Deshaun's Blow Up

 I once watched a documentary about Brett Favre that revealed over the top character flaws that made Deshaun Watson's alleged misdeeds, by comparison, seem mild.  Yet Favre to this day is mostly idolized by fans across the nation.   The conversation about why probably involves race and other nuances I'm not interested in delving into, but suffice it to say I feel like if you've followed Deshaun Watson's career it's clear he's a good teammate, probably a good guy and the venom that some Browns fans express is rooted in issues that go well beyond anything Deshaun Watson is responsible for.   Did Watson do some things he's not proud of.  Sure, most human beings have something in their past they regret.   Pro athletes especially young wealthy men, have opportunities thrown at them they never imagined when they were young and poor.  That can lead to a sense of entitlement that often goes wrong.  That's what i think happened and  I have no problem saying Watson is probably a good man who today has learned and matured.

I was in the stands Saturday for the Bills pre season game.  I didn't boo but there were enough fans who did to make me uncomfortable.    Half the fans in a half empty stadium were Bills fans and they didn't boo either, so at best, it can be said that a few hundred to a few thousand Browns fans feel the need to disrespect Deshaun Watson.  

I am worried something deeper is going on because Watson didn't play well and my worry is that his right arm is sore.   His velocity was off, if he's hurting that is very bad news.   I don't think Watson would get quite so emotional if it was strictly about the fans.   Hopefully I am wrong because if Watson is still not 100% physically, he may well never be.   But he looked good against Chicago so there's hope.  Maybe playing Watson with the 3rd team was not a great idea and that could explain things too.

Time will tell.   I still foresee Watson being named the starter because he's a better QB than Shedeur Sanders and if healthy, Watson has the best chance to lead the Browns down the road of success this season

Preseason Game 1 vs Bears: Deshaun Watson's Back !

Clearly the NFL Preseason does not reflect the difficulty of winning in the NFL in the regular season however there are takeaways from the preseason thus far that are impossible to ignore:

- Since the beginning of camp, Deshaun Watson, for the first time as a Cleveland Brown, is completely relaxed and comfortable.   This is obvious in his interactions with the press & his body language.   Why?  I believe it's simple.   For the first time, he has a Head Coach in Todd Monken, who is allowing him to play free.  I think even Watson bought into the bullshit that Kevin Stefanski was selling him back in the beginning about running his Ivy League offense.   The irony is that Stefanski was successful in transforming Watson into a journeyman QB.   Saturday for the first time in nearly 5 years we saw a confident Deshaun Watson.  The pass to KC Concepcion on the play before the Concepcion Touchdown, was pure Watson.   Concepcion had single coverage on the right side of the field.  Watson threw a rocket for a 15 yard gain into the red zone.  Next play was a TD by Concepcion.

- It's simple.   The problem was not signing Deshaun Watson.   Asking a Ferrari in Watson to run Kevin Stefanski's Volkswagen offense was the "big swing and miss".   

- On defense, it is impossible to draw many conclusions because most key defenders on the Browns did not play but one conclusion is possible.  I am very concerned about the Browns lack of depth on D.   It's clear that this season the Browns are going to try to mimic what Seattle implemented on defense last season.   Lots and lots of blitzing on 2nd and 10 or more and 3rd and 10 or more.  Lots of disguising who is going to blitz and a lot of blitzing by defensive backs.    The Browns did not show any of that yesterday of course, but what I did see is that our second and third teamers on defense aren't very good.  Let's hope we stay healthy but the 17 game NFL season is going to have moments in which your backups have to play and those are going to be moments where Joe Burrow and Lamar Jackson will eat us alive.

Bottom line - the days of not scoring 20 points a game are behind us.  Deshaun is back!   But the days of not giving up more than 20 points a game are probably behind us too.  

2026 is going to be a wild ride, but we are going to compete and we are going to win. 

Andrew Berry's Annual QB Hype Derby

It has become an odd pre season tradition in Cleveland for the Browns to go into Training Camp with 4 Quarterbacks and attempt to hype one or more of those QB's with the aspiration of trading one for a draft pick during the cut down to 53 man rosters.

Twice now they've tried and failed to move Tyler Huntley for one of those cherished 6th rounders.   To add insult to injury, both times NFL GM's called their bluff, the Browns cut Huntley and surprise, he signed with division rival Baltimore who undoubtedly downloaded Huntley's knowledge of the Browns playbook.

This season it feels to me like the Browns are playing the same game again.  It has been obvious for weeks that Deshaun Watson will be the starting QB this season.   Even Todd Monken seemed to confirm that but suddenly the narrative changed.  It's a battle between Shedeur Sanders and Deshaun Watson, ok yeah right... and now even Dillon Gabriel has earned more reps thanks to his “good work”.

Don't get me wrong, I like Shedeur.  I see Brian Sipe when I watch Shedeur.  Off the charts charisma and leadership and a gamer's mentality.  The young man knows how to compete.   But much like Brian Sipe, Shedeur needs seasoning, the kind that comes from sitting, practicing and learning.   Brian Sipe basically sat for 3 full seasons from 1972 to 1973 on the taxi squad and 1974 as a backup before he started to flash anything near the brilliance he eventually displayed starting with a few flashes in 1975 and consistent good play until he peaked as NFL MVP in 1980.

The Browns probably don't have the time or desire to invest those years into Shedeur and they probably see his best case scenario as a starter but not a franchise QB.  

So build him up and move him now for one of those glorious 6th round draft picks.  As a Back up plan maybe they move Dillon Gabriel.  But honestly, I don’t think even Kevin Stefanski would give up a sixth rounder for him.  The final outcome will probably be cutting Gabriel because I for one, don't believe any NFL GM buys into the charade.