- 14 hours ago
Cynthia Frelund explains why Browns' start is not a fluke, Monken's QB plan behind Deshaun Watson
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00:00We love bringing on guests that know way more than we do, and that's why we turn to the NFL
00:04Network and the Numbers Game on YouTube.
00:07She is Cynthia Freeland from NFL Network, and she is on the Wise Heart Right.
00:11We make it right. Call Kyle Wright Hotline.
00:13Hi, Cynthia. How are you?
00:14Hi, Cynthia.
00:15You know what? This is the one time of year where I am so jealous of the leaves changing and
00:21the fall weather.
00:22I wish I was in the Midwest.
00:24The rest of the year, I love Southern California.
00:26I'm not going to lie, but I'm so jealous.
00:29I miss the seasons.
00:30It's awesome right now. We've had it really good.
00:32I know.
00:32The fall foliage is just, it's been a big topic on Sports Talk, too.
00:36Like, I know we spent some time last week talking about it.
00:39No rain, temperatures in the mid-60s, low 70s, Cynthia, for several weeks.
00:44It's perfection.
00:45And then you can go, like, apple picking and carve some pumpkins.
00:48Like, I love fall in the Midwest.
00:50There is no better.
00:52I just miss it so much.
00:54Lizards in January and February.
00:56You feel better now?
00:58No, see, this is where we do a trade.
01:00I come out there in the fall, and you come out here in February.
01:04No, that's all right.
01:05Yeah.
01:06I'll go with that one.
01:08Perfect.
01:08Just so you know, just for the record, that Ohio fall foliage is better than Michigan.
01:13Fall foliage.
01:13Oh, man.
01:14That was nice.
01:15We love having you on the show, but, I mean, we've got to draw the line somewhere.
01:19Wow, man.
01:20Harsh.
01:21You know what?
01:21I got into a fight recently because, you know, the Lions play Minnesota, and I got into
01:25a fight about the UP and, like, whether that, like, really belongs to, like, Minnesota,
01:30Wisconsin, or Michigan.
01:31I'm, like, clearly Michigan.
01:33And I was like, Taquaminen Falls is maybe the most beautiful fall foliage of all time.
01:37So, I got into, like, these are fighting words, you know?
01:40Maybe they just are all good unless they play each other.
01:43How about that?
01:44There you go.
01:44All right.
01:45That's fair.
01:45That's fair.
01:46Speaking of playing well, are our eyes deceiving us on what we're seeing from the Browns right
01:52now?
01:53Because we are having a lot of fun.
01:54It's very rare we get to say first place Cleveland Browns.
01:58That's right.
01:58For more than one week.
02:00Yeah.
02:00No, I mean, what is it?
02:01The latest in the season it's been in quite some time.
02:04So, I don't think our eyes are deceiving us.
02:07Now, are you doing it the easy way?
02:09Absolutely not.
02:10But it doesn't matter because at the end of the day, wins and loss column doesn't really
02:14matter how you got there.
02:15It just matters what the number happens to be in that W column.
02:18So, your eyes aren't deceiving you.
02:20But I do think one thing is underrated that doesn't get talked about enough, if I will,
02:24and that's the gamble that it took to switch out all five O-linemen and get the kind of
02:30production that you're able to get consistently.
02:33Now, I'm not saying it's perfect, but when you look at past historical precedent for switching
02:38out all five O-linemen, it hasn't looked this good.
02:40So, you have to give your coaching staff, that's a gutsy call, right?
02:44You're trading in all your cards for five new ones.
02:47That is a tough way to go.
02:49It's worked.
02:50A couple of rookies doing that.
02:52Cynthia, we look at the skill position talent on this team and think, where was that three
02:56years ago?
02:57Because the team didn't have any.
02:59What impact has that had in your mind, and what do you think of the young skill position
03:03guys who are here?
03:05The fear of having a deep pass be caught changes the quotient for everything else, including
03:11the run game.
03:11You see a direct correlation between the fear of Casey Concepcion and Denzel Boston's ability
03:17to create a fast-paced, quick-strike offense, and then the correlation between Quinchon and
03:23Judkins having better and better performances as well, right?
03:26Why?
03:26Because of space.
03:27Because of being able to stack the box or not stack the box.
03:30Those are the things that kind of go hand-in-glove together.
03:33Now, eventually, it should make it so that you're not having to wait for a fourth-quarter
03:38win to like, you know, but maybe we're just trying to help the ratings.
03:41You know, the Browns are just really doing their part to keep ratings high for the end
03:45of Browns games by making it more interesting late, but the reality is, is having that quick
03:49strike and the threat of it, it's like bluffing in poker.
03:52If you're a really good bluffer, people are constantly wondering if you're bluffing.
03:56If you're not a good bluffer, then they know what you're going to do.
03:59When you look at this Browns defense, too, and I can't believe that you'd think that
04:05they'd be better without Myles Garrett, but it's just a different defense, or is it
04:09a different defense?
04:10You tell me, why is this defense as good as it's been outside of the first quarter
04:16without Myles Garrett?
04:18I think a lot of the, I mean, listen, I think we need to start giving, like, one of the
04:23scariest
04:24names for me together.
04:26I can say Sueschinger, and I can say Carson, but saying Carson Sueschinger together scares
04:30me for whatever reason.
04:31You did a good job.
04:32Yeah, nice.
04:33But it's like, it's one of those names where the Carson, Sueschinger, I don't know,
04:37there's something about that that's hard for me to say.
04:39But ultimately, you know, that kind of exemplifies what is now the Browns defense, meaning it's
04:46not, you know, it's not always the sexiest position that he plays, but if you have a good
04:52one, it really makes a huge difference.
04:54And the fact that you're asking people to do a little bit more each and not relying on
04:59Myles Garrett to be the center of the universe that all the other stars have to, you know,
05:03circle around, that's been very helpful.
05:06It's wild to think that it would be better without the defensive player of the year
05:10and the sack leader, you know, in terms of a historical perspective.
05:13But the reality is, is everyone knows the assignment and they're executing it well.
05:17And the young players that they brought in, they're doing what they should do.
05:21So I think you're getting the benefit of seeing these guys who were rookies now be, and they
05:26were great when they were rookies, but not have like a sophomore slump.
05:29You may have just created a drinking game at UCLA too, by the way, the Curson-Swashinger
05:34game.
05:35It's hard to say together.
05:37Like, I know that's crazy, but it intimidates me, which is probably how opposing offensive
05:43players feel when they meet him.
05:45You know, me, it's language.
05:47Them, it's him actually hitting them.
05:48You know, one of the two.
05:50Cynthia, you're great with all of the analytic stuff.
05:53Let me throw some numbers at you and give me your impressions on these.
05:56Because the, when it comes to total yards, there are eight teams that are lower than
06:02the Browns.
06:03So the Browns are still down there, but only two of those teams have a winning record.
06:10They're good, Minnesota and Denver, but six of the teams below the Browns have two or
06:15fewer wins.
06:16And when it comes to scoring, the Browns are fifth to last in the NFL.
06:20The bottom four teams have a combined record of four and 22.
06:24How are the Browns pulling that off?
06:26I know it's defense to some extent, but it's kind of an amazing tightrope they're walking
06:32here.
06:33I mean, you also need to give a little credit to special teams because starting field position
06:37matters in that regard as well.
06:39So your defense is really good.
06:40Your special teams are doing what they're supposed to be doing.
06:42And then your offense doesn't need to have as many yards.
06:44It's not dissimilar from, you know, the same, you just think about Bo Nix in a different
06:48way, right?
06:49Because he's younger and this is a different situation, but it's not dissimilar to how the
06:52Browns are winning or the Broncos are winning with an anchoring on their defense and then
06:58asking the special teams to help and then the offense to just do enough.
07:01And that doesn't sound sexy when you're seeing Deshaun Watson pull off fourth quarter comeback
07:05wins.
07:06But the reality is, is like with those, you know, with those things intact, you should
07:12start seeing more and more.
07:14Let's run and like get, you know, third and two.
07:17Who wouldn't love that?
07:18You know, I think everyone would, but you know, it's, it's those sustained drives are now going
07:22to be the next step to see if, you know, how, just how far the team can go.
07:25Can you size up the AFC North for me?
07:27It's going to be really interesting.
07:28And it gets more interesting when you have the Steelers coming in for the Browns on Sunday,
07:33but then Cincinnati, like we were just talking about how Cincinnati's put like 61 points
07:37or 60, 60 plus 60 some points in the last two weeks.
07:41And then the Browns will see them at the end of the season.
07:44So I, that to me, I think is like really intriguing, but if you could size up the AFC North
07:49for
07:49me.
07:50Okay.
07:50So I would say the Ravens need Lamar.
07:53Let's just get that out of the way.
07:54And then the Bengals are the inverse Browns, meaning their defense is, they've had a couple
08:00of interesting like moments and whatever.
08:03They're good enough to handle what the offense is able to like to, to be capable of in order
08:09to earn them wins.
08:10The Steelers there, I mean, Aaron Rogers is probably playing better than we anticipated
08:15him playing.
08:17But they're also, and I'm not pandering to a crowd here, but they're also getting a little
08:22lucky because some of the play calling against them has been terrible.
08:26So they're just, they're Aaron Rogers calling the plays himself seems to be doing a much
08:31better job than some of these coaches.
08:32So I'll just put it that way.
08:34Um, and you know, they're doing enough.
08:36I don't think that they're a, I'm not, I'm not as scared of them as I have been in past
08:40years where their defense looks a little bit different.
08:43Cynthia Freeland joining us from the NFL network and you can go to YouTube and see her show,
08:49the numbers game as well.
08:50Uh, explain this one to me and your, your thoughts on the way the NFL works when it
08:56comes to trading veterans and good veterans, Quentin Nelson, just getting traded by the
09:00Colts going to Seattle.
09:02And this is a guy who's going to be a hall of famer and he's still only 30.
09:06I understand the contract, but still you only get a third and a fifth for him.
09:11Um, why do NFL teams value mid and I'll say mid round draft draft picks, third, fourth,
09:18fifth, as opposed to a guy who can come in and just be a great player for you.
09:23You see trades like this all the time and they always make me scratch my head.
09:27Well, I think that one's a big W for John Schneider.
09:31That one does not feel like it's, I I'm, I'm still, I mean, it's a new trade, so I haven't
09:38been able to see absolutely all of the dynamics of it yet, but I have no idea how that, that
09:45feels like a steal.
09:46Um, especially cause they just had an injury and now they're going to need that position
09:50in there.
09:51And then if you, whatever it's, I feel like they got fleeced.
09:54So I'm a little confused by that one, but ultimately I think certain positions have different
09:59shelf life in terms of trades.
10:01I mean, the problem for the Colts is that they made a horrible trade last year for sauce
10:05Gardner and now they're trying to kind of get back to where neutral might be.
10:11Right.
10:11So perhaps they're viewing it and you know, their GM is now an interim GM and it's just
10:17a different situation there, but perhaps they're viewing it as, okay, you know, we're missing
10:21some things from the sauce Gardner trade still, and we're going to have to do the best we
10:25can.
10:25And this is the, you know, the, the leverage that we have in this situation and not better.
10:31I don't know.
10:31I, again, I'm having a hard time with that specific trade, finding the, finding the,
10:36um, the wind for the Colts.
10:39I, speaking of the trade deadline, I'm just wondering what you think of this too, that
10:43they, the Browns activated Dylan Gabriel yesterday.
10:45So they now have four quarterbacks on the roster.
10:47The Steelers do too.
10:49Like, but give me the advantage of having four core.
10:53Like I know teams generally can have three quarterbacks on the active roster and then
10:57one probably on the practice squad, but to have all four on the active roster, I just,
11:02to me, that smells, Hey, we're going to try to trade one of these guys by the 10th or they
11:07like it or they like having five.
11:09I just, I've never, no, no, no, like I, here are teams that I think these are moves.
11:15I think teams could actually make, um, if I'm the giants right now, I would put like a
11:19million guys on my active roster that are O linemen because it's, we don't know what's
11:24going on.
11:24That does not indicate a trade, but when you're trying to put quarterbacks on the trade to
11:28and we've had already so many quarterback injuries and we just keep seeing more and
11:33more quarterback injuries, knock on wood.
11:34Cause I hate to see it, but there are teams that are now, they're really in a bad position.
11:40So why not try to at least get something for, you know, for a player where if they're under
11:45practice squad, they can sign off of it.
11:47There are different rules in play.
11:49So let's just at least try to, you know, we created some value here.
11:53Let's try to capture that value as opposed to let it walk out our door.
11:56So what, what do you think the value of Shador Sanders or Dylan Gabriel would be on the market
12:00before the 10th?
12:01Well, the good news is, is, well, for teams, we'll have two more games to see who's actually
12:05in need because right now it's extremely varied, right?
12:09Like I think they'd have to, you know, it depends on how many people do that same strategy,
12:15right?
12:16So the re you know, for me, I'm looking at this and I'm like, well, it could be as high
12:21as, you know, at least something, right?
12:23Like it could be as high as something that happens late on a Friday draft week or something
12:27that's, you know, most likely a Saturday, but it depends on how many people get hurt.
12:31Like two weeks, which I hate to say, but it's true.
12:33It's the reality of the sport.
12:35Last question for you too.
12:36Taylor Green's a guy that they, you know, they drafted this year that we kind of look
12:39at, we like, I don't, could he make it to the practice squad or are we just kind of
12:44being protective here in Cleveland thinking, oh no, this guy's got tons of upside.
12:48Why, why would we put him on the practice squad?
12:51I don't know.
12:52That one's hard because it really depends on what happens with other, like there's a
12:59lot of moving pieces that have to happen there.
13:02I think there, maybe you're being a little protective, but that's okay because sometimes
13:05you like players and you like people like it's, it's okay to be that way.
13:09Do you know what I mean?
13:10Like, I think both things can be true, right?
13:12It can be true.
13:12So again, it will all come down to what is the demand at specific positions once we
13:18get to like, you know, the eighth, the ninth, whatever, whatever it is.
13:20So it's what the first, the seventh, so whatever the eighth, whatever day after the Monday
13:25night football, before the 10th is.
13:27That'll work.
13:27Whatever day that is.
13:28Hey, you're the numbers expert.
13:29We're not.
13:30So we're better off at that.
13:31I'm not a calendar expert.
13:32You know, that's like, like I don't do geography and I don't do calendars.
13:36You know, that's, I just know, I know other numbers.
13:39Well, at least I will now appreciate a fall foliage in the UP.
13:42Somewhere in the near future.
13:44Yes, exactly.
13:45I'll pay homage to Tom Izzo when I do it too.
13:47How's that sound?
13:48And Steve Mariucci.
13:49You got to love him too.
13:50Oh, and Mariucci.
13:51Yeah, they are high school teammates, you know?
13:54Yeah, we actually, I worked with a guy named Mike Gleason who worked for ESPN for a long
13:57time, was a part of the trio.
13:59I don't know if you know Glee or not, but that'll work.
14:01Oh, of course I do.
14:02Yes, absolutely.
14:03The trio, I mean, listen, the youpers, they let you know they're youpers and I'm a loper,
14:07right?
14:09Cynthia, please come back on again.
14:11We love having you on the air.
14:12Yeah, I love being on with you guys.
14:13Enjoy the leaves.
14:14Send pictures.
14:15I love it.
14:16You got it.
14:16Thanks, Cynthia.
14:18Bye, guys.
14:18Make sure you check her out on NFL Network.