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[Assistant] Thank you, Michael Pittman. And Tom Brady said earlier, he put it on the quarterback. As a former quarterback, where do you fall on this? Because we haven't seen Joe really expose his receivers to nasty hits, whereas some of these younger guys do. And I do think it goes back to quarterback play and the position that you're putting these receivers in.


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[Assistant] Have you had receivers come to you and say, man, you're going to get me killed if you keep throwing it there? And just where do you fall on, on the quarterback's responsibility with receivers?


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[Assistant] It's hard for me to put Nujoku above Amari, still. I just think Amari's what drives this thing.


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[Assistant] I'm with you on Wyatt. I'll give you Wyatt. Because of, I mean, maybe we're, I don't know if this counts as positional importance, but he's the last man standing on the line. Come on man. By the way, are you friendly with his wife?


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[Assistant] I'm going, I went in joku at seven, I gotta go in joku again at eight.


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[Assistant] Hey, real quick, that stat Kevin was getting crushed for was one win when trailing by more than a field goal in the fourth quarter. One win since he got here. Browns lead the league. They got four this year. Tops in the NFL. Four comeback wins in the fourth quarter.


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[Assistant] Sunday weekend and you can't watch the game Sunday, we got you covered. We have prewritten headlines. We're gonna tell you what happens before the game even is played. Mikey.


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[Assistant] You know, when Thornhill's not out there, it leads to big plays defensively. They haven't given up a ton, but the few that they have, a couple of them is when Thornhill has been out there to make the tackles. So that's really the one that I'm watching.


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[Assistant] You know you're not going to have Denzel. Martin's going to be fine on one side. I feel comfortable with great news on the other.


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[Assistant] But it's that safety play that really is a concern right now. Denver can throw the ball. Russ, you know, Gene talked about it. Russ is having a great year. Jerry Judy is okay as a receiver. Cortland Sutton is, I think, pretty good. So the Browns are gonna have the work cut out for them. These injuries are, are significant right now. Guys, I agree.


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[Assistant] The scary part with Thornhill is it's a calf and those things can trigger at any moment. You think you're okay and it just takes one play turning


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[Assistant] Do I have confidence they can go the length of the field? No, I don't because we haven't seen it yet. So how do you have confidence in something you haven't seen? They got one touchdown last week against the Steelers that came off a short field after they held Pittsburgh and made them punt. Right. So if, if, if they can create turnovers and get short fields again, yeah, okay.


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[Assistant] But if you expect this offense to start at the 25 or 30 and go 70, 75 yards methodically down the field without a big defensive bust.


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[Assistant] They're getting a couple of game that's really going to be key, whether it's fumbles, strip sacks, interceptions. You have to set this offense up with short fields because I don't have a lot of confidence in them being able to go the length of the field.


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[Assistant] Now I do think DTR is probably gonna, he should improve, right? The more you do something, the better you get at it. We could throw out the first start against Baltimore, that was atrocious.


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[Assistant] So now you have something to build off last week. He has another full week of practice reps. I do expect them to try and open up the game plan a little bit more, take a couple more deep shots down the field. You know, if I'm Denver's DC, I'm watching the second half of last week's game, how the Steelers sat on all the Broncos routes. They were playing eight in the box and they took away everything short because the Browns weren't going long.


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[Assistant] Eventually the Browns have to take a deep shot, play action, deep shot on third down, do something to try and loosen up this defense. And if you can get lucky and break one, you know, you got a chance.


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[Assistant] It's Dorian, it's Dorian Robinson and it's the turnovers. It all comes back to turnovers. I don't care about completion percentage. I don't care about yards. I care about the turnover column because if you're giving Denver a short field to work on, the Browns are going to be in trouble. He's got to take care of the football.


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[Assistant] He's had a couple flash plays these last couple of weeks. He's a great specialist third down type pass rusher.


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[Assistant] It's a big loss. It's a big loss if he's not out there. Man, the Browns have just been battered by injuries. Injuries are part of the game. It is. But it has been unbelievably crippling. I saw a stat last week. I think we talked about it. They have the highest percentage of their salary cap on IR this year of any team in the league. They've just been destroyed.


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[Assistant] Go back to the first game against Baltimore. It was a disaster, but they weren't taking shots almost too many. It was too many. It was too many shots down the field that were taken. So it is in there, you know, it's in there. And now he's had really two weeks of practice all of last week and all of this week. Yeah, I do think that they will, but the Brown's key to success on offense this year because of all the injuries we've talked about.


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[Assistant] It's heavy offensive linemen, it's extra offensive linemen, it's extra tight ends, short passes, screen passes, play action deep shots on third down. That's the way, it's the best formula to success. We didn't really see the deep shots last week. I do think we'll see them on Sunday just to try and break things up, just to try and loosen it up. Otherwise Denver is going to play eight in the box the whole game.


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[Assistant] Cleveland and I just think it's his first game on the road, DTR, in that environment that could be a hostile place to play.


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[Assistant] And I've said it all day, it comes down to turnovers. And I just think that they're going to struggle moving the football. And if he throws a couple of picks, it's game over.


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[Assistant] I'm not going against Cleveland and Ohio State. Give me Ohio State to beat Michigan.


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[Assistant] I think, I think we're all in agreement that in the end you'd rather play Jacksonville more than any other team. Is that fair? Yea. Alright butters, the answer is Jacksonville. Jacksonville. Jacksonville is the answer. We've come to that agreement. Any other questions? Everybody else is like panicked, they're panicked.


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[Assistant] Alright, we have our first question. What's your name? Uh, David. David, where you from? What town?


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[Assistant] Yeah. All right. Well, who wants to tag in? Jason, you haven't been on in a while or Earl, you want to get on?


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[Assistant] Which I did not have to lose. Yeah, like, like, that's, that's the part, like. I'll tell you the story. Tell me you would, then. Well, here's what happened. So back in... This is probably...


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[Assistant] Dude, we were, one time, I think I've told this story before, I don't remember. We were, uh, I was with three friends, right? And we were at a White Castle. Wow. Remember White Castle?


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[Assistant] I'm Mikey McNuggets and Coach Tivas gave me a first-class education on how J.O.K. went from being just a guy to being a potential Pro Bowl. He's going to do the same for you in just a few minutes. Man, if he's Old Man Flacco at 38,


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[Assistant] J-okay, you could have said that stood for just okay. This year, the Browns' third year linebacker might be a pro bowler and he did some things against Denver last Sunday that were phenomenal. So good that we had to bring Coach Tyveson in to help explain what he did, why he did it, and why it's so difficult.


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[Assistant] And last year, Instincts were something we questioned about J.O.K. Did he have the requisite instincts to play linebacker to Kuel Jackson? Maybe the best Browns linebacker in the modern era came on our show and said, I don't know if he has the instincts to play the position at a high level. This year, not the case in his sack against Denver appeared to have come off straight instincts and film


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[Assistant] Coach Thomas never scared to shoot a shot. J. Okay, did it on Sunday at work and he'll have to do it again to slow down Kyron Williams and this Rams offense. Jay, back to you.


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[Assistant] Got what, three of them today? Got three of them today, so let's get right to it. First and foremost, these are yes or no questions. Pick aside, no riding the fence. First one.


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[Assistant] Well, the Browns have more rush attempts than pass attempts against the Rams. That was a question we were all asking after they ran the ball just 16 times against Denver. A split fence here. Tyvis Bull and myself said, yeah, they are going to run the ball more, but Earl J Jason and G said, not a chance.


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[Assistant] The Browns allowed quite a few rushing yards to the Broncos, so they're only averaging now 105 rushing yards against. So will the Rams get 105 rushing yards with Kyron Williams in this game? Earl, Jay, Jason, and G said, yeah, the Browns are going to allow more than that. Myself, Bull, and Tyvis all said no. Well, Bull, you're the same trio.


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[Assistant] Alright, last question. Will Dustin Hopkins be the leading scorer for either team? Not a split, but myself and Jason both said yes. The rest of y'all said no.


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[Assistant] If you're looking for a job with career advancement and great benefits, and you can read, check out PCC Airfoils. They're a leading manufacturer in Northeast Ohio, and all locations of PCC Airfoils in Eastlake, Manor, Wycliffe, and Minerva are hiring for all positions starting at $18 and up. Plus, full benefit packages, paid time off, and the signing bonus you can apply


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[Assistant] Online at precast.com slash careers to learn more.


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[Assistant] The last time it happened was 2015. The Houston Texans made the playoffs with four different quarterbacks winning a game. That's not anybody ever had five. I'll double check, but I still got seven weeks. I can't imagine anyone.


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[Assistant] How about jokes on you, Stafford? Jok's pick six late, seals the deal, ending the Rams playoff host. We showcased Jok with Coach Tyvis and I'm all in. I think Jok is another monster game come Sunday. You put a bozo nose on Stafford.


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[Assistant] It was a home show? Was it? Okay. The first ever in-studio Black Friday edition of the Ultimate Cleveland Sports Show. A lot to get to today. Obviously the Browns have a big game this weekend against Denver. We'll recap Thursday's football.


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[Assistant] DTR. Can we get the best out of them? I don't know. We'll see if we can get the best out of these guys. Gee Bush, I know you're dealing with some neck issues, but you're playing through the pain today.


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[Assistant] It's a lot of money. How big is your house? Oh, I've seen your house.


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[Assistant] Yesterday was not a great day of football. None of the games were great. The highlight really of yesterday was Dolly Part. Let's face it. I slept through it. You did. But Twitter and the internet were bananas for Dolly Parton.


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[Assistant] Like, w-nobody agrees on anything. We're in camps for everything, except Dolly Parton. Everybody loves Dolly Parton.


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[Assistant] And I saw reflog tweets, how many people are looking up our age, and we and Mike and I had just Googled it. 77! Crazy.


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[Assistant] Mary Kay sitting on the couch watching some football, like a big stuffed turkey in the Dollyhaven. Hopped on the treadmill, booked the consultation for implants and reassessed my life cold. Hashtag LFGO. Mary Kay's the best. The personality is really coming out on Mary Kay the last couple of years. I love it.


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[Assistant] I mean, she's gotten more comfortable, but she, you know, she goes on with the morning show on, on the fan and they brought personality out of her. I, you know, a lot of people in this business steal credit. So I don't want to do that. I think, I feel like they brought it. I think we've, uh, you know, added to it, but I feel like they,


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[Assistant] Anyway, so the football itself wasn't great, uh, but now we had, we got another game today. It's so bizarre that there's a game at three o'clock this afternoon.


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[Assistant] Yeaah. Dolphins, Jets, and then of course we move to Sunday where the Browns will play the Broncos. And we'll send it to Mike, who was at my house for Thanksgiving.


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[Assistant] Uh, for the Browns at the Broncos, the latest spread at FanDuel, the Broncos are favored by 1.5. The Broncos opened as a 1.5 point favorite, they actually went up to a 2.5 point favorite and then


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[Assistant] Uh, on Wednesday, I believe, it went back to one and a half and it stayed there. The over-under is thirty-six and a half on the game. It's a weird thing that's happening now. Uhm.


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[Assistant] For Browns fans, you know, you know the expression, uh, act, you know, act like you've been there before. You know, Nick Chubb scores touchdown, hands the ball, we're all like, you act like you've been there before. This is a new experience for Browns fans being a good team. Most fans here haven't experienced the Browns being a good team. And there's things that fans are not used to.


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[Assistant] Uh, like there's a lot of trash talking going on for Browns fans through other fan bases, and I think we're preemptive with that. I think we're a little preemptive. Have you seen that with the Broncos? Like, is that a thing?


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[Assistant] Is, and this always happens to teams.


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[Assistant] And every time when the Browns are an underdog in a game, or if somebody out there predicts that the Browns are going to lose, people get personally offended by that.


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[Assistant] But they did not play well yesterday. They were awful in the first. Jared Goff has been the mess the last two weeks. I don't know what's going on. But, but anyway, uh, the point is it's, it's okay. It's not enough. Nobody's trying to piss you off by picking. Sometimes you think the other team is going to win. You can't pick, even us, we can't pick the, well, maybe G, but you can't pick the brows to win every week.


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[Assistant] I picked them a little Seattle. Yeah. Oh yeah, you were right by that. But I'm saying like just...


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[Assistant] And because somebody's picking your team to lose doesn't mean they're rooting for your team to lose. Right? So anyway.


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[Assistant] You could acknowledge that he was put in a tough spot, but it's still his third start.


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[Assistant] Do we think they have to? Like can the Browns win against Denver exactly the same way or


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[Assistant] Is Mike right? Do they need to unlock him or whatever you want to call it to a certain degree? Is he going to have to play better or can he play the same for them to win?


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[Assistant] What a shocker. We never fought my son. He thinks Bigfoot's real. There you go. So they're in that group. But you're allowed to. You're a kid.


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[Assistant] Let me, let me, let me get into this here with, with the Broncos. And absolutely, DTR's gotta do a little more in this game.


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[Assistant] They have to, I was, I was fine with the game plan last week because the Steelers offense is completely inept and


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[Assistant] The Steelers couldn't prepare for that type of offense for the whole game. They adjusted in the second half, but the Browns were able to score 10 points in the first half because at the time the Steelers didn't know going into the game. Well, the Broncos are going into this game saying,


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[Assistant] Is the running game being more effective? And the running game will be more effective, most likely, if you take some deep shots, because that will loosen things up in the middle. The Broncos are a fascinating team because they're, everything about them is average.


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[Assistant] But they're not very good at anything. They're every, their whole roster is a bunch of medium sauce players.


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[Assistant] And uh, but a medium sauce team has the best, they have the longest winning streak in the NFL right now. So, and they're at home. I think,


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[Assistant] It's a one and a half point spread for a reason. This game's a toss-up. And so, yes, DTR's gonna have to get you a little more.


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[Assistant] And I think the way to unlock that is A, take some deep shots and B, run the ball effectively. I think the Browns early in this game are going to have to be creative in how they run the ball.


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[Assistant] Because the Broncos are gonna basically go into this game saying, hey, we're not gonna let you run. DTR's gotta beat us. And we don't know yet if he can.


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[Assistant] Is Flacco, we don't know yet if Flacco's gonna be, technically Flacco's in the practice squad right now, isn't he?


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[Assistant] Well, whatever. Sometime soon, they'd have to add him to the roster.


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[Assistant] Yeah, I don't know. I don't think we know. I think we'll find out on Sunday. Well, we'll find out either today or tomorrow if he's added to the, called up from the practice squad.


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[Assistant] You know, the, the third quarterback can come into the game if he's on the 53.


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[Assistant] But he doesn't have to be active. He doesn't have to be one of the 45 actives. But you gotta be on the 53. Correct. So, but we'll see.


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[Assistant] I mean, I'm trying to look at the teams that are leading their divisions.


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[Assistant] Right, but going into the season, if you would have said Brock Purdy is going to be the quarterback of the playoff, you would have said, what are you, out of your mind? Now he's a, you know.


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[Assistant] Somewhere between the 7th and 15th best quarterback.


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[Assistant] You know, any of us that are old enough, which the three of us are, we remember a day where you could win with


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[Assistant] Yeah, they forced a lot of turnovers the last bunch of weeks, which has obviously helped them.


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[Assistant] The Broncos are one of the worst run defenses in the league. And we've talked, we've had these debates about the running game.


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[Assistant] The Browns gotta be able to run in this game. Yes. Uh, but one of the, I was just trying to think if there's another playoff team that's got a messy quarterback situation.


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[Assistant] And there is. Minnesota right now is a playoff team with Josh Dobbs as their quarterback.


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[Assistant] He's their third quarterback too. It's because they, obviously Cousins gets hurt, and then Jaren Hall, who was a rookie on their team, started the first game after they traded, now Dobbs may have eventually been the starter anyway, but they did draft Jaren Hall, then he got hurt in the first game he played, that's when Dobbs took over.


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[Assistant] I mean, right now there's so many teams with bad quarterback situations, who knows.


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[Assistant] Or have had a quarterback at least leave a game for an injury. It's gotta be more than half the league.


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[Assistant] You know, I know Gino's played every game for Seattle, but he left the last game, and he looked like a mess yesterday. He looked terrible.


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[Assistant] Although I don't, the Patriots have played multiple quarterbacks, but their quarterback sucks. I don't think Mac Jones has actually gotten hurt.


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[Assistant] I don't think you could do anything else.


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[Assistant] He's a, he's a third, I think what we're learning is Elijah Moore at best is a third wide receiver. Yeaah. Right? The Browns don't have a legitimate number two wide receiver.


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[Assistant] It's something they're gonna need to get. They've been trying to do that in the third round of the draft, and so far in three straight years they've failed. Now, again, I'm gonna give Cedric Tillman a little more time.


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[Assistant] It's a rookie season, but still. If you look at Elijah Moore the last two weeks, 11, uh, uh, sorry, 14 targets, 11 catches, 104 yards and a touchdown. That's good.


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[Assistant] But if you, even if you extrapolate that over a full season, you're talking about 850 yards.


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[Assistant] I don't know who it was. Saying Elijah Moore might even be better than Amari Cooper. He was a high draft pick. He clearly was not worthy of where he was drafted. It's three seasons in. When we got him, everybody made the excuse, well, the Jets had bad quarterbacks. Well, okay, now it's three years, and to be fair, the Browns haven't had good quarterback play either for the most part.


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[Assistant] I think Elijah Moore is what he is. I think to expect I think the best case scenario for Elijah Moore is that


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[Assistant] He does what he's done the last two weeks over the course of the season, which is a guy who gets five or six catches, averages about 50 yards, scores a touchdown here or there. If he did that for the rest of the season, I'd take it.


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[Assistant] Who finishes second in receiving yards in the brown? The joker right now has 59 more yards than Elijah Moore. We got what? Seven games to go.


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[Assistant] Who you bettin' on finishing second? Assuming they both play the rest of the year. Anjou, who? Easy.


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[Assistant] Yeah, I think I'd have to agree. I think it's David. I want to say Elijah Moore. I do too. I want to. I think it's better for the Browns if that's the case. Because I don't, I think David Najoku is going to stay on the same pace. And if Elijah Moore finishes ahead,


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[Assistant] I think if I pick Elijah Moore, it's about him being better, not Najoku going backwards. I would like to think


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[Assistant] Yeah, I'll make the case for, I'll, I'll go with more just because I feel like it's better for the Browns if it ends up being more, so. Let me ask you guys this.


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[Assistant] Alright, over under 100 receiving yards for Kareem Hunt this year. Over. Over. I'm going over.


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[Assistant] Over under 100 receiving yards with Cedric Tillman. He's 90 in 7 games.


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[Assistant] Yeah, who was saying, somebody here was saying he was going to play a role in Detroit.


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[Assistant] You know, the Browns have always, for many years, pre-Nick Chubb, were always...


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[Assistant] But this year they don't really have anybody that's a good, like even Amari Cooper has been decent, but I don't really, he doesn't have any touchdowns. They're the Patriots, like they're the Patriots. Yeaah, he does it, like with DTR, Amari's not gonna put up big numbers.


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[Assistant] Okay, now this is a very interesting one guys. This is hard. We talked about it earlier. The Broncos, most of their starters are decent. They don't have a lot of frontline players.


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[Assistant] Although this is an interesting one. Although we won't debate it too long. You're taking CJ Stroud over Miles? Probably not a few days.


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[Assistant] Yeah, Texans, Jets, taking, uh, Jamar Chase over him, week 17, week 18.


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[Assistant] That's right. Yeah, that's right. Who was that again? Nick Carnes?


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[Assistant] Uhm, and then on the Browns, well Denzel's hurt, so I can't include it. That's what complicates it this week is some of these.


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[Assistant] We got this Quinn Mares of the Broncos. We've got...


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[Assistant] I need to say it quick. Is it Chevarious? What's his first name? Ward on the Niners.


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[Assistant] But uhm, I'll tell you, I'm taking number five.


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[Assistant] Alright, so Coralyn Sutton wins the vote, so put him up there.


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[Assistant] I've hurt you, Dustin, I apologize. I called you a rod. I, I don't know what happened. My brain is a little bit of jello right now. Uh, might be too much ice cream. I don't know what's happened, but, uh.


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[Assistant] Yeaah. He needs to be on the list. He needs to be on the list. Quinn Mares and Emerson. No. You got Emerson?


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[Assistant] Well, who we going at seven? Who we voting for? I'm voting for Hopkins again. And I'm gonna stop calling him a rod.


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[Assistant] Where are we? This is number seven. We just had JOK at six.


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[Assistant] I'm losing my mind. Who we going for at 10? So I'm saying 10. I'll vote for Emerson at 10. I got Emerson. I'll take Emerson. Alright. Alright, there you go. Emerson at 10.


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[Assistant] Well, Cooper Cubs hurt, though, right now, so you might not play that game. Well, their running back Kyron Williams is coming back this week, and he had been great earlier this season. Aaron, Aaron Donald's still playing. Oh yeaah.


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[Assistant] And they got Bruce Holt. Yeaah. He's really good too. He's grounded in the form. Go ahead, Mike.


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[Assistant] That's impressive. By the way, before we get to the McNuggets stats, a couple of quick things. Have I told the story about Tobias Harris used to call me on the radio? Yes.


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[Assistant] Okay, I didn't know, it's been so long I don't know what stories I'm telling. One story I didn't tell, that I gotta tell. So Wednesday morning, I can't believe I forgot to tell this on Wednesday's show. Wednesday morning, I'm waking up, it's like 6.45, I sit down at my desk,


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[Assistant] All of a sudden at the front door of the house, 6.45 in the morning, I hear somebody knocking on the door, like, for dear life, like, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.


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[Assistant] My dog goes nuts. I'm like, what the hell is going on at 6.45? Somebody banging on my door at 6.45 in the morning. I walk up to the door and there's two cops there. What? Two Rocky River cops. And I'm like, I'm like, guys, I got no pants. I just did my boxing, right?


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[Assistant] Aaron, who's here, and I think what happened is he maybe used the wrong passcode.


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[Assistant] And so it sent the silent alarm, you know, if you do it on the key, I do it on my phone and shut it off. If you do it on the actual keypad.


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[Assistant] Anyway, there you go. I was not arrested, everything's fine, and I apologize to the police officers for wasting their time. But, uh, it's all good. Go ahead, Mike.


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[Assistant] There's a lot of fascinating things in here, but put that in perspective for a minute. They run 182 more plays. And that's with an offense that's not very good. That's 18 more plays a game. Right? Is my math correct on that?


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[Assistant] I think there's a lot, the biggest factor in this obviously is the fact that the Browns defense has been excellent. I think there are other small factors that have gone to this as well. A, the Browns are a run-heavy team.


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[Assistant] They forced a lot of turnovers, especially, you know, since week four or five. They've also had a lot of turnovers. So even when the other team's getting the ball, even if they do score, it's not a lot of plays because it's a short field. I would love to know how many


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[Assistant] Touchdowns, the Browns defense has given up where the drive had to go 70 or more yards. They gotta be best in the league.


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[Assistant] I would bet a good percentage of the Browns touchdowns allowed have been short fields. A good percentage.


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[Assistant] But the Bengals had none. The Cardinals had none. The two Steeler games were those two long ones. The Ravens had a couple in that first game. Those were short feels. You're right, those were really short feels.


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[Assistant] I mean, I would bet, I would bet the Browns have given up the least amount of 70 yard touchdown drives.


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[Assistant] By the way, that first thing says 39 of 40 throws greater than 10 air yards.


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[Assistant] The Broncos only have 19 total sacks this year. Which has gotta be towards the bottom of the league, no?


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[Assistant] I mean, and they're leading, they have two linebackers who have five sacks to lead the team. And, or five and a half.


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[Assistant] They're dead last in sacks. I figured they were near the bottom. They're dead last.


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[Assistant] Okay, so they essentially have no pass rush.


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[Assistant] I think they'll be able to throw deeper this, you know.


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[Assistant] Last week you talked about all the passes being short. Well part of the reason all the passes were short is because they didn't want to take the time to go downfield because they were worried about Watt and Heisman. This week there's nobody you're worried about on Denver. They don't have one really good pass rusher. Nobody. I never heard of their sackleaders. I never heard of either of those guys.


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[Assistant] I never even heard of either of those. Have you guys heard of either of those guys? No. They have five and a half sacks each. They only have, uh, four players with more than one sack.


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[Assistant] And if two guys are five and a half, two guys are three. So they're rarely getting to the quarterback. They're not good up front. They got a good secondary, but they're not very good up front. This is an opera, like the Brown, if the Brown's offense is going to get going.


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[Assistant] It should get going this week. The only thing the Broncos have done well is take the ball away the last bunch of weeks, and that's been a problem for the Browns. If the Browns protect the ball, I think they'll win the game.


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[Assistant] I guess his strength would be that he's got control really hard.


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[Assistant] Right, but I, I would think this is a team you, it's, it would make sense. Again, with the Steelers, you're worried about their pass rush. With the Broncos, you're not.


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[Assistant] So, it makes, like, if they're gonna take some deep shots this week would seem to be the week to do it. Because the offensive line, and you're getting DeJuan Jones back too. So your offensive line is better. By the way, Gary Christian did not grade out well, I suppose.


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[Assistant] But you're not taking every other team's worst game out. I'm just saying take that one game out. No, but no other team. I mean 70 points is drastic. Okay, but I think what would be better to do is cut it in half.


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[Assistant] I'm saying, protect, take it as if the Dolphins scored 30.


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[Assistant] I think they're a mediocre team. They're a mediocre defense. And a mediocre team can beat anybody on any given day. The NFL has in a way, it feels like a bad year in some ways for the NFL because so many quarterbacks have been hurt.


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[Assistant] But in a way it's a good year because it's so up for grabs. I know the Eagles have been the best team overall.


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[Assistant] But, I don't think the Eagles are any kind of lock to go to the Super Bowl.


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[Assistant] Yeah, I mean Baltimore overall may have played, you could argue Baltimore's been the best team in the AFC.


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[Assistant] But, Lamarce won one playoff game. So, do you have faith in him in the playoffs? That's the thing, a lot of these teams that are playing well,


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[Assistant] They have unproven quarterpacks. So that's why in the end I would still lean towards my homes, but.


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[Assistant] The Browns have been bad. They've given away the ball way too much. And if they don't do that...


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[Assistant] Yeaah, it's been a big turnaround. We've always in the past talked about the Browns are so good on script. And then they struggle to adjust. This year it's been the opposite.


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[Assistant] I mean kickers are often near the leading scorer boards, you know.


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[Assistant] Yeah, it's not really an offensive stat category. It's a special team.


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[Assistant] By the way, Cade York just got cut by the Giants and picked back up on their practice quad.


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[Assistant] He was on the Titans practice squad. He got pulled to the active roster by the Giants, but never actually played. They had two kickers on their roster. Then they cut him and now they put him back on their practice squad. So just remarkable.


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[Assistant] Plus, ba-da-da-da-da, you're lovin' him. Mikey McNuggets. And so many big names, it would take me hours to say all of their names.


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[Assistant] Happy Thursday Cleveland and all Brown fans and Cleveland sports fans everywhere. Don't adjust your screen.


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[Assistant] Of a city whose football team is, has its playoff destiny in its own hands.


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[Assistant] So uhm, I said that we'll talk a little bit of politics. I think we have to because we're, we're, we have the mayor. I mean, how can we not? Uhm,


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[Assistant] You've announced that you're gonna run for re-election. I am. Congratulations. Thank you.


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[Assistant] Before we get into the future, let's get into what your time in office has been like so far.


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[Assistant] Is it what you expected? Is it more than you expected?


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[Assistant] Take us through the timeline and what the waterfront looks like in your mind when it's complete.


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[Assistant] Do you get a sense that the Haslums share your vision for a downtown future?


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[Assistant] Yesterday on Channel 3 we did a story that the Globetrotters are planning a trip to Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse. Oh great. And we had one of their players visit the school that every year Channel 3 adopts a school for our reading program and we follow those kids throughout the year.


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[Assistant] It's been wildly successful and it's been very, very rewarding as a journalist to watch the growth in these young students as we've really put them under the microscope. It's a lot of pressure on these kids in the school and particularly the teacher.


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[Assistant] But yesterday, one of the things that really stood out to me about this whole program is the power of inspiration.


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[Assistant] And there was a Globetrotters player that came to town ahead of the team's visit to promote their coming to Cleveland. And he told a story to the entire school about how in the ninth grade, the Harlem Globetrotters came to his school.


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[Assistant] And he sat in attendance and he said, that's what I'm gonna do.


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[Assistant] And I bring that up to you because you, as you know,


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[Assistant] ...are a powerful figure in this community, not just because you're mayor, because you are that shining example of what you can do when you put your mind to it. When you were a nine-year-old boy.


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[Assistant] What was your vision for your future? And second part, what is your message to all the nine year old boys and girls in Cleveland that may feel a lack of hope? But there's a bridge to get to where they want to go.


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[Assistant] One of the, a piece of the bill, and I was unaware of this until yesterday, we did this story on Channel 3, was that, and it's currently written, is that,


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[Assistant] Actual marijuana offenders would have an inside track to becoming entrepreneurs and owning dispensaries which I thought was really interesting


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[Assistant] It sounds like that's going to become very political and that may be stripped from the bill. What's your thought on that?


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[Assistant] It'd be interesting to see those dollars flow into some of these communities legally. Exactly. And how that might change the face of some of the blight throughout the city, not just here in Cleveland, but in many major cities throughout Ohio. Couple of big issues that I want to get to before we let you go because I know you're on a schedule.


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[Assistant] You recently made a very interesting comment to me, one that I know is applauded in many circles, about the gun violence in Cleveland. There's been so many different avenues to attack that. And Cleveland is not alone. This is a problem in most major American cities.


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[Assistant] And you said something that I'm not sure if it's completely unique, but I hadn't heard it. You looked...


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[Assistant] To the parents of these young kids, 13, 14 year olds, who are roaming streets with guns illegally.


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[Assistant] You said the parents play a role in this. And he pushed back from that. How was that received? And that I know of, I haven't heard many go that route.


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[Assistant] I like the way you said it. Common sense. Common sense. We have a light note that we're going to get you out of here on, but before we do that, I have to ask an airport question. Yes. This is a big issue right now for a lot of Clevelanders. I know you want to extend


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[Assistant] There's been some goings on recently that looks like it might just be sort of a stopgap to get to ultimately where we want to go. Where is the airport project and what's the future?


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[Assistant] They would deserve it. And Taylor as well. Uh, we're gonna play a piece of video after you leave about Travis Kelsey and MGK on their podcast where MGK makes an offer for Travis to come home and play for the Browns. And the one thing that stood out to me about that clip


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[Assistant] What's interesting to me is one day both will end up very near their hometown in Canton.


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[Assistant] Alright, great. Uh, we talked about that video. If you haven't seen it yet, it was, it was pretty entertaining. Uh, MGK.


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[Assistant] On Travis Kelce and Jason's podcast, uh, MGK has an offer.


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[Assistant] Could you imagine, in, you know, hindsight's 20-20, nobody knew Travis Kelsey was gonna become Travis Kelsey. But could you imagine, had the Browns drafted him, the fate of their organization would look differently today?


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[Assistant] That's the caveat, but yea. My goodness. I don't think it would have been all that.


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[Assistant] No, I fully, even after he signed his last deal, which I knew would be, would take him into his late thirties, I still expect at some point he's going to want to come home. He's going to want to put that Brown's uniform on before he calls it a career. So maybe if it's just for that one last year, but could you imagine Jason and Travis Kelsey?


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[Assistant] Every team is dry. It looks pedestrian when anyone other than the Eagles run that play. It just, they don't, but when the Eagles run it, there's no drama in it at all. It's a guarantee. You know he's gonna move the pile two yards. That tax is in the tush push. It's unreal.


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[Assistant] As a true road team in the playoffs. I know that right now it's the Ravens, but I still think the Chiefs are gonna get the one seed. Alright, Mike, I know you gotta do a read before we move on, so.


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[Assistant] All right, great. Uh, we gotta talk Brown's quarterback. Joe Flacco. Looks, it looks like Flacco is officially the quarterback number two on the Brown's roster. Moving past as, as our friend Typhus to call him Philip on the depth chart. PJ Walker now.


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[Assistant] The number three quarterback on this depth chart. That's obviously the big question for Sunday is, is DTR going to clear protocol? He didn't yesterday, he didn't practice. Uh, we'll find out later today if he's going to practice today. It's looking more and more unlikely.


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[Assistant] You can point to every metric that measures a quarterback and say he's way below standard. And then you look at his win-loss record and you say, wait a minute, Smoke and Mears, how the hell is this guy doing that? He beat the 49ers!


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[Assistant] All I'm saying is, you mentioned every single metric that measures quarterback play.


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[Assistant] He is woefully below average, probably dead last in the league in all of them. Yet there's one stat, and this is the stat that quarterbacks are measured by, ultimately there's one thing. Are you winning games? He did that, and I'll never figure out how he did it, especially when you're, when you're at a more than three to one turnovers to touchdowns.


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[Assistant] No, but it's, it, it is, you know, it's the stat that's listed first for all pitchers. I mean, ERA is way more important. I look at WIP. I look at a lot of other things, but you are what your record says you are. That was famously said once upon a time by I believe Bill Parcell. And it's true.


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[Assistant] Now both of those wins, the San Francisco thing, obviously Niners missed a late field goal. Here's, here's what gives me real hope for the season moving forward. The formula outside of the quarterback is for the most part what it is. They were all doing it without Nick Chubb.


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[Assistant] PJ did it with a banged up line. We're still gonna have a banged up line.


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[Assistant] The defense is still there. Yes, there are some dings on that defense, but it's getting late. Everybody has those. To me, my silver lining in all of this is, if PJ Walker


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[Assistant] With everything else around him can go 2-1 and the victories are against teams with winning records that are both in playoffs. I love their chances against Houston, Jacksonville, the Rams, moving forward with the Joe Flacco or at least DTR. He's proven


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[Assistant] If he's good enough to win with all these other moving parts, there's no reason DTR and Joe Flacco can't win as well.


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[Assistant] And in the case of DTR, and for sure, Deshaun Washington. Way more mobile. They can just make the option to, I'm not going to throw it, I'm going to run it, and often times get a first down. With Joe Flacco, when that pocket breaks, the play's over.


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[Assistant] And with the line being in the shape that it's in right now and the way that certain players were exposed last week that maybe had been looking okay prior to that, that's my biggest fear in this game. My biggest fear is if you ask Joe Flacco to drop back 30 times and stand still, it's not going to end well. To your point.


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[Assistant] You have to run the ball early and often it's critical that they don't dig themselves another 14 point lead.


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[Assistant] When you get that 8-9 yard pickup on first down, the playbook is wide open. You want to send a message to the back end of that defense that you're going to try to take the top off of it. Second and one, second and two, dial up a long ball, keep them honest, keep the safeties from peeking into the backfield to try to help with run support.


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[Assistant] I don't know, I wish we had a guy that was a true deep threat.


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[Assistant] Just by their alignment. And he called that number and he checked into some plays and he made some big throws. If you think about the last two drives the Jets had.


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[Assistant] Was a deep ball to Corey Davis. That, there was a complete breakdown by the Browns, but he saw it. You know, I don't know that a young quarterback necessarily sees that. So, I mean, if we could get that, Joe Flacco, and there's something to be said too for a guy sitting on the couch for nine weeks.


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[Assistant] You say something all the time that is so true, and I used to have these dreams a lot when I first quit playing baseball.


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[Assistant] I used to have, my recurring dream was, I was putting my uniform on, and I was in the bullpen, getting loose, getting ready for a start, and I would wake up, and I would be depressed. Oh! Because I'd be like, that's, I'm never gonna have that again. I don't know, you played baseball. You woke up, I did, I, wake up and


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[Assistant] Yes, I mean, you felt like you could cry.


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[Assistant] Amateur adult baseball league. I'm like, wait a minute, I'm gonna go out and try this out. I don't know what the competition's gonna look like, but.


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[Assistant] That first time I put a uniform on that had been over eight years.


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[Assistant] Stepping out onto that SoFi field, Sunday afternoon.


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[Assistant] He's gonna feel like he did the very first time he stepped on an NFL field again.


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[Assistant] And hopefully, he can manifest that into a really nice performance. Rejuvenate it. Yeaah.


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[Assistant] Well, yesterday, it was, he's number two on the depth chart. So,


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[Assistant] If he plays well enough for me, he can win this job.


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[Assistant] And I know that most of our viewers don't remember this, uh, I barely remember it, but when the Dolphins had the last undefeated season in the NFL, Bob Greasy went down.


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[Assistant] Uh, about two-thirds of the season, and everybody in the NFL thought, well, there goes their perfect season, even though they had a really good running game then.


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[Assistant] I don't think anybody thought that Earl Morrow was going to come in and maintain that perfection and take it all the way to a Super Bowl victory.


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[Assistant] Not saying that that's gonna happen here with Joe Flacco, but there is precedent.


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[Assistant] I think it's particularly important with this team because you have so many other pieces that are competent. When you look at the defense, Joe Flacco has to be thrilled.


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[Assistant] To know that he's playing with a defense like the one he has. Uhm, and when now you put the leader of any team, I know there are other leaders, but to me, the leader of a football team is your quarterback.


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[Assistant] He sets the tone on offense. I know you can have a leader on defense too, but I just think that


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[Assistant] I think it's gonna change everybody's perspective when they look into the huddle and say, oh, okay, now that's a grown ass man with a real resume, with real accomplishments. Let's go get this.


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[Assistant] Even though it's a little cop out. I'd be curious to hear what G Bush says. I think your answer is the right answer. Uhm, where when you started down the Aaron Donald road and again, this is no disrespect to Miles Garrett when he's done.


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[Assistant] And so I mean, look, my hope and even expectation is Miles can get close to that. I think he can win a defensive player of the year. I think that's what's so


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[Assistant] Unfortunate about the timing of this injury. He's never been closer to that NFL defensive MVP award. I think that's why he's gonna play and play in pain.


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[Assistant] Because he knows how close he is to getting the Browns to the playoffs and to getting his hands on that MVP trophy. And who knows what can happen if they get in the playoffs. But for right now, and again, no disrespect to Miles.


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[Assistant] And you've got the defense and the time to strike is now, we talked a lot this week about the run pass distribution in Denver. Um, I, we all thought that it was way off. There were varying degrees of it. Uh, G. Bush and I came in here.


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[Assistant] Leroy thought that was the case. He said that Denver was coming with false eight, nine guys in the box and then backing them out. And it was Leroy's impression that when they would flood the line of scrimmage in their pre-snap read that DTR would


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[Assistant] And whatever play they checked into, it was actually a run to the running back.


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[Assistant] Who took it for 15 yards. And I thought those are the little things that teammates can do that are veterans that can help these rookie quarterbacks along.


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[Assistant] Uh, and we gotta check in with her in about three minutes to make sure that everything is okay.


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[Assistant] Because we don't want a stranger coming into our house and she wouldn't be able to tell anybody about it.


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[Assistant] The one thing that, uh, that really resonates with me is the fact that, and you followed it with the Joe Flacco won't need that.


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[Assistant] Was that, like, there's a lot of times when DTR probably comes to the line and he's looking at something and he doesn't know what it is. And when that headset, Mike goes dead.


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[Assistant] You're out there on an island. It can be a Joel Betonio who turns around and has a buzzword and maybe that buzzword is to check down to the second play or to hold on to the first one or whatever, but it takes a team and those veteran eyeballs that can look at something and know that is a false flag.


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[Assistant] They are not bringing eight guys. Uh, they're bringing four and four of them are going to drop out. Joe Flacco is going to catch


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[Assistant] This quarterback has been the youngest player in the huddle. Starting Sunday.


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[Assistant] And if it goes well moving forward, the oldest player in the huddle will be your quarterback. And there is value in that experience. I really think there is. So whether or not he physically can perform the job and all the duties that go with it like he once could, we don't need him to be 2013 Joe Flacco. We don't.


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[Assistant] Uhm, this offense can be effective handing the ball off and converting third downs. When you have a third down throw.


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[Assistant] Completing those third downs. I want to see him throw the ball 15 to 20 times. No more. You want the Tebow playbook?


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[Assistant] I'm fine with that. I'm fine with that because with this defense, the trestle ball formula will work.


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[Assistant] There's, there's great value in getting someone's description from 30,000 feet.


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[Assistant] We're, we're in the clouds, man. We're in the weeds and, and everything is magnified for us, particularly in the moment.


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[Assistant] They were singing Stefanski's praises yesterday.


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[Assistant] Excuse is worth in. I 100% agree with her. But show me another team.


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[Assistant] No, I mean, when the season came, when the schedule came out, we were like, oh my god.


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[Assistant] And Burroughs out now for 18, so I think those are two big thumbs up.


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[Assistant] For me, I don't think it's, my, my, uh. I was neutral on this one. I was neutral too. I, I, I.


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[Assistant] Didn't love that we started Cincinnati Pittsburgh because that can go sideways really quickly.


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[Assistant] You go 0-2 in your division to start the season. Like I know the NFL tried to stick the screws to the Browns with that and the Browns weren't having it. It would have been so much better had they not had that strip sack fumble at the end that led to the Steelers win. Cause if you, on the flip side, if you start 2-0.


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[Assistant] You got runway to an AFC North title.


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[Assistant] This team isn't as good as I thought they were. Cause I, at that time we didn't know that the Colts were gonna be at 6 wins at this point in the season and in position for a playoff spot. So I think I was, I felt a little better about the Ravens game in real time the first time.


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[Assistant] Second time neutral. I mean, I knew they were going to be a very good team. They were hot. Uh, they were hot. It was at their place. I didn't expect that they would, you know, be able to go there and get a win. So I was pretty neutral on the second one, but the first one I thought schedule gods helped us out, you know, with the timing of everything coming off the Colts loss.


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[Assistant] G. Bush was the only one on the panel that picked the Browns to win. I thought he was joking too. Deceit, listen, I, I...


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[Assistant] What's funny, I think that's true. I thought the schedule gods, you know, got them on that one too. But in retrospect, now that we have the benefit of the results, the two following weeks.


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[Assistant] We got the Niners and maybe we put them in that. See, I think, I think they put them in that tailspin. But they lost three in a row after that and everybody suddenly was looking at this team, which was once the NFC favorite saying, wait a minute, who are they?


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[Assistant] I thought it was good because I thought Gardner Mitshu was in there and that ended up not being good.


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[Assistant] Uhm, I don't think there were any extenuating injury circumstances for that one.


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[Assistant] That was the game that I'll, I'll circle that one for, I think Stefanski's.


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[Assistant] Where you easily could have run it, kept the ball going. I think that that was one that we're gonna look back on. If one, if one win keeps us out. For me, the Pittsburgh one was a gut wrencher, but so was Seattle. They, they, am I correct?


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[Assistant] It's one of only two games that the Brawls really weren't in.


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[Assistant] They were, they were, I mean the final score is deceiving obviously with the late garbage scores, but I, I would have much rather played them when Sean Payton was wondering if he lost his fastball and so was Russ. They both now,


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[Assistant] The next five where it gets interesting, cause these are the five we haven't played yet.


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[Assistant] I feel worse about this now than I did when the season started.


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[Assistant] When the schedule came out, I'm like, oh, that's a win. That's a winnable game.


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[Assistant] Now it's not, now it's not as easy. No. Williams has become a superstar. Nakua has become a superstar.


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[Assistant] They are, they've got a winning record. They're, they have their playoff fate in their own hands. Those are five and six technically. Are they five and six? I thought they were six and five.


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[Assistant] They keep winning, they're going. And I just thought that this was going to be a game, I'm not afraid of the LA road crowd.


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[Assistant] And I'm still not afraid of it, but I just think that the Rams to me have proven to be a better team than I thought they were going to be.


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[Assistant] If they win, their chances of making the playoffs go up to 81%.


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[Assistant] If they lose, they go down below 60%.


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[Assistant] So Jacksonville to me is neutral. I knew that was going to be a battle.


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[Assistant] Obviously because we're on quarterback number four, it's more difficult now than I thought it was gonna be. I thought we'd have Deshaun Watson. So I wouldn't be neutral on this. I would say this one is harder to me.


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[Assistant] Then it was when the schedule came out and Houston is a slam dunk. Houston is much harder than I thought it was.


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[Assistant] Well, listen, they were operating on that razor thin margin against San Francisco. And it worked. They were operating on that razor thin margin against Indianapolis. Look, in the moment, every game feels like a must win. That's the beauty of the NFL. Every game takes on such an added importance, particularly in December and particularly when you're in a playoff race. Is it a must win?


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[Assistant] The answer to that is technically no. There is a clear path to the playoffs without winning. But you make your degree of difficulty getting there.


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[Assistant] He's doing the same stuff he would be doing if he wasn't on our active roster.


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[Assistant] Things worked out for them with maneuverability on the roster that they could activate him and open that 21 day window. Don't lie to yourself.


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[Assistant] So he could pound his chest and say, I did what everyone said I couldn't. You're not gonna carry your team to a playoff win. Stay in mothballs.


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[Assistant] Salah said he has every expectation that he's going to be with the Jets next season. Do it next year. If he plays he's gonna get hurt.


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[Assistant] With his Tuesday appearance on Pat McAfee.


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[Assistant] It was an all in move, similar in some ways to what the Browns did. Uhm, the Browns obviously had a much younger quarterback.


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[Assistant] Who they felt could take them to a Super Bowl and they were gonna get them for five years with the Jets. You know, they are, they were in quarterback purgatory just as long as the Browns were. They didn't have an answer at that position. They made a bold move and they went all in and it blew up in their face.


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[Assistant] First wave. That's crazy. It was nuts. Absolutely nuts.


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[Assistant] They were tougher in the day because they took a beating. Right. There were no rules protecting the quarterbacks.


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[Assistant] Let's now look at the landscape and play it on a macro skip. So do we feel better? Are the football gods shining on the Browns now? Well, on one hand, we're decimated with injuries, but on the other hand, you've eliminated three of the top four quarterbacks are likely not a threat right now. Josh Allen is still lurking on the fringe.


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[Assistant] Joe Burroughs and Mothballs, they're not a threat. Even Kansas City, I know Kansas City is in the driver's seat.


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[Assistant] Are we going to do rams matchups here or are we going to do calves? No, we'll do rams matchups.


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[Assistant] And the reason why you say any, they've got double barrel where they can come at you with Cooper Cup or now Nakua.


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[Assistant] I see too many times in the NFL where the wide receiver realizes he's not gonna catch it, and he doesn't turn into a defender.


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[Assistant] If that's a throw-up ball and the defender is in better position to get it,


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[Assistant] You need to do whatever you need to do, including pass interference. Because you keep the football in that scenario. When you don't defend that, you're giving the football up.


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[Assistant] At this point in their career, I think Nakua is the fresher legs. Cooper Cup's numbers have just been pedestrian. He hasn't. Last five weeks he's not been good. He has not been Cooper Cup. So, I want Emerson on their biggest threat. Who I still think, I think now is Nakua. I don't think it's Cooper Cup anymore.


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[Assistant] They were getting gashed in the run game at times on Sunday. And again, Sunday was such a weird game to me because


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[Assistant] When you're watching it, you got the sense that the Broncos were having a lot of success offensively. But the final numbers...


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[Assistant] I mean, Russell threw for 135. They had fewer than 300 total yards.


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[Assistant] To get, to have 29 points with fewer than 300 yards, you gotta have a safety, you gotta have a short field giveaway. And they did.


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[Assistant] They were effective. They were efficient. When they needed to move it, they moved it. And you didn't see their punter a whole lot. And I think, for me, I think the matchup that I'm gonna be most watching is actually, and you make a lot of sense with the Aaron Donald against the Browns guards, but for me,


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[Assistant] I am, I think this game comes down to one thing. Who's playing for the Browns defense?


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[Assistant] And I said this yesterday, the three that are in question are Anthony Walker. Did Walker practice yesterday? I don't think he did.


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[Assistant] Yeah, I don't think you did either. But for me, the big three, one at each level, Miles Garrett, Anthony Walker, Denzel Ward. I think if you have two of those three,


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[Assistant] You can win. And even if one of those two is...


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[Assistant] I still think that him being out there is going to draw attention away from.


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[Assistant] Other Browns defenders and they'd be able to get home. But you gotta have two of those three. So for me, it's gonna be...


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[Assistant] An injured Miles Garrett against the Rams offensive front.


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[Assistant] Like, come back player of the year worthy. At least on this, no, no, for the Browns. For the Browns. Like, a guy that, you just, you...


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[Assistant] Hell. We were giving up on him. Dequel said he would have caught him. And he knows the position as well as anybody. And he just said there's nothing there.


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[Assistant] And here he is playing at times like a pro bowl linebacker, and I think that's a huge testament to the work he did, but also to Schwarzenegger.


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[Assistant] I mean, DTR, it happens to him every time he plays. He's a chick. He's a young chick and he got blasted. If you're 38 or 18 or 28, that's going to knock you out of the game. You know what? Thank you so much for saying that.


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[Assistant] Like you know what I'm talking about? Like is that other reference? When they get a chance. Yeaah, it feels like that. That's why it's so impressive that Patrick Mahomes has run and has stayed healthy because he's like chasing a chicken.


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[Assistant] In fact, sometimes when you strengthen the muscles around them, you're gonna stress them more than they were intended to be stressed. Yep. Which is, it's almost oxymoronic.


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[Assistant] You can overpower a ligament with bigger muscle and obviously you can add muscle mass for sure. You gotta be careful.


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[Assistant] Running back in the league would have been in the same position.


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[Assistant] Athletes refer to civilians often times as gen pop. Their general population.


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[Assistant] I've heard pro athletes, particularly big football players, talk about what you just said.


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[Assistant] You put the average person from gen pop on a football field and take one hit, it's a wrap. It's over. They're gone.


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[Assistant] It is so violent, and you're right, TV doesn't do it justice. I remember the first time I ever stood on the sidelines of an NFL game. I was 23 years old. Coolest thing ever. And my eyes were wide open the entire time.


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[Assistant] Kool-Aid mafia. There you go. Not wrong. There we go. Not wrong.


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[Assistant] Alright, what are we going to do for overtime? Do we want to tease ahead of that? We haven't talked about memberships and likes yet today, have we? No. We haven't done that. So if you're watching and you're a regular viewer of the Ultimate Cleveland Sports Show, hit the like button. It's free. It helps us a lot. Also, if you haven't done so already and we know more than 30


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[Assistant] Some thousand have. Hit the subscribe. You'll be notified whenever there's breaking news. Uhm, UCSS.


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[Assistant] Shines the batlight, you know, like they did on Batman, and one of the UCSS cast members.


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[Assistant] We'll scurry in front of a camera, a phone somewhere and they'll be bringing you live content on that said breaking news. So if you're a Cleveland sports fan and you want to know the very latest as it happens, hit that subscribe button and you'll never miss a live show because it can happen at 3.30 today.


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[Assistant] There he is. That's a great shot of a camera. It looks like a camera. He's, he's actually a cameraman. There he is. Um, he's going to join us with some McNugget stories that you don't want to miss. So if you haven't become a coaches to your member yet,


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[Assistant] That gives you free access to all of our over times. You may want to spend the buck 99 a month. Is that what it is? $4.99 a month. Damn inflation.


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[Assistant] I would be remiss if due to the nature of our friendship.


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[Assistant] I think that right now you should ride with DTR, but you know, it was kinda like what we talked about last week. You know, get him ready to go. Get Joe Flacco ramped up and ready to go.


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[Assistant] Because you never know. Obviously last year he showed that he still has some experience. He can still get things done. Obviously when we lost to him in the Jets game, he made some throws in that game that was pretty incredible, but...


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[Assistant] Right now, I ride the DTR wave right now, uhm, cause you, you gotta get him ready at some point. Let him get these live reps, and you know, once the season comes down to it at the end, if he starts to struggle a little bit, then yeaah, you might wanna replace him with Joe Flacco, but right now, just ride the DTR wave. Gene, you feel the same way? Same as yesterday?


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[Assistant] Brought Joe Flacco in this week opposed to last week is because Deshaun Watson is getting surgery I think today.


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[Assistant] Well Aditi, Kenny Pickens need to get it together because I got George Pickens on my team and I need him to really go off. I'm going up against McNuggets this week and it's a really big week, but that's neither here nor there. The Browns right now are in a four-way tie for second place in the AFC. Can you believe that? First of all, and when the dust settles,


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[Assistant] Where do you think they finish in the seeding of the seven seeds? Or do you think they don't make it? I wish it would be our asinine to think that they wouldn't make it.


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[Assistant] Well, no, because I'm a Browns fan, but I'm also a realist.


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[Assistant] Anyways, listen, is the defensive player of the year, is that package, should they just package it up right now and give it to Miles Garrett because it's like, should be over with by then?


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[Assistant] I mean, no, you're not crazy. Like I said, you gotta give Denver they respect because the slick-haired dude is playing really well as of late.


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[Assistant] So, defensively they've turned it on for sure. I mean, obviously guys have gotten healthy. I just see my boy KJak get suspended for four years. That's a big deal.


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[Assistant] I didn't see a difference when I got there, to be honest with you. I didn't, like, my stamina was still pretty good. Uhm, but I- It was. It was. Arts.


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[Assistant] What's wrong with y'all, man? I'm trying to explain something here, y'all gonna go there. Anyways, I do like the Browns. The way the Browns are playing right now, it's a new meaning. Um, DTR gotta get more chemistry with his receivers because no, some of them passes he threw was behind.


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[Assistant] He was like a little late on him, so he's gotta get more chemistry and understand the timing of that. Obviously they're gonna do a great job of disrupting that.


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[Assistant] But I just, I like the, they run the ball effectively, which I think the Browns can do.


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[Assistant] Against the Broncos, which was something that didn't happen against Pittsburgh.


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[Assistant] Even though they had a bunch of injuries to the linebackers in safety position, they run the ball effectively. I think DTR could have a really good game.


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[Assistant] I don't see nobody, well I guess PS2 is there for, for Amari Cooper, but Elijah Moore's gotta step up and make plays. That, that's to me is the key. And David Najoku can't drop the ball. Those two things happened, Elijah Moore and David Najoku step up were good.


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[Assistant] You gotta secure the catch. You gotta throw up the rock, catch it, tuck it, then make


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[Assistant] All the receivers, especially Coop is, that's where he's most effective anyway.


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[Assistant] Yeah, but like you say, in the last two minutes, everybody, the only thing that's on the DB's mind is don't let nothing go over my head. Give up something in front of me, rally and tackle. So when you, when Elijah Moore does a 12-yard curl, or whatever you want to call it,


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[Assistant] Yeah, I'ma get that up. And DTR did a great job of threading the needle in there. That's gonna be open in two minutes.


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[Assistant] But, you gotta keep a defense honest throughout the course of a game by at least...


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[Assistant] You know, pushing the ball down the field because as, as the, oh, after the first quarter, if I see, all right, they not doing nothing. Second quarter, they still not doing nothing. I'm flat footed. I'm sitting at the sticks and I ain't moving. But you, you gotta, you gotta have big cojones to do that.


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[Assistant] I'm not criticizing the game plan. Let's be fair, I'm not criticizing it. I'm saying at some point though. Absolutely. You gotta do it because it's a confidence thing. And I still wanted to see him, I wish David LeJocoup would have caught that touchdown because his confidence would have been through the roof after that.


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[Assistant] What you gonna do when Mcnuggets charted where it's all the same thing? Yeaah, I don't know. You can do that eventually.


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[Assistant] And stayed on the inside and he just found that seam and pew, was out of there. Anthony, next up.


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[Assistant] You know what, somebody gotta be on the opposite, and I go weak too.


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[Assistant] He runs into, he runs into- He did well in the, when Nick Chubb went down against Pittsburgh. He runs into too many stacks.


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[Assistant] Probably like, probably like, three weeks ago. Was it the same, like, do you look at that and be like, this is McNugget? I feel like it doesn't, oh, like


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[Assistant] It is for this season. Like you're going up against Houston, who's really good. You're going up against Jacksonville. So a lot of the teams that you're going to see maybe in the postseason, you're actually going to see them in the regular season. So you, it's going to be quite interesting to see how they go up against those guys that defensively we already know.


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[Assistant] If DTR can be serviceable, maybe throw some touchdowns and not turn the ball over for the rest of the season, then I don't see why they can't go very far in the playoffs and potentially go to a Super Bowl.


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[Assistant] It's very- That's the difference. It's very interesting to be in that type of scenario because we talk about Kevin Stefanski as the play caller, like everything is fixed, and we get to the playoffs?


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[Assistant] Like anything they do beyond making it into the post season, like the success they have actually comes down to Kevin Stefanski. How creative can you be? You're supposed to be this really good genius at being a good play caller.


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[Assistant] Can you keep, continue to put your guys in this situation? Can you get that young quarterback ready? Can you get that run game going? Can you get these one on one matchups to create these one on one?


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[Assistant] I wouldn't take that out on him though, but if he's scheming it and it's open, like that ultimately comes down to DTR, which part of quarterback development is his thing too.


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[Assistant] The next three weeks, G, tell me if they can beat another, cause they played at Browns, Rams, and then at Jacksonville. Broncos. Uh, Broncos, Rams, Jacksonville.


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[Assistant] They, after this season, I think they gonna turn a whole new tide.


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[Assistant] They've tailored down, but they reminded me of the Chiefs at the beginning of this year. I think they did. Like when I played the Chiefs, when I was in San Francisco, it was like,


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[Assistant] For some reason the Rams really bothered me for some reason. You know why the Rams bothered me? Because of how they're doing it. Because they're staying out on the west coast in LA.


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[Assistant] They got, they got, they got two or three more losses.


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[Assistant] Hey G New, man, what was it like getting that first pick six, well actually your first career NFL interception and then taking it to the house? What was that like, man?


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[Assistant] It wasn't about Richard Sherman. That's interesting because, you know, so yesterday I did that, we had the same event in Columbus and it was the Buckeyes that was there.


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[Assistant] I was there because, you know, as y'all know, I do the collective thing. We had a couple of athletes there and I was there to, you know, just to be with them, make sure everything goes smooth. I ended up


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[Assistant] Doing the event, and the news people came in and they're like, let's interview you, and I'm like...


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[Assistant] I'm, I'm just looking at the, uh, the Broncos last couple of games, which you say they're on a four game win streak.


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[Assistant] When I look at some of the teams that they beat, you know, obviously the Chiefs is good, but that was like his flu game or something like that.


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[Assistant] That's a good win, that's a really good win. And then the Bills have lost players for injury, but when I look at these on the D- They beat the Bills? Yea, they beat the Bills 24-24. Yea, yea, that's a good win.


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[Assistant] I'm not, my point is, is when I look at the Browns, you know, versus the four games that they play, I think on a complete defensive side.


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[Assistant] And I think that's where the struggle will be or the challenge will be. But I think it's a, that pass rush, the way Jim Schwartz got those guys going, I think that it can become overwhelming for a guy like Russell. Now don't get me wrong, Russell has played a ton of football. He's been to a Super Bowl, he's a Super Bowl champion.


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[Assistant] I think that when you, until you see it live, like people can tell you all about it, you can watch it on tape. But once you see it live, it's like this, they're different. Like that, that Browns pass rush is very different and guys won't be able to just win their one on one routes like that because these corners do a really good job of being extra sticky.


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[Assistant] And I think Russell will have to put it on the line a couple of times. He's gonna have to try to make some of those throws that's gonna be in tight coverage. And if those DBs is getting their hand on the ball, I think the Browns will buy all the time in the world for DTR to get settled in and have a really good game.


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[Assistant] He getting back to, he getting back to his, uh, his pre-injury form. We locking y'all up though.


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[Assistant] Well, the Browns have overcome so much adversity that when they get to the postseason.


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[Assistant] If I'm a player, I'd rather play in Miami in the playoffs.


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[Assistant] I tell you what, ever since they flashed them Courtland Sutton stats, it made me think about, I think the last time we played them there, didn't he have like a crazy like one-hand catch on Denzel? He caught like a one-hand catch in the end zone on Denzel.


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[Assistant] It'll be quite interesting. Obviously I know Denzil's playing at a high level right now. He'll probably remember that and probably be up for that challenge. So I'm not really worried about it in that standpoint, but.


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[Assistant] Although that was the COVID year and people had to deal with that, you didn't deal with losing.


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[Assistant] Which one do you think is more impact, the higher end of gym sports or the trade for the kicker?


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[Assistant] But the problem is the main players that's making the plays is the same players that's been here. Miles, the secondary.


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[Assistant] I'm glad you brought him up, Jim Schwartz, because this is the perfect staff for what this season has been, because he won a Super Bowl.


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[Assistant] Hey Kareem, you know, you've been in the huddle with Deshaun, PJ Walker,


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[Assistant] And now DTR. What is, what have you seen from DTRY? What's the different mentality of these guys?


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[Assistant] I tell you what, yesterday man, we, I was there for two hours, I think it goes from eleven to five, I was there for two hours, we fed at least four buses.


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[Assistant] I think Jay said last year it was around a thousand, but don't quote me on that number. It was a packed house. That's a good deal, man. And they get the clothes, they get to pick out the clothes. I was joking with the one lady, she was like, look at my jacket. I was like, ooh, you in the game.


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[Assistant] Yeah, I'm being Worcester at my in-laws. I'll probably go there tomorrow after the show, kick things off Thursday. We usually do our, as a matter of fact, my wife and I pick up the honey baked ham, but we get turkey, honey baked turkey. The glazed one on the outside.


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[Assistant] I'm Jason Lloyd and you only have to watch the game because we're going to give you pre-written headlines. We're going to tell you what happens on Sunday before the game. Mikey.


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[Assistant] You have to give, you'd have to lean toward Pickett because at least he has the experience. I would take that first Baltimore game, crumple it up, burn it, throw it out. It doesn't matter with DTR. It was, he was really thrown into a bad spot. He was a rookie, found out two and a half hours before the game. It was even going to be him.


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[Assistant] He had all the practice reps this week. I talk about all the time. It makes an enormous difference. When you're the guy under center, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, it makes a massive difference on Sunday. Can he be better than Pickett? Yeaah, he can be. Kenny Pickett, we were talking about on the YouTube show a little bit ago. He's been terrible in first halfs of games, even three quarters.


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[Assistant] For some reason, he pulls it together and he's had some big drives for them for the Steelers in fourth quarter moments. I still like the Browns defense in this. They just need DTR. Don't turn the ball over. That's the most important thing. Be safe, be sound.


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[Assistant] Know where you're going with it. Don't try and force things. Don't try and do some of the Baltimore throws that we saw in a double and triple coverage.


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[Assistant] Just take what's in front of you, hand the ball off, play action, deep shots on third down, keep it simple and the Browns can win this game.


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[Assistant] And be on time. Be there for kickoff. You can have all the tailgate minutes early. Go to tailgate, have your fun, but be aware of the crowds, the lines. Get in there on time. Be in there for the kickoff. That place is going to be lathered up on Sunday.


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[Assistant] It's a race to ten. I think ten gets him in. It's gotta be the right ten.


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[Assistant] And they've got to win over the Colts. That could come into play with tiebreakers. You've got to beat the Steelers or else you lose the tiebreaker. Like you said, you're really far back. Not to mention, they're on the West Coast for the next two after this. That's a big swing. They're not even coming home in between. They're going to Denver, then they're going straight to LA. So they're going to be out of their routine a little bit.


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[Assistant] You gotta get to 10 wins. I think they can do it. I think there's four more wins to get in there, but Denver looks better than we thought they would by beating Buffalo. The Rams is not a pushover.


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[Assistant] Houston all of a sudden is a big game coming up. So this is a game being at home. They got a lot of road games on the second half of the season. This is a big one. I agree with you. It's not a must win. It's a gotta have it.


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[Assistant] For this game. At practice today. Yeaah. So that should help on the TJ. I said, we've seen James Hudson against TJ Watt two years in a row and it's been a murder both times. Yeaah. We don't want to see that movie again. If it's James Hudson, I tend to agree with Tyvis. Yeaah. I'm making my answer on the fact that I think it's going to be Dewan Jones. Okay.


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[Assistant] Well if it's Jaren Christian on the left side, the Browns are going to have to shade help to that side. They are. To the Highsmith side and they're going to have to leave Dewan one on one a lot of times with TJ. We'll see. That's scary. Being a rookie.


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[Assistant] Here's the biggest thing, he's driven by the Defensive Player of the Year, he wants it. He does want it. And in a one-on-one matchup against TJ Watt, this is his moment to really go for it.


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[Assistant] Hopefully last week was Jerome Ford's breakout game. Yeah, hopefully because that was the first game where I looked at him and thought he could be in every down.


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[Assistant] We thought that last week, and all it takes is a couple of turnovers, short fields, and the score goes up.


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[Assistant] Well, I talked about earlier in the show, this is big for miles. He wants a defensive player of the year award and he's going up against TJ Watt. And that's why after the game Sunday, it's going to be miles ahead. Garrett strengthens grip on defensive player of the year. I'm calling for three, a trifecta, three bagger for miles, three sacks and the Browns win.


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[Assistant] Sixty-one through Anthony, who's what? Twenty-five? Twenty-six? Twenty-six. Yeaah.


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[Assistant] Typical American company right there. We represent every decade, right? We got one guy in his 60s, J and I in 50s, Gs in his 40s, Earl in his 30s, Mike now in his 30s, right?


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[Assistant] I do, well, I've never done an NFL game, but I've done a football game, and it takes a ton of energy, and it's impressive, it's amazing, especially at his age, because


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[Assistant] That, the treatment for these types of cancers, I don't think it's the exact same, I don't know if it's the exact same type as my wife, but they're similar, uh, but, uh, it just...


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[Assistant] Beats the crap out of you. And so for him at his age, when it's even harder when you're older, uh, to be able to


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[Assistant] Deal with all that and come back to work, it's pretty impressive.


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[Assistant] First of all, you know Kyle is beating himself up for only betting a dollar on that thing. I know, he is. Instead of like 10 bucks. 10 would have given him 170. Exactly. Number two, interestingly, uh, people always talk about nobody respects the Browns. Well, Vegas does.


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[Assistant] Because even though Deshaun Watson is out for the season and not playing in this game, the line has not changed that much. It's changed.


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[Assistant] It was three and a half, uh, before Deshaun Watson's injury, and right now it's one and a half. I'm looking to FanDuel right now. Yeah. One and a half. I'm surprised. I thought it would be, be a pick-em or maybe even the Steelers might become famous.


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[Assistant] I hope you're right. I, I mean, I think it certainly, it certainly does significantly change their chances. It does. Vegas has... It doesn't eliminate them. ...updated the odds. It doesn't eliminate them.


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[Assistant] Everybody has said that this is an uncommon injury for a football player.


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[Assistant] And so, I don't think we know how he's gonna come back from this at all. Uh, we're gonna spend the entire offseason wondering when he's coming back, when he's gonna start to practice, and what he's gonna be like when he does. He has missed so much time now. And listen, what are you gonna do? I mean, this is, it's just unfortunate. Injuries happen. But...


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[Assistant] Yeah, so if he's right, now again, we don't know, but if he's right that he's not back till June, well that means he misses the entire off-season program. Now this is where another quarterback that's played a lot, I wouldn't think it was a big deal. But, considering how much practice time he's missed over the last three years, how much game time he's missed over the last three years,


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[Assistant] And a part of that will also be depending on how, uh,


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[Assistant] If DTR plays pretty well, then okay, we're fine. You're gonna move forward with him as your number two guy.


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[Assistant] But if he doesn't play well, let's say they go with him and PJ Walker the rest of the season, they're both not good.


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[Assistant] Then in the off season, part of the conversation is the Browns got to get a veteran quarterback to be in the mix, right? And again, hopefully it doesn't come to that because hopefully he plays really well, but that could be part of the off season conversation.


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[Assistant] Like, they won games with PJ Walker in spite of him. Not because of him. He was not the reason they won. If they win, if they win a few more games and they get to the playoffs,


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[Assistant] It didn't change the guaranteed part of it. Uh, it did to some degree. Guys got more, like Lamar and Burrow got a lot more guaranteed than I think they would have before watching.


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[Assistant] But in the end, in the end, in my opinion, sorry to cut you off G, the only reason Joe Burrow maybe didn't get his last year fully guaranteed is because he was willing to do that. If Joe Burrow had said, you're guaranteeing me the whole thing or I'm not signing, they would have had to do it. Well look, Lamar did that and he didn't win.


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[Assistant] And Burroughs guarantee was very, I mean it was basically the same as Watson, only slightly below the guarantee. The total contract which you'll get unless he has a devastating injury is more, but his guarantee was slightly below.


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[Assistant] The Browns were in a different situation where they were trying to acquire the player. Now he's already here.


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[Assistant] That's what put the Browns in a position where they had to spend more money because he had options. Sure. At that time. And, and he had already told them not interested. Right. Remember at the time.


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[Assistant] And PJ Walker, some combo of those two guys had played these nine games. I do not believe the Browns are sixth and great. Do you? Wait, they have played.


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[Assistant] Again, I hope I'm wrong, and if DTR plays well, I'll probably feel differently, but at this moment in time, I just don't feel like they can make a run in the playoffs.


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[Assistant] Well, I'll say this, look at, if you look at, and I don't know that even Cincinnati's gonna make the playoffs, but you look at Kansas City, and you look at Baltimore, and you look at Cincinnati and Miami. And Buffalo. And Buffalo. Forget Buffalo.


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[Assistant] The Browns have a better defense than all of those teams, but outside of Miami, they don't have a huge gap in the defense. Those teams all have miles better offenses without the John Watson. It's not close.


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[Assistant] Maybe so, I don't think ultimately you can keep beating teams 17-14 like the Chiefs, the Bengals, and those teams in the playoffs. I don't think you can, I think they're gonna have to get more offensively. However, the question is,


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[Assistant] Really even, even to get to that point is, are you going to get adequate quarterback play or worst league in the football? Because if the Browns get adequate quarterback play, then I'm with you guys. I think they can beat teams in the playoffs. Not what we've seen so far. They got, let's face it, they got very lucky to beat the 49ers because