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00:00and so much more. Our Browns beat reporter, Daryl Ryder, brought to you by Scheiben Jewelers,
00:05Cleveland's premier jewelry store. Daryl, how are you? Looks like we know who our quarterback
00:10is going to be, at least for one more week. Yes, at least through the bye week, we'll be
00:15Deshaun Watson, barring any developments that may happen during the game on Sunday.
00:21All right, first of all, was it the right move? Do you think it was really being debated
00:26behind the scenes, internally, within the walls of that building on who was going to start at
00:32quarterback? No, I don't think that there was a debate. I think that the debate was amongst you
00:38guys, amongst us, but I don't think that there was much of a debate within that building. Yes,
00:45it's the right move. This is what normal functioning NFL franchises do. They put their starting quarterback
00:52back on the field once he's healthy again, and so as far as the leash goes, I think the leash
00:59is as
01:00long as the Browns are in contention for playoff berth. Once they're eliminated, assuming they are
01:08eliminated, then you go ahead and you turn it over to Shador and go into experimental mode to see what
01:13you have going into your offseason and preparing for next year. So why do you think, Daryl, that they
01:21took any time to confirm that he would be the starter? Well, I think part of it was gamesmanship with
01:28the
01:28NFL trade deadline. You know, see if anyone would call about Dylan Gabriel or Shador Sanders. I don't
01:37really think that there was much of a demand. I had been saying for weeks, if not months, that there
01:42was
01:42not much of a demand for either one of those players. I think there's more demand for those
01:46players amongst the fan bases, more so than actual NFL teams. And so that did not, you know,
01:56by Munkin being very vague about the situation, did not undermine any conversations Andrew Berry may or
02:04may not have had or may or may not have been trying to have regarding the deadline. And then, you
02:09know,
02:09once the deadline passed and no moves were made, you know, pretty easy to come out and say that
02:15Deshaun is back to starting there. We were talking earlier this morning about a potential leash for
02:21Deshaun Watson, where if they continue to win, I think you referenced it just a little bit ago. If they
02:25continue to win, he's going to be their guy, right? The head coach is going to try to get to
02:29the playoffs
02:29and really put his best foot forward to try to win as many games as possible. If the flip side
02:34happens,
02:35and it is true, you said that they're going to potentially go until they're out of contention.
02:40With the way that the start of the season has gone, they're going to be mathematically in
02:44contention for a while. Do you see a very obvious cutoff point? Let's say they lose this weekend and
02:50now they're, you know, now their backs are kind of against the wall. Do you see a cutoff point in
02:55this Brown schedule where you would have circle to be like, hey, this would be the time where
02:58Shador might take the spot over? Yeah, that's, you know, looking at the schedule right now,
03:04right? You've got obviously the Texans on Sunday, Raiders, Bengals, Falcons all visit before they
03:12hit the road for a back-to-back in New York and Baltimore. Then they've got the Colts at home
03:21for the home finale, finish the season against the Bengals. I don't know that, you know, I know
03:28everyone wants the natural break and this is the natural break in the schedule with the bye week.
03:34Looking at this right now, I don't know that there's much of a natural break where there's a game
03:40you circle and say, okay, if, you know, at this point, this is where the Browns are at, then you
03:46make
03:46the quarterback change. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, you know, I just, I don't think that there's a natural break
03:51here. Obviously they've exceeded expectations being five and four right now. I do think this game has
03:58significant playoff implications. This is an AFC game. There's a tremendous difference going into
04:04the bye at five and five versus being six and four. Uh, this will be the third straight week.
04:09They're trying to win their sixth game of the season. So, um, you know, I'm not dodging your
04:14question, but I just, I don't see like a game where like I circle it and say, okay, this is
04:20the line of
04:21demarcation and where the, you know, the leash is going to end for Deshaun, uh, Watson. I just,
04:28I, I, I don't see it. Um, I don't know. Maybe the Falcons game. Do you want to put Shidor
04:33Sanders
04:33going against Kevin? Now we're talking the Kevin's, the fans can revenge game as if you needed
04:39something to write about that week. That'd be, there you go. That'd be a storyline. You know what?
04:42I'll go there. There's no fact or truth behind anything I'm saying right now, but just for
04:48giggles here on a Friday morning, let's go the Atlanta Falcons in the, uh, the, uh, Kevin
04:53Stefanski revenge game, because you know, Stefanski did so much to torpedo Shidor's career as a
04:58rookie. But Darrell, I know we say that in jest, but I think like act like factually it would make
05:04a lot of sense because let's just, let's just play in this world real quick. Let's say you get beat
05:07by
05:07the Texans, you know, you, maybe you have a, a shaky close win at home against the Raiders and
05:12then maybe the bangles come in and Joe burrow and T Higgins and Jamar chase score 50 points on
05:17you. And like, okay, you know, it's, it's over because I do think part of this too, is like,
05:21if you do get to a point where, you know, the season's kind of in the track, you ha you
05:26have
05:26to give, like, you can't just give trash games at the end to Shidor to figure out what he is
05:31like garbage time games. You have to give them some like real kind of ish games. I don't know.
05:34It's a tough spot that them winning earliest has made this conversation a tough one, but that's
05:38a good thing in my opinion, where it's like, Hey, you know, you're, you're, you're
05:41in the competition to, uh, to, to, to be in a meaningful game on Sunday, Daryl. And that's
05:46kind of where I want to go next is like, when you look at Sunday's game, I'm, I've been wrestling
05:53with this in my mind, like trying to find ways that the Browns are going to win, can win this
05:56game. There's not many avenues where, how do you see, uh, how do you see that looking from
06:00your perspective on, on how Cleveland can try to beat the Houston Texans? Yeah. I mean, first
06:06of all, there's no trash games in the NFL. Um, and I understand what you're saying. That's
06:11and finale usually tends to be anticlimactic for the Browns outside of two or three years
06:15since this team has been back. Uh, so I understand what you're saying there, but, um, I think
06:20any, uh, time that Shadour is on the field and look, Todd, Todd Muckin's not bailing on
06:25anything. That's just not in his DNA as a head coach. So I think any starting opportunity
06:32that Shadour gets from now, uh, until the end of the season is going to be valuable. But
06:36to, you know, to your point about winning this football game on Sunday, look, CJ Stroud's
06:40coming in on a heater. I mean, he's just absolutely throwing, uh, the ball stupendously
06:45over 22, uh, a hundred yards passing. He's got an insane 16 to two touchdown to interception
06:53ratio. Um, uh, his quarterback rating is like 110 or something. It's just, it's ridiculous,
07:01right? So the Browns secondary is going to get challenged. The supporting cast that they
07:05have, you know, Kayshawn Booty, Tank Dell, Nico Collins, all doing a fantastic job. Woody
07:12Marks is running the ball very well. Uh, to me that with the weather being a factor, I
07:17think in, in Lance Reisland and I talked about this on our YouTube show last night, I think
07:21weather could be the great equalizer here right now. It's 50, 50 because it's supposed
07:25to rain between now and Sunday. We're living in Seattle. All of a sudden we're getting that
07:28cold November rain. So I think weather becomes the great equalizer and becomes the battle of the
07:33running games, right? Who can run the ball better? Well, obviously I think that that favors the
07:37Texans with the way things are going. And also you look at that Browns run defense, which is,
07:41uh, uh, ranked in the twenties, which is not very good, uh, giving up over 135 yards a game. So
07:48I think, you know, Houston has a lot of advantages. Don't be deceived by their record. It's easy to look
07:54at them and, and, and just kind of blow it off, uh, with them being a, uh, an under 500,
07:59three and five
08:00team. They've got an explosive offense. They've got a, uh, a dangerous front. Uh, they're racking
08:06up sacks like you can't believe in Deshaun Watson is taking sacks like you can't believe. So when you
08:11look at the way this game, uh, lines up and, and, and how these two teams are playing the game
08:17this
08:17year, it doesn't seem to bode too well for the Cleveland Browns, but if Deshaun can be efficient,
08:22if, if they can get, you know, some way, somehow, some explosive plays, get the ball into Denzel
08:28Boston and Casey Concepcion's hands, uh, like we've seen here, but maybe do it a little earlier
08:35in the game and not wait until the fourth quarter to wake up, you got a chance. But I mean,
08:39unfortunately the, uh, the, the narrative or the formula for how the Browns play these games
08:46has been the same extremely slow starts. They don't wake up until, uh, the second quarter,
08:52they take a nap in the third quarter again, and then they wake back up in the fourth. And typically
08:57the offense has to save the defense's bacon because the defense can't get themselves off
09:02the field when it matters most. Uh, Daryl Ryder, our Browns beat reporter joining us right now,
09:06uh, Jared verse in a moment of vulnerability admitted that, yeah, not playing well. And he's
09:14actually speaking to sports psychologists about it with the Browns. Uh, what did you make of that
09:20admission? And is that something that's going to endear himself to Browns fans or do the opposite?
09:26Well, I, I, I think that it is a very reasonable, uh, explanation and, and certainly dials down
09:34some of the heat and some of, uh, the criticism. Uh, obviously you never, you never want to criticize
09:40a player who's taking steps to, uh, you know, improve himself off the field. Uh, and especially
09:47when it comes to mental health, right? Uh, so I admire Jared for being very open and forthright
09:54about that yesterday. I was a little surprised. Uh, Ian, this isn't the first time that he has
10:01said that he's not been playing up to standard. I think he said it, uh, last week as well. And
10:06he's,
10:06he said it in previous weeks that the production just has not been what he has expected, what
10:11everyone else expected. But I did appreciate his comments there. You know, Hey, Browns fans have
10:16every reason to be upset with me and, and, and, and the production that just has not been there.
10:21And then he followed it up by saying, it's not a physical thing. It's more on the mental
10:25side. And I'm taking steps to address that off the field. I liked what Mike Rutenberg,
10:31uh, the defensive coordinator had to say during his weekly press conference yesterday, not
10:35specifically about what Jared is doing off the field, but believing that Jared is still the,
10:41you know, has been, and still is the player, uh, that was with the Rams that the Browns traded
10:47for. And, you know, Hey, hopefully whatever he's doing off the field and the folks that
10:51he's talking to and, and when I, you know, hopefully that helps unlock things. I mean,
10:57you know, being traded, uh, you know, from a Superbowl contender to a team that's trying
11:02to put things back together. That's not easy to deal with changing communities like that
11:06is not easy to deal with. So all very, very understandable. And again, hopefully whatever
11:12he is doing off the field, uh, helps him as a human being. And then, you know, selfishly,
11:18if you're a Browns fan, you're certainly hoping that it helps him between the white lines.
11:23I was telling Lima earlier, I was like, hopefully they just like sat and watched all his highlights
11:26from his time with the Rams. Like, dude, you're, you're a really good player. Remember,
11:30remember that you are, um, uh, Daryl, a couple of injuries pop up in the secondary, um, this
11:36week, specifically Ronnie Hickman, um, you know, jumping on that injury report with, uh,
11:40with the concussion symptoms. Um, how big of a, how, how concerning is that? Um, I have some
11:47thoughts on it, but Ronnie Hickman being out, he's been not playing his best football, but he's
11:50been a, a staple in that defense, um, all season long. And that could be a potential major hit for
11:55them. Um, if you can't play on Sunday. Yeah. I mean that, that, you know, you want your secondary
11:59to be at full strength. There's no question about that. Um, and, and look, let's also be very honest
12:05about it. Um, that's the one area of depth and strength that the Browns have actually had on this
12:11team where, uh, outside of that defensive line rotation that they, uh, like to use. Um, so,
12:19you know, hopefully he can get through the protocol. I mean, I don't know that he's going to have enough
12:24time, uh, to be able to do that, but we, you know, we've seen with Mike Rutenberg's defense,
12:30like they, you know, the injuries I think have had, uh, more of an impact on the offensive side
12:36when they get guys banged up more so than the defensive side, uh, of things. Um, but when you,
12:42you know, look at that secondary, this is not the week to have, um, you know, to have players out
12:48and
12:49missing because of that, you know, obviously Tyson Campbell and Denzel Ward, those, the, you know,
12:54those are your big names back there, but look, Emmanuel McNeil Warren, I think has done a really good
12:59job when he's been called upon, um, to, to step in there. You know, Donovan McMillan could,
13:05you know, see obviously, uh, more playing time. Uh, you know, if, uh, you know, Hickman is unable to
13:12go. Um, and then the other thing too, is I feel like, uh, this might be a week where the
13:17Browns have
13:18to use a third linebacker a little more, especially with the weather being what it it's forecast to be.
13:24Uh, the Browns don't use that third linebacker alignment all that much. Maybe this is a week
13:29uh, that they, you know, need to do it out of necessity because of the loss of Hickman, but also
13:35to the fact that the weather's going to be what it's going to be. You're expecting Houston probably
13:39to try, uh, and run the ball, but CJ Stroud's shown the ability to throw the ball, uh, in, in,
13:46in bad weather. But I have a lot of faith and belief in Emmanuel McNeil Warren. And I think he's
13:51done a nice job, uh, when he's been asked to step in there and gotten his opportunities to play.
13:56All right, Daryl, I want you to hear this audio from Deion Sanders over the past week and tell
14:04me what it means to you. He's matured so much and he's grown so much in the last year or
14:10so
14:10that I'm really, really proud of him because he's never had to deal with circumstances. And
14:16we've always dealt with chatter. If you're in that last name Sanders, you're going to do a
14:19chatter. We've, we've always dealt with that from youth all the way up, but the level of
14:24dysfunction that's permeates around is, is it's crazy. And, but for him to rock steady and find
14:29his balance, it's, it's, it's wonderful seeing him mature, especially when we're in the same room.
14:33He's talking about Shador Sanders, how he's matured from when he started with the Browns and
14:39then mentioned dysfunction. What did he mean by that, Daryl?
14:42I, I, I don't know, but I feel like they caused their own dysfunction. You know, you don't have
14:48to show up to the off season program with a film crew. You, you, you know, the, the, his fan
14:53base
14:53is diehard loyal. If you say one thing that is slightly critical about him, they lose their
15:00collective minds. Um, he certainly didn't come off as mature last Wednesday during his press
15:05conference. He might be maturing as a player. I will give him that he is. He, I think he's a
15:10much
15:10better player today than he was years ago, but you know, last year, but here's the other part of
15:15this too. The Browns aren't turning the keys to the car over to him. Okay. Um, and, and I don't
15:20feel like that the Browns are dysfunctional at all. I don't think they were dysfunctional last year
15:24under Kevin Stefanski. Um, it just, you know, the, the results were what they were. He didn't
15:30get, he was supposed to be red shirted. Uh, that, that plan got altered. Um, he to Shador's credit
15:37made the most of his opportunities winning three of the seven starts. Um, but I, I just,
15:43I feel like there is a lot of, there is a lot of self-inflicted stuff when it comes to
15:52dis the, the dysfunction and it's always everybody else's fault. It's never their fault. That's the
16:00one thing that I noticed as well. It's everybody else's fault. It's never their fault. Very little
16:06accountability. Although I'm going to give Shador credit. Uh, you know, he took accountability on
16:11that holding penalty on the, the two point conversion. He does take accountability when
16:15he, you know, may, uh, you know, makes mistakes on, on some plays. And so in that area, okay,
16:21if you want to call that maturity, fine, I will certainly give him credit there, but I'm just
16:27going to respectfully disagree with Dion. I think that the Browns have, uh, been very fair
16:32to Shador Sanders. I don't think that they've been dysfunctional around him. And, um, I think
16:38that they've done everything that they can to help him become a better football player. So,
16:43um, and at some point he'll get his, uh, you know, he'll get an opportunity here. Um, I'm,
16:50I'm convinced of that one way or the other here, but yeah, I just, I think that the, the,
16:55the constant crying about the dysfunction and being under attack and, and all those types of things.
17:01Yes. Deion Sanders commands a lot of attention. Shador Sanders commands a lot of attention.
17:07They've got very loyal fans, but I, I, I do think that some things are self-inflicted.
17:14You can follow them. And even if you want to comment at them, right or wrong fan on social
17:19media, there he is. Our Browns beat reporter, Daryl Ryder brought to you by Shive and Julius
17:22Cleve is premier jewelry store. Thank you very much, Daryl. Thanks Daryl. Never change Anthony.
17:26You're such a troll. All right. There he is. Somebody else got to say something.
17:31So, uh, again, Daryl Ryder, uh, interesting points of view. Obviously you heard him there
17:36at the end. We'll get into that. And the weather being an equalizer for the Browns,
17:40is there something they can do also to get their ground game going? A number that Anthony
17:45Meglin was able to unearth. That might tell you why the team losing confidence in their
17:52young second year running back. That's all straight ahead on sports radio, 92, three, the fan.
17:56All right.