00:00How big is this weekend for not only the idea that Chador would be in a Browns uniform,
00:04but also the idea that Chador would be a competent NFL player for years to come?
00:09I think it's a pretty massive opportunity, honestly, just because when you look around
00:13at what's happened across the landscape of the league, and you've got the Ravens and
00:18the Eagles, two organizations that Chador said no thanks in the fifth round of the NFL
00:23draft, those two organizations had a spot where Chador could have played out the whole
00:27rest of the way.
00:28So this game is a massive showcase for Chador to prove to the Browns or to prove to any
00:35of the rest of the 31 teams in the National Football League that he can be a serious option
00:40at the quarterback position.
00:42And you and I got into it a little bit earlier in the show.
00:44I definitely also think that there is a window open for Chador if he plays well, if he balls
00:51out, if he beats the Saints to maybe put the idea in the back of Todd Munkin's head that
00:56with a different quarterback, this offense could go to even higher heights.
01:01So it's interesting because I definitely, if it was me running the team, I'd be like,
01:05all right, if Chador balls out, it's his job.
01:07That's it.
01:07Like Deshaun just has not done enough for me at quarterback.
01:09And every number I could throw at you suggests that he has not done enough at quarterback
01:13in order to keep the job.
01:15But I don't think Todd Munkin looks at it that way.
01:17And so we are in one of those spots where it seems like there's nothing that Chador can
01:20do this weekend to overtake Deshaun Watson in that role, in that job.
01:25But in saying that, this might be the only crack that Chador Sanders gets this season
01:29to go and actually showcase that he could play the game.
01:31I think what he could do is he could put the idea in the back of Munkin's head.
01:35Like, I don't know that if even if Chador goes crazy, right?
01:39Think of your craziest stat line three, you know, completes 80% of his passes, 300 yards.
01:44He's not getting sacked a bunch.
01:46He's throwing touchdowns.
01:47If they go back to Deshaun Watson, that's well within their right.
01:51That's their quarterback that they named the week one starter who started eight games and
01:55led the team to five wins.
01:57But I think what Chador can do is plant a seed in Todd Munkin's head.
02:02Whereas, okay, if you go back to Deshaun Watson and he falters against the Houston Texans
02:07and he doesn't look very good and he is still getting sacked a bunch and he is still fumbling
02:11the football, you know, Deshaun's got seven fumbles in eight games.
02:14He's got a lot of fumbles.
02:15That's a lot.
02:16You know, so if the other shoe drops on the Deshaun Watson thing, at least then Munkin would
02:21have in the back of his mind, hey, I saw it with Chador.
02:23He went out there and he played well for us.
02:25And that's what this opportunity is for Chador.
02:29What's being opened up within this little one game audition here is that it's not only just
02:33putting that in Munkin's mind, it's putting that in all the fans' minds too.
02:35And I don't know that Munkin pays attention to the fans.
02:37I don't know.
02:38But what I do know is that every single game that Deshaun Watson either loses or doesn't
02:42look good in the process from here until the end of the season, if Chador does go out there
02:46and play good, he's just not going to hear the end of it.
02:49I mean, that's just, that's, that's what you're dealing with there.
02:51It opens up a can of worms.
02:52You know, there's been this whole national narrative this week about, are we seeing soft
02:57benchings happening around football?
02:59I don't think that this...
03:00Like quiet quitting?
03:01What is a soft benching?
03:02Like, like, are the Browns with this concussion thing sitting down Deshaun Watson for a week?
03:09I saw this from Greg Rosenthal, who's been on the station before.
03:12That's considered a soft benching?
03:13To see what Chador could do for a week.
03:15What other place did Rosenthal use as an example?
03:18I've seen a lot of people pointing to what's going on with the Minnesota Vikings.
03:21I know you had some.
03:22I just didn't, I hadn't heard of this.
03:23That they're going to, that they're obviously going to go forth with Carson Wentz this week.
03:26I think it's Carson Wentz over Kyler Murray.
03:28Over Kyler Murray.
03:29I'm trying to think of, I think there's at least one other example that the national people
03:33are pointing to with the Browns.
03:35So that really makes it seem, though, as if there's no concussion at all.
03:37But there's some sort of grander conspiracy.
03:39I don't think that's the case.
03:41I seem to think there's a major conspiracy attached to that.
03:42I don't think that's the case.
03:44But there are, like, actual national NFL people pointing to what's going on.
03:48We have Greg on the show.
03:50Greg's kind of a straight shooter about things.
03:51He doesn't, he's, I never got tinfoil hat vibes out of Greg Rosenthal.
03:55I don't think he's, I don't think he's making anything up.
03:57I'm just, I just, I hadn't heard the theory.
03:59He is suggesting that this Deshaun Watson concussion is a soft benching.
04:03That it's a, let's see what we have for one week.
04:07Soft benching variety.
04:09Maybe it's the term I don't necessarily get along with, or I'm just interested in.
04:13I do think it has been a hot buttony term that I don't really even understand the full
04:17meaning of it either.
04:19But, like, it's getting thrown around a ton.
04:22It happened in New York with, with Jameis.
04:25The, the, the JJ McCarthy thing was a soft benching because they, they thought that was
04:29potentially a one week thing until he looked really good.
04:32And then it's just not that complicated with this Browns team.
04:34It's just as simple as Deshaun got a concussion.
04:36Shador is going to be playing for one week and that's just the, that's it.
04:39And it does benefit the Browns and that you get to see if Shador can be good.
04:42Of course, it benefits Shador.
04:44You find out for one game, if he can go out there and maybe give the rest of the NFL
04:48world,
04:49or at least the Browns and tape that looks better than what we saw last year.
04:52I think a lot of people are just so caught up in the timing of it and that Deshaun looked
04:56as bad as he did.
04:57Let's call it for what it is.
04:58That is drastically changed the perception of Deshaun relative to like, let's say four
05:03or five weeks ago and how the national people, not as much locally, but how national people
05:07are talking about Deshaun.
05:09It's that he can't play the quarterback position right now.
05:11He just, he can't, he's not good.
05:12And it's funny because even when I say that out loud, I know how loaded it sounds and I
05:16know there's enough people yelling at their radio, but he won five games.
05:20We're five and three.
05:21Yeah, I know.
05:22And the thing I've been telling everybody the entire time is that if you had a quarterback
05:25with better stats and better numbers and playing better football, you wouldn't have five game
05:29winning drives.
05:30You'd have just outright wins because you would have been winning those games.
05:33You wouldn't have needed a fourth quarter heroic every single week to go ahead and win
05:37the games because the defense at that point had been doing enough.
05:40And the offense around Deshaun had been doing enough with what was given in front of him.
05:45And so like, yeah, there's a lot that's lying at the feet of Deshaun for being what is right
05:49now around the 28th best quarterback in the sport for this year.
05:52Well, that's what the numbers prove out.
05:53I know you keep saying the 28th quarterback in the sport that that's where he's at, you
05:57know, by the books, um, it is 20, you should know this.
06:01I'm a by the book guy that's near the bottom.
06:03You know, there are only 32 teams and your offense is 17 points a game.
06:07We can't make that up either.
06:08That is near the bottom of the NFL as well.
06:10Yet still though, Jonathan, on this very station earlier, uh, this was last week, obviously
06:15before the Pittsburgh game, I was yelled at because I said that I thought it was silly
06:19to even Ken yelled at me a little bit of that.
06:22Cause I said it was silly to suggest that we were having a conversation about a Deshaun
06:27Watson extension and what that would look like.
06:29And then Daryl turned into an agent and dried parachuted in and started talking about $50
06:34million a year.
06:35And like everybody kind of just lost their mind after the five and two start.
06:40And then I do think what happens in Pittsburgh happens and you realize, okay, maybe we did
06:44get a little over our skis with this.
06:46And here, not a week later, we're talking about Ken Shador Sanders, Wally Pip, Deshaun
06:51Watson, or I guess soft bench, the national football people love the soft bench.
06:56It's wild.
06:57All right.
06:57Steven, a on ESPN earlier today, talked about the opportunity in front of Shador.
07:04Talked about the opportunity in front of Shador.
07:29Why did it sound like Stephen A was like, I don't know, in an empty car dealership?
07:34It sounded very echoey.
07:37In like a vacant warehouse.
07:39We're going to worry about the sound over there at ESPN right now?
07:42I'm not sure.
07:42Or like Stephen A. Smith's safety.
07:44Like, where is he at in that hit?
07:47Actually, it would be funny.
07:48It's like they hold him hostage.
07:49He's in a warehouse.
07:51They have him.
07:51Yeah, you ever seen?
07:52He's at ESPN.
07:53He's in the basement.
07:54You've seen the original Space Jam, right?
07:55Yes.
07:56I've seen the original Space Jam.
07:57I don't know with you young kids anymore.
07:59I am constantly like, if it's from the 90s, I can't guarantee that you guys have seen
08:04it.
08:04That's fair.
08:05Because I've seen pretty much nothing.
08:06So that's fair.
08:07I thought pretty much all right to ask.
08:09But anyway, the point is, so there's the scene in Space Jam where they shackle Michael
08:13Jordan up to Moron Mountain to sign autographs until the end of time.
08:17And that's kind of his deal.
08:18It's Stephen A. Smith.
08:19It's Stephen A.
08:19The basement of ESPN.
08:21No microphone.
08:22Just shouting.
08:23Shackled in to just give out his takes.
08:25There's nothing around him.
08:26Relieved for just water.
08:28The backdrops and the lights.
08:29No microphones.
08:30No nothing.
08:32Look, I agree with what he said.
08:33I think that he is so much better positioned for this opportunity than what he was last
08:38year.
08:39Oh, miles better.
08:41Yeah.
08:41To me, it's night and day in many respects.
08:43And it's night and day because of two people.
08:45That's Boston and Concepcion.
08:47Now, what does worry about what we've seen recently is the offensive line stinks right
08:51now.
08:51It's not a good offensive line.
08:53Five new guys trying to make it all work.
08:55It still could be better than what he had last year, though.
08:58Well, and that's the funny thing about it.
08:59So, like, last year, they rated out as one of the worst offensive lines in the entire
09:03sport while also having no run game.
09:05He still will have, and this is one area where I've given Deshaun a lot of credit in this
09:09entire process.
09:10As much as I've kind of been like, eh, it doesn't work.
09:12Deshaun has done all this while having zero run game.
09:15Now, this week should be a better week because you would imagine, and I've said this now seven
09:19times this year, that the run defense for the opposing team is so awful, Quinshaun Judkins
09:24should be able to make it all work.
09:27It's no guarantee that he'll make it work, obviously.
09:29The Panthers game was the first game I said that, and I think I've said it legitimately
09:32three other times this year, though.
09:34So, like, I don't know what run game he's going to have.
09:36I don't know what offensive line he's going to have, but I know he'll have Fannin, and
09:40I know he'll have Concepcion in Boston, and that alone should make it a better experience
09:43than what it was last year.
09:44Yeah, even with all the unknowns, I feel so much better about Spencer Feneau, even though Alex Highsmith
09:49gave him a really rough day than I felt about KT Leveston last year, even though Titus Howard
09:54has had his struggles at right tackle.
09:56Man was Korn Lucas way worse at right tackle last year, and Shador was just always underdressed,
10:01and I think there's something that Munkin has found with Deshaun at quarterback, the quick
10:06passing game, when you could get the ball out quickly and on time to Concepcion and Boston
10:12and Fannin, that's when the Browns' offense looks their best.
10:15So, to me, like, the opportunity that's in front of Shador, it's obviously massive,
10:19but the task is somewhat simple.
10:21Get the ball out quick to these stud receivers that they found, and you could be okay in
10:26this game.
10:27Listen, there's not a, it's not a foregone conclusion that Shador Sanders ever has another
10:32game in a Browns' uniform after this week.
10:34Yeah.
10:34Like, that's how big this is.
10:35This legitimately might be the last game we ever see him start in a Browns' uniform.
10:39If it doesn't go well, Deshaun goes back into being the starter, Deshaun has it for the
10:43rest of the season, and then I don't know how Shador ever ends up on this team after this
10:47year again.
10:47I just don't, I don't foresee that being in the cards.
10:50I don't know how that works, but this is very realistically the last game you see Deshaun,
10:55or Shador Sanders play in a Browns' uniform.
10:57On the other side of that, maybe this is his coming out party.
11:00Right.
11:00If he plays really well, it won't be.
11:02Something tells me if he plays really well, it will not be the last you see a Shador this
11:07year.
11:07Whereas, if he plays really bad, it probably will be.
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