00:00on Sunday. Nathan, good morning.
00:03Good morning, Ken. Great to be with you as always.
00:05How do we get this offense out of the mud with the running game,
00:10with Quinchon Judkins banged up, Rocket Sanders banged up,
00:13I don't know about the status of Dylan Sampson,
00:15and the offensive line banged up and having some problems?
00:19Well, I think it starts up front.
00:21I think the Browns are having their running backs be hit
00:25on 56% of their carries at or behind the line of scrimmage,
00:29and I don't think you really even need to know much about
00:35the entire National Football League.
00:37So I would say it starts there, and it's not just the offensive line.
00:40The tight ends are a part of the run game,
00:42and they have struggled massively in the blocking aspects
00:46of their position so far this year.
00:47So I think it starts up front there for the run game.
00:50It also starts up front there in the pass game as well.
00:53Deshaun Watson last week was sacked eight times,
00:56and yes, you could say at times the ball could have come out quicker,
00:59but he also made a lot of second play plays where he beat the free runner,
01:03and the Browns, you better believe, after that tape is out there,
01:06you're going to see a heck of a lot more of those seven eight-man fronts
01:10crowding the line where they bring four.
01:12Maybe they only bring five, but they're confusing the Browns
01:16as to who they're bringing, and so fortunately you have
01:18the venerable George Warhop, but it starts there
01:21because this Ravens team blitzes about 40% of the time.
01:24The Ravens team stunts 40% of the time.
01:27In fact, the Browns and the Ravens are the only two defensive fronts
01:29that stunt at a 40% or higher rate in the entire National Football League.
01:33So that is going to be – that's everything.
01:36If you can't protect, you can't pass.
01:38If you can't move the line of scrimmage or create holes for running backs,
01:42you can't run, and that right now is the biggest problem
01:45for the Cleveland Browns on offense.
01:46So there were eight sacks, and just by my lazy count
01:51watching the game afterwards, I had another four or five
01:55that he wiggled out of and actually made great throws down the field,
01:59some of which were dropped.
02:00How many of those sacks were on him not identifying things at the line?
02:04I've seen that levied against him.
02:07For a veteran, that would be troublesome if that is the case.
02:11So what do you think – I'm sure the Browns aren't exactly giving everything away
02:15and telling everybody because it is their starting quarterback,
02:17but are there things he needs to clean up?
02:20For sure.
02:21There's things that everybody needs to clean up on offense
02:23for the Cleveland Browns.
02:24And I think for Deshaun, you know, this is –
02:26I had a great conversation with Greg Cosell yesterday from NFL Films
02:30that there is a trend in the National Football League of more blitzing.
02:34Look at what Brian Flores is doing with the Vikings.
02:36And then still playing shell behind it.
02:39So let's say you bring five, you still have four deep, two underneath.
02:42You play either a quarters concept, you play a cover six, cover eight,
02:45you are using these shell coverages to limit the explosives.
02:48But because now zones have evolved from, oh, I stand here
02:52and I guard this area to match concepts, they know that if they're showing seven,
02:57the offense has at a minimum to account for six.
03:00Probably they have to account for seven.
03:02So now you're getting the situation where you've got three guys
03:05in routes against six defenders.
03:07And you're saying, well, if you pick up the blitz,
03:08there should be the explosive there.
03:10But because of some of this evolution in the way that the game
03:13is being played defensively and the league has not yet thought up to it
03:17or found the solutions, they will, they always do.
03:20It's a little bit of a quandary.
03:22It used to be if you blitz, you throw hot.
03:24And you throw to where the blitzer came from and that zone that is vacated.
03:28But now defenses are so much more sophisticated that they're showing blitzes
03:31where you think the hot is, they are dropping somebody into that zone.
03:35And so there are two ways to beat a blitz, right?
03:37Number one is you get the ball out quickly
03:39and you're able to identify where the ball needs to go quickly.
03:42And I think there were opportunities for Deshaun Watson to do that against the Jets.
03:46The other way is where you have to say, okay, I'm probably going to have a free runner.
03:52And statistically speaking, around the league, not just the Browns,
03:55there have been more free runners out of blitz looks this year
03:58than in any year in NFL history.
04:00So that's something that defenses have understood, offensive line rules,
04:04and they're being able, and I know I'm getting very into the weeds here,
04:06but they're being able to take advantage of those rules that currently exist in the NFL
04:10to get these free runners.
04:11So the other way to beat it is your quarterback has to be a supreme athlete
04:15and beat the free runner.
04:17Now, we've seen Deshaun Watson do that, and as you pointed out, make big plays last week.
04:20So it's kind of finding the balance of, all right, when it's there hot and quick,
04:25make sure I get it out quick.
04:27But it's also hard to kind of take out the playmaker
04:30because that's where the chunks actually do come against these new modern blitzes.
04:35So it really is a tough situation for the offense.
04:38But the best way to beat all of this is to not be in third and long.
04:42And that means, going back to the original point, having success on first and second down,
04:47whether it's in the run game or in the run action game,
04:49whether it's out of shotgun, whether it's out of center,
04:51to stay out of these third and longs where defenses right now in the NFL in 2026
04:57clearly have a big, big advantage.
05:00Remember, coming in hot at 945 this morning,
05:03Nathan's girl joining us right now on the Wise Heart Right.
05:06We make it right, call Kyle Right hotline.
05:08Lamar Jackson hasn't been practicing.
05:10Do you still think he's going to play on Sunday?
05:13I think today's the big day.
05:14I think if he does not practice again today, I do not think he will play on Sunday.
05:17I think if he practices today and takes starters work, then he'll be ready to go.
05:22Lamar Jackson certainly does not need to practice on a Wednesday or Thursday.
05:25Probably doesn't even need to practice on a Friday.
05:27But teams typically like to have at least, you know, their quarterback out there
05:31or a player out there on a Friday if they're going to practice.
05:35The thing I'm really looking forward to or looking for in their practice report today,
05:39in addition to Lamar, obviously, is Zay Flowers.
05:43Because Zay Flowers was not injured Wednesday.
05:45Full participant shows up with a toe injury on the injury report yesterday
05:50that caused him to be limited.
05:52And Zay Flowers is averaging over 100 yards a game.
05:54He is their number one guy in the pass game.
05:58That would be a big loss for them.
05:59So that's something I'll certainly be paying attention to on the injury report today.
06:02You know, coming into the season, I didn't know what to expect
06:04without Miles Garrett and without Jim Schwartz.
06:07And they've been way better than I thought they would be, honestly, as a team defense.
06:11Nathan, I know they've had some games where they haven't tackled well.
06:13But outside of that, they have been really, really stout.
06:17What is their identity right now defensively?
06:20I think that their identity is that they are a very good defense.
06:24They are the number one cover one team.
06:26They're the number one single high safety team.
06:28They stunt as much as any team in the league.
06:31It's them and the Ravens, as I mentioned, at 40%.
06:32So it's a movement front.
06:34You have two great linebackers.
06:36And certainly hope Carson Schlesinger can go because Carson has been spectacular.
06:39And so has Quincy Williams.
06:41And then you've got a tremendous back end of the defense with Denzel Ward
06:45and with Tyson Campbell and Grant Delpit and Rocket Hickman.
06:48And now Emmanuel McNeil-Warren is playing well.
06:50So this is a defense that can get after the quarterback.
06:52They've got a lot of movement up front.
06:54It's a defense that's generating a lot of pressure.
06:56They've got great linebackers at the second level.
06:59And then it's one of the best back ends in all of football as a unit.
07:02So they play great team defense.
07:03They fly to the football.
07:05They are athletic.
07:06And they're a lot of fun to watch.
07:09Nathan Zagura joining us here on the Wise Heart Right.
07:11We make it right called Kyle Right Hotline.
07:12I want to take a look around the league.
07:14Ryan Fitzpatrick.
07:15When was this, Anthony?
07:16Was this yesterday?
07:17Last night.
07:18Last night.
07:19Amazon Prime broadcast.
07:20Yeah, Ryan Fitzpatrick on the Prime broadcast.
07:22Not the biggest Bo Nix fan you're ever going to find.
07:25Bo Nix is not playing competitively.
07:27It's almost disrespectful to the quarterback position how he's playing football.
07:31What do you mean?
07:32What do you mean when you see?
07:33How is he playing?
07:34The guy doesn't want to throw the ball.
07:35That's fine.
07:36He's throwing to the flats.
07:37He's throwing behind.
07:38But he has no trust from his coach.
07:40He calls a screen play on third and eight.
07:42Just run up.
07:43Let the clock keep going.
07:44What does he do?
07:45He throws it away.
07:46Seattle gets the ball.
07:46They have a timeout.
07:47And then in overtime, he's got two chances to be competitive.
07:50The last one being a designed run for him to run, make somebody miss,
07:55and get a first down for your football team.
07:57Now they're in the locker room right now.
07:59They're excited.
08:00They won.
08:01He's not playing competitive football right now.
08:03Ryan Fitzpatrick angry on the Prime broadcast.
08:08Your thoughts about the way the Bo Nix, though, has played?
08:11And really, a lot of quarterbacks, a lot of guys starting to fail, it seems.
08:16I think the defenses right now in the NFL, as I talked about earlier,
08:20are ahead of offenses by and large.
08:24There are some defenses that are terrible, and the teams are certainly taking advantage of.
08:28Detroit would certainly be one.
08:29Dallas would be one.
08:30The Bills end up in a lot of shootouts.
08:32But defenses right now are tougher quarterbacks.
08:35They don't like the picture they're seeing.
08:37There's a lot of pressure.
08:38I don't think Sam Darnold's playing particularly well so far this season.
08:41They lost that game.
08:42So Bo Nix and his team won the game against the defending Super Bowl champions.
08:46So I think that you're seeing certain offenses where they have kind of everything.
08:53And you take the Bills, for example.
08:55Detroit's running very well with Gibbs.
08:57And Amon Ron Goff's playing great football very much under the radar in large part because of their defense.
09:01But I think that, you know, a quarterback's a really hard position to play in this league.
09:06And right now there is something schematically the defenses are doing up front.
09:10I do think the degradation of offensive line play around the league is a real issue.
09:15And you're seeing it, I think, in a lot of places.
09:17And part of that is because these guys aren't coming into the NFL from what they're asked to do in
09:21college being ready to do what you've got to deal with in the National Football League.
09:25And so I think the defensive line is better athletes right now than the offensive lines.
09:29I think they're better at what they're doing.
09:30Defensive schemes are a little better.
09:32And you're seeing quarterbacks have difficult times.
09:35And Sean Payton is as good, you know, as an offensive line as there is in the NFL.
09:39I don't think that's being hyperbolic given what he's done over the body of work in his career.
09:43But it's tough.
09:44And then it becomes, you know, we're Denver.
09:47We have this great defense.
09:48Do we need to be explosive?
09:50Do I need Bo Nix to put the ball in harm's way?
09:53Or do I need Bo Nix to take the plays that are there and kind of just not mess it
09:57up for us and we can win games?
09:59And I think probably some of that is the latter.
10:01And that speaks to some of the trust issues that maybe coaches have with certain quarterbacks in this league.
10:06And then also an understanding of the goal at the end of the day is to win games.
10:09We all want to watch games like the Rams and the Bills.
10:12That was just fun.
10:13To me, that's beautiful football.
10:17We don't all really want to watch games like last night.
10:19That was that beautiful football to me.
10:21That wasn't a whole lot of fun to watch.
10:22But that's the reality is these teams are just trying to win games in the NFL and sometimes winning ugly
10:27is certainly better than losing beautifully.
10:30All right.
10:30Here's a random question for you, Nathan.
10:33Something me and my buddies actually talked a lot about over the last 24 hours.
10:36That's very interesting.
10:38We just had a situation where Petey Halpin helped deliver the Guardians a big victory.
10:43And baseball is so full of those moments.
10:46Every game, every series, every year.
10:48Guys that you may never hear again.
10:50You just don't know can come through in big moments.
10:52And now while we do have a David Tyree moment in the NFL, you get those sporadically.
10:58It's normally the quarterbacks.
10:59It's normally the pass rushers.
11:01It's the wide receivers, the running backs, the guys you've heard of.
11:04What do you prefer?
11:05Do you prefer the unknown of Major League Baseball's postseason randomness, arbitrary things going down?
11:13A team like the Guardians that were considered 20th in a power ranking just a month and a half ago
11:19that can win the World Series?
11:21Or do you prefer the NFL and their system where you know everybody, you know the situation, and the guys
11:27that come through are the guys that come through?
11:29Yeah, but anything can happen, certainly in the NFL as well.
11:32I mean, football is my sport.
11:34I do like playoff baseball a great deal, the pressure that's on every pitch that one swing by anybody, by
11:39PD or anyone can change, you know, the course of a game and the course of a series.
11:44So I do like that aspect of the pressure of baseball that happens.
11:47But to me, there's nothing better than the NFL.
11:49There's nothing better than late in the fourth quarter when you've got to deliver and you get to these big
11:53moments and have those opportunities.
11:55And I certainly hope it's awesome to see the Guardians in this situation, and I hope they keep going all
11:59the way to the World Series and they win it.
12:00And I think it'll be amazing for all of us if the Browns can be in a situation like that
12:04someday as well from a football perspective going to try to hoist the Lombardi Trophy.
12:10Nathan, you're glorious.
12:11Thank you so much for the time.
12:13We'll talk to you again next week.
12:15All right, guys.
12:16Nathan Zagura, Browns radio analyst on the Wiseheart Right.
12:21We make a right call, Kyle Wright Hotline.
12:22Well, Ken, what about you?
12:24You're a football guy like Nathan.
12:26We're all loving the randomness of baseball because the randomness is why the Guardians have a shot six wins away
12:33from a World Series here.
12:35What do you prefer?
12:36What do you think is just better?
12:40Because I've been talking with my friends about this nonstop.
12:42I'll tell you what I prefer in five minutes as well as the watch of the weather and whether or
12:48not we're going to play game four.
12:49It's coming up.
12:51As well, it's coming in hot at 945 on the fans.
