Seeing Good Things In A Browns Victory

Last week, we said this would be a big week for Browns’ defensive coordinator Mike Rutenberg because of the way his unit was gashed in the opening week loss to Jacksonville. We thought it was a test of a coaches’ ego, he wanted to play a certain way and would he adapt after the poor performance.

Good for the coach and head coach Todd Monken that they made adjustments, and the result was a 23-19 victory over Tampa Bay and raised their record to 1-1 on the young season. The Browns’ defense was better, causing the game’s only turnover, an interception by Myles Harden, and allowed the Buccaneers to cross the goal line just once.

As for the offense, Monken said he simplified things on that side of the ball, which is great coaching. After getting blown out in game one, there was a lot of improvement and that’s a good thing to see if you are a fan.

For all of the quarterback talk during the week and even prior to kickoff, Deshaun Watson played well, not tremendously, but well, and that’s not a criticism. He didn’t turn the ball over, was sacked just twice, keeping the negative plays to a minimum.

He mostly dinked and dunked, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, completing 24 of 30 throws for 238 yards, and two TDs. He completed only three passes for over 15 yards, and two of them were the scoring throws. He also led the team in rushing for the second straight week, which is not a good thing, but more on that later.

The running game was nonexistent, getting just 44 yards on 23 rushing attempts with Quinshon Judkins getting only 21 yards on 12 carries, with an early carry being his longest, that of nine yards.

We have our doubts on how long the offense can be effective with no running game to speak of and a QB who doesn’t seem to want to push the ball down the field. But it worked against Tampa and a win is most definitely a win.

One player who has caught our eye on offense is rookie WR Denzel Boston. We were disappointed when the Browns chose KC Concepcion in the first round because we thought the team needed a big wideout but were thrilled getting him in the second round. He’s caught 7 passes in the first two games for 154 yards and two touchdowns.

In the second half, Cleveland was faced with a third and seven (or so) situation and our thought was find Boston. Watson did for a key first down. Monken and offensive coordinator Travis Switzer should be trying to get the ball in his hands more often.

On the defensive side, last year’s first round pick, Mason Graham looks like a standout. He had a sack for the second week in a row, and the reigning defensive rookie of the year, Carson Schwesinger, had ten tackles and a big play on the final drive when he corralled Baker Mayfield on a key third down.

The best thing about the win is a week off from talking about tanking and replacing the QB. Watson needs to continue to play well, avoiding turnovers and not sacking himself. Can he do that? We will see.

Besides, tanking is stupid and doesn’t work.

Monken’s crew finally comes home to take on Carolina next Sunday. Hopefully, this game is something to build on.

Browns Want Winning To Be Easy. It Just Doesn’t Happen That Way.

Comedian Steve Martin used to do a bit where he would tell the audience he could make a million dollars and not pay taxes. His first step was “get a million dollars”, like that’s the easiest thing in the world.

We bring this up because we think that’s how the Cleveland Browns view winning in the National Football League and they base every decision they make on one principal: Get a franchise quarterback.

But in reality, it’s not that easy. It’s not easy to find a great QB and once you have him, it’s not easy to achieve success.

You want proof? Under the Haslam family ownership, the Browns already went through a plan to tear the roster down to the studs to get the signal caller the franchise has been lacking since Bernie Kosar was unceremoniously released by Bill Belichick.

They went 1-15 in 2016, drafted Myles Garrett, the cornerstone of some great Browns’ defenses and the best defensive player in Cleveland history and followed that up by going 0-16 the following year and drafted Baker Mayfield, who will be at the helm today for Tampa Bay against his old team.

The Browns went 7-8-1 in Mayfield’s rookie season and there was hope the franchise could be contenders once again. They went to the playoffs in 2020 at 11-5 and even won a playoff game in Pittsburgh. But we guess making progress from that wasn’t easy enough, and after the following season the Browns went in hot pursuit of Deshaun Watson, a three-time Pro Bowl selection who led the NFL in passing yards in ’20, the same year Mayfield was guiding the team to the playoffs.

Why go after Watson? Because the front office thought he was better, and therefore it would be easier to make a run at the playoffs every season.

Again, let’s go back to 2020. The worst record in the NFL that season belonged to Jacksonville at 1-15 and they selected Trevor Lawrence as the first overall pick. They went 3-14, followed by making the playoffs at 9-8 and winning a playoff game under Doug Pederson. They had the same record in Lawrence’s third season, before dropping to 4-13.

The Jags didn’t give up on Lawrence and go after some shiny new keys jangled in their direction, but changed coaches bringing in Liam Coen, and went 13-4 last season. We don’t know how it will play out, but Lawrence looks like a player worthy of the first overall pick.

As for Mayfield, he’s directed the Buccaneers to two playoff appearances and a win in his three seasons, and if probably in the top half at the position in the sport. The shiny new toy in Watson? Browns fans know all too well how that’s working out.

Yes, you need a quarterback, but there is so much more a franchise needs to win consistently year in and year out. And tanking is a ridiculous way to try. We bring this up all the time, look at the best QBs in the league right now, how many were taken with a top three pick? The list is short, Matthew Stafford and Joe Burrow. Lawrence might be on the cusp.

Here’s another example. The Miami Dolphins had Dan Marino and Don Shula, arguably the best coach in NFL history together. They made it to one Super Bowl, in Marino’s rookie season.

So, note to the front office. It’s not easy and stop thinking getting your QB solves all your problems. A solid roster, offense, defense, depth, good coaching are all parts of the puzzle. Until you get all the pieces, the puzzle isn’t complete.

Didn’t Have High Expectations, But Browns Looked Worse

We weren’t very optimistic about the Cleveland Browns’ chance last Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars, but quite frankly the game was worse than we thought.

This one was over at halftime with the Jaguars holding a 24-0 advantage in route to cruising to a 34-10 beatdown in Todd Monken’s head coaching debut. It was everything the biggest Browns’ pessimist could have feared.

The second half was a bunch of garbage time so the end of game stats don’t look as bad as it was. Deshaun Watson wound up completing 16 of 22 throws for 205 yards and a 46 yard touchdown pass to rookie Denzel Boston, who wasn’t a factor in the first half for some unknown reason.

The game started okay with a good kickoff return by Dylan Sampson and Watson clicking on some short throws and moving the Browns for a couple of first downs. Then came the big mistake, an interception by Foyesade Oluokun on a pass over the middle where it seemed like Watson never saw him. There have been reports of similar plays throughout training camp by the folks who cover the team on a daily basis.

We were concerned about the defense with the loss of veteran coordinator Jim Schwartz and the best defensive player in the league (and franchise history) Myles Garrett, and those fears were warranted. The new guy in charge, Mike Rutenberg, said he was going to play more zone, and Jags’ QB Trevor Lawrence chewed up that coverage, targeting the weaker links in the secondary, outside of one play where Tyson Campbell had good coverage.

It will be interesting to see what Rutenberg learns from the defeat and goes back to more man coverage. Because it seems the personnel is more suited to that style. By the way, the Browns had only one sack, by Mason Graham and didn’t put much pressure on Lawrence, so maybe Garrett was missed even though he didn’t show leadership.

Offensively, beside Watson’s issues, we believe Monken wants to run the ball, but when you fall behind by 17 points midway through the second quarter, that plan goes out the window. Quinshon Judkins had just 33 yards on 12 carries, as Watson led Cleveland in rushing with 38 yards.

It does seem crazy to have a QB who had three serious injuries over the past four years running read option plays, but that’s a question for the coaching staff.

Watson was sacked five times, but we didn’t think the rebuilt offensive line was visibly bad. As usual, the QB sacked himself a few times, and former NFL offensive lineman LeCharles Bentley (Iggy grad) pointed out he retreated after taking the snap in the shotgun. That doesn’t help the linemen.

As we said before, Boston seemed an afterthought in the first half, perhaps because the quarterback can’t make the sideline throw from the pocket and he was lined up outside. The other rookie receiver, KC Concepcion caught four passes for 43 yards and ran three times for 15 more.

Last year’s leading receiver, Harold Fannin, also was missing in the first half, and caught two balls after halftime when again the Jaguars’ defense was playing very loose.

It couldn’t have gone worse for the new coaching staff in their debut, and the first test comes next week against Tampa Bay with an angry QB in Baker Mayfield and coming off a loss in their opener. Will Monken and Rutenberg stubbornly stay with what didn’t work or will they start taking advantage of what talent they have?

Looking At Browns. Don’t See A Lot Of Wins

The joke around northeast Ohio is that the day before Labor Day would be the last Sunday the Cleveland Browns would not ruin for sports fans for almost five months. Yes, it’s a joke but you know the old saying about there is a bit of truth in every one liner.

The Browns open their 2026 season this Sunday with the first of two games in Florida, the first against the Jacksonville Jaguars. They have a new coach in Todd Monken, who is guiding his own professional team for the first time at age 60. But they also have the same problem they have had for pretty much every year since 1999.

They have an issue at quarterback.

We all know the Browns have cast their lot with the player they traded three first round picks for in 2022, and then gave a huge, guaranteed contract in Deshaun Watson. Sunday will mark Watson’s 20th start with Cleveland and perhaps he will throw for 300 yards or more, which would mark the first time he has done so in the orange and brown.

GM Andrew Berry used high draft capital to bring in two wide receivers, KC Concepcion and Denzel Boston, and both look very promising, but with a word of caution. Both will be playing in games that count for real this week.

We liked Boston because the Browns have needed a big wide receiver for years, after choosing a bunch of guys who are small but fast and hoping they could make big plays. The rookie from the University of Washington provides someone who can shield off opposing defensive backs to make plays.

Cleveland has some weapons in the two wideouts, and second year players TE Harold Fannin and RB Quinshon Judkins, but they are also starting a brand-new offensive line and there isn’t a lot of depth on the roster.

So, the keys will be how quickly the line gels and what kind of production they get out of the quarterback position, be it Watson, Shedeur Sanders, or even Dillon Gabriel (when he is back) or rookie Taylen Green. They need someone to provide solid play if they want to be competitive.

The defense is another question, again due to the seeming lack of depth, and of course, because they traded the best defensive player in the history of the franchise, and according to NFL Network, the best player in the entire league in Myles Garrett.

We believe the front office treats this as a rebuilding year, part of their “Free Beer Tomorrow” plan the sell their fans on every year. Unfortunately, hiring a guy like Monken, who no doubt wants to win in his first opportunity, flies in the face of that.

Can Monken run an offense that puts points on the board? We used to joke that the reason Cleveland scored 17 points per game the last couple of years under Kevin Stefanski, was that was it was designed to do.

With the defense probably not being the dominant unit it was the past few years, if more points can’t be generated, it could get ugly quick. The other question will be if Watson does not return to being the player he was in Houston, when will Monken pull the trigger?

Remember, what other QB in the history of the NFL come back from a long period of inactivity and returned to form after six years? We guess you can make a case for Jim Plunkett (look him up), but we can’t think of anyone else.

So, even with an easier schedule, playing the NFC South makes it easier, it is difficult to see more than five wins there for this year’s Cleveland Browns.

Get ready for quarterback draft talk by the end of September?

Browns Created The Mess. Now, They Lean Into It.

Make no mistake, the Cleveland Browns did it to themselves. It’s not the fans’ fault. It’s not the media’s fault. And really, it says a lot about the current organization that they couldn’t see the whole situation coming.

All summer long and into training camp, people wondered. It was the national media, the local media, fans (including us) asking what the upside is of playing Deshaun Watson. Yes, we know the Browns paid him a lot of money for little production. But this is the last year on the horrific deal and there was no way the Browns were going to reup with him.

The only possible good scenario would be for Watson to be spectacular, something that hasn’t happened in six seasons and lead Todd Monken’s squad to a division title and playoff berth with 10+ wins. And in that situation, you don’t find out whether or not Shedeur Sanders is an NFL quarterback.

Watson has never embraced being here, and if you remember, he took Cleveland out of the equation when the Texans were trading him. It was only after the front office guaranteed the money did he agree to play for the Browns.

He’s made 19 starts for the franchise with a record of 9-10 in those starts. Amazingly, he’s never thrown for 300 yards in any of them, his high being 289 in a 27-3 win over Tennessee. He’s thrown three touchdown passes exactly one, in his first year after serving an 11-game suspension.

So, despite this lack of production, the new coach has decided Watson will be under center for the team’s opener against Jacksonville. Playing against what was basically Buffalo’s third unit, Watson completed five of 12 throws for 36 yards and an interception.

In the two exhibition games to date, the former first round pick has hit on 16 of 27 passes (59.2%) for 162 yards. His supposed competition for the job, completed 15 of 22 throws (68.1%) for 163 yards. So, Sanders has a better completion percentage and a better average yards per attempt.

Monken has talked about the “operation” a lot. And that means getting the play call in and the players to the line of scrimmage. He also talks about using cadence to draw teams offside.

We know coaches can be strange about stuff like this (we used to coach) but should stuff like that matter more than moving the football and completing passes? Part of us thinks the coach has convinced himself that he can get something out of Watson and is hell bent on proving it.

Meanwhile, the people who suffer most are Browns’ fans. This front office is consistently tripping over themselves to make bad decisions. Just since the beginning of 2025, the Browns have drafted two QBs in the same draft, traded the best defensive player in the history of the franchise, and named a starting QB who doesn’t want to be here and frankly offers little hope of competent play.

Yet, they are still the most popular team in town by far. It’s either amazing or sick, depending on how you look at things.

We criticize the Dolan family for not doing much for their fan base, but we guess doing nothing is better than taking a huge crap on the people who buy tickets.

And they are getting their palace in Brookpark anyway, which to them is probably the most important thing. You wonder why they think they are smarter than everyone else?

Thoughts About A Meaningless Browns’ Loss

We are sure many fans are saying “same ol’ Browns” after Saturday’s 34-10 beating at the hands of the Chicago Bears. But you know what? It doesn’t count. One thing we don’t know about these games is who is trying to win and who isn’t.

We would assume Todd Monken wants to win because it is his first year as a head coach, but it may not matter to him. And as we say every year, in the second half, which Chicago outscored Cleveland 24-0, featured a bunch of players, a majority probably, who will never play a minute in an NFL regular season game.

Everyone focuses on the starting QB battle, and of course, we will start by saying we don’t understand why there is a competition because it makes no sense to start Deshaun Watson. But Watson did go 11 of 15 for 126 yards, 43 of those on a short pass to RB Dylan Sampson who took it for 43 yards. Without that play, Watson was a pedestrian 10 of 14 for 83 yards.

He also lost a fumble. Look, he did okay. We aren’t ready to say he’s back to his 2020 form with Houston.

Shedeur Sanders did throw an interception, but the six passes he completed went for 79 yards, completing one for 35 yards and another for 24 yards. He also had two throws knocked down at the line of scrimmage.

We should also inform everyone we are not some sort of crazed Shedeur fan. We simply don’t see the upside in playing a QB who hasn’t played well in six years and whose contract ends after this season.

To argue about it now seems like a moot point because from his comments after the game, the coach seems ready to name Watson the starter, probably with a push from the front office, because, you know, the Browns have a dysfunctional organization.

As for the other individual performances, it looks like the Browns might have some talent at wide receiver. Rookies KC Concepcion returned a kickoff 31 yards and scored the only touchdown on a jet sweep. And Denzel Boston is simply a big target, something this franchise has needed for a long time.

Monken has already named the second-round pick as a starter.

First round pick Spencer Fano also played well, but we don’t know how many snaps the Bears’ starters played and we would also guess the defensive scheme they played was very vanilla.

Let us reiterate again, the game doesn’t count. It wasn’t too long ago that the Browns went 4-0 in exhibition play and then went 1-15 in the regular season.

Probably the best indication of anything prior to the opening of the regular season will be the joint practice with the Buffalo Bills this week. That will likely show more than any of the preseason contests.

A poll was put out before the game asking what people were thinking about Monken’s first game as head coach of the Browns. We will let you know just prior to September 13th, because that’s his first game. These games are glorified scrimmages that the NFL owners make fans pay to see.

Hopefully, Sanders plays well in his opportunity to get this ridiculous notion about starting Watson reconsidered.

QB Decision For Browns Shows A Clear Lack Of Direction

The Cleveland Browns continue to be a weird organization. It seems they are set up with a bunch of department heads all trying to show the boss who is the best and worthy of promotion, but in reality, they have no true leader, not true direction.

They have a new head coach in Todd Monken, who is 60 years old and getting his first chance to be the top guy of an NFL team. He, of course, wants to win now and show he deserved to have this job sooner in his career.

That means he is going to start the best players at each position, which is the way it should be, but the question is, what does the front office think about certain players?

We are of course talking about the starting quarterback spot where the Browns are leaking through the media that Deshaun Watson has a leg up on Shedeur Sanders for the job.

This is something we just don’t understand.

The entire organization should be saying this is Sanders’ opportunity to see if he can claim the job. If he shows he can be an above average NFL QB, then the Browns are in a good spot with two first round picks in next year’s draft.

As for Watson, we keep hearing from certain members of the media about his “body of work”. We will simply say the last time he was an effective NFL quarterback was six years ago. We can’t think of anyone in league history who played at a high level, was largely ineffective or not available for that long of a time period and then returned to play at that same tier of performance.

Basically, the Browns are asking Watson to do something that has never been done before. Seems plausible.

How should the Browns be handling this? A few different scenarios come to mind.

First, don’t hire a 60-year-old first time head coach who wants to win immediately. If you hire a younger guy than you can tell him the plan is to not have Watson play again and let him leave the team at the end of the season quietly.

Or you could have told Monken that was the plan all along and he should devote all of his time getting the best of Sanders, and if it doesn’t work, he will be part of the development on whoever the Browns draft in the first round in 2027.

Many national pundits can’t believe Cleveland is even considering starting Watson. After all, his contract ends after this season, and as we have pointed out before, if you are going with him, you have to make the playoffs, correct? Going 7-10 or 8-9 with him aces the team out of a high draft pick and also, they didn’t find out if Sanders can play.

Note we’ve only mentioned Sanders, but remember the Browns used a top 100 pick a year ago on another quarterback in Dillon Gabriel who is barely talked about and probably is a longshot to make the roster.

That pick was another example of not having a singular direction, a lone voice, making decisions.

We fear until that is fixed, the Browns will continue to run around in circles, never making progress.

Browns Being Stubborn On Certain Players

Over our years in following sports, there are things that we admire from winning organizations. One of those traits is the discussion of stubbornness vs. patience. Good organizations aren’t beholden to poor decisions. Meaning, they make a move, it doesn’t work out the way it was intended, and they move on.

A great example occurred at the NBA trading deadline last month. Cavs’ GM Koby Altman traded Isaac Okoro for Lonzo Ball, a deal we liked at the time. However, Ball’s shooting fell off a cliff, he didn’t seem to fit what the Cavaliers were doing, and Altman moved him at the trade deadline.

He did the same with De’Andre Hunter, who contributed to Cleveland’s 64 regular season wins a year ago, but was struggling with his shot this season despite coach Kenny Atkinson trying him in different roles. He was also moved at the deadline.

Now, consider the Cleveland Browns.

In the last week, people in the media have said Shedeur Sanders was a winner the first week of free agency because the Browns’ did not sign a veteran QB to compete with him. There is plenty of time before the draft and the mini camps start, but it looks like the team is going with a quarterback room of Sanders, Deshaun Watson, and Dillon Gabriel.

Yeah, good luck with that.

We would like to see more of Sanders for sure. We believe he should be better with more experience (most people are) and a better offensive line in front of him. But don’t you have to have a better option behind him if he doesn’t show progress?

And thinking it could be Watson is a ridiculous stretch of any imagination. This is where the stubbornness comes in. Whoever made the call, it was a horrible trade by the organization. Now, it looks like they are trying to get a little justification for the bad deal instead of just moving on.

We are well aware of the salary cap hit involved, but that don’t mean you have to put him on the field. The cap hit is what it is. Putting a player out there who hasn’t played well for six years because of it is just a reach.

And the fans don’t want him playing either.

Another case in our opinion is Jerry Jeudy. The Browns traded a 5th round pick to Denver for him after the organization coveted him for a couple of years. His best year in Denver was his third after being a first round pick, catching 67 passes for 972 yards.

He caught 90 passes in his first year as a Brown, and the organization patted itself on the back quite a bit.

Of those receptions, 44 were when Jameis Winston was a QB, and last season, he fell to 50 receptions, more in line with his production with the Broncos.

Now, the Browns are selling him as a possible #2 receiver, pairing him with whomever Cleveland takes early in the draft.

Our question is this: Do people think Jeudy is going to be happy in that role? Because we do not. But someone in the Browns’ front office thinks highly of him, so they are giving him another chance. Stubbornness.

The Browns haven’t earned any benefit of any doubt. When you have been largely irrelevant in your sport for pretty much 25 years, that’s the way it is.

Just more joys of being a fan of The Browns.

Browns Keep Bringing Up Watson. They Are Fooling Themselves

For the most part, no professional sports team should make decisions about who is on team based on the fans. There is an old saying that if you cater to the ticket holders, you will soon be sitting with them.

Over the past six months, there seem to be a lot of stories out of Berea about Deshaun Watson, who since he arrived in Cleveland via one of the worst trades in NFL history, has been more unavailable than able to play.

Near the end of last season, we heard about how he was able to practice, and at least one scribe asked if he would be activated before the end of the regular season. He was not.

Now, since Todd Monken has been hired as the new coach, it was reported that he is “intrigued” with the idea of Watson being the starter when the 2026 season begins this fall.

If you are a Browns’ fan and we are, you want the Browns to win, to be the franchise they were when we grew up in the late 1960’s when they were perennially in the mix for the NFL Championship.

That said, it can also be true that most fans are done with Watson. They don’t care if he never plays another down with the team and many think the Browns should do what Denver did with Russell Wilson, just release him, take the massive cap hit and be done with it.

And although part of the reason is the legal issues Watson had after leaving Houston, but it is also what Watson represents–failure. He is a reminder that the Browns gave up three first round picks and put themselves in salary cap hell with the trade.

As for whether or not Watson can still be the guy who threw for a league leading 4823 yards in his last year with the Texans, let us remind everyone that is happening in 2020. That’s six years ago!

Among the other top ten passers in yardage in that season were Tom Brady, Matt Ryan, and Philip Rivers. They are all retired.

In the 85 regular season games played by the Texans (’21 when Watson was still there) and Browns, the quarterback has been available for 19 due to a variety of injuries, a suspension, and that he sat out his last season with Houston.

His passer rating from ’20 and before was 104.5, among the best in the NFL. Since, the rating drops to 80.7.

He had 19 games of 300 yards or more passing with the Texans. None with the Browns. He had 15 contests where he threw for three or more touchdowns before the trade. None since. His completion percentage prior to 2021 was 67.2%. Touchdown to interception ratio in Houston was 104:36, with the Browns 19:12.

His average yards per attempt has dropped from 8.3 to 6.0.

And perhaps the most telling numbers? He was 25 years old in 2020 and when the ’26 season begins, he will be 31.

We understand guys are still playing effective quarterback in the NFL into their late 30’s. Matthew Stafford was the league MVP this past year at 37. Aaron Rodgers took Pittsburgh to the playoffs at 42. But neither of them had a five-year span where they were ineffective and then came back to be very good again.

Add into the mix that 2026 is Watson’s last year on his contract so if he plays and recaptures his pre-Cleveland form, he will not likely be resigning with the Browns.

We aren’t a salary cap guru, but the best thing to do for the franchise and the fan base is to forget Watson is still on the roster and work out something with him.

The Browns need to move forward and not have a reminder of a terrible mistake hanging around.

Monkin Is Here, Now Comes The QB Obsession

Now that the Cleveland Browns have hired a head coach in Todd Monkin, the next obsession for the fans of the team is quarterback. Of course, many have tied the hiring of Monkin into an endorsement of Shedeur Sanders, who started the last seven games for the Browns last year.

The rookie’s statistics were not great. A 56.6% completion percentage. His touchdown to interception ratio was 7 to 10.

On the other hand, when he played, the Browns did score 20 or more points in four of his starts and managed to go 3-4, which isn’t great, but remember, Cleveland did go 5-12 last season.

So, the maniacs out there have concluded that Monken got the job because he thinks Sanders can be the starting QB in 2026, and the proof (in those eyes) is the Ravens, Monken’s last employer wanted to draft him last season. Something alluded to in the video released by the Browns on the coach’s first day in town.

We did see a lot of good things from Sanders, but we are not in the camp that thinks he is the next Dan Marino either. In terms of passer rating, his fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel ranks better and his QBR is also better.

However, the eye test says Sanders was the much better player. You know, “lies, damn lies, and statistics”.

Still, the Browns should readjust their quarterback room going into 2026.

Yes, we know the team and Monken continue to mention Deshaun Watson in the plans, and to that we say, he could return to his old form in the same way we can buy a lottery ticket and perhaps we will win the Mega Millions jackpot. It’s been six years since he was a very good player.

It could happen, it’s just not likely.

And for the umpteenth time, we think the Browns should reach some kind of agreement with Watson where he gets his money and stays home. The people who think Sanders would be a huge distraction is he isn’t the starter, what do they think Watson is or would be?

But if we were the new coach, we would not want to cast the lot of our first season in the hands of Sanders alone. We would want to bring in a veteran to compete for the job. Perhaps it is free agent Malik Willis, a prize on the market, or maybe someone like a Geno Smith, who can go out and give the Browns decent production at the position if Sanders doesn’t show well in camp.

And we would also look to draft someone, not with one of the two first round picks (get offensive linemen and/or wide receivers), but maybe on day three. Remember, Monken was the offensive coordinator at Georgia when Carson Beck was there.

One other comment about QBs. These pundits who keep writing about Arch Manning, please do not give the Browns another excuse to be terrible next year, which is likely the only way to be in a position to draft him.

The organization has to be out of the mentality that the only way to solve the QB issue is to get the first pick in the NFL Draft. Of the top five passers in the NFL, only Joe Burrow was obtained that way.

Yes, you probably have to be in the top dozen picks or so, but you don’t have to be first. The Browns need to start winning games and make progress toward being a playoff team on at least a semi-regular basis.

Going 4-13 or 5-12 every year and making that your expectation? That’s not helping your new coach or the GM.