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So what, that has nothing to do with football anyway. His dad risked everything on a failed, run-down gas station. That's what he comes from. Quit trying to make it something it's not.

Watson's opening statement.

Crazy but true: Browns fans just got 10x the apology 24 victims of gross sex sh*t got.

"Human nature, myself being very emotional, putting a lot of time these last two years to get back, spent time in this facility, the city, meeting a lot of different people in the community, I thought I was gonna get a little different response.

My emotions got the best of me, my comments weren't intending to go at any of the fans in the city, because there's been a lot of great fans that have been supporting me. And I know the frustration, this organization put a lot of investment into getting me back in 2022. And things haven't been going in the direction we thought it would.

A lot of injuries, a lot of time off, and not playing the best football. I understand the frustration, I understand everything that goes into that. And moving forward, I wanna just focus on football, making sure I'm putting the best product out there. Because I thrive off the energy, I thrive off the energy of the fans, I thrive off the energy of the community, I thrive off all that stuff.

Looking back at my history at Clemson and at the previous organization in Houston, I was a big community guy, big city guy, big fan guy during the games. Again, my emotions got the best of me, I'm human, I take full responsibility for that."

Meh. I don't like it but I dont blame Monken. Monken isn't paid to worry about the fans emotions he wants to win games and he thinks DW is better than SS . He's probably correct at this point.

Unless DW finds lightning in a bottle this will be an ugly season ... Again.

Agree with most people's takes on here other than the fact I understand the decision even if I don't like it ...

Is Watson the future?

Do we have any realistic chance of winning anything this season?

Do the fans love him?
Does the national media like him?
Does anyone other than the blindest of homers actually like him?

Isn’t the reality that the majority of Browns fans, the national media, and pretty much every casual NFL viewer either dislikes or outright hates him?

Will he get booed in his first home game?

And, most importantly, how likely is it that he actually finishes the season as the Browns’ starting quarterback?

A good sign of a dysfunctional organization is when outside distractions overshadow everything else.

Pretty sure they just told you outside distractions overshadow absolutely nothing.

That's he PR line but we all know this will be huge media and fan base distraction. At that point it only makes sense this will spill over into the locker room. But with that being said you can't determine who your starting QB is based on a popularity contest. I do however think this goes beyond that.

You aren't the first person to mention that it's easier to go from Watson to Sanders vs the opposite, but I agree and I even wonder if it's part of the plan. It's really obvious that Watson will be gone just as soon as it's financially/cap possible (not prudent, possible). I think this offense is going to look ROUGH (potentially worse than last year) in the first half of the season. There are too many rookies that are going to take too large of the share of snaps, plus totally new offense, plus totally new Oline that has had pretty much zero time to gel. While this is a little tinfoil-hat-like for my tastes, I do wonder if, in lieu of a legit starter-caliber QB, they just want a guy to eat all that crap (first bunch of games where nobody is on the same page) and then start getting a look at guys that may stick around past this season (literally anyone other than Watson).

Monken doesn't strike me as a guy that is cool with anything other than 100% trying to win games, so this could just be me trying to rationalize this decision.

Valid points. I'm mainly saying they don't care, not that it won't be a distraction. Devil's advocate would say it may help galvanize the team by turning "the noise" into an opponent itself.

That's up to the coaches to manage. History shows most manage good and bad noise, ie... "I don't care how good they say we are, next week's opponent will still be looking to punch us right in the face". I don't think there is an actual problem until the locker room is divided.

Let's be honest though; if we're winning, nobody cares.

It's only when losing is compounded by toeing the company line and you excuse it with stupid catchphrases like Pat Shurmer's "we battled".


That said, not a single one of the questions Flo proposed matter. None. The only one close needs a "massage"...

"Do we have any realistic chance of winning anything this season this Sunday?"

Wasting time. It’s like investing in a failing business because it has slightly more value today than the promising start up. Watson playing well and winning a game is worth just that: some personal stats and one tick in the win column. We get nothing moving forward and the fans will use it for fodder when Monken is on the hotseat. Stupid decision.

Do you really think outside the box now, FATE?

Should the Browns be thinking short-term or long-term in this situation?

These days, whenever the national media and casual NFL fans pay close attention to the Browns, it seems to be because the leadership has made yet another clown move.

That costs the organization goodwill. It reinforces the perception that the Browns are a dysfunctional franchise, and over time, it makes it harder to convince elite free agents to come to Cleveland unless you’re willing to outbid everyone else.

Reputation matters. Credibility matters. How players, agents, fans, and the national media view your organization matters.

In the end, it all adds up.

I think they are trotting him out there in hopes he gets injured so they can recover more money

When Watson fails... they can put in SS and fully close the book on Watson.

That will leave SS to prove that he is or is not a starting/winning QB in the NFL

If SS fails... we are drafting high and taking a QB.

4 for 1

I get what you're saying. The "Us against the world" mentality might prevail. I also think you're right about winning. I won't go as far as to say "nobody" would care if the team is winning but certainly the vast majority wouldn't care and that quiets the noise.

But there will certainly be circumstances at play here which I think will greatly influence how this will play out in regards to the team.

How are things going on the field? If the team is competitive against the good teams and winning against the bad teams with noticeable and steady improvement, I think it will galvanize the team.

If as some suspect the defense takes a step backwards and the O doesn't quickly step up to the plate I could see problems arising. I was never a professional athlete but even in high school I HATED losing! I certainly feel that holds true with the vast majority of professional athletes. You generally never get that far without that fire and passion to win. When and if the players start to feel that noise holds validity that could spell trouble.

Monken is new to the NFL HC position. That's yet another factor. We have no idea how he will fit into that role and be able to control the emotions of the players. Especially if things aren't going well.

I'm certainly not willing to try and make a prediction in that regard but to me, sadly, it's like a lot of seasons we've lived through. The drama surrounding the team seems to be taking the lead role going into the season over our expectations to the outcome of the season itself

I don't think most expect it to be a winning season but the drama built up to this point alone almost makes it must watch TV.

Sounds like the Larry David School of Overthinking Things.

Don't need to think outside the box. This is football, not a talk show about football. From that standpoint, the team, it's players and it's coaches should 100% be adopting short-term thinking at this point.

New coach, new offense, new schemes; a bunch of rookies and a new OL. You are preaching that the unquestionable "right move" is to start Sanders... and mostly basing it on the fact that people don't or shouldn't really care for Watson... and then how that may affect our ability to secure FA talent in the future?

C'mon dude. I won't argue some of the points, mostly that Watson is not the future, but throwing a seemingly slow-to-learn Sanders out there sounds like a terrible idea if there is any semblance of an option. I'll say this out loud for anyone that hasn't noticed yet: Sanders is a sssloww learner.

So, that's my opinion based on the games are "for real" in three weeks, not me pontificating on what are the best long-term options to draw FAs in 2029.