00:00On the Wiseheart, right, we make it right. Call Kyle Wright Hotline. NFL Network Analyst, NFL Data Science Analyst, Cynthia
00:08Freeland joins us now. Cynthia, welcome to the show.
00:12Thank you so much for having me.
00:14Well, it's great to have you here. I guess we can start with kind of a high-level question here.
00:19Now that the roster is mostly set, I know they've got to kind of figure out the bottom 10, bottom
00:2512 of the roster,
00:25but now that the offseason is gone, the preseason is gone, what do you consider the true ceiling and floor
00:31for this Browns team this year?
00:34Well, I think it's less about wins and losses and more about the opportunity to really solidify a plan going
00:40forward.
00:41Obviously, the draft classroom last year was, oh, you know, pretty darn good, but now you have to figure out
00:45quarterback,
00:46and then you have to figure out how that then maps to a new system and a new kind of
00:51philosophy going forward
00:52to make sure that the defense stays amazing and the offense also becomes amazing.
00:58Well, how do we get an offense that's amazing? I want one of those.
01:01If we have a quarterback situation on our hands that is...
01:04Take merely good.
01:05Deshaun Watson versus Shador Sanders, but now it's Deshaun to start off.
01:09We've been debating how long Deshaun is going to get.
01:11In your opinion, how long should the Browns let Deshaun Watson out there before they can say,
01:16we undeniably know that he's not that version of the Texans and that doesn't exist?
01:21Well, I think that's the key, right?
01:23Because it's like you don't want to be wrong after the season.
01:26You don't want to go into the offseason with a question mark at that position with so much money on
01:32the line, right?
01:33Like, this is the hardest decision to get right in all of football.
01:36If you're drafting in a spot to get this much better quarterback draft, at least we think so.
01:40I guess maybe we always say so in August, but who knows.
01:42But your opportunity then to do you reset, do you build around a veteran, who's going to be available,
01:47getting that strategy right will dictate when, like, they've got to be sure when Deshaun,
01:54if he doesn't finish the season, it will be because it will not be him going forward.
01:58And I think that they will have to give him, I would say, probably six games,
02:04but I think that might be a little generous.
02:06It's probably more around a month.
02:08I think he's got two games.
02:10I think if he doesn't show real promise by the first two games,
02:13I don't know after this last Saturday, and honestly, this week in general,
02:18with how fans have reacted to him being named starter for week one,
02:22I don't know how you could possibly put him on the field for week three at home in the home
02:27opener
02:28if he just looks like a broken toy the first two weeks.
02:33If it looks like a totally broken toy the first two weeks, then at least you have an answer, right?
02:38Maybe the worst thing that could happen would be for it to be, like, okay, but not terrible,
02:45but not great, like, so average that you don't know what you're looking at.
02:48You know what I mean?
02:49Like, that could almost be worse, right?
02:51Like, you want it to be great or you want it to be not great so that you have a
02:54decision.
02:54I think it'd be hard if you look like a broken toy.
02:58Well, now you know you've got to move on.
02:59If you look kind of good in spots and not terrible in other spots, but not great,
03:04I don't know, that's probably more confusing.
03:06No, you're right.
03:07I mean, that is the fear attached to all this,
03:09and the Browns are going to give him more of a chance than anybody else will, obviously.
03:13That's why he's the only one.
03:14He's starting when nobody else wants him to start, and so they're going to see this through.
03:18I just, it's just interesting to me, but all right, let's go to Shador then.
03:21What have you seen from Shador as people now rave that there's a lot of development
03:24and there's some growth that has happened even though he's not the starter?
03:28I think that's part of it, right?
03:30A lot of these guys, like, if you look to see the amount of, let's just say, zone defense in
03:34general,
03:34if you're looking at the guys coming out of college that are his contemporaries,
03:38they don't see any zone defense.
03:39So perhaps having a chance to not have as much of, you know, the opening game pressure
03:44and the kind of things where you have to be able to see everything right away,
03:48I think that will give him a chance to grow, right?
03:50Like, if there's a silver lining here, it's that maybe having to study some defenses
03:54without having the pressure, you know, being under pressure in those situations
03:58could be a good reset and a good way to move forward.
04:01I think he is seeing things, at least from what I can tell from, you know,
04:05obviously preseason games are really informative, but, you know, what you've been hearing
04:10in training camp and all those things, like, maybe he's having a chance to really look
04:14and see what defenses look like and be able to diagnose them a little bit better.
04:17Cynthia, to use the expression, rising tides lifts all boats.
04:22I do think that's what the Browns are trying to do at quarterback,
04:25meaning they know they couldn't improve the quarterback spot,
04:28so we're going to put talent at the skill-playing positions,
04:31we're going to rebuild the offensive line, plus that defense, hope that's enough.
04:37For that theory to actually prove correct this year, specifically for the Browns,
04:43what has to happen around the quarterback for them to be able to, again,
04:47just have a functional offense, which I think gives you a chance to be
04:51maybe a team that hits above the 5.5 over-under?
04:54I do think the team hits above the 5.5 over-under in large part because I love the strategy
05:00of taking two wide receivers, like adding to your wide receiver core in such a dramatic
05:05and different way, different body types, different expectations.
05:08You already had Harold Fennin Jr., who, you know, if him and Quinchan Jenkins can stay healthy,
05:12that's a huge one-two punch right there.
05:15And you have this really fun, interesting, young offense that would be attractive for any quarterback.
05:20So not only would you be, you know, figuring out if your quarterback has the juice,
05:24but also you'd be a really attractive landing spot, perhaps for a veteran or someone else,
05:28if that isn't the case.
05:30So you're creating options for yourself.
05:31And the best thing you can do is to create as much optionality as possible,
05:35so you don't have to be, like, really dead set on one plan or on one position
05:40to have to change for everything to be different.
05:42How hard is it to get a brand-new offensive line?
05:45We haven't seen it in the NFL since 1970, so it's not like we've got a bunch of data to
05:48back up.
05:48You can do this or can't do this, but I would imagine it's difficult what the Browns are trying to
05:53pull off.
05:53Yeah.
05:55I think there's a reason you don't see it, because it is difficult,
05:58but I also think that it's the only thing you can do.
06:01I love when people don't fall victim to the sunk cost fallacy, right?
06:06Like, if it's not working, change it as fast as possible.
06:08Don't keep throwing good money after bad at it.
06:12Wholesale change it if you have to.
06:14You know, like, go for it.
06:15Change it now, and then by the time that, you know, October, November rolls around,
06:20now you'll have a chance to really see what's going on.
06:22All right, Cynthia.
06:23And Cynthia Freeland's on the Wiseheart, right?
06:25We make it right.
06:26Call Kyle Wright hotline.
06:28So, to look to the defense, there has been change there.
06:31New defensive signal caller, Mike Rutenberg.
06:34Rudy, as many call him.
06:35And then there is swapping out Miles Garrett for Jared Verse.
06:39There's a couple other things we can talk about.
06:41Quincy Williams being a new linebacker.
06:43Do you look at this defense as a big spot for regression,
06:48or do you think they're going to be able to maintain what they've done the last couple years
06:51with Miles Garrett and Jim Schwartz?
06:53I don't think you're going to have 23 sacks.
06:56I just, that's by one player.
06:58I just, I don't think that's going to be the case.
07:00I think that it's going to be a very similarly feared defense.
07:05If you use some metric like DVOA or one of those things that ranks defenses,
07:08I think it's going to be right up there among the league's best yet again.
07:12I love your linebackers.
07:14I think that, you know, you've got a really special one in the reigning defensive rookie
07:18of the year and the ability for him to come and just absolutely change things,
07:23especially, I'm not going to call him, you know, there's a guy that just got inducted
07:28to the Hall of Fame.
07:29He's kind of tracking towards him.
07:31I'm not going to say that he's that guy from Carolina, but Luke Kegley is not a bad comp,
07:36at least for the type of career he could have.
07:38So I'm looking at that and saying that'll be impactful.
07:41Jared Burst, you know, you're not downgrading.
07:44You're getting younger and you're giving yourself optionality for the future.
07:48You're not downgrading with Jared Burst.
07:50He didn't have 23 sacks because he wasn't asked to do that.
07:54And now he'll be asked to do some different things.
07:55I'm not worried about the defense.
07:57I think Rudy, I don't know if I can call him that.
07:59I don't really know him.
08:00So I think he's going to do a great job.
08:02And I don't expect a lot of maybe some different stuff, but that could be a positive.
08:06Having some different principles would be good.
08:09It kind of keeps offenses from knowing exactly what to expect.
08:12Browns were fifth in EPA last year on the defensive side of the ball.
08:15We still only ended up with five wins.
08:17And so there's a lesson attached to that as far as how much an offense can just sink
08:22a really good defense.
08:23Are we set up for that as well this year then?
08:25Is it going to be, do you think the defense is going to be similar?
08:28Are we just set up for another five win season with a similar set of outcomes?
08:32I don't think so because I don't think they're going to, I think that the architecture of
08:39the offense is not married to one thing in a way where if it stops working, like look,
08:45it could go poorly if the O-line doesn't come together.
08:47That would be any team ever in the history of mankind.
08:51Joe Thomas would tell you that too, right?
08:52So if the O-line experiment goes the wrong way, it could be a difficult season to see what
08:59you're looking at with the rest of it, if it starts to get better and better.
09:02I think that's what you'll see, right?
09:03The beginning may not look, it may be a tough start, but I think as the season goes on, it'll
09:08start to look better and better as the O-line becomes the anchor of what the offense can
09:13do.
09:13Cynthia, we're used to the AFC North being one of the most powerful divisions in football.
09:19Last year, the Paper Tiger Pittsburgh Steelers ended up winning the division and summarily
09:25getting bounced out in the postseason, which is kind of their MO over the last
09:29decade, but no other team in the division finished above .500.
09:33Do you think we have a bounce-back season for the AFC North this year?
09:39I certainly think if Lamar Jackson can stay healthy, if Joe Burrow can stay healthy, I
09:44think the AFC North is a very tough division, and I think it will remain tough.
09:50Last year, the AFC just in general felt a little weird, like to have Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson,
09:56all these kind of mainstays, not be Joe Burrow, not be really playoff-bound was weird.
10:03So it allowed for some new teams to come in, some fresh blood, but I think that you still
10:08have to respect those MVP-caliber quarterbacks, and that's going to make it not easy for the
10:15North to be won by anyone.
10:17Do you believe in what the Steelers are building over there?
10:20It's got to be the last year with Rodgers, obviously, but the Rodgers-McCarthy reunion
10:23is something I just never thought we'd see.
10:25Never thought we'd see it.
10:27I don't think it's going to change what the offense looks like too much, because I think
10:30it's Aaron Rodgers' team, and he'll do what Aaron Rodgers is going to Aaron Rodgers.
10:35That's what I, you know, better, worse, or in between.
10:37I think that's what it is.
10:39And on defense, I'm very confused.
10:41I thought the defense was going to look a little different until this weird, like I don't know what
10:44the Joey Porter thing is that's going on, but that feels like it could be problematic,
10:48because in order to do what that defense does best, I think you really need Porter out there.
10:54Cynthia, always great catching up with you.
10:56Can't wait to get a couple weeks into the season, maybe have you back and see where we are,
11:00but you killed it as always.
11:02Appreciate you.
11:03And I mean, all those puppies, I need the Browns to do that at every single, like not just
11:08training camp, I need it like once a month, because it's the cutest thing, and the names
11:12for all the puppies too, I can't get over it.
11:14You should have heard my partner tease me as every day I talked about a different puppy.
11:20I thought he was going to bring a new one home every day.
11:22I just, I was not, we're not in a position to add a new puppy right now, because dad's
11:26not at home at the key points for a puppy, and it was a torture for me, but I agree
11:30with
11:30you, it's a great program.
11:32I know, it's a great program.
11:33I mean, I rescued one of my dogs from the Detroit draft, so, you know, that was an interesting
11:38one to bring back to California, but, you know, sometimes you just got to add, even if
11:42you don't think you're ready, just saying, two is better than one, three is better than
11:45two.
11:46Oh, I want like four of them.
11:48Did you give your dog like a football name attached to it too?
11:50Is it like Barker Mayfield?
11:52No, well, I have a hockey dog in Gordie Howe, and then my second dog, you know, when you
11:56bring a dog home and you don't ask your husband, he gets to name it.
11:59So we went with Clyde, some Clyde Drexler action.
12:02Clyde the Clyde, I love it.
12:03We appreciate you, Cynthia.
12:05Appreciate you guys.
12:06Have a good one.
12:07Cynthia Freeland there on the Wiseheart Right.
12:09We make it right.
12:10Call Kyle Right Hotline.
