Deshaun Watson
Deshaun Watson
The Browns will probably have a weekly quarterback debate all season, but for now, Deshaun Watson remains Todd Monken’s answer. After a shaky showing in Week 1 that saw Cleveland lose in a blowout, the first-yead head coach is sticking with Watson over Shedeur Sanders for Week 2. Not that it’s common for teams to shuffle quarterbacks weekly, but, you know…the Browns is the Browns.
“I anticipate Deshaun [Watson] will be our starter”, Monken announced to reporters yesterday, via the Brown’s website. Asked why, he said that reviewing the tape “confirmed” his decision. “We’ve got to play better around him, we’ve got to call it better, and he’s got to play better”, he added.
Watson went 16-for-22 for 205 yards with 1 touchdown to 1 interception against the Jaguars. The numbers, frankly, look better than they are, and don’t include a fumble lost on his five sacks taken. Half of his passing yardage came on two fourth-quarter drives, one of which ended with him taking sacks on third and fourth down, resulting in no points while already trailing by 31 points. He did finally find the end zone late, connecting with rookie WR Denzel Boston from 46 yards out with 2 minutes to play—long after Jacksonville stopped caring.
Despite the high completion percentage, the Browns simply did not move the ball. Their initial drive looked promising, even pushing into field goal territory. But it ended with Deshaun Watson throwing a terrible interception right to a Jaguars defender. They followed with three straight three-and-outs, or at least close enough. The final of the three drives lasted only two plays, resulting in a strip sack of Watson.
“There were some really good things on film, some things that you can build on”, Monken insisted of Watson. “I did think that when he had time, when he understood the concepts, he didn’t play tentative, that he let it rip”.
Of course, if the Browns had a better quarterback room, they never would have settled on Deshaun Watson as their first choice at quarterback in the first place. While Shedeur Sanders has a fan base, he doesn’t have NFL-level talent. At least, he hasn’t shown it enough, or consistently enough. Watson isn’t good, but the Browns don’t have a good quarterback to replace him with.
Meanwhile, they are the only team in the division that lost Week 1. Not that anybody expected them to compete for the AFC North title this year, but they’re clearly off to about as bad a start as could have been anticipated. Not only is the Deshaun Watson-led offense terrible, the post-Myles Garrett defense is, too.
The Browns do have talent, on both sides of the ball, including the Denzels—Boston and Ward. What they don’t have is a quarterback room worthy of taking the field, nor a coaching staff capable of getting the most out of what they do have. In hiring Todd Monken, they also lost their one actually good coach, former DC Jim Schwartz. And in going with Deshaun Watson as their quarterback, who knows what else they’ve lost.