We Predict the Browns & Falcons’ Starting QBs

We should start, I think, with the most relevant news here. And that is that we do have quarterback competitions going on. There are active quarterback competitions going on. So let's start in Cleveland, where I feel like, you know, I mean, this is sort of a strange situation. It's a tough one for Todd Munkin in his first year. But I don't think that there's a way that you can say that Shador Sanders played better than Deshaun Watson. Deshaun Watson was clearly the better quarterback in Cleveland this weekend. Yeah, and you know what I like to do is, in these situations, is I'll talk to the team they were playing against, right? And ask what it looked like on tape. And I think talking to a couple Bears people, it sounded like it was pretty clear on tape that Deshaun Watson is the Browns' best option right now. You know? And I take it a step further in that, like, there were questions about whether, and they sort of, it was interesting because they grouped Shador not with Deshaun, but Shador with Dylan Gabriel. Right. Saying like, yeah, I just don't know if the other two have it, you know? Like, so, I think that this one, look, I think Todd Munkin wants to make this as fair a competition as he possibly can. And his goal was to try to make, to see what's left with Deshaun Watson, right? And I think it's like a logical thing. If you're a new coach coming in, you don't have the history, you don't have the four years of Deshaun Watson and Cleveland weighing you down, right? But you do know that your organization has sunk $230 million in three first-round picks for this guy. And I've said this, I mean, you're probably sick of me saying it to you, Connor, but what would be worse than just chalking up Deshaun Watson as a sunk cost after all that? It would be throwing him on, chaining him to the bench, and then finding out next year somewhere that he can, that he still has it. Yeah. While he's playing for another team, right? Yeah. So you want to find out what he has, and I think that's the approach that Todd Munkin has taken coming in, is if there's something still there from those unbelievable four years that he had in Houston, right? If there's something still there, we got to dig in and find it. So, like, I know, you know, Munkin himself feels like his offense is a little more analogous to what Deshaun was doing in Houston, where Bill O'Brien put more on the quarterback and gave the quarterback more control at the line of scrimmage, more creative control, more of an ability to adjust things on the fly. And so Deshaun has that now with Todd Munkin as the coach, and they're starting to see, like, that he's starting to move like himself again. Now, the biggest question for them is, can he do it consistently enough, right? Is it just flashes of that guy we saw in Houston, or can he start to do that play after play after play? And that's the big question, but I think all along, like, the idea has been, you know, unless one of the young guys really blows us away and makes it clear, like, let's get a look at Deshaun Watson, because there's really no harm in doing that. And if he shows to his teammates that he's the best option, then we should go forward with it. Because the reality is, like, you want to come out of this year with a clear idea of what you've got, but if we're stacking the investment that the team made in those three quarterbacks, it's not even close. I mean, people talk about Shador like, oh, well, we need to find out he's a fifth-round pick. Dylan Gabriel's a third-round pick. You know what I mean? Like, I mean, we're essentially talking about— what we're talking about with Shador Sanders, we're essentially talking about Drew Allard. Yeah, and what's— So, just so we kind of have the box score numbers out there, so Deshaun Watson— the Browns went 3-and-out on Deshaun Watson's first drive, but then Cleveland had a 10-play, 86-yard touchdown drive. Casey Concepcion had a touchdown run. On the 3-and-out, it was interesting— By the way, it looks like they really have something in him, just as an aside. Yeah, and I think it was smart to just kind of— I mean, you obviously had a glaring need at the wide receiver position, but to just sort of take a couple cracks at that at the end of the first and the beginning of the second— I like that. I like that. The Browns have had two good drafts in a row. It's hard to argue that, but the 10-play, 86-yard touchdown drive is kind of what everyone's basing the confidence on. I believe the final two drives were 3-and-outs, and then there was also like a fourth-down strip sack in there for Deshaun Watson as well. So, a mix of good and bad. Shador Sanders didn't come in until the third quarter. He had a pick, a couple overthrows, but he will be starting the next preseason game against Buffalo. I mean, we saw Kevin O'Connell call it pretty early in the interest of giving the quarterback a little bit more time with this offense. And giving the coaches some time to build it for him. And giving some coaches time to build it for him. I guess it wasn't enough for Watson, for Munkin to be like, listen, I'm going to call it here. It's interesting that we're really letting this thing go. To the wire in Cleveland. And again, it's another situation where it's a new offense, but we're seeing two coaches do two very different things. What is it about Shador, do you think, why is there an interest in pushing this thing another week? Well, I think it's out of fairness, for one thing. And I think it's, you know, you want to make sure you have all the information. And like for them, the way it was explained to me was, so we have the benefit of the joint practice in between. If Deshaun was the starting quarterback, you'd probably play him in two of the three preseason games anyway. So you could double back in the third game and get him a few more reps with the first team. And so you get the best apples for apples if you let one of them start one game, the other ones start the other game, and you have the joint practice in between. So it's set up to get them to a nice, neat, clean conclusion. And so I think in this case, it's like, what are we talking about? So the joint practice, they'll both get reps with the first team, and then practice is outside of that. And then the game, right? So I don't think it makes that big a difference. And I think that there is, I mean, look, I think there's this part of it too. It's the fan base, you know what I mean? I mean, that's a underrated hard place to play. It's an underrated hard place to coach. It's one of the most intense football markets in the country. I'd say it's one of the most knowledgeable fan bases in the country. And it's one of the cities that's most weighed down by its previous failure, right? There's just a lot there. And I even would say, it's interesting that they started DeSean on the road. And here's the thing, is if Shador somehow lit it up in that first game, can you imagine being DeSean Watson coming back and playing in the second game in Cleveland? Yeah. You know what I mean? Like that would be. So it's just like, I think there's all of these, and you would say the veteran quarterback's probably a little bit more comfortable playing away from home. So I think all of it is like, I think all of it kind of sets up in a way where they can come to a conclusion and the coaches can talk amongst themselves now too about like, okay, here's what it's gonna look like if this thing goes the way that we think it's gonna go, which would be, I think with DeSean Watson as the starting quarterback. I mean, ultimately. Maybe I'm raising my hand, I'm the only one. I'm excited to see what it looks like, whether or not they can get anything out of this. Because I mean, Watson was at points, I'd say right on the cusp of top five in the league. I mean, at the end of his third year, they were up 24 to nothing on the Chiefs and Mahomes and Arrowhead. You know, middle round. And I think at that point, there was a real argument. Who would you take, DeSean or Mahomes? Now we all know the way that went, right? But I'm just, I would like to see what it looks like over four or six or eight games of the regular season. Just because I do remember what it looked like whatever, that's six years ago now. It's hard to believe. I will say this though, right? Like, there is no, you know, there were a couple plays where DeSean Watson had some guys wide open. And you know, Shadur Sanders, you know, fumbling snaps. Like, we can talk about this. It's not good in general. Right, right, right. So I think, yeah, I wanted that to kind of. I'm not telling you it's good. Yeah, you know, because I think like competition, you know, I mean, it's probably not a great sign no matter what, this deep into the preseason for you to have any sort of, for you to not be sure. And it's even worse, I think, you know, when it's between these two where DeSean, like, you know, I think scientists will go back and try to study what happened. Because, you know, even in that Bears game, there's a couple instances where, you know, you got receivers down the field just being like, yo, like, throw me the ball. And again, it's after a couple weeks of practice and you have to give everybody that benefit of the doubt. Because certainly, you know, I gave Fernando Mendoza the benefit of the doubt when I did a write-up on him on Friday, and we can talk about that or Thursday. But it doesn't, like, neither of them look good. Right, like, I don't think like, I think that's an important thing to mention where it's not like anyone's gonna be like, yes, the quarterback, Cleveland is going to soar on the wings of a quarterback this year. No, but I think, like, the cool thing about where Cleveland is, to me, is I think you have the makings of a team that's gonna be set up pretty well for a young quarterback in 2027. Sure. You know, I mean, Spencer Fano at left tackle, Concepcion and Boston and Judy at receiver, Judkins and Sampson at running back, Fanon at tight end. You know, and then the defense has a nice core with Mason Graham, Jared Burris, and Carson Swessinger in the front seven. And, you know, some older guys, obviously, in the secondary. You know, Delft, that's a really good player. Obviously, Ward, we know what he is. But, I mean, you have the makings of a really good young roster. And oh, by the way, they've got two first-round picks next year. And then two second-round picks the year after that. And two third-round picks the year after that. So, they're actually set up, if this class hits the way that last year's class hit, I think they're set up nicely. And really nicely, specifically, for a young quarterback to come in and play. Yeah, I mean, I think that's the strangeness of it, right? It's like, ultimately, does it end up mattering in any way, shape, or form who the quarterback is as long as they're bad enough for Cleveland to get one next year? Yeah, I guess it would be an abject disaster if they get slightly above average quarterback play, you know? Well, because they have, they have how many, let's see here, hold on. The Browns have the two first-round picks with the Rams, and we're assuming the Rams is gonna be in the 30s. But the Jets would be the best suited to survive a strangely good season, right? Because the Jets have three first-round picks, I think three higher first-round draft picks. So, that is a calculus, and we'll obviously kind of monitor that throughout the season, because a lot of teams are gonna have to decide whether it's worth it to keep grinding here or pull the ripcord, and tanking is hard, and we can get into that later on. But I wanna pivot to Michael Pennix and Tua. Strange meme, which I always love where, and I'd love to get to the bottom of, you know, why Pennix just like pointed to him and been like this guy on the sidelines. I think that was kind of the most memorable moment of this offseason, but what were your takeaways from the Pennix and Tua quarterback competition? So, I mean, I guess the first thing is that it hasn't really been a competition at all to this point, because Pennix hasn't been cleared for 11-on-11 yet, which is understandable. He tore his ACL in, was it December? I think, right? I should have had that ready to go for the podcast, but I think it was December that he tore his ACL. It was late in the year that he tore his ACL, so it's not crazy that he hasn't been cleared for 11-on-11 yet. You know, he has looked good throwing it in seven-on-seven. I would say Tua did not look good against the Broncos, and I mean, to be fair, you know, again, this is another one where I talked to some people on the other side, talked to some Broncos people, but what I heard was the entire team really didn't look comfortable out there. The Falcons entire team didn't look comfortable out there, and just checking with Falcons people, they said, well, it's not how Tua played. It wasn't really indicative of the camp that he's had, and he has shown the instincts and the accuracy and all the stuff you'd expect from Tua, the stuff that were his strengths in Miami when he was playing his best. I just think, like, this is another one where you've got a first-year head coach. You know, you have a first-year GM there. You have a first-year executive in Matt Ryan, and I kind of think, like, you know what Tua is, and you don't know what Michael Penix is. And just talking to the people that have coached him his first two years in the league, they'll all say there's something there. He sees it really fast. He's got a cannon for an arm. You know, the old staff, like the comp for the old staff, which just sounds wild considering the first two years he's had with Stafford, which, I mean, like, because just based on the way the ball comes out of his hands, the way he sees it, the way he feels the game. So there's a lot of, like, good there, but there's also this, which is, like, this is not an isolated problem, him tearing ACL. It goes back to college, he can't stay on the field. And, you know, I just think they have to find out on Michael Penix by the end of the year. And it sucks talking about teams before we've even started the season in that way, where it's like we're already looking at 2027, but it is the reality for some of them. And if they're, if we are looking at a draft class that's got, call it four or five high first-round quarterbacks, right? Right. You also have a draft class, Jeremiah Smith and Colin Simmons and Leonard Myers, and, like, all of these, like, high-end prospects of those positions, you know what I mean? Yeah. And I'd say you have to get a read on who Penix is, you know, and, like, so if it's close, now, you can't lie to your team. If you're Kevin Stefanski, you can't lie to your team and throw the worst player out there. But if it's close, I think you have to go with Penix. The problem is, now we're getting to the point where it's almost, if Penix can't get back on the field soon, you have to start the season with Tua. And that's setting the balance. This was a big weekend for the Tonga-Vailoa family, though, Albert, did you know this? What happened? Tua's brother, Talia, played quarterback at Maryland, quarterbacked American Samoa in a flag football victory over the United States. It's, like, the first time the U.S. team has lost in, like, five years. This was, like, a USSR, U.S. Lake Placid-style upset. So, maybe he should hop into the quarterback position. Well, Talia can play for American Samoa because of his descent, then, because he's Hawaiian. But he's chosen to play, okay. I don't know what the rules are on that, because I've seen those rules are flexible in soccer. I was gonna say, yeah, it's pretty much the World Cup. Because there's a guy, he's, like, one of my son's favorite players, Elise, I think is his name, Michael Elise, right? Who is, like, one of the best players in the world. And my 10-year-old, now he just turned 10, happy birthday, Drew, is, he was explaining to me how Elise is actually British, but plays for the French team, and also plays for PSG. And it's, like, he's got, like, an uncle who lives in Paris, or something like that. So, I don't know what the exact, I'm probably messing that up, but I guess they've got similar rules here, then. Talia didn't want to play for the USA. I'm still grasping the NFL preseason, and so digging in on the legalities of NFL flag football heritage and descendancy is probably not on my bingo card today, but. Oh, we're gonna have guys, like, because Talia was a pretty good college player. Like, you would think maybe he'd be trying to, I want to figure out, did he have opportunities to go to training camp, and now he's just pivoted to flag? I would. I mean, honestly. Isn't that an interesting question, though, right? So, we gotta check out, like, what are Diego Pavia's potential here? Right, like, you got two years till the Olympics, so would, like, Diego, because I bet you, dude, I bet you he would be a really good flag player, right? What? I bet you Diego Pavia would be a really good flag player, based on his play style. Yes. I mean. Maybe, right? He's creative, he can move. Like, I don't know. I think you have to be stunningly accurate, and I will say, as I get this conversation back on the rails, that, like, you almost certainly have to play two positions. That's why the U.S. is so good. Like, our quarterback can do five other things, and I think this was probably just a very stunning upset, where, I mean, an American small. Well, our quarterback weighs, like, 165 pounds, right? Like, but he can, he's so slithering, and can kind of slide between bodies, and all that. There's that, there's the ability to, you know, flag avoidance, all that kind of stuff. Like, can you secretly guard your flag from getting taken? All that kind of stuff. So, yes. I mean, I think that there's layers to it, but just saying it wasn't all bad for the two of them. Two of them was very hard on himself after this, by the way. And I'm just saying, after the year that you've had, when it comes to predicting things happening in flag football, I'm listening to you on this subject, and you alone, you're my authority. Thank you. It would be, it would surprise you to know that the internet mafia was not correct in this particular case. That you can't just walk off an NFL football field and be good at flag football. I'm with you, though. I have a feeling that Michael Penix comes out and just takes this thing, when he's able to. Again, it's seven-on-seven reps versus 11-on-11 reps. But all indications are that he's really taken to the under center suite of plays that have been rolled out by Tommy Reese in this offense. By the way, Tommy Reese is a good offensive coordinator. Tommy Reese is gonna be a head coach in the NFL. That's a good stop Kevin Stavansky has there, too. I mean, having Albrecht on the defensive side, yeah. Having Jeff Albrecht back. But one of the things that I think I don't want people to overlook when it comes to Reese being in the mix on this is, and this is from a Notre Dame fan, right? When Reese was the offensive coordinator at Notre Dame, there were a series of very underwhelming options at the quarterback position, and these players were coached out of their minds. Ian Book wound up being- Yes, that was the name I was searching for in my head. Ian Book wound up being, I think, the most prolific quarterback in Notre Dame history. And if you look at it from a skills perspective, pretty limited guy. But Tommy was like that, too, as a quarterback. And so I think that he understands that. I think he comes at it from that perspective. And from that- Which is cool because he has a real feel for what he can get out of whoever's playing quarterback at a given time. Yeah, and I think, I mean, just watching him and Penix together in the clips that I've seen from camp, talking to some people, I think that that's gonna be a pair that works. It's about health. I mean, Penix is a really smart guy. He can download any offense. He's gotten really good at watching and dissecting film on his own. I think that once he gets in there, I think we're gonna start to see some separate attacks. And that's the thing, is I just think that organization this year, and again, I don't want to make their whole season about this, but they have to gather information on Penix, and they have to have a good idea of what they have. You know? Yeah. I just think it's kind of a non-negotiable. Yeah.