00:00Mary Kay, first and foremost, good morning to you.
00:02The first thing I think I want Spencer to know and everybody to know,
00:07I think he was the first person that said it with your chest,
00:09that said it with confidence that the Cleveland Guardians are going to the
00:12World Series.
00:12Do I got that right?
00:16No, I did not say that.
00:19Denzel Ward said that.
00:20Oh, Denzel said that.
00:21Oh, yes.
00:22I stand corrected, Den.
00:23You did not say that.
00:24Yes.
00:25You did not say that.
00:27Denzel Ward said it.
00:29I asked him twice, and both times he said they're going all the way.
00:33He reiterated it again this week.
00:35So I have two little videos out there with him saying that on Twitter
00:39and I think YouTube as well.
00:40So, yes, Denzel, who owns a stake in the Guardians,
00:44is confident they're going all the way.
00:46I'll tell you something that people are not confident in right now, Mary Kay,
00:49and that's the Cleveland Browns run game.
00:50You know, I was telling Spencer before you joined the program that,
00:53in my opinion, I thought it was the one thing that Todd Monken thought he had
00:57in his back pocket when he took this job.
00:59was he was going to walk in here with the ability to have a strong run game.
01:03And it seems like right now the run game has been one of the Browns'
01:06biggest issues.
01:07Talk about schematically the struggles the Browns have had running the football,
01:12how you think they can get this thing turned around, et cetera.
01:16Well, this is going to be a tough week to get it turned around
01:18because Quinchon Judkins is questionable with his ankle injury,
01:23and we know that Raheem Sanders has been placed on injury reserve.
01:27They've got some new running backs that might be carrying the load this week.
01:32So I don't know if this is going to be the week to get it back on track,
01:36especially against the Ravens and their stout run defense.
01:39But certainly, as you mentioned, Todd Monken, I'm sure,
01:42thought that he had a really good robust running game when he took this job.
01:45And because of the overhauled offensive line still trying to find its way
01:50and Quinchon Judkins still trying to find his way behind this line,
01:55it just hasn't been what they hoped it would be yet.
01:58Mary Kay, I know, obviously, Deshaun has played better than expected to this point
02:02and helped the Browns get out to that 3-1, now 3-2 start.
02:07But it hasn't been perfect, so I guess what needs to happen for him to continue
02:15to stave off the conversations that inevitably will resurface if things don't go well
02:23about him losing the job and Shador starting and all these different things?
02:28Is it as simple as just the team remaining in the playoff picture?
02:31If the offense continues to struggle like they maybe did against the Jets,
02:34would that maybe perpetuate something sooner rather than later?
02:38Well, certainly, he's going to need to play better than he played against the Jets.
02:42He did not play his best game.
02:44Now, I don't think he got a lot of help in that game either.
02:47I think once you start to see that somebody is slipping on a route,
02:51somebody's dropping a pass, and then the offensive line is not on point necessarily
02:57in protecting you the way that you need to be,
02:59or you and the running backs aren't communicating well enough on blitz pickup,
03:04it starts to be a thing where, you know,
03:06I thought he maybe tried to press and do too much, and you can't do that.
03:10You can't do that.
03:11That's when you get into mistakes.
03:13So this week, he's going to have to try as best he possibly can to stay composed,
03:19to stay within himself.
03:21That's when he'll be more on point with his passes,
03:24and he's going to have to try to trust the protection a little bit more.
03:27Of course, it has to be there, and the blitz has to get picked up,
03:32but he's also going to have to step up and play better than he did.
03:36A couple people, I looked at the injury report outside of Quinn Sean Junkins.
03:41It looks like Mason Graham is listed as questionable.
03:44Casey Concepcion, you know, it seems like he's cleared concussion protocol.
03:49Talk about those two guys.
03:50Will those two guys be on the field this weekend?
03:54Well, Casey will be on the field.
03:56So he has cleared the concussion protocol, and he's going to play.
03:59So that's really, really good news for the Browns
04:01because he can be used in so many different ways,
04:03in shorter passes, as outlets, on fly sweeps, and end arounds, and things like that.
04:10So good for them that he will be back.
04:12And then again, Quinn Sean, he's questionable,
04:14and I don't know if he's going to be able to play.
04:16I think the four guys that are questionable are truly questionable
04:19in terms of Mason Graham, Carson Swessinger, Quinn Sean Junkins, and Derek Barnett.
04:26If they can get some of those guys back,
04:28they'll have a much better chance of winning the game.
04:30And I want to back up real quick on Spencer's question to me
04:34because I didn't really answer the last part of it,
04:36and that part of it was what does it mean going forward
04:39if Deshaun continues to, you know, kind of struggle a little bit?
04:44I think they will really look at it.
04:46They'll look at it and evaluate it based on who gives them the best chance to win.
04:53And if it comes to the point where they feel Shador would give them a better chance
04:56to win than Deshaun, then they would make a change.
04:59But this is not a short leash.
05:00This is not a short-term thing.
05:02One bad game is not going to get him yanked, but he certainly has to play better.
05:07Thanks, Mary Kay.
05:09For this season, I think obviously we had certain things we expected from this group.
05:14I think we all expected a lot of these rookies, once again,
05:17were going to contribute in a meaningful way.
05:19Denzel Boston was awesome in camp.
05:20We kind of thought that would translate.
05:22We maybe didn't think – we maybe thought the defense would still be pretty good.
05:25I think that's been the case.
05:27But amidst the things maybe we didn't expect,
05:30and maybe we'll leave the quarterback out of this
05:32because I think certainly a lot of people weren't 100% sure how Deshaun would look,
05:36and he's looked better than expected for a lot of people.
05:38So what's maybe surprised you the most, Mary Kay,
05:41about the start that this Browns team has gotten off to
05:44and them being 3-2 with a chance to be first in the division if they win tomorrow?
05:49Well, I would say one of the areas that has been a pleasant surprise in my mind
05:53is the fact that they are generating so much pressure and so many sacks.
05:59And I think when I looked at it and saw that Miles Garrett was going to be gone
06:03and then Alex Wright is gone, and you're bringing in Jared Versus, your new guy,
06:06he doesn't even have a sack yet.
06:08And the Browns are 6th in the NFL with 16 sacks.
06:12They're on pace – I can't remember.
06:14I did the math the other day.
06:15But they're on pace for I think it's somewhere around 51, 52 sacks,
06:20which is really, really good.
06:22And I think to me that's probably one of the most pleasant surprises
06:26is that they have continued to generate that kind of pressure.
06:31Mary Kay, the Baltimore Ravens are saying if they know anything about Todd Monk
06:35and he's looking to kick our butt, Todd Monk is downplaying it and saying,
06:38hey, this is just another game.
06:40Which one of those statements do you believe more?
06:43Well, of course he wants to kick their butts, but, you know,
06:47you've really got to go into a battle like that with a full complement of players.
06:51And I just don't know that the Browns are going to have that this game.
06:53Now, the Ravens are also banged up, but the Browns have so many injuries in key places
06:58that I think it will be determined by who comes back and plays this game
07:03what the outcome is going to be.
07:05Now, we know that the Ravens are without Lamar Jackson, and that certainly helps.
07:08But let's not forget, Tyler Huntley in his last three starts in place of Lamar Jackson
07:16has won all three of those games, and they have averaged 33.7 points in those victories.
07:22So, he is no slouch.
07:24You know that he's going to want to play well against his former team,
07:28and he's coming off of a very, very big overtime victory over the Falcons in Atlanta
07:34where he threw the game-tying touchdown pass with 40 seconds left
07:38and then scored the game winner on a sneak in overtime.
07:41So, you really can't overlook Snoop, and, you know,
07:45I think that's going to be the key to the game is who's going to be there
07:48for the Cleveland Browns to fight this battle.
07:50Mary Kay, I know Todd, to us, and he reiterated again yesterday, you know,
07:55that this game was just another game and all these things.
07:59But I don't know.
08:00I kind of feel like deep down, Mary Kay, there's some emotions in there,
08:05especially with how it kind of ended.
08:07We knew some of the stories.
08:08There was the reported, like, rift with Lamar
08:11and, you know, guys feeling like the offense wasn't quite really up to standard
08:15and that it had maybe taken a step back under him.
08:19And so, I don't know.
08:20Like, I don't know how you feel about that,
08:22but do you think this one carries a little more weight for Todd than maybe he let on?
08:26Yeah, I think so.
08:27I think he even really alluded to that yesterday.
08:29I think he acknowledged that there will be some extra emotion for him.
08:35He's only human, and he's not shy about admitting that.
08:39And I think anybody that plays a former team where you invested your heart and soul
08:43in that football team, you're going to have a little something extra.
08:46All you have to do is look at Quincy Williams playing against the New York Jets last week, right?
08:51I mean, that was the game of his life, I think.
08:54And, you know, and that's what happens when you play against a former team.
08:58Now, the hard part, as I mentioned for Todd, is that he can't get out there and play,
09:02and he can't give 125% on the field.
09:05He can do his best in calling the plays and trying to get these guys motivated,
09:09but it's going to be up to them.
09:12And as I mentioned before, if you don't have Mason Graham,
09:15if you don't have Carson Schlesinger, it will be that much tougher.
09:19Mary Kay, you look at PFF, and right now through five weeks, five weeks in one game,
09:25they have Emmanuel McNeil-Warren as the highest-graded rookie,
09:30and six is Denzel Boston.
09:33They also have Austin Barber and Spencer Feneau as top five with the lowest pressure rates allowed among rookies.
09:42So, so far through this season, it looks like Andrew Barry has hit on another draft class.
09:48You've been around Andrew Barry for a long time.
09:51What do you think has been the biggest area of growth for Andrew Barry?
09:56What did he figure out in your mind that has made these last couple of drafts better than what we've
10:02seen from him in the past?
10:04Well, there are a number of things, but I think it must be remembered that they went three straight years
10:10without a first-round pick.
10:11When he finally was able to get those first-round picks, he parlayed them into other-choice picks, and he
10:19maximized those picks.
10:21So the 2025 draft was amazing because of the trade that he made down from number two to number five,
10:27and that kind of went on from there and spilled over, of course, into this season with Casey Concepcion in
10:33the first round.
10:34And, you know, then this year he did the same thing.
10:37He maximized those draft picks with trades, and it's a heck of a lot easier to hit on a first
10:45-round pick than it is on a third-round pick.
10:48So I don't think it's that Paul DiPodesta left and Andrew all of a sudden got smart.
10:53I think they got first-round picks and made the most of those first-round picks.
10:59And then also he did surround himself with some really, really good thought partners around draft time,
11:06the Tom Telescos and people like that, and I think that has also helped.
11:11Mary Kay, as the trade deadline approaches, and I know it's a few weeks away here in early November,
11:19are there any – I guess let me start here.
11:21Do you think the Browns are more inclined to do – sort of just stay in pat with the guys
11:28that they have,
11:29make a move that's maybe like a subtraction in order to get draft capital of some sort for next year,
11:35or could you see them potentially adding to a roster that, you know,
11:40in a couple weeks could very much still be in the playoff conversation?
11:44Well, I think it's great for them that the trade deadline has been pushed back at least one week,
11:49you know, over the last couple of years so that it's later in the season
11:53and you kind of know where you're at and where you're going.
11:56And certainly if they are still in the thick of it and still in the hunt,
12:00then I think they will look to bolster their roster.
12:03I think this is the time of year that Andrew Berry loves to wheel and deal.
12:07I think he's going to leave no stone unturned in his quest to add to this roster.
12:12Even if they aren't destined to make the playoffs,
12:15I think he always loves to look around at this time of year and see how he can add to
12:19the team.
12:20So, yeah, he's just probably rubbing his hands together to see if there's anything out there.
12:25So then I guess off of that, if the Browns were to look to trade any specific players from their
12:31team,
12:32like is there anybody that you maybe feel could be most likely to get moved or could get moved?
12:38I know there's been some names floated out there.
12:39Jerry Judy, for example, has come up.
12:40But is there anybody that you could see them maybe moving off of at the deadline?
12:45You know, not really at this point.
12:47Unless someone calls and makes them an offer they can't refuse for some of these guys.
12:52Right now, I don't think they're looking to move off of any of their guys.
12:55I think they'd like to have the depth.
12:57I think they love having the depth at quarterback right now.
13:00I don't see them looking to trade, and I've written this many times,
13:03I don't see them looking to trade Shador Sanders or Dylan Gabriel.
13:08I think that if it ultimately did happen, it would be because someone picked up the phone
13:13and wrestled one of those guys away from them.
13:17At this point, I just don't think that's something they want to do.
13:20And same thing with Jerry Judy.
13:22They have good depth at wide receiver right now, and I think they're going to need Jerry.
13:26And especially if they remain in this thing down the stretch, I think he will come very much in handy.
13:32Mary Kay, before I ask my next question, I kind of got a comment off of that
13:35because I've been asked, you know, off the record a lot of,
13:38do I think the Cleveland Browns are going to trade one of their quarterbacks?
13:41And in my mind, if I'm Andrew Barry or Todd Munkin, what the hell am I trading one of my
13:45quarterbacks for?
13:46Why am I going to weaken my own quarterback room to strengthen your quarterback room
13:50when I've seen several starting quarterbacks get hurt throughout six weeks of the season?
13:54And I've seen three teams start at least QB three one time.
13:58It doesn't make any sense from the Browns standpoint
14:00unless you get a godfather offer that you can't refuse to trade one of your quarterbacks.
14:05That hasn't made sense to me.
14:07None of the talking points make sense to me.
14:08And it's kind of borderline frustrating.
14:10That being said, new week, the Browns performance in week five left a bad taste in a lot of fans'
14:17mouth.
14:18What is the biggest key to victory this week to bounce back and get a win?
14:23Well, I think first and foremost, I think that Deshaun Watson is going to have to play better than he
14:30played before.
14:32As Deshaun plays, so this team goes.
14:34And I think that a lot of it right now is going to have to be on him.
14:39That's just the way that it is.
14:40It's a very, very young offense.
14:43And in order for them to score points, he's got to be on point.
14:47So hopefully for them, he will rebound this week, make some plays to Denzel Boston again,
14:53get Casey involved, and hit Harold Fannin with some big plays,
14:58or at least get the ball in his hands and let him try to make some really good explosive run
15:04after catch.
15:04He was not involved last week.
15:06That can't happen again.
15:07He caught one pass for four yards late in the game.
15:10When you walk out of a loss like that, that's one of those things that you circle in red and
15:14say,
15:14how did we let that happen?
15:16So I think that's very much a key for this week is for Deshaun to distribute the ball well
15:22and to get it in the hands of his big playmakers.
15:29All right, well, Mary Kay, we appreciate you for your time.
15:31Go Browns.
15:32Go Guards.
15:33Enjoy the rest of your day, and thank you for your time.
15:36Sounds good.
15:37Thanks, Mary Kay.
15:38All righty.
15:38Thanks, Mary Kay.
