Do We Need to Stop Comparing Every New Left Tackle to Joe Thomas?

0:00What's good to see that Dishon Watson has put the Buffalo game behind him? I just don't know which Buffalo game he's put behind set for all. There was some confusing conversation yesterday. Here's Dishon Watson's media availability. Here is Dishon Watson's media availability. It's been well since that Buffalo game out of your mind. Which Buffalo game? Precision. Oh yeah, I mean, yeah, I'm not worried about that. You know, we focus on now. You know, it's about what we got what we can do now. So it's not about what we were about in the future or in the past. Excuse me. We're not worried about 24. We're not worried about last year. Me not playing. We're not worried about the preseason right now. We got to focus on Jacksonville. Yeah, but he didn't even mention the Jacksonville Buffalo playoff game before that or was it

1:00after that? Well, funny you should bring that up. That's why that's why we're doing this because people are like, how'd you forget about the Buffalo game? Well, the question before that was about Jacksonville's defense and the pressure they can put on him. Here's his answer to that. Remember, this is before what you just heard. Maybe. Yeah, I think so because I think we're a little different. That's Denzel Ward. It's a different guy. I'm screwing this up. That's okay. That's the goal is just be able to get off and be a supposed to put a point, set up our defense out and be able to capitalize and get the win. But you got to be able to take the deep what the defense gives us. You know, this is a very, very good team. This defense is very strong. They won the last eight out of the nine games last year. They were pretty much close to winning that wildcard game against Buffalo. So, you know, this is a really good team. You got to, you know, be able to see what they're trying to do to finish and try to find the weaknesses in their defense. So we can try to move the ball and get points. Well, let me ask you, are people attacking him for saying he's passed the Buffalo game? Or are they criticizing?

2:01Because I think I'm in a position with him going, which, when you hear it in a one clip instance, it sounds like he has forgotten anything that happened associated with that Buffalo preseason game and that he doesn't remember the booing and getting mad afterwards. And the press conference that he had directly after that Buffalo game where his performance was not good. But then you hear him just say the Jaguars were really good down the stretch last year, one eight of nine and almost beat Buffalo. And that is followed up by this. It's been a while since that Buffalo game. Out of your mind. Which Buffalo game? Preseason. He was just talking about them playing Buffalo. So he watched them play Buffalo. So he's saying which Buffalo game? I don't think that the Buffalo game that the preseason game is out of his mind. I think it's plausible that he was so fixated on the reaction. He was getting, he kind of forgot the who the hell he was playing, which doesn't bode well for the future. But that's up to him. That's out up to me. I'm trying to, I'm doing everything I can to make sense of all this.

3:04So I'm not going to rip him not yet anyway for any of that other stuff. It's absolutely possible. He was just in his press conference. He does his weekly appearance. They asked him about that. He's definitely watched the Buffalo tape of the playoff game. Why wouldn't you ask andville Buffalo Jacksonville Buffalo in tape. Hopefully he did not rewatch that Buffalo preseason game because I don't think there was anything to glean out of that. Yes. And then Tony asked him about, excuse me, somebody asked him about the Buffalo game. And he's like, well, which Buffalo game? We might not know right off the top of his head. I've done that to you. So play it times in conversation. The only explanation for what happened at all in that Buffalo game that I try to come up with. No problem. And, and it's the only thing that you could hope and pray if you want to shout wants it to do well this year. And you want the Browns to be good. And this still is not going to make anybody feel better. In fact, it'll probably make people feel worse is that he went out there in the third quarter. Remember, there was our delay. Should already done his thing.

4:05He thinks in his mind, he already won the starting job, which he might have, right? Looking back. I think he, right. He was probably maybe he was told, I don't know. Like, hey, you're the starting quarterback. And he went out there thinking, I'm going to hand the ball off. Get out of Dodge. I'm not really taking any of this into consideration. I'm not, which is, by the way, a losing mentality. You have to go out there. You have to protect yourself. You also have to play football. So I told you, it's not going to make you feel better. But did he put anything into that Buffalo game? I think he went out there thinking he was going to hand the ball off and get out of there. We're going to shorten that game and he had already won the quarterback competition. And instead he's sitting there on third down, trying to make plays and it went terribly. He played awful. I think everybody in the building, including himself might have been surprised that he was actually going out there in the third quarter because I, when they had the rain delay and everything, I go, no, they're not putting them out there. I was surprised. I thought he wasn't going to play. I was surprised. But again, it sounds like an excuse. It is it. It's terrible. Doesn't make me feel any better about to show Watson. I guess I would write.

5:05If you're Todd Munkin, I'll defend Todd Munkin on this. You'd rather keep a guy playing who you told was going to play than have to tell two guys that you didn't think they were going to play and you told were not going to play. Hey, you got to go suit up like that. We did that with Dorian Thompson Robinson in a game that mattered once. And then he really suited up to yes, he did and I thought of that as I said that to you. Well, and then the next part of that is, wait a second, you said it was a quarterback competition. Then you didn't even play to Sean Watson in that game. So you had this thing all lined up, which is kind of what I think anyway after after I'm not saying he has my made up at the beginning of camp or anything that, you know, what's lean in that direction. I think he was leaning that way. Yes. And nothing that happened in that Buffalo game was going to change anybody's view in terms of the coaching staff. I agree. It was going to change any view. No matter how well she should or played and he did he played really well. 216474 to below 92. Can I just play something real quick here?

6:07Yeah. All right, because I want to ask you if I'm being too sensitive. Hit it. No, I don't think so because they haven't been able to find a suitable replacement for him. So no, we're not past that point. And especially because Joe still comes around. He still helps these guys. He is the standard. I know that the bar is very, very high for anybody coming after him. But when you've had someone like Joe, then you will always compare their rest to him. I asked the question about comparing Spencer Fondo to Joe Thomas and not doing it. I don't think you can and I don't want to. It's been almost a decade since Joe's played. Like do we keep comparing? We might have, do we keep comparing on running backs to Kevin Mac and Ernest Biner or did we kind of like, okay, we just need a good running back. And then when Nick Chubb was good enough for running back, he was so good. It's like, all right, you're Mac and Biner. Oh, you're really Jim Brown now. Like this is something else. Like can we just be like, hey, we need a good left tackle. They come from a different cloth. One is a classic left tackle.

7:08The other one can play in a lot of spots across the office. I mean, I think, you know, after Ozzy, I think it was always, can we find a tight end? You get spoiled into these things. And Joe Thomas, I mean, the reality is, Kenny, I think you know this. What are the odds we ever have anything approaching? Not anybody as good as him. I'm saying approaching where he was so dominant. No teflon. There was like one guy every year that would get the best of him. And it wasn't even a great elite player. It was always somebody that just matched up in an interesting way that he kind of struggled with that if he had more tape on him, he probably would have dominated. Well, there was nobody's coming close to that the rest of our lives. And the reason I ask you is because I don't want to keep making the comparison. Again, it's been 10 years, almost 10 years, been almost a decade. You do yourself a disservice. Jed Willes did not do himself any favors, but the constant scrutiny in comparison that I was absolutely complicit in. The constant comparison to Joe, I don't think helped any matters whatsoever. Like there can only be one Joe Thomas.

8:10There can only be one Jim Brown until there's a guy that's a comparable player. And it doesn't, it's not going to do me any good to sit there on Sunday. Well, Joe, what a dumb man. I know that. Like that's not going to help out anything at all. And it's unrealistic for me to do that. And I think it's unfair. I didn't realize my credibility was on the line. I didn't realize that any credibility in the first place when I tell you that the Browns are going to win on Sunday. Can Carmen A. at the line at that and five in the.