00:00That is a microcosm of, I think, where this fan base kind of is right now.
00:04Like, the Deshaun thing has made this such an awkward experience for so many fans
00:09because they don't, it's kind of like the Ron Burgundy,
00:14like, I don't know what to do with my hands.
00:15Like, I think a lot of people don't know what to do.
00:17They're like, do I root for the Browns?
00:19I love the Browns, but I don't necessarily like this quarterback.
00:22And it's kind of put people in a weird spot where they have to pick and choose.
00:25And so I'm a little bit curious to see what today is going to be like today
00:28for that reason alone.
00:29Kind of a weird feeling going into today.
00:31Like, had the Browns decided, you know, if they would have lost last week
00:34and decided we're starting Deshaun Watson going into week three,
00:36something that would have been, quite frankly, very unlikely, right?
00:40With the reports we were getting ahead of last week's game,
00:44had Deshaun lost that game, not looked good,
00:46really good chance you would have been seeing Shador Sanders in week three.
00:49But coming off of a win and Deshaun playing, dare I say,
00:54the best football that he's played probably since he got to Cleveland.
00:56Like, that was individually probably the best game that he's had.
01:00Between that and the Ravens' second half game?
01:01I think the Ravens' second half game and I think the Tennessee game in Cleveland
01:05that same season are probably – those are the three games that stand out
01:09as, like, the best Deshaun games since we've been here.
01:11So we've gotten three out of – what, was that his 21st start last week, I think,
01:14because it was 19 when the season – before the season started.
01:18Three out of 21, I don't know what percentage that is.
01:22It's ugly.
01:22Have been, like, games that are memorable Deshaun Watson moments.
01:2614%.
01:26And, yeah, there you go.
01:28And the rest have been pretty forgettable.
01:31And so, yeah, like, to your point, we know what we'd be talking about today
01:36if he had lost that game and looked bad doing it, right?
01:39Yeah.
01:39Like, if he had played well and still – that would have been the interesting thing
01:43is if he had played like he did but the Browns still lost that game,
01:46like if Baker throws a touchdown that last drive, right?
01:48How – like, how do the Browns handle this?
01:50Is Deshaun still starting this week?
01:52Because I think he probably – like, he'd have an argument that he played
01:55some really good football and didn't turn the ball – it wasn't, like, ugly.
01:58They just lost because their defense maybe couldn't hold them, right?
02:01Like, that would have been the interesting scenario.
02:03But he won, he played well, and he's still starting for this football team.
02:08And so that half of football isn't going to erase the four-plus years of frustration
02:17and misery that this fan base has felt like they've suffered through
02:20with this quarterback.
02:22But it can't be understated how important it was that he played the way he did
02:26last week and won because, Jake, there were people already, like,
02:31this time last week talking about how in a week from now I am going to this game
02:37with hate in my heart, just ready to boo Deshaun Watson
02:42and throw whatever kind of inflammatory statements his way they want to throw his way.
02:48Like, that – it was like a badge of honor that people were ready to go to this game today
02:53to boo Deshaun Watson.
02:55And I do think him winning and playing well quells some of that,
03:00at least in the beginning.
03:01Like, when he runs out of the tunnel, he's probably still going to get booed.
03:04It probably won't be to the severity that it was going to be if they had lost that game
03:08and he had played poorly.
03:09And then I think from there it's like all bets are off.
03:11Like, if he – and it should be.
03:14Like, fans have the right to boo based on how you're performing.
03:17And if it's a bad performance today for him, then I do think, like,
03:20you're just going to hear those things bubble back to the surface
03:23and then it might get to the – it won't get to the levels of what it would have been
03:26like
03:26with the other scenario.
03:27But I think then you'll hear, like, that stuff rise higher than what it should be pregame.
03:32But I do think this helped him in the sense that it's not going to be quite as bad immediately.
03:37Does that make sense?
03:38Yeah, I think – like, this might have kind of swayed the fan who was on the fence, right?
03:42Like, do I walk in?
03:43Do I boo Deshaun Watson?
03:44Am I cheering for the Browns?
03:46The person who's sitting on the edge of that probably goes, well, I'm cheering for the Browns.
03:50They won last week.
03:51They're putting together competitive football.
03:52They beat the Buccaneers.
03:54Let's feel good about it.
03:55There are people, like you said, that I think are still going to be steadfast on booing Deshaun Watson.
04:00Yeah, I don't like this guy.
04:01Like, in some ways I can't even argue against it in multiple ways because, well,
04:06Deshaun's comments before the season obviously did not help anybody where he picked a fight with the fans.
04:11On top of that, I think there's fans who feel like they need to send a message to Jimmy Haslam
04:15and the Browns that we didn't want this guy for year five.
04:18He shouldn't even be on the roster.
04:20But the way you set up the contract, the money you decided to pay him created all of this,
04:24and we're now living through it in year five.
04:26And even now I look forward and I go, what are they building towards?
04:29Right?
04:30Like, you still need your quarterback of the future.
04:32Deshaun can't be on the roster next year with the way that the money's going to work out.
04:35You can't just extend him.
04:37You would have to cut him, let the date pass, which is somewhere in March or May.
04:41I can't remember which one of those two.
04:43And then re-sign him to a contract, which makes him have to want to come back to Cleveland
04:47with offers if he plays well.
04:49Basically, there's like a stipulation.
04:50I think it's similar to like how David Njoku's contract was
04:53and some of these other veteran guys that they had this past year,
04:56where it's like they reworked it where when the new league year officially begins,
05:07the contract doesn't, it like expires, but based on the date,
05:11it doesn't technically expire.
05:12So it kind of allows the Browns to carry one year, one day into the new league year,
05:18that contract, and then do a June 1st cut situation
05:22and then split whatever's money, well, but whatever money is left between 2027 and 2028.
05:27That's how they've done some of these things in the past.
05:29It's like a weird thing, like logistical thing you can put in contracts.
05:33And I don't know, I haven't seen the exact details, but we all, the expectation is like
05:39that's what his contract also includes.
05:41And so they'll do the same thing.
05:43They'll do that with him theoretically in March next year.
05:45Unless, of course, I guess he plays well enough that they decided to re-sign him,
05:48which I think would be a disaster.
05:49But here we are.
05:50Yeah, it would be an absolute disaster.
05:52But like, and listen, we're far away from getting to that point, right?
05:54You played one good game of football.
05:57And like we mentioned, it's kind of the third one that we've seen since he started.
06:01I just can't help the idea that, yes, Deshaun is going to get booed
06:04when he runs out of the tunnel.
06:05And I think it's going to be to the point.
06:08I've been debating this all week because I don't think it'll be
06:11the entire crowd booing down.
06:13But I do think these boos are going to be audible.
06:15And I do think you're going to be able to hear them.
06:17Like you listen to the broadcast this weekend, or today.
06:20You listen to the Browns Radio Network with Andrew and Nathan.
06:23I think you're going to be able to hear the boos as it comes down.
06:25You listen to the TV broadcast.
06:26You'll be able to hear the boos as he's running out of the tunnel.
06:30And I also think fans are going to be very on edge.
06:34Like, they come out with a three and out.
06:37I think it's going to be more people that we're booing right out of the game.
06:39They're going to be ready to boo.
06:41And that's the thing.
06:42Like, he bought himself the lowest amount of grace that you can buy yourself, right?
06:49Yeah.
06:50It's basically just like the opening, like the announcing of the teams.
06:54Like, that's it.
06:55But that's what he bought himself with last week was, all right, we're not going to boo
06:59you immediately.
07:01Maybe we're not going to show up totally, like, against you because you won.
07:05And we want to see the Browns win first and foremost.
07:08Nick Chubb is going to be here, which, you know, the team knew what they were doing with
07:11that, right?
07:12Like, they do buy that.
07:14Do you buy the team?
07:15Oh, I 100% buy that.
07:16Are you kidding me?
07:16They're also doing, obviously, the Hall of Fame inductees or the Ring of Honor inductees.
07:20Yeah, like Alex Mack is one of them.
07:21Yeah, Brian Brennan, I think, is one of the other ones.
07:25Yeah, no, I think they 100% knew what they were doing.
07:27This is not the first time, Jake, that they've used Nick Chubb to cover for Deshaun Watson.
07:33Because the game he got hurt in, obviously, we know, he ran out of the tunnel, and they
07:38very quickly moved to the next person, which was Nick Chubb.
07:42Normally the quarterbacks last, but they saved the running back for last, because here's Nick
07:45Chubb coming back from this devastating knee injury that could have derailed his career,
07:49but he's still playing football.
07:51And he runs out of the tunnel with the flags, and the crowd goes wild, and you quickly forgot
07:55that Deshaun Watson ran out right before him.
07:56And they're doing it again.
07:58Here's Nick Chubb running out of the tunnel with the team to celebrate retiring to Cleveland
08:03Brown.
08:03Like, this was as obvious as ever.
08:06So, I'm usually, like, completely on board with the fact that any organization, especially
08:10the Browns, would go through and do this.
08:12The flip side of that is, like, when else would you have?
08:15Right?
08:15Like, Nick Chubb decided to retire.
08:17That was a Nick Chubb personal decision.
08:18He decided he wanted to retire as a Cleveland Brown.
08:21Browns aren't going to fight him against that, and I don't think the city, the fans would
08:24be upset if they fought him against that.
08:26So, you let him in.
08:27If he's going to retire, you're going to honor him in the first game the Browns play at home.
08:31But, like, they could have, I think they would have just found the next obvious one, which
08:34would have been, like, all right, Joe Batonio, you're our guy.
08:39Like, you might be right.
08:40There's a very good chance you're right.
08:42Now, here's the thing.
08:43And, like, the Ring of Honor thing, like, you're going to do that at the home opener as well.
08:47It's the start of the year.
08:48If they were planning on starting Shador Sanders, like, maybe this is a moot point.
08:52But I still think, like, they knew that this could be a possibility, and they were like,
08:57yeah, we need to make sure our home opener isn't just filled with people booing.
09:01Like, that's a path look.
09:03First game of the season, you're 1-1.
09:05There's still hope for your season.
09:06Like, and Browns fans are as hopeful as ever, right?
09:08Like, Browns fans are always thinking, ah, if we win this one, the road to the playoffs
09:13begins.
09:14So, you want that stadium to largely be filled with people who are, like, excited and happy
09:19and cheering and not booing your team.
09:23So, I think this was, like, 100%, like, we, and maybe they planned it ahead of time, but
09:28they also knew, like, there was a possibility that Deshaun Watson could be their quarterback.
09:32They knew how this fan base felt about him.
09:34It's just, like, the balancing out of this all to, like, make sure, just in case, we have
09:39reason for people to show up and cheer and not boo this controversial quarterback that
09:43everybody doesn't like.
09:45Like I said, I can't even fight against it because the reports we got last week were
09:49basically like, oh, Deshaun doesn't play well.
09:52We're re-evaluating the quarterback spot after two games.
09:54Nobody re-evaluates the quarterback position after two games, Spencer.
09:56That doesn't happen.
09:57You played two bad games out of the gate.
09:59I don't know.
10:00Go ask Baker Mayfield.
10:01He's still playing football today.
10:03They're going to play him.
10:04They're not going to, and obviously Baker got signed to a contract.
10:06It's a different situation.
10:07But how often do we see quarterbacks get benched after two games?
10:10Like, almost never.
10:11It usually takes at least a period of four games.
10:13That is the general window.
10:15Yeah.
10:16That's kind of where I put the over-under was like three and a half for Deshaun because
10:19I thought Tom Munkin's not an over-reactionary guy.
10:24He's not just going to, like, make this change quickly.
10:26But at the same time, you know, if it's that bad, I guess he also was the guy who said
10:31he
10:31hated, you know, crappy football, for lack of a better word or word I can't use.
10:35So, you know, it was kind of like finding that middle ground of would he make a change as
10:39quickly if it's crappy football?
10:40Or is he, is that too soon for him to overreact?
10:43And he, he kind of got it taken.
10:46He kind of had it out of his hands because Deshaun played well enough that he kept the
10:49job.
10:49But yeah, man, like, like, here's the thing.
10:51I know this is kind of controversial, like the whole booing thing or whatever.
10:54And I saw like Tucker Kraft was going at the fans about booing.
10:58To me, it is, I know that the team never wants to be booed, but you, and you said it,
11:06I thought
11:06this was a very important point that you brought up.
11:08The booing and the, the frustration from the fan base isn't just about Deshaun.
11:14It's largely aimed at him.
11:15Yes.
11:16But it's also about like this fan base being frustrated with the organization that they
11:20even made them go through with this in the first place.
11:22Like they just hate that this decision was even made and that they've had to live through
11:26four going on five years of this entire experience.
11:28And so understanding that it's like the booze are also because they're mad at the franchise
11:35that he's still here, that it's a fifth year of this thing that they thought there was
11:39finally some light at the end of the tunnel.
11:41And it's not until next year.
11:42And they got to wait another year through this thing.
11:44And maybe that, maybe the season turns out better than people are anticipating.
11:47And they go on and they win a bunch of games now after they won last week.
11:50But I still ultimately think like the, the, the, the stadium is one of the only places
11:56the fan base feels like they can legitimately like voice how they feel in a, and I think
12:00booing's like the, the most monotonous way that you can do that.
12:04Like throwing out racial slurs and things like I, everybody frowns upon that.
12:08You don't want that to, to an extent, like what they did to Deshaun when he got hurt that
12:12game, like not appropriate.
12:13Shouldn't have happened.
12:14I get that.
12:15But I also understand where that frustration comes from because it's all these years of having
12:19to deal with the situation and how badly it's gone.
12:21And so booing is like the most mild way they can show up at a game and be like, here's
12:26how I feel.
12:27Jimmy Haslam, take care of this, get this over with.
12:30I want to like my team again.
12:32And so I don't blame the fans for doing that.
12:33Honestly, you don't know if Jimmy sees your comments on social media, but you know, here's
12:37your booze in the stadium.
12:38If you're sitting in there and he always is.
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