Did Monken tip his hand on Browns’ starting QB?

Mike Florio and Chris Simms react to Todd Monken's recent comments on Browns joint practices and discuss the dynamic between Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders.

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Tuesday edition of PFT Live.

The Browns and the Bills will have joint practice sessions this week.

The Browns play the Bills on Saturday in Cleveland, and there's a certain dance that happens, a certain negotiation, and there's a line you're not supposed to cross when it comes to coaches of the two teams involved in a preseason game agreeing to certain things that are gonna happen during the game.

But as you have joint practices ahead of the game, that's where things can be a little more negotiated so everyone's on the same page about who's gonna be playing against who and how long that's going to happen.

So listen to what Todd Monken had to say about discussing joint practice plans with Bill's head coach, Joe Brady.

Well, we both talked about that if we see out of our ones, our group, our older players, what we wanna see on Thursday, they would not play in the game.

We agreed upon that, okay?

The plan is, is that we'll play our ones a significant amount against each other, right, on Thursday in a controlled environment.

Not that the other guys aren't gonna get reps, but a controlled environment, and see where we're at.

I would assume if it's anything like we've practiced before, that it'll be on point with what we want and what we see, and then we get to see where we stack up against one of the, the, the premier teams of the last 10 years making the playoffs.

I'm excited for that, 'cause in that practice we get to see our ones against ones, right?

And so that, that's gonna be fun.

I'm still not sure where that line is when you're talking about making agreements with the opposing coach.

I just remember that's bubbled up from time to time.

Like, I'm not sure how far you can go with this whole, "Hey, I'm gonna keep my starters out, you keep your starters out."

But if Todd Monken is thinking about keeping his starters out, and Shedeur Sanders is already due to start the second preseason game, like, did he just Has he basically told us that Deshaun Watson's QB1?

That, that's where my mind is.

That, that's, I mean, I was literally just ago, "Well, so what does that mean?"

What does that mean that is Shedeur gonna get all the reps with the ones during the week and then not play in the game 'cause he's supposed to be the ones this week?

Or no, like it comes off the other way.

You're right, and you've already named Shedeur the starter, so it doesn't seem like he's a part of the group with the number ones.

Or maybe the quarterback position is not a part of the conversation right now and it doesn't matter.

So it's, it's one or the other.

It's either- But you don't want your starter out there- I, I wouldn't think so you don't want your starter out there with the backup offensive line.

Well, I think this is where we're gonna- Right?

You're right.

I mean, this is where you're gonna think, but he was in there.

Shedeur was in there with backups the other day.

And but I think this is where we'll- Yeah we'll be able to figure this out a little is, you know, one, it means either Deshaun Watson is the starter and he just kind of hasn't told us and they're leaning that way, or two, you know, maybe the older starters don't play, but you got some of the rookies that are, you know, Denzel Boston and, or Casey Concepcion and maybe Fanout, the, the, the top 10 pick at left tackle.

Maybe they're in there, and then it's all their backups.

But the thing of the, that you'll really be able to tell is, okay, does Deshaun Watson come in after that?

I- is he gonna come in after with the next group of guys?

Because that's how it was laid out to us, is that Shedeur was gonna start and Deshaun would play second.

But now it would be, okay, Deshaun, who might be your starter, are you gonna put him in with a bunch of s- twos and maybe threes at that point of the game?

Late second quarter, third quarter, whenever he might go in.

So yeah, I think, like, right there, I feel like he tipped his hand a little bit in saying that basically Deshaun Watson's the starter.

Maybe I'm wrong.

We'll see when we watch the preseason game.

I think we'll learn a lot from that and how they play that out.

You know, I'm trying to think of the best metaphor for this, but it does remind me of a situation where And we've all been there at some point, where we've made a decision, and we know when we share with the people who are affected by the decision, the decision that we've made, the shit's gonna hit the fan.

So we delay doing that as long as we possibly can, and we hope that the person who is going to eventually get the bad news that we would rather not deliver figures it out on their own.

It makes it a little bit easier- Well, I feel like- if they figure it out on their own I, I, I, I did think- Because- I, I did think maybe this was, like, a part of the, the icebreaker.

Like, maybe let's throw this out there so people can start maybe thinking, like, "Whoa, I get maybe Deshaun Watson is gonna be the starter."

I mean, that did cross my mind, too.

Maybe to kind of just to put people's minds in motion here, because it certainly did with me.

And, you know, I, then I lean on the Then I go back and go, "Wait," after the game the other day.

He was just, couldn't be more happy for Deshaun Watson, was ecstatic, the things he's overcome.

We showed those clips yesterday.

And then not that he was disappointed with Shedeur or anything like that.

Shedeur did some good things.

He had the one mistake.

But his comment with Shedeur was, "He's come so far," right?

And to me, that was a little bit like, okay, well, I guess he really was struggling in OTAs and stuff at first, and he's come so far.

But, you know, it's not quite waxing poetically the same as you were just about Deshaun Watson.

So it does feel like, to me, and I don't totally agree with it all the way, that Deshaun Wa- Watson's in the leader house right now at the quarterback position.

And think about all of the different demographics that Todd Monken is gonna have to answer to when he makes it clear he's going with Sha- Deshaun Watson.

First of all, Shedeur's not gonna be happy, and Shedeur's got his social media following.

D- Deion's not gonna be happy.

Deion's gonna have something to say about Todd Monken making the wrong decision because he's a dad.

He's not gonna come out and say, "Well, you know, my son competed and he wasn't good enough, and he's gonna have to learn a valuable lesson that you've gotta be good enough to win," and Todd Monken, "I gotta defer to what Coach says."

It's probably not what Deone's gonna say if and when that point, you know, happens.

Yeah.

And then you got the fans.

See, I did a very unscientific two-person poll last week.

My niece and her fairly new husband are both Browns fans, and I was curious.

I wanted to take the temperature, and I texted them.

I asked them, "Where are Browns fans on the quarterback issue?

Yes, Shador, and no, Deshaun?"

And my new nephew by marriage said, "Whoever we need to win."

And my niece said, "I'm disappointed in this answer.

I'm changing the locks before you get home this evening."

Yeah, I love it.

So there, there, there is, there is a very strong anti-Watson sentiment- Yes among the Browns fan base, and that's part of what Todd Monken is gonna be pushing back against.

Yeah, that, there's no doubt that there is that.

It's not only, yes, some of the off-the-field stuff, but it's also the, "Wait, we've given him all this money on our football team and he's done nothing for us," so that's compounded it and made it even worse.

Shador's young, and I think people see potential and of course has a great following.

That's where, you know, again, I go to I, I would wanna play Shador, or I think it's inevitable anyways.

I do.

Again, Deshaun Watson did some good things.

Yeah, he outplayed Shador the other day, but not to a point where I was like, "Oh gosh, it's not even close."

I mean, there's things about Shador that I like for, better than Deshaun Watson.

And you know, so, so off of that, plus, you know, we've talked about the young team and what you can grow there, and I don't think there's any way that Deshaun Watson's the future of this team, where I do think there's a way for Shador.

And so that's where I think those fan ba- fan base sees that.

But yeah, it does feel like off of that game and the comments and what Monken just said there, that it feels like Deshaun's kind of got the edge right now.

They start with the Jaguars in Jacksonville, then they're at Tampa, home games against the Panthers and the Steelers, so that's three playoff teams in the first four weeks, and the Steelers game is Thursday night, so you get the mini buy- after week four.

And doesn't it feel like that's the first sample size- Yeah as to whether or not whoever the starter is is getting it done, and maybe we, we do a flip to the other guy?

'Cause their bye week, when you'd have more of an opportunity to get the other quarterback ready, that's after week 10.

So it'll be too late by then if things aren't going well in Cleveland.

Totally.

So, you know, as, as we've seen in many of these quarterback competitions, the guy who wins the job is just the guy winning the dibs on getting benched first.

But I would be watching that Steelers game.

Two straight home games.

If they're 0 and 2 coming home, 0 and 3 after losing to the Panthers, if that's what happens, that Steelers game on a short week, 0 and 4, I think that'll be time to, whoever the starter is, that'll be time to go to the other guy.

Yeah, that's the magic spot.

Would agree with you there.

Would agree.

And, and, and, you know, there's a, there's a part of me that, you know, maybe that is what And Cleveland, maybe Cleveland knows this.

Todd Monken's smart.

Maybe he knows it, too.

Hey, if Deshaun kicks butt in the four games and does that, hey, he's the starter.

There's nothing else to say.

But, but at the same time, we've seen Deshaun Watson not play high-quality football really for a long time here.

He's gets injured almost every time he's been on the field in some capacity, shoulder, knee, Achilles, whatever.

So Shador's gotta stay ready.

He's gotta stay ready off of that.

And you know, Todd Monken probably looks at his team and goes, "Yeah, there, there, we'll probably will hit some rough spots here where I'm gonna have to throw Shador in there."

But I would think him and everybody else, they're smart enough to know that at, at some point, yeah, he's, he's gonna, gonna have to play.

And, and I'm with you in some ways that it kinda feels like, you know, the guy that gets named the starter is the, the guy that's getting named to be, you know, the first guy to get benched here.

We'll see where this goes, but yeah, it's just gonna be interesting with if and when they name Deshaun Watson to see that reaction from the Browns fan base.

Yeah, bottom line, Todd Monken trying to ease himself very slowly- Tough, tough spot into that hot bath.

Whoo.

Just the, there, there's gonna be a lot of people who aren't happy if Deshaun Watson is the starter.

If they win, they're gonna be very happy.

They're gonna get happy.

There's nothing like winning to change the mindset of a fan base and the attitude that it may have toward a given player.

I think all the way back to when Ben Roethlisberger had that six-game suspension that became a four-game suspension in 2010, they were ready to run him out of town.

I listened to talk radio in Pittsburgh after he got suspended.

It was one caller after another complaining about Ben Roethlisberger, and then you know what?

They go to the Super Bowl that year, and it's all forgotten.

Yeah, I know.

That was amazing.

It's like it never happened.

Right, right.

So winning will cure everything, and winning will ultimately make people forget anything that, they would otherwise be thinking about

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