11:42I'm forecasting.
11:43You don't, I don't, nobody knows bleep in the NFL right now.
11:47It's week six.
11:48Like the idea you would be making any sort of long-term calculations is like, I mean, we, I don't
11:54even think Deshaun has passed the most basic test, which is get to week eight healthy.
12:00Yeah, but clearly though, he, Shador looks and sees what Deshaun is and looks and sees
12:04how the Browns have wrapped their arms around Deshaun and thinks to himself, this is not
12:07going to go the way that I want.
12:08I agree with you in that there's still a plenty of an opportunity for Shador Sanders to see
12:12the field this year, but like, I don't, I won't fault him for trying to make sure that
12:17he's got all his bases covered.
12:18I think this early, I, that feels defeatist to me.
12:21And I expect, I expect a little bit more out of Shador and his camp and how they think
12:26like it's right there, man.
12:28And it's going to be right there.
12:29And this idea that the odds are long for you right now, there may be not what they were
12:35five weeks ago, but that's, or sorry, three weeks ago.
12:38I, I, I don't, I hate defeatist kind of mentality.
12:41I hate that.
12:42Oh, my career.
12:43What was me stuff?
12:44Like you got a chance here and maybe focus on that.
12:47Keep the main thing, the main thing.
