Browns veteran players report to Berea today and practice starts tomorrow. It’s the beginning of thirteen practices in fifteen days. Full speed and with pads. Hell yeah. There’s no question the current Browns roster has talent but how is that talent going shake out. Of course, the biggest fetish for the national & local media will be the quarterback position. The good news is the final decision is in the hands of head coach Todd Monken. As I’ve said numerous times, my choice is anyone other than Deshaun Watson. The narrative going into training camp is he’s healthy for the first time in a long while, let’s see what he can do. No. We all saw a healthy Watson the first six games of 2024. No thank you. Older NFL quarterbacks don’t get faster after two Achillies tears. Older NFL quarterbacks don’t get better; they don’t all of a sudden learn new tendencies. Watson’s is slower and his arm is just as slow. He’ll finally be off this team next year, don’t waste time on Watson.
That leaves Sanders and Gabriel. If Sanders can improve his bad habits of holding on to the ball too long or running backwards, then he has a shot. Gabriel just needs to regain the confidence he had in college. Another big question mark is the offensive line. Yes, the position was addressed in free agency and the draft, but no one knows how these guys are going to jell. The number one unit has to be established as soon as possible. If the OL lives up to the hype, then the running game can flourish. If the running game can flourish, then the passing game can also flourish if the two rookie wide receivers are as good as they look. Sanders or Gabriel need to show they can handle Monken’s offense.
On defense, the Browns can be great if two things happen, Pressure from the defensive tackle spot and a secondary who is great in coverage. Pressure up the middle will lead to sacks and incompletions. It will also lead to winning on third down. My only concern in the secondary is slot corner. Denzel Ward and Tyson Campbell will be good and the safeties ae talented enough to take away an opposing tight end. But having the right guy in the slot will make all the difference. Just go back and watch the Lions game, the first Baltimore game and the Vikings game from last year.
As for special teams, return coverage, return coverage, return coverage. All I ask from this unit is to be boring. If the media isn’t talking about special teams, then they’re doing their job. Penalties, especially pre snap penalties have been this team’s downfall for years. Monken doesn’t impress me as a guy who’s going to put up with that crap.
I have no idea what Monken’s schedule in deciding who the starter at QB will be, but the local media is going to turn this into the usual circus. Don’t buy into it. They all think that Watson has a legitimate chance of starting. He doesn’t. Monken isn’t going to tank; he wants to win as many games as possible, so he’ll pick the one he thinks will achieve that goal. If none of them work out, then 2027 becomes the ultimate search for the new messiah. Stay safe and Go Browns.