Podcast – 92.3 The Fan's Daryl Ruiter talking @Browns on Kenny & JT Show / @RuiterWrongFAN

He's talking about the NFL how much a genius they are about 24, 7, 3, 65.

There's always something to talk about with the NFL, right?

They just held their underwear Olympics in Indianapolis.

The combine headlines all over the place for that also teams, you know,

getting ready for free agency.

I guess legally or illegally, you can talk to teams now and work out the parameters

of a trade.

And then when the official year starts, you can make that trade.

And then that goes right into the draft.

And the Browns are building a new stadium and all of that because that's

what the NFL is.

It's a newsmaking machine.

And that keeps our next guest busy year round.

The outstanding Browns Beat reporter 92, 3, the fan follow him on Twitter at

writer wrong fan end on Instagram.

He is Darryl Ryder.

How are you, D?

I'm good guys.

How are you?

Hey, we're great.

Thanks for making the time for us.

We appreciate it, Darryl.

Before we get to the Browns trade today, what is your take?

Having covered this team in the NFL for as long as you have, Darryl, what's

your take on the NFL combine?

I don't give it much thought because it's guys running in their underwear,

basically, and doing drills that it's not a football game.

Where do you come out on that?

Yeah, I think it's starting to become a little antiquated when you're talking

about some of the on the field stuff.

The NFL has tried to do what they do with all of their stuff and turning it,

and turning it into a money-making profit machine.

And the original theory behind the combine or the concept, I should say,

behind it was to bring all the prospects one central location so that they

could get all their medicals checked out.

And ever since it feels like the NFL put the combine on television,

it's just kind of gone down year after year after year.

And when it comes to the on field workouts quite frankly, the stuff that all

the fans are talking about from what they saw on television, none of that really

matters.

If there's like big discrepancies about a guy's 40 time or his vertical or his

shuttle or whatever, like the team just go back and they rewatch the tape and

they re-evaluate the tape and they go through their, you know, their

own scouting reports and stuff like that.

So I think that what is starting to happen to the combine is the NFL's

desire to turn it into, you know, a form of entertainment.

I honestly feel like that's it's hurting the draft process a little bit.

But it's not going to change.

You know, to me, like as long as it's making money, I mean, the fact that,

you know, prospects were getting booed over the weekend by by fans, that

that's just like ridiculous.

They sell tickets of this thing, Darryl?

Yeah, really?

Yeah, they sell tickets to it VIP passes, part of promotional things with,

you know, their corporate sponsors and whatnot.

Now, that's just to the, you know, the workouts in stadium, you know,

that's not for any type of behind the scenes, you know, access and also to look

at the, it's an opportunity for the TV networks, you know, NFL network, ESPN,

the broadcasters, the NFL draft to get some, you know, do some prep of their

own as far as, you know, behind the scenes are in footage and, you know,

player profile stuff and all that.

So there are a lot of things that take place at the combine.

I think that the, maybe the one thing they just need to kind of eliminate is the

commercialization of these on the field workouts because, because again,

like any discrepancies, first thing the GMs do is they run back to their

film rooms and break out the tape and, you know, re-evaluate what they have

already scouted.

Darryl Writers, our guest right now, we're talking to the NFL and the

Browns and Darryl, my question about the, the combine has got to be this.

It seems as though the players and now that you say that they're actually

marketing this thing and we know it's been on TV for years, but we also know

for years this guy's not going to run.

This guy's not going to throw, but it seems as though players now might be

a little bit more focused because it seems as though, unless these guys are

just behemoths coming out of college or it seems like every record is being

broken.

Yeah, and also to keep in mind the, the measuring is also more precise, you

know what I mean, so I, I don't know that that's, you know, that I mean it was a

carnal tape, 40 time for whatever, there was some discrepancy over that and

there had to be like reporting from out of a shifter.

I'm like, what is the time was?

I mean, this, that's the type of stuff where it's like, okay, this thing's

jumped the shark, okay?

I'm with you.

Darryl, is it more important to the teams for the interviews than maybe all

the analytics?

It's the interviews and it's the medicals, that's what's important to the

teams.

Like I said, the on the field workouts, you know, the bench press, all the other

nonsense, that's the least important part of the week.

Now, it's the least important part of the week if you have a bad

combine, it's the greatest thing in the world, if you have a good combine from

an agent's perspective, right?

If you're, if you run that 4-2, you're going to say how great your guy is.

If you ran that 4-5 like carnal tape, oh, wait till it was pro day.

Oh, they didn't time it.

I mean, you can spin it any way you want to, right?

Yeah, you can.

There's obviously no question about that, but, you know, the agents, you

get their opportunity to put their own spin on it, you know, the media can

say, oh, this guy's flying up draft boards.

Yeah, no, he's not.

It's just you're finding out where teams actually had him on the draft boards.

So that's why he's flying up draft boards because he's clearly had him

hire on your draft board than you did or lower on your draft board to go the

other direction.

So, yeah, it's, that's just kind of how I feel about that whole up the draft

board, down the draft board talk.

It's not that they're, listen, I said this, this morning, because I

filled in on our morning show, if your organization is making draft board

analysis and moves based on the combine, you should fire everybody because

you're doing it wrong.

Yeah, I agree with you, Darryl, 100%.

All right, let's bury the underwear Olympics and go to the rumored trade

that's out there that can't be official until the official league year

starts March 11th, I think it is, Darryl, but your thoughts on them acquiring

it looks like an offensive tackle, mostly a right tackle in Titus Howard

from the Houston Texans for a fifth round pick.

Well, I mean, they, they're going to rebuild the entire off end with

line.

This is just part of the process.

You know, I don't know if he's going to play right tackle, right guard,

but he's definitely going to, you know, he's going to play because they

gave him a new contract to the three years, $63 million.

So they're not going to pay him to sit the bench.

So he's basically, I think he's Jack Concluncer replacement, quite honestly.

And so that's one position down for more.

They have to fill this off season, depending on whether or not Joel Patonio

comes back.

They still need either a right capital guard again, depending where they put

them, you know, they need a, they need a center.

They need a left guard, depending if Joel comes back or not.

And they need a left tackle because they don't have one on the roster.

Darryl, you consider the offensive line for the Texans.

At the beginning of the season, they lost the first couple of games.

They make their way into the postseason and they got pummeled by the new England

Patriots, but they also traded Cam Robbins into the Browns, Titus Howard

to the Browns and juice Scruggs and other offensive lion.

Or I'm sorry, another offensive lineman to the lions.

I mean, do you really want to be making moves in trading offensive lineman

to the Browns?

I mean, if you're the Browns, do you want an offensive cast off from the Texans?

I mean, I think Houston's just, you know, going a little younger and more

cost effective with their line.

I don't think that there are business decisions that get made this time of

the year. And I think people need to realize that.

I think the Texans here made a business decision and going into the final

year of his contract, the Browns said, fine, we'll, you know, we'll take them and

we'll tack two years on to the back end of his contract.

So now I, I, I'm not really concerned about where players coming from.

I just care not whether or not he can actually play.

And, you know, I, I think this kid can play a little bit, you know,

so I, I don't know about giving him three years, 63 million dollars.

But, um, you know, I, I do think he can play.

He's going to be an upgrade based on what we saw last year.

Is any girl?

Well, Kenny, you'd be an upgrade based on what we saw.

Yeah, it was pretty bad, bad.

So is this the start of the changing of the guards and tackles and centers,

if you will, with, uh, with the Cleveland Browns?

Is this the first of many moves in your opinion?

Oh, yeah, yeah, um, Andrew Berry saying last week at the combine that they're,

you know, not going to be all that active in free agency.

He totally was saying that, you know, they have to be, um, you know,

that now they have nine draft picks left, right?

I think two of those are going to be used in offensive linemen.

They're, they're going to sign one or two guys in free agency.

They could make another trade at this point.

So, um, just the, just the offensive line room as a whole, they have to be

extremely active in free agency.

So, uh, this is the first of many moves to come this off season independent of their

needs at wide receiver, uh, you know, a quarterback.

I think they're going to make a move a quarterback here.

Uh, at some point, um, you know, a tight end, they got to replace them in a

joke, you know, okay, defensively, they need another linebacker.

Uh, they made some safety depth.

They need a nickel corner, uh, they need, uh, a cornerback depth as well.

So there's a lot of needs with this football team, this off season.

So, uh, it's, uh, about a week from today, uh, things are going to start

getting really busy, uh, for Andrew Berry.

Keep in mind, a lot of these fields have already been done.

They, they got done last week in Indianapolis.

We're just going to find out about them, uh, a week from now.

Darryl Ryder is our guest, fabulous beat reporter, Brown's beat reporter,

92 three, the fan follow him on Twitter at right or wrong fan on Instagram.

What's the podcast?

What's the latest name of the podcast, Darryl, that you're doing on a regular basis?

Yeah, there's no podcast anymore.

That has been sunsetted.

So I'm just, uh, I'll have a story a little later today.

Uh, the Brown Center out some video of, uh, uh, uh, you know, some, uh,

canned interviews, uh, the sound bites, uh, from folks and, uh, some

behavioral of the, the big dig that is now underway, uh, in the park for the new

stadium.

So they got to dig out the basement 80 feet into the ground.

And then once they get all that done, they can certainly in the, uh, the foundation

for the building and actually start building a, uh, a stadium, uh, ceremonial

groundbreaking will take place on April 30th in the evening.

They're going to have a big ceremony out there.

But right now, there you are, uh, full steam ahead, getting that whole, uh,

dug out so that, like I said, they can start building, uh, the stadium later this

year.

Darryl, I saw JW with a hard hat on.

So was he part of the big dig that he have a shovel in his hand today?

No, he was there.

I think looked good for the camera.

Um, uh, but, uh, yeah, I mean, they got forward, I think it's all four different

construction crews out there, uh, to work on this.

The, the, this is probably the most difficult part of the project, uh, is digging this

hole.

I remember when the Los Angeles Rams did this, uh, uh, in Englewood, California.

And they, it ended up being like one of the rainiest periods ever, uh, for Southern

California.

And, um, they, they had to keep pumping water out of the hole.

And I, I just looked at the forecast.

So the Browns started digging today.

It is now supposed to rain every day for the rest of the week.

So that, you know, that, that's going to be the thing for them is not only going to

have to, you know, dig this big, massive hole for the stadium, but they're going to have

to keep, they're going to have to pump the water out of it, uh, pretty much on a day

of the basis now, uh, if they do, uh, get some rain.

KNFL upcoming dates, March 11th, New League officially begins.

Free agency opens up March 29th to April 1st, annual league meetings in Phoenix,

Darrell, what goes on at these?

Is this where they come up with the new rules or like the dynamic kickoff came into

play because they saw the UFL did it?

Is that how this happens?

Yeah, the league meetings are for, you know, all the league business, whether that's

competition committee stuff, whether that's ownership stuff, whether that's

awarding, uh, events, draft, super bowl, things like that.

So, uh, I don't know what's on the agenda this spring, but, uh, that's where all that

business, uh, typically gets done.

And sometimes too, like, you know, this particular meeting, you know, uh,

double-stuff for a later meeting and say, Hey, you know, we'll vote on this down the

road. Right now it's, you know, we're considering it.

But, yeah, I don't know what's on the agenda this spring for those league meetings,

but that's what those are for.

So the salary cap goes up.

So that was probably discussed last year.

How much does it go up this season?

Will the Browns be able to take advantage of it?

22 million.

It'll be over 301 million in 2014, 15.

The salary cap has doubled.

300 million.

No.

The Guardian spent how much 72, 78?

Well, keep them, well, keep in mind.

That's not, that's not so the salary cap is not actually cash spent.

Okay.

That is the cap computation number.

The salary cap number is different from the payroll.

The Browns have been spending 300 plus billion dollars on their payroll for the last

couple of years.

It's been, they have, they have fielded some of the most expensive teams in NFL history

to win eight games.

So congratulations to them.

Money will stand.

Wow.

That's amazing.

As I told you, DT, if we could take Haslam's money, Dolan's front office, put him together

for one of the two teams we'd be in the running year in and year out.

But unfortunately, you can't do that.

And the Guardians always come up short.

Even though they make the playoffs and the Browns don't make the playoffs,

they've never hosted a playoff game in that stadium.

So that's where, where Daryl Ryder is our guest Browns beat reporter 92,

three, the fan, follow him on Twitter at Ryder wrong fan.

Daryl, free agency.

When is the first day they can officially sign somebody for free agency?

That would be a week from Wednesday at 4 p.m.

That is when the new league year begins.

And that's when the Browns have to be salary cap compliant, which they are right now.

They're a couple hundred thousand dollars under the cap.

They probably will restructure Dachon's contract one last time.

They will do some other restructures to push money forward.

Give Andrew Barry some credit.

He has successfully projected the salary cap increases to where

you keep pushing those cap dollars forward.

They're less and less punitive to you because the cap keeps going up.

I anticipate the cap is going to go up probably another 15, 20 million dollars

again next year because it just seems like right now, like they have all these key

videos, but the NFL has got four more games to sell to like YouTube or Amazon or Netflix

or one of the streaming services, right?

It's just like they're always seeming to find ways to sell additional games,

whether it's a Black Friday package and Christmas package and all that.

So they've got four more games that they're going to fetch hundreds of millions of dollars

and additional broadcast revenue from.

And that helps drive up the salary cap.

So it is a big help to the Browns that that cap continues to be going up

the trajectory that it is.

I just at some point though, I don't know when, but it stands to reason

because this is just the way it goes.

You would think it's some reason it's going to level out at some point.

But right now it's not doing that because again, the NFL keeps finding these

additional revenue streams.

And so, you know, the cap goes up.

Salaries are going up.

That's why, you know, you're hearing average quarterbacks getting $25,

$30 million a year, right?

And so the money has to be spent because the NFL has, I don't want to call

it a salary floor, but teams are required to spend X amount percent of that cap

over the average of like four years or so.

And if they don't, there's, you know, punitive measures that get taken.

And let's put this way.

That's not a problem for the Browns.

Spending money is not their problem.

It's winning football games.

That is no doubt about that.

Their writer is our guest talking Browns football.

So Darrell, they trade for an offensive tackle.

Do you expect them to sign either a guard, a center or another offensive tackle

in free agency before the draft?

Yeah, yeah, yeah, like a hundred percent.

Yeah, yeah, there's, there's going to be, um, there is going to be a very

active couple of weeks here for Andrew Barry, because, and it's not,

these are starting jobs like they need starters up front.

This is not just, you know, bringing in a guy will be a depth piece, get, you

know, chance to compete maybe for some playing time.

What men and a they need starters.

So yeah, they're, they're going to be very busy, not just offensive line.

We'll see what they do with tight end.

We'll see what they do, you know, wouldn't shock me if they signed or traded for

a quarterback as well.

To compete with should or Sanders and Deshaun Watson for that job.

So, um, I know how excited everybody gets for quarterback competitions,

myself included, uh, you're getting another one this year.

So congratulations to all of us.

There are one about early thoughts on Todd Munkett, because it just seems as

though, and I know he hasn't coached the game yet, but it just seems as though,

I mean, it seems like a guy's guy, the kind of guy that you might want to play

for and I understand that doesn't equate to winning ball games.

And I understand that, uh, no, it's not.

Yeah, and I know defense key was beat down for six years.

And maybe that's one of the reasons why he just seemed a little bit burnt out.

But Todd Munkett, your thoughts on so far, so good.

And have you had any interaction with him yet?

Yeah, I mean, I think Todd Munkett's greatest strength is he's very

personable and he tells you what is on his mind.

And I also think that that's going to be his undoing.

So we'll, we'll see how this goes.

I'm I am curious that that is for sure.

You know, he reminds me a lot of Freddie Kitchens in some respects,

with just how, with just the way he presents himself and the honesty

and you ask him a question, he gives you a direct answer.

He doesn't spend a lot of time trying to sugarcoat it.

And that's great.

We'll see if, you know, that that also ends up being a little bit of a negative.

I know he, like previous Browns coaches, he pays attention to what's said

and written about football team.

And again, that could be a positive, but it also could be a negative.

So I know many of Browns head coach who had the rabbit ears and, you know,

did not go well for that.

So I am, I'm just, you know, I'm curious what he's going to be able to do

with this group once Andrew Barry fills out this roster.

Darrell, if you could project as far as wide receivers go,

are they more likely to make a big splash and go after a wide receiver

in free agency starting next Wednesday or with this draft supposedly being

loaded and we saw a lot of, you know, speedy guys yesterday and Andrew Barry

looks fast guys, right?

Do you think it'll be more of the draft?

Yeah, it's, you know, it's great.

Andrew loves to fast guys and there were a lot of fast times to combine.

My question is can they just catch football?

Like I, I really don't care about their speed.

Like can you just go catch the ball?

That's what matters to me.

But I anticipate it.

Yeah, no add to the room.

Don't be surprised if he pulls off another trade.

Andrew Barry loves trading for wide receivers.

Be very, be a Mario Cooper trade, what well?

The Jerry Duget trade is not going well for the Federation.

So we'll see what happens, you know, this year with the Jerry,

I think that they're trying to talk themselves into that this guy can be a

productive member of the football team.

I will say this is attitude muster was terrible.

And if he comes back with the same attitude, there's no hope that that's going

to happen.

I don't know if he had some stuff going on, you know, in his personal life,

which is entirely possible last year.

I certainly don't want to speculate on that.

I just know he was terrible and his attitude stunk.

So, you know, trade, I don't know that he's good because again,

they've got to be, you know, physically responsible here.

I think the best avenue for him is going to be through the draft, which that sounds

great, but if you look at the wide receivers that Andrew Barry has drafted since

2020, the next one that works out will be the first.

And hopefully, though, this time around, we're not talking about third through

fifth round picks that he's just taking flyers on.

Hopefully, you know, maybe he uses a first round pick or a second round pick on

a receiver where you have a little better odds of that player panning out.

Great stuff.

As always, Darryl, we always appreciate the time you make for us.

Keep up the fantastic work and we'll see what happens starting next Wednesday.

All right, but you back guys have a good.