00:00First off, I saw your body breakdown on Austin Barber.
00:03I know we don't usually start interviews about guards,
00:07but I'm excited about this guy.
00:09I can't believe he doesn't play right tackle or doesn't play right guard.
00:14He gets switched inside, and I think he's done a remarkable job.
00:19And I saw what you saw or what you pointed out.
00:24This is just a great start with this guy.
00:25How surprised have you been of him starting out with this football team
00:30and the way he's done?
00:32Well, I didn't really – I mean, I just studied him for the draft.
00:35I didn't know him.
00:36I mean, he went to the University of Florida.
00:37I mean, you can't study all these guys.
00:40I'm out here pretending like, oh, yeah, he was going to be a guard all –
00:43you just watch him develop from week one.
00:47And I said in the offseason that one of the challenges that Todd's going to have
00:53is he's going to have to put an offensive line together with five new starters.
00:57I don't know that I've even seen that in any team.
01:00And here they are, you know, playing a great game against a really good front
01:03in Tennessee with a lot of very good players.
01:06And they controlled the line of scrimmage, and Austin was a big part of it.
01:10And now you're seeing some of the things that Todd did with Lamar Jackson
01:14in Baltimore and some of the people that he had there.
01:16And by the misdirection, he's pulling now and leading Quinshawn into the end zone.
01:21Like, you know, he was just a very – you know, he went up against arguably
01:26the best defensive tackle in football, Jeffrey Simmons.
01:28And I thought he did really good going toe-to-toe with him.
01:33Baldy, we are having daily debates about Deshaun Watson,
01:37who analytically is still like in the bottom third.
01:40But he's had these fourth-quarter heroics.
01:43He's trying to build a chemistry with these young pass catchers.
01:46And, you know, when the offensive line's given him time, he has been pretty,
01:51pretty solid.
01:52What have you seen from him so far this year?
01:57Well, I wouldn't pay attention to those statistics.
02:01I know that.
02:02They got the ball with 58 seconds to go in a game.
02:05And, you know, he led the team down the field for a game-winning field goal.
02:08So, he seems to be doing that pretty regularly.
02:12But at the same time, he's thrown to a group of receivers that are just learning
02:18how to play the game.
02:19And he's learning how to fit in with them.
02:22And I think he's played – well, last week I thought it was his best game.
02:25But I think he's playing very, very well.
02:27And you can see that the offense is progressing.
02:32And he's a part of it.
02:33But it's the timing.
02:35It's – you know, there's a lot of moving parts to an offense.
02:39There's a lot of teams that are stuck in the mud, haven't done anything.
02:42This team has improved.
02:43I mean, he went from just throwing hit screens and basically checkdowns to,
02:48you know, now he's throwing the ball down the field.
02:49And they're running clearing routes for guys like Harold Fannin
02:53and the game-winning drive to pop open like that.
02:56Like, you know, the offense was basically elementary week one.
03:01And now you can honestly say that, you know, they have made –
03:06you can see it, that they have progressed and improved.
03:10And he's been a big part of it.
03:12I mean, his mobility's been great.
03:14But – and his ability to, you know, beat rush
03:17and free hitters coming right out.
03:19I mean, he's been very elusive doing all those things.
03:22But, you know, there's a rhythm to this offense right now.
03:24And that was – that was an impressive performance on the road
03:28to Nashville on Sunday.
03:29Brian Baudinger joining us.
03:31Odyssey NFL Insider Nationwide.
03:33So much more than a great insurance company.
03:35They're one of America's largest financial services companies too.
03:38Nationwide, on your side.
03:41Is this – the sustainability is the biggest question that a lot of fans have.
03:45I just went on a great big rant right before we brought you on there, Brian,
03:48about, you know, this game coming up on Sunday.
03:50I'll ask you about that here in a second.
03:51But do you believe that, you know, 5-2, second-youngest team in the NFL,
03:55still not a lot of depth.
03:56Do you believe that this is sustainable, though, this season for them?
04:01Well, it's such a week-to-week league.
04:03You know, they're playing good football right now.
04:06It all could change.
04:07I'm not going to stay here and tell you that they're going to win 11 games
04:10and be in the playoffs.
04:11But they're on the right path.
04:13I mean, these kids are great kids.
04:15I mean, I don't know if you've had Casey Concepcion or not.
04:17But these guys are, like, good kids.
04:20They're workers.
04:21I was out there in training camp this year.
04:24Like, he's, you know, he's very respectful to the owner and the coach.
04:29Like, they just got the right-minded type guys.
04:32I think Andrew's done a great job of bringing the right type of kids in.
04:35They've had two great drafts in a row.
04:37I mean, I'd rather have young kids that are learning.
04:41Remember, I'd rather have young kids that might make mistakes.
04:46But if they're the right kids, they might make mistakes early,
04:49but they're going to help you win the games late.
04:51And I feel like Denzel and some of these guys, you know, Aiden Huntington,
04:56like the right type of guys.
04:58And they play, I think, you know,
05:01Mike's done a good job on the defensive side of the ball, Rudy.
05:04And, you know, they're playing sticky coverage.
05:06They're marrying it with good rush.
05:08Now, they gave up a bunch of yards to Pollard last week,
05:11which they haven't really done.
05:12But it's good to see Mason Graham back in the lineup.
05:16But is it sustainable?
05:18Well, you know, Pittsburgh's going to be a good test
05:20because they're winning games kind of similar to Cleveland right now.
05:24Their offense looks stuck in the mud a lot for much of games,
05:28and then the defense bails them out with a turnover like it did last week,
05:31and they find a way to win the game.
05:33But, you know, is it sustainable?
05:37I feel like they're on the right path.
05:39I feel like they're going to win more games than they're going to lose this year.
05:42Brian Bollinger joining us right now on the hotline.
05:44Were you able to break down the interception that Watson threw,
05:48and only because there seems to be a debate within the film community about that,
05:53even though Todd Munkin said that you've got to trust the wide receiver
05:58is going to win that.
05:59So he seemed to have no problem that Watson threw it.
06:01It ultimately got picked.
06:04I don't know.
06:05I think Cordell Flott, you know, intercepted it, if I remember correctly.
06:09Yes.
06:10Was it – it looked like there was a little bit of a miscommunication
06:16that the receiver was doing one thing and Deshaun's doing another thing.
06:19But, honestly, like, the timing routes and choice routes, if it was,
06:24I don't know if it is or not.
06:27You know, a lot of quarterbacks – I played with a quarterback,
06:29Randall Cunningham.
06:30He didn't throw it until the guy was looking at him.
06:32He didn't throw it on timing because things like that happen.
06:36Miscommunication, guy goes one way, receiver goes another way.
06:39I mean, those things, if it is, if it is any miscommunication,
06:46that's just something that they've got to work through.
06:48You know, and you only get that by practice and playing in games
06:52and learning from the mistakes if it is.
06:55And I'm not saying it is or not because I don't know what the call was.
06:58But those are things you can grow from, though.
07:01Like, it's one error in a game that you won.
07:05You go in the film room and you tidy it up, you fix it up.
07:09Like, I don't think Deshaun's perfect, but he had a good game.
07:12And I think he's improving as a quarterback.
07:15He's missed a lot of time, as we all know.
07:17And I think it probably feels good to be healthy right now
07:20and put a lot of his stuff maybe behind him for a little bit
07:23and enjoy the feeling that he's getting right now.
07:26Brian Baldinger joining us, Odyssey NFL Insider.
07:29How big is this game bigger?
07:32They're playing Pittsburgh on Sunday in Pittsburgh.
07:34They haven't beaten Pittsburgh in the regular season at Pittsburgh since 2003.
07:38Both teams are 5-2.
07:41And it's a rivalry game and all that other good stuff.
07:43But how big is this game, truthfully, in the grand scheme of things?
07:46Because, like, Russell Wilson called it each other's Super Bowl.
07:50And I'm going, yeah, if you're 5-3 and you lose that game
07:53and you're 1-1 against these two opponents, like, I don't know if it's that.
07:57In the grand scheme, I don't know if it's that big of a deal.
08:01I've started to trust the Browns and Todd Monken to go,
08:03okay, if you don't win this game on Sunday, we'll go on the road to New Orleans.
08:07You have a chance to win then.
08:08I don't think it's the beginning of some terrible downslide.
08:12I don't think so either.
08:15You know, you live in one week at a time here.
08:18But, I mean, Pittsburgh's a good test because defensively they're very good.
08:23And they're very opportunistic.
08:25They had two interceptions in the fourth quarter against Tampa
08:27to win that game in overtime.
08:28They had an interception by Peyton Wilson in the fourth quarter last week
08:32that took points away from the Saints and allowed them to win the game.
08:36Like, they're making plays defensively week in, week out to get them that.
08:40But offensively, I mean, just cover the running backs.
08:43That's basically all he throws it to.
08:45He threw it to a 320-pound tight end for one touchdown
08:47and threw it to running backs all day over in Paris.
08:50So, but it's a good – but, you know, it's Aaron,
08:53and they've got a bunch of guys that have won a lot of games over there,
08:57a lot of veteran guys that Cleveland doesn't really have.
08:59Maybe Denzel Ward.
09:00You know, they've got a couple guys that have, you know,
09:02some pelts on the wall there.
09:04But for the most part, they're a very veteran team in key spots.
09:08And so it's a good test.
09:09I think that's just a test, whether they win or lose.
09:12I mean, I think you go into Pittsburgh, and if you win the game,
09:15you feel really good about yourself and beating a pretty solid football team.
09:19If you move the ball like you did last week,
09:21you're doing it against a very good defense that has got, you know,
09:26talent everywhere on it.
09:27So I don't think it's a Super Bowl or anything like that.
09:32But none of these kids know anything about the rivalry.
09:36I mean, half the team has been in the league for two years.
09:39So they've been to Pittsburgh once.
09:41So I think it's just a good test all the way around because you're going up –
09:45it's not – even if you look at the schedule this week,
09:48you're not seeing many games where it features two teams with winning records
09:52and good records.
09:53So, I mean, that's where we're at in the league right now.
09:55So I think it's just a great test and a great opportunity this week.
09:59Have you seen any more juice in Judkins this past week?
10:03He almost had 100 yards,
10:05and he'd only been averaging three yards a carry coming into that game.
10:09Well, I mean, he popped a good run last week off the left side.
10:14And, you know, he hasn't been getting those kind of 30-yard runs,
10:18but that's what you need to do if you want to get that average up to, you know,
10:23over four yards a carry and into that four-and-a-half yards a carry.
10:27You know, for an average, you need to pop a run.
10:30So he popped that 30-yard run off the left side, and then he finished runs.
10:34You know, I mean, it's not easy to score from the four-yard line
10:37or the one-yard line.
10:38If it was, there would be a whole bunch of bad teams
10:41that would have good records right now, like the Jets would have a good record
10:45if they could, you know, punch it in from the one-yard line.
10:47They couldn't do it last week, lost in the game.
10:50But, you know, you punch it in from the one, you punch it in from the four,
10:53regardless of, you know, how many yards you ran for.
10:56They finished, you know, they finished, you know, the run game in the end zone.
11:00And that's, believe me, that is not easy to do.
11:03You see teams get stuffed all the time in that area.
11:06Brian, they're very young, the Browns,
11:09and they're the second-youngest roster in the NFL.
11:11They're very tight-knit.
11:13Trade deadline's coming up very shortly.
11:16Can a trade be a detriment to a football team
11:19that seems to be this binded so closely
11:21and is off to this good of a start?
11:25I just don't think it's necessary.
11:27I mean, just play your young guys.
11:28They're winning games for you right now.
11:30I mean, I don't even know what position they would get, honestly.
11:34Because Jared Burst is a young player and hasn't really done much yet,
11:37but he's a good player.
11:38Like, he's going to have a good second half of the season.
11:41I promise you.
11:42That guy is too good of a football player.
11:45I don't see a need.
11:46You've got young offensive linemen in there.
11:48You've got two rookies in there playing right now.
11:50Like, I'm not sure what position you would get.
11:53The tight ends are young.
11:54Famine's making a bunch of plays.
11:56The running backs, you've got Samson back in there last week,
11:58and he popped a few runs.
12:00Like, I'm not sure what you would trade for.
12:03I would continue to build it the way Andrew Barry is building it.
12:06And the interesting thing about Todd, to me,
12:09is he's kind of a different type of coach from this standpoint.
12:14Yes, he's been in the NFL.
12:15He's been an offensive coordinator.
12:17He's coached a lot of positions in the NFL.
12:19But he's also been in the college game recently.
12:21And he knows what these kids are like.
12:24He knows what it was like at Georgia, some of the places he's been.
12:28And I think he's an advantage that he understands maybe that these kids are
12:33different.
12:33Maybe these guys are just NFL players and professionals.
12:36They want to have great careers.
12:37But he also knows these kids coming out of college,
12:40I think he's recruited them.
12:43He's coached them in college.
13:24He's coached them in college.
