- 4 weeks ago
Share, Thumbs Up & Subscribe to 92.3 The Fan for New Content Daily!
Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@923TheFan
Like on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/923thefan
Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/923thefan
Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/923thefan/
Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@923TheFan
Like on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/923thefan
Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/923thefan
Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/923thefan/
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00Very excited to talk to our next guest, Rand Carthon,
00:02can be heard on SiriusXM NFL Radio Channel 88.
00:05And also, now you can listen to 92.3 The Fan on SiriusXM Channel 172
00:11and wherever you go on the SiriusXM app.
00:15Check out SiriusXM.com slash sports pass for more details
00:19on how to subscribe to SiriusXM's all-new sports plan
00:22on the Make It Right, Call Kyle Right hotline.
00:26We welcome on Rand Carthon, SiriusXM NFL analyst and former NFL GM.
00:31Rand, welcome to the show.
00:33Hey, I appreciate it, man. How you guys doing?
00:35We're doing all right here.
00:37I mean, outside of like the whole quarterback thing,
00:40which has been a real Donnybrook over these way, we're doing all right here.
00:45I guess that's where we can start, though, Rand.
00:47Just kind of the initial thoughts that you have about this Browns team
00:50as we are about 10 days away from the season opener against Jacksonville.
00:56So, I'll say this, because I've said it all season long.
01:00I think when it – let's go back to last year's draft class.
01:05I think Andrew Berry knocked it out of the park.
01:07I think he had another good draft this past draft.
01:11So, I told someone – I think I was on our With the First Pick podcast.
01:16I'm actually buying stock in the Cleveland Browns right now.
01:20Not literally, of course.
01:21I don't have that type of money.
01:22I need to invest more.
01:25But I believe in what they're doing.
01:27Obviously, you want to figure out the quarterback spot.
01:30But I do think this is a very talented Browns defense.
01:34I think they have guys up at every level.
01:37But then I also think on the offensive side of the ball,
01:39they have more weapons than they've had probably in a very, very long time.
01:44And I do think that once they figure out the quarterback spot,
01:47I think this team has a chance to compete to win that division.
01:51Yeah, I feel like that's how a lot of people locally here feel as well.
01:55Like, that same way.
01:55We know there's talent here.
01:57We're not bereft of talent.
01:58But the quarterback spot does just matter that much.
02:01In going to Deshaun Watson instead of Shador Sanders,
02:03do you feel like Todd Munkin in his first big decision made the right one?
02:07Well, I will say that, and I'm going to clarify it first,
02:12that back in the earlier part of the offseason,
02:15I selected Deshaun Watson to be my front runner for comeback player of the year.
02:22And more than anything, I thought it was low-hanging fruit.
02:25He has only played in, what, 28 games over the last four seasons.
02:29So any semblance of a solid season with the weapons around him,
02:33I mean, to me, it just made logical sense.
02:36But then watching the preseason and how the games unfolded,
02:40I was a little shocked that Deshaun was chosen.
02:43But from a big-picture view, looking at it from a first-time NFL head coach,
02:49he's been a head coach before,
02:51I believe Todd Munkin wanted to go with the experience
02:55to see what it's going to be out the gate.
02:58And I also think from, if you look at Deshaun Watson's history,
03:03when he came in in Houston under Bill O'Brien,
03:07Bill O'Brien had history in terms of calling offenses in college.
03:12And I think with Todd Munkin's background,
03:15I think whatever good that's still left in Deshaun Watson's body,
03:20I think Todd Munkin will know how to get it
03:22because I think he'll tailor the offense to more of a system
03:25that is more friendly for Deshaun Watson
03:29as opposed to Kevin Stefanski's system,
03:32which by all accounts was a West Coast offensive system
03:35that you know it takes you at least three years to be able to learn
03:39and you have to actually play all three years,
03:42which we hadn't Deshaun be able to see Deshaun do.
03:45So, listen, man, I was shocked.
03:48I thought Shador played well enough.
03:50I thought he showed enough flashes last year to give him a real opportunity.
03:54You know, I will end by saying I do believe that, you know,
03:59Deshaun Watson will be on a proverbial short leash
04:02and that at some point we will see Shador in the lineup
04:05as a starting quarterback for the Cleveland Browns.
04:08So, I'm like you, Ran.
04:09Like, I think this team can be competitive.
04:12And I know people don't like to hear that because they want to hear
04:14you can win a Super Bowl.
04:15But, like, coming off a five-win year, I think you got more talented.
04:19I did love this draft.
04:20And I think the Browns have done the best you possibly can do
04:25to support the quarterback with as much playmaking talent
04:29and upside as possible.
04:31But I do want to ask you, like, because there are teams every year
04:35that win in spite of the quarterback spot.
04:38I think that's going to have to be the case early on with Deshaun.
04:41What does it take in the NFL to win in spite of the quarterback position
04:45across the season?
04:46It takes exactly what you said, them having playmakers around, right?
04:50Like, you don't have to – I know we are in a quarterback league.
04:53Like, trust me, I get it.
04:54I understand that.
04:56However, if you have the playmakers, your quarterback doesn't have to be
05:00the number one focal point of the offense.
05:02The quarterback can become, you know, a true point guard.
05:06I know the NBA, the point guard position has changed
05:08and the point guard has become more of a score.
05:10But I'm 45 years old.
05:12I remember when the point guard was the main distributor of the basketball.
05:16And so I think for a guy like Deshaun Watson or even Shador Sanders
05:20or Taylon Green, whoever is going to ultimately be there,
05:23they don't have to, you know, throw the ball 40, 50 times
05:27for the Cleveland Browns to win.
05:28You have a strong running game.
05:29You have a tight end that can catch the football.
05:32You have playmakers at wide receiver.
05:34You have a Casey Concepcion who you can get the ball in multiple ways.
05:38You have Jerry Judy who can do what he does.
05:40And then now you have a big-bodied possession guy in Denzel Boston
05:45who can make catches in those 50-50 areas.
05:48I think you just have to distribute the ball.
05:51Get the ball into the hands of the people that can make plays
05:53and allow them to do so.
05:54You don't have to, as the quarterback,
05:57you don't have to put all the pressure on yourself.
05:59And then, I mean, the part that we hadn't mentioned so far
06:02is the rework of the offensive line
06:05and how they've rebuilt this offensive line.
06:07And now you have talent up front, and we know, and I'm saying we
06:11because, you know, I'm invested in this now, right?
06:14I'm rooting for the Browns.
06:16I will say, like, you have to be strong up front in this division.
06:21And all those other D-lines that they're going to be playing
06:23within this division, they're going to be tough.
06:25They're going to get after you.
06:26So I love the fact that not only did Andrew Berry and his staff
06:30build more talent in terms of the skill position,
06:33but they've completely reworked this offensive line
06:36to better protect whoever the quarterback is going to be.
06:39So it's good they've obviously redid it,
06:42but five new offensive linemen is a little scary to me,
06:44if I'm being honest.
06:45We haven't seen that in the NFL since 1970.
06:47Five brand-new offensive linemen from one year to the next.
06:51Well, I mean, I get it.
06:53You know, I really do.
06:54But if the offensive line continued to where it was
06:57and it stayed the same, then everyone would be upset about that too.
07:00So, you know, the big thing with offensive lines,
07:03I've always said or always felt like when an offensive line,
07:07the sum has to be better than the parts.
07:09You look at a lot of those great Denver Broncos offensive lines
07:12they had back in the day with Alex Gibbs and Mike Shanahan.
07:16They weren't the biggest group of guys.
07:17I think they probably didn't even have any guys over 300 pounds.
07:22But if you looked at them individually,
07:24you can pick out their warts and say why they should make it.
07:27But then all five of those guys working in sync together
07:31was what made that offense go.
07:33Now, I believe from an individual standpoint,
07:36this Cleveland Browns group is individually talented.
07:40But like you said, like these guys have to work together.
07:43These guys have to learn how to work together.
07:45And I think they will.
07:47And, again, if they got that part of it right
07:49and this offensive line is able to hold up,
07:53I think we're going to see a better version of the Cleveland Browns.
07:56All right.
07:57So I'm asking you this because you've had such a great career
08:00as a guy in the front office,
08:01and you've been through a couple very smart front offices in your career.
08:06I am endlessly fascinated at how many resources teams put into
08:12the quarterback position, training them, identifying them,
08:17trying to fix them, right?
08:18And yet it is a spot that there's just so much error
08:23when trying to find that quarterback, top five quarterback,
08:28a franchise quarterback.
08:28From your perspective and your time in the league,
08:31what do you think is the biggest mistake organizations make
08:34in quarterback evaluation coming out of college?
08:37Well, and I think that's an excellent question,
08:39and I wish we had a long time to talk about it.
08:44But I'll say this.
08:46I think part of it comes down to is overvaluing the position.
08:50I get it.
08:51It's the highest paid position.
08:52They touch the ball on every single play.
08:54But I think we tend to overvalue and reach on a lot of these guys
08:59just off of physical skill sets, guys that could throw the ball a mile
09:02but may not be the most accurate.
09:04There's always, you know, someone in the building that says,
09:08hey, man, I can fix this guy, right?
09:10Because you see the physical tools, and as a scout,
09:13like that's the one thing you don't want to miss on is the guy
09:17with the intangibles or the height, weight, speed, let's call it.
09:20And then if you want to go, if you want to peel the onion all the way back,
09:23I think it starts in that the NFL game is such its own game that colleges,
09:31a lot of colleges don't run NFL-style systems.
09:34A lot of high schools don't run NFL-style systems.
09:37So you get a ton of quarterbacks that just have never done things
09:41that you're asking these NFL quarterbacks to do.
09:45These high school quarterbacks, because I actually spent a lot of time
09:48with one of our local high schools here in the Brentwood, Tennessee area,
09:53and it's primarily shotgun.
09:55You're seeing everything in front of you.
09:58Same thing with college.
09:59You're not really asking them to call plays in the huddle.
10:01Guys are getting plays signaled in.
10:03Guys are reading plays from the board, from little boards that they have on the sideline.
10:08You're not asking these guys to play with their backs to the defense.
10:11You're not asking them to read a ton of coverages.
10:14If the linebacker does this, you throw to this person.
10:17If he does that, you throw to this person.
10:19And then usually the way the game has evolved,
10:22the quarterback who has the mobility becomes, him as a runner,
10:25becomes the third option in the offense, right?
10:28But then you get them as NFL quarterbacks.
10:32Now you're asking them to play under center, turn their backs to the defense.
10:35And you guys know how complex these defenses are, pre-snap, post-snap reads.
10:40And so now you get these guys, and these guys are plenty smart.
10:44They can regurgitate to you the play, the who, what, when, where, and why.
10:48But the pre-snap read versus the post-snap read is sometimes a lot different.
10:53And then now these guys are playing, like I said, under center, play action,
10:58back to the defense, get your head around quick,
11:00and the picture's completely changed.
11:02And then now they're confused.
11:04And so, to me, that's a huge part of what we're asking them to do.
11:09I actually love and respect what the Raiders are doing right now
11:12in terms of the development of Fernando Mendoza.
11:15And just because he was the number one pick, you're not forcing him to play.
11:18I think that's a problem.
11:19Because you have to be able to withstand the outside noise
11:22and trust your development project or process that you're doing.
11:27Because most people will cave to the pressure and say, hey, you know what,
11:30we're going to still roll with Fernando,
11:32even though we don't have maybe the offensive line to protect him
11:35or the weapons around him to help him be successful.
11:38So I appreciate what they're doing
11:40because they're making a long-term investment in this kid.
11:42And I think a lot of times, I think it comes with the development
11:45of the quarterback, which, to me, starts in high school.
11:48And then you get to the NFL, and I think we cave to the outside noise
11:53and the pressure and force these guys out there when they're just not ready.
11:57Ran, in your almost 20 years in NFL front offices,
12:01you also played in the NFL for a while as well.
12:04What is the highest grade you ever had on a quarterback?
12:07Who was that quarterback?
12:10Hmm.
12:11Oh, you're asking me to go deep into the bag.
12:14Like, let me see.
12:17I really got to think deep about this.
12:19I'm trying to think of all the quarterbacks that have come out.
12:23Who?
12:24And I do.
12:25I promise you I have it on the file here in my office.
12:28I'm sitting in my office at home.
12:30Because I know if I say someone, I'm going to miss.
12:32So I started in 2008.
12:35And I'm trying to think of quarterbacks who have come out since then.
12:40Can you just throw me some names?
12:41I don't want to.
12:42Stafford.
12:43I would think Andrew Luck would have to be there.
12:45Mahomes.
12:45Cam Newton.
12:47Joe Burrow.
12:49RG3.
12:51Honestly, I will say this.
12:53And I'll be – I'm always going to be transparent and honest.
12:58Andrew Luck was pretty high for me.
13:00Matthew Stafford was really, really high for me.
13:04I did not evaluate Patrick Mahomes coming out.
13:08Because at the time, I was with the Rams.
13:11And we had just drafted Jared Goff the year before.
13:14And so I just knew we weren't going to be in that market.
13:18And so I just really didn't put the time into the quarterbacks like that year.
13:23I really, really wish I would have evaluated Patrick Mahomes just to see where I was.
13:29Obviously, hindsight, everybody's going to say they loved him
13:32or they would have taken him had he fallen to them, right?
13:35But – so I didn't do Mahomes.
13:38But Andrew Luck was really high.
13:39I remember evaluating Andrew Luck with a guy named Lionel Vitale.
13:44And he called myself and Anthony Robinson.
13:46We were two young scouts at the time.
13:48He called us to his office.
13:50And he told us – he was like,
13:51you guys want to see what a real quarterback looks like?
13:54And he sat us down and we went through about four games of Andrew Luck.
13:59And he showed us on a play-to-play basis like this is why this guy is going to be
14:04successful.
14:05And so I really remember that.
14:07And then the thing I remember most about Matthew Stafford,
14:12obviously being in Atlanta at the time,
14:13him being right in our backyard there with the Georgia Bulldogs,
14:16obviously I hated it as a Gator.
14:19But just his arm strength, the velocity in which he threw the ball,
14:24the different arm angles that he could throw from those tight pockets
14:29where he could just, you know, really rotate his hips and get the ball out quick,
14:33his ability to make that far hash throw,
14:36that really became a staple for me in terms of evaluating these college quarterbacks
14:41is can they make that far hash throw, right,
14:44and just sit there and just drive the ball on the line.
14:47And there was nothing that Matthew Stafford couldn't do with his arm
14:52while he was at the University of Georgia.
14:53And we see that now.
14:55We saw it with him in Detroit.
14:56We really see it now, you know, with the no-look passes that he's throwing in L.A.
15:01So, you know, guys like that.
15:04I'll tell you, in this year's class, this year's class,
15:08I'm a really big fan of Dante Moore.
15:10And I'll tell you this, a guy that I think is going to have the ability to rise
15:15with this year's draft class is Trinidad Chambliss.
15:19I know he's not the biggest guy, but watching him play,
15:22there's something that makes you believe in him.
15:26I don't know what it is.
15:27It just jumps off the tape to me.
15:29And I've always felt like there are two people in your football building,
15:32whether you know ball or not, that when they walk in a room,
15:36your eyes should gravitate to them, and one of them is your head coach.
15:40I think your head coach should have that presence, and your quarterback.
15:44So I'm really interested in seeing Trinidad Chambliss in person
15:47to see if he has that aura, as the kids call it, or that feel,
15:51because watching him on tape, I love the way he plays the game of football.
15:56So those are two guys I'm really excited about watching this year.
16:00Ran, you were every bit as good as advertised.
16:04This is our first time talking with you.
16:05Hope it's not the last.
16:07Really appreciate you, bud, and catch up with you down the line.
16:10All right, man.
16:11Hey, listen, I'm hoping that my stock in the Cleveland Browns shoots up this year.
16:16And Jimmy Haslam, if you're listening, and there's really stock available,
16:19please give me a call.
16:21The guys here on the station will help me pay for it.
16:23So we'll be all in together.
16:26Yeah, we'll have to see if Keith will allow that one.
16:29I'm not sure if we have the corporate card on us.
16:32Ran Garth on there.
16:33Great stuff with him.
16:34He can be heard on Sirius XM NFL Radio Channel 88.
16:37Of course, he just appeared on the Make It Right Call Kyle Wright fan hotline.
16:42You can also listen to 92 to the fan on Sirius XM Channel 172,
16:47or wherever you go on the Sirius XM app.
16:49Check out SiriusXM.com slash Sports Pass for more details
16:54on how you can subscribe to Sirius XM's all-new sports plan.