00:00Earl of Pearl, Spencer German, we thank you for being a part of this program this morning.
00:05Make sure you hit us up, 216-474-0092.
00:08As we're talking Cleveland Browns football, we will address the Cleveland Cavaliers
00:13and the debacle that happened in our season opener.
00:16The Cavs got a get-right game themselves, Spencer, on the docket tonight
00:20as they get ready for their home opener against the Brooklyn Nets.
00:24There will be a T-shirt giveaway.
00:26There will be a rally tile giveaway.
00:28Hey, listen, I'm telling you all right here, right now, Ahmaud, I know you somewhere listening.
00:32Go ahead and put the word out yourself.
00:35Put the shirts on, okay?
00:38I get it.
00:39You frustrated.
00:40Names didn't go according to plan, right?
00:43Ain't that the truth?
00:44Don't start, Spencer.
00:47It didn't go according to plan.
00:50We're going to get to the Cleveland Cavaliers here in a second,
00:52but Keith presented us with some information today, my brother.
00:56We got some info today.
00:58And you said the way you framed it was, seems like that door is open for Deshaun Watson
01:04to return next year.
01:06And you know me, right?
01:07I get triggered a lot by certain conversations.
01:09I mean, it's open, but he's got to walk through it.
01:12There you go.
01:13All right, Lil Wayne.
01:13I hear you.
01:14It's open, but he got to walk through it.
01:16But he also said it's way too premature to have those conversations.
01:19And I couldn't agree more with that.
01:22You know, me and you talked about this, I think, a couple weeks ago.
01:25And I said it at the time, it feels like after the Pittsburgh game, people wanted to start
01:30to simulate the season to the end just so we can see how it played out, even though we
01:36were still only in the month of October.
01:38And I felt like that was a bit disingenuous because why not stay in the moment and recognize
01:45this team that's exceeding more than everybody's expectations of what they could be?
01:50Why not let's just see this thing play itself out?
01:53And I think that when we had, like, this is sports.
01:57So there's a whole lot of emotion and passion that's associated, right?
02:01But sometimes, bro, we got to kind of see the forest from the trees and pull ourselves
02:06back emotionally in order to see, like, all right, let's take a breath.
02:09Let's take this thing week by week because what's our favorite cliche, Spencer?
02:13Any given Sunday, this thing can change dramatically for the good or for the bad.
02:19And making any preconceived notions right now on the future of Deshaun Watson when it comes
02:24to him being a member of the Cleveland Browns moving forward, I just think it's disingenuous
02:29to what's going on right now.
02:32Right now, the Cleveland Browns are 4-2 in first place.
02:36And right now, he's played quality football in the fourth quarter and has done his part
02:42in making sure that he didn't cost us the game but help us win the game.
02:46And I think that's all that we can focus on is that's what's going on right now.
02:51I just think it's way too early to try to predetermine how this thing is going to play itself out.
02:56Yeah, I'm with you on just kind of enjoying it, right?
02:59And honestly, Browns fans should already have that mindset because right now, you've got
03:06to feel like the Browns are kind of playing with house money.
03:08Like, who saw this coming?
03:09Who saw 4-2 to start the season?
03:13Who saw, you know, first place in the AFC North at this stage of the season?
03:18Like, there's all these reasons why you should just kind of sit back and be enjoying the ride.
03:22And that goes back to something you said earlier in the show, which was like, all I care about
03:27is winning, like, no matter how ugly or whatever.
03:30And for what it's worth, I do think most Browns fans feel that way.
03:35I think most Browns fans are like, I'm not trying to rush any of this.
03:40I'm trying to enjoy every moment.
03:41I want to just kind of, but I also understand the natural thought process of you want to
03:46know what your quarterback situation looks like in the future because it's the most important
03:49position.
03:49Can I tell you what this feels like real quick?
03:51Because this just popped in my head in this conversation.
03:54Can we travel back in time a little bit, I think, to 2014?
03:57Do you recall when Brian Hoyer was the starting quarterback here?
04:02Yeah.
04:03And I think that was the year Josh Gordon had missed the first two games of the season.
04:07But I think you're right.
04:08The Browns were like 4-2 and Hoyer's play was like mid.
04:14It was average at best.
04:17And I remember going to the games with my cousin and leaving the games and we would get into
04:21these heated arguments about how it looked.
04:26And as a young fan, I was more concerned about the style points than the fact that the Cleveland
04:30Browns was winning.
04:31I was trying to convince myself that what Brian Hoyer was doing, it couldn't be sustained.
04:37Right.
04:37And do you remember who the backup quarterback was that year?
04:39It was Manziel.
04:40Right.
04:40So you remember how like the call.
04:42They were 6-3 in the first place after, what was it?
04:45Week 10, I think.
04:46And if you recall, there was a cry for Johnny Manziel to take over to be the Cleveland Browns
04:52starting quarterback because people didn't appreciate how it looked coming from Brian
04:58Hoyer.
04:59And when it comes to the Cleveland Browns, I always got this parallel that comes to real
05:05life.
05:05Man, my father used to tell me the game stayed the same, just the players change.
05:10Yeah.
05:11You fast forward to where we are now.
05:13It's the same situation.
05:14It's just different players.
05:17It's honestly funny.
05:18Like they always say history repeats itself.
05:19It does kind of feel like that.
05:20I remember the first game that Johnny came in for Brian Hoyer was, I was covering the
05:29Bills at the time.
05:30And it was that Bills game in week 13 of that season.
05:34I was just looking this up.
05:35And I remember him getting sacked.
05:36And he like, he got sacked in like the end zone in Buffalo and was like laying on his
05:43back and it was like this.
05:46And it looked like he like almost was dead.
05:48Like he looked dead in the, in the play.
05:49And that's like how the Johnny thing sort of started.
05:51And I remember that.
05:52And it started, the Browns lost out that season.
05:55They lost six in a row, five in a row, sorry, to end the season.
05:59And they went from seven and four to, uh, not a seven and, and, and nine and missing
06:06the playoffs.
06:06Like just insane.
06:07Uh, but no, it is kind of funny that that's kind of happening here.
06:11And I get it.
06:12Like the Sean, everyone wants to know what the, everyone wants to know what the future
06:20quarterback looks like.
06:21Rightfully so.
06:21It's the most important position.
06:22The Browns haven't gotten it right yet.
06:24So I get that.
06:25But with that said, I, I, I agree with you.
06:30That's probably too premature to talk about, but I will say, man, like you start thinking
06:35about the scenarios and it, and it makes a lot of sense where like, you know, it's funny
06:40because like a month ago, we all would have said like Deshaun Watson might not even be
06:43in the NFL next year.
06:44Now we're talking about like, he might be back in Cleveland.
06:46He might have options, whatever.
06:48And I don't know like what it's going to look like outside of, of Cleveland, but maybe like
06:54as he fights his way back into the goodwill of Browns fans in some degree, because they're
06:59winning football now, it's enough for the, for the Browns to convince themselves that
07:03like, Hey, we need a veteran stop gap, right?
07:06As they look for their next quarterback, or if they draft a quarterback, they could do the
07:10Raiders thing.
07:11Like they could do the Raiders thing and like draft a guy and then like need a veteran
07:15and that Deshaun's the veteran they go with.
07:17I mean, I don't know.
07:18I, if you asked me here today, like if you, if, if you, I think they're doing that already.
07:24I'm going to just say, and I think that's what they're preparing for.
07:27You know me, bro.
07:28Like I try to, I try not to start a pot.
07:30I try to stay away from certain conversations until it's time to have them.
07:34But like, I seen that in this article that they can do the Raiders thing.
07:38I mean, who's to say that they're not doing that right now, right?
07:42Like a couple of things that you just said, we need to point out here.
07:45Like they're doing that for Shador?
07:46It's a, it's a possibility.
07:48It's a strong possibility, right?
07:50Because in this article, and I took a screenshot of it, right?
07:53This is a part of the article that makes me feel like, okay, maybe this is the case.
07:57A league source says the door is wide open for him to be to be with the Browns.
08:01Him being Deshaun Watson is, is, is the only line on a starting quarterback job he'll have.
08:08And even if you're in a position to take one high or get in position to do so, you are
08:13in
08:13no rush to play the rookie.
08:14So help me understand this, this 2027 quarterback class is not really shaping out how everybody
08:21thought the one guy, everybody was marching for seems like he's going to be marching his
08:26ass to another university next year.
08:27Okay.
08:28Dante Moore, we talked about has suffered injuries.
08:31There's a strong possibility with one year eligibility left that he too might go back to
08:36school.
08:37So you look right now at who's to perceive top two or three quarterbacks, right?
08:42The Browns or the Rams record probably won't get you in a situation to get those quarterbacks.
08:48So Rams keep losing though.
08:49So why put yourself, so unless you come up with a crazy trade package, why put yourself in a
08:54situation to where you're drafting another rookie quarterback with that type of draft capital and
08:59he's sitting, especially if you've been watching college football the last couple of years and you
09:04know, most, most, if not all of these dudes is coming to the NFL and they are very unpolished
09:10for the pro game, not the college program, the NFL program, right?
09:15It would just make all the sense in the world.
09:17To me, Todd Munkin already said he believes he has two starting quarterbacks.
09:20Who's to say that part of this is not playing a long game with your door, that he's not
09:24sitting behind a veteran right now.
09:26And since it's way too premature, according to Jimmy Haslam to predict any type of outcome
09:31for Deshaun Watson, that he might not be, he being your door might not be being groomed
09:35right now to be the Cleveland Browns future starting quarterback, especially because the
09:40more we talk about it and I know everybody wanted the 25 class to be it, the 26 class to
09:46be it, the 27 class ain't looking like, is it?
09:48Because guess what?
09:50You brought up a name to start this show who's projected to be the number one quarterback
09:54in 2028 that now might present also Arch Manning and Dante Moore in it.
09:59Yeah.
10:01I mean, listen, it's, it's, it's not impossible that, that they're sort of prepping for Shador
10:07to eventually be that guy.
10:09I don't know that I a hundred percent believe like they see him as the future at this point,
10:13because I think if they, if that was the case, I think like he, he, I think that you would
10:19be trying that out right now for personally, I'm just giving another scenario of how we
10:23could look at the end of the season based on like, because a lot of people want to believe
10:27that we're going to be positioned in a, in a situation to where we can get some of those
10:31top quarterbacks.
10:32And I'm just saying that might not be the case.
10:34So why try to force the issue?
10:35Why try to go Kirk Cousins, Fernando Mendoza next year, when you could make an argument
10:41that they're going Kirk Cousins, Fernando Mendoza right now?
10:44Yeah.
10:44I listen, I don't, I don't hate that thought process and it could be true that that's what
10:48they're doing.
10:48Ultimately though, I still think like this team's going to be in the market for some quarterback
10:52and that, that's what, see that, and this is what's interesting.
10:55It's hard.
10:56This is another reason why, to your point, like people should just be enjoying the season.
10:59And then we see where the chips fall because listen, if the Browns, I don't want this to
11:04happen, but if the Browns lost out the rest of the season and they finished, they finished
11:09four and what would that be?
11:10Four and 12, four, uh, four and 13, like there'll be draft in top 10.
11:14And then we get to have those conversations about like, should they move up?
11:17Should they move down?
11:18If the Rams actually flame out the way that they're flaming out right now, and this holds
11:22and they're a top 10 draft pick, like maybe then you're in position to that.
11:25You can trade up to get a quarterback.
11:26Like, we don't know what that's going to look like.
11:28And so, and that's, that's, what's hard about this right now.
11:31You know what's so crazy?
11:32Because Earl, you know what makes it harder?
11:34We're both Buckeye fans.
11:36Like, I'm sorry.
11:37Like, I get it.
11:38Quarterback is important in the NFL, right?
11:41Miami is already.
11:42Can you look at, can you look at any quarterback in this upcoming draft and say that they're
11:47overall better at their position than Jeremiah is at his?
11:51Uh, no.
11:52He's the best player in college football.
11:53Man, you take Jeremiah, you play him at quarterback.
11:55You play him at running back.
11:56He's going to Miami, bro.
11:57You play him at tackle.
11:57So, the Browns might already have more wins than Miami's going to win all season.
12:01So, they're already screwed on that front.
12:02They ain't getting Jeremiah unless they somehow, unless they trade everything to move up together.
12:06And that would be silly because they just drafted two receivers last year.
12:09They need a quarterback.
12:10But no, like, like, this is why this conversation is futile right now.
12:14To Jimmy Haslam's point in the column from Jonathan Jones.
12:17Because there's so much that we still don't know.
12:19We don't know where the Browns are going to be drafting.
12:21If they're drafting the back half, if they make the playoffs, even as a wild card team,
12:26and they're drafting, like, 20th, 21st, whatever, and then they have the Rams pick, and the Rams
12:33get themselves out of this tailspin, and they're drafting, like, 28, 29, 30, whatever, in that range.
12:39Like, packaging those two picks, is that going to get you up high enough to get one of these quarterbacks?
12:44Like, I don't know.
12:45If you're taking a quarterback in the back half of the first round, is that a guy that you truly
12:49believe
12:50is going to be your franchise quarterback immediately?
12:52Or do you need to give him some time to groom, and then you maybe would bring back Deshaun Watson,
12:56right?
12:57Or, like, if you're drafted high enough, maybe you do draft that guy, and you just roll with it.
13:03Or you find a different veteran.
13:04Like, there's still so much that has to happen.
13:06Now, what I will say, Earl, is that as this whole thing plays out...
13:10Can you pin it? Can you tease it?
13:11Because we've got to get the break. Tease it.
13:14I wouldn't be surprised if the Browns actually brought him back, though.
13:16Let's be real here. Come on.
13:17This is the Cleveland Browns, bro.
13:18Oh, 216-474-0092.
13:22Y'all here with Spencer and Sam Moore.
13:24This conversation next.
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