Ran Carthon: I’m actually buying stock in the Browns right now

0:00Heading back to campus, time to upgrade your entire tech setup. Switch to Verizon, buy or bring a qualifying smartphone and get a smart watch and a tablet on us. That's all your essential gear for zero extra dollars. Ace your classes, track your fitness, and stream your favorite shows. Visit Verizon.com or your local store today. Bring an eligible phone to purchase a new phone with device payment on post-paid service plan required up to $6.49.99 watch and tablet device payment purchase with new line on $20 per month tab plan and $15 per month watch plan for 36 months required. Less up to $650 per month credit applied over 36 months per device. Additional taxes fees in terms of apply. Let's clear the air about hybrids with Kia. I live in Pasadena, so my Kia Telluride Turbo Hybrid has to do a little of everything. School bags, speech chairs, a grocery run, I swore would be small. And somehow there's still room in my sister-tex. I'm landing in Burbank, come pick me up. It seats seven, has over 600 miles of range, and makes the 134 feel a little less like a test of character. Space, range, flexibility. The Kia Telluride Turbo Hybrid is built for the way LA moves. Find your way forward at Kia.com. Kia, movement that inspires.

1:27You can listen to the fan anytime, anywhere on the free Odyssey app or by telling your smart speaker to play 92-3-the-fan. And now you can find the fan on YouTube, including the Ken Carman show with Anthony Lima, 6-10 AM, Baskin' and Phelps, 10 AM to 2, afternoon drive, Nick Wilson, myself, John of the Peter one week, go from 2-7 each and every week day on the fan's YouTube channel. Subscribe to our channel for free, watch all the best content from your favorite shows in the fan alive and on demand now. Nick and JP, back on afternoon drive live from Dave and Busters here in West Lake. We have seen a few more of you trickle in here. Make sure to come on by and say hello. Make sure you make it a little food. Have a little whatever you want to have here. You can also watch us while we're talking on YouTube, which I think is going to be a little weird for you, but I as a do it. I would just say do it. Boy, I mean, you really get like a dealer's choice mentality, right? You can watch us in person right here or you can just turn around and watch us on YouTube on the TV. All right, so we got a lot to get to as it is the 15th anniversary of 92-3, the fan and

2:32I'm very excited to talk to our next guest, Rand Carthon, can be heard on Sirius XM NFL Radio channel 88 and also now you can listen to 92-3, the fan on Sirius XM channel 172 and wherever you go on the Sirius XM app checkout SiriusXM.com slash sports pass for more details on how to subscribe to SiriusXM's all new sports plan on the Megan Wright, Kyle Wright, Hotline. We welcome on Rand Carthon Sirius XM NFL analyst and former NFL GM. I'm Rand welcome to the show. Hey, I appreciate it, man. How you guys doing? We're doing all right here. I mean, outside of like the whole quarterback thing, which has been a real Donnie Brook over these way. We're doing all right here. I guess that's where we can start though, Rand. Just kind of the initial thoughts that you have about this Brown's team as we are things about 10 days away from the season opener against Jacksonville. I'll say this and I've said it all all season long.

3:32I think when it let's go back to last year's draft class, I think Andrew Berry knocked it out of the park. I think he had another good draft, this past draft. So I tell someone, I think I was on with the first pick podcast. I'm actually buying stock in the Cleveland Browns right now, not literally, of course. I don't have that type of money. I need to invest more. But I believe in what they're doing. I'm sure you want to figure out the quarterback spot. But I do think this is a very talented Brown's defense. I think they have guys up at every level. But then I also think on the offensive side of the ball, they have more weapons than they had, probably in a very, very long time. And I do think that once they figure out the quarterback spot, I think this team has a chance to compete to win that division. Yeah, I feel like that's how a lot of people locally here feel as well. Like that same way, we know there's talent here. We're not bereft of talent, but the quarterback spot does just matter that much.

4:33And going to Dishon Watson instead of Shador Sanders, do you feel like Todd Monkin in his first big decision made the right one? Well, I will say that and I'm going to clarify at first, back then the earlier part of the all season, I selected Dishon Watson to be my front runner for comeback player of the year. And more than anything, I thought it was low-hanging fruit. He had only played in what 28 games over the last four seasons. So any similar of a solid season with the weapons around him, I mean, to me, it just made a logical sense. But then watching the preseason and how the games unfolded, I was a little shot that Dishon was chosen. But from a from a big picture view, looking at it from, you know, first time NFL head coach, he's been a head coach before, I believe Todd Monkin wanted to go with the experience to see what it's going to be out the gate. And also things from, if you look at Dishon Watson's history,

5:35now, when he came in in Houston under Bill O'Brien, Bill O'Brien had history in terms of calling offices in college. And I think with Todd Monkin's background, I think if whatever good that's still left in Dishon Watson's body, I think Todd Monkin will know how to get it because I think he'll tailor the offense to more of a system that is more friendly for Dishon Watson as opposed to Kevin C.C.S. defense system, which, you know, ball encounters a West Coast offensive system that you know it takes you at least three years to be able to learn and you have to actually play all three years, which we hadn't Dishon be able to see Dishon do. So listen, man, I was shocked. I thought she'd doorplay well enough. I thought he showed enough flashes last year to give him a rare opportunity. You know, I will end by saying I do believe that, you know, Dishon Washington will be on a perverbulent short leash and that at some point we will see Shador in the lineup as a

6:38starting quarterback for the Cleveland Browns. So I'm like you, Ran, like I think this team can be competitive and I know people don't like to hear that because they want to hear you can win a Super Bowl, but like coming off a five-win year, I think you got more talented. I did love this draft and I think the Browns have done the best you possibly can do to support the quarterback with as much playmaking talent and an upside as possible. So I do want to ask you like, because every their teams every year that win in spite of the quarterback spot, I think that's going to have to be the case early on with Dishon. What does it take in the NFL to win in spite of the quarterback position across the season? It takes exactly what you said them having playmakers around, right? Like you don't have to, I know we are in a quarterback league. Like trust me, I get it. I understand that. However, if you have the playmakers, your quarterback doesn't have to be the number one focal point of the offense. The quarterback can become a true point guard.

7:38I know the NBA, the point guard position has changed and the point guard has become more score, but I'm 45 years old. I remember when the point guard was the main distributor of the basketball. So I think for a guy like Dishon, Wyson, or even Shador Sanders, or Taylor Green, whoever is going to ultimately be there, they don't have to throw the ball 40-50 times for the Cleveland Browns to win. You have a strong running game. You have a tight end that can catch the football. You have playmakers at Y receiver. You have a Casey Concepts New Own who you can get the ball in multiple ways. You have Jerry Jr., who can do what he does. And then now you have a big body possession guy in Denzel Boston, who can make catches in those 50-50 areas. I think you just have to distribute the ball. Get the ball into the hands of the people that can make plays and allow them to do so. You don't have to ask the quarterback. You don't have to put all the pressure on yourself. And then, I mean, the part that we hadn't mentioned so far is the rework of the offense of Lyon and how they've rebuilt this offense of

8:39Lyon and now you have talent upfront. And we know, and I'm saying we because, you know, I'm interested in this now, right? I'm rooting for the Browns. I will say, like, you have to be strong upfront in this division. And all those other D lines that they're going to be playing within this division, they're going to be tough. They're going to get after you. So I love the fact that not only did Andrew Barry and his staff build more talent in terms of the skill position, but they've completely reworked this offense of Lyon to better protect whoever the quarterback is on me. So it's good. They obviously redid it, but five new offensive Lyon is a little scary to me if I'm being honest. We haven't seen that in the NFL since 1970, five brand new offensive Lyon from one year to the next. Well, I mean, I get it. You know, I really do, but if the offensive line continues to where it was and it stayed the same, then everyone would be upset about that too. So, you know, the big thing with offensive lines, I've always said or always felt like what an offensive line to some has to be better than the parts. You look at a lot of

9:42those great Denver Broncos offensive lines they had back in the day with Alex Gibbs and Mike Shanahan. They weren't the biggest group of guys. I think they probably didn't even have any guys over 300 pounds. But if you looked at them individually, you can pick out their warks and say why they shouldn't make it. But then all five of those guys working in sync together and what made that offense go. Now, I believe from an individual standpoint, this Cleveland Browns group is individually talented. But like you said, like these guys have to work together. These guys have to learn how to work together. And I think they will. And again, if they got that part of it right, and that, and this offensive line is able to hold up, I think we're going to see a better version of the Cleveland Browns. All right. So, I'm asking you this because you've had such a great career as a guy in the front office and you've been through a couple very smart front offices in your career. I am endlessly fascinated at how many resources teams put into a quarterback position, training

10:46them, identifying them, trying to fix them, right? Heading back to campus, time to upgrade your entire tech setup, switch to Verizon, buy or bring a qualifying smartphone and get a smart watch tablet on us. That's all your essential gear for zero extra dollars. Ace your classes, track your fitness, and stream your favorite shows. Visit Verizon.com or your local store today. Bring an eligible phone or purchase a new phone with device payment on post-paid service plan required up to $6.49.99 watch and tablet device payment purchase with new line on $20 per month tablet plan and $50 per month watch plan for 36 months required. Less up to $650 promo credit applied over 36 months per device additional taxes fees in terms of play. Let's clear the air about hybrids with Kia. I live in Pasadena, so my Kia tell you ride turbo hybrid has to do a little of everything. School bags, speech chairs, a grocery run, I swore would be small, and somehow there's still room in my sister techs. I'm landing in Burbank, come pick me up. It seats seven, has over 600 miles of range and makes the 134 feel a little less like a test of character. Space, range, flexibility. The Kia tell your ride turbo hybrid is built for the way LA moves. Find your way forward at Kia.com.

11:48Kia, movement that inspires. Crystal Geyser Alpine Springwater is now the official water partner of the Iron Man North America series. Together we'll hydrate athletes from the first mile to the finish line with Alpine Springwater that's always bottled at the natural spring source. We're proud to partner with Iron Man and support a community defined by perseverance, determination, and the pursuit of extraordinary goals. Crystal Geyser Alpine Springwater always bottled at the source. And yet it is a spot that there's just so much error when trying to find that quarterback, top five quarterback, a franchise quarterback from your perspective and your time in the league. What do you think is the biggest mistake organizations make in quarterback evaluation coming out of college? Well, and I think that's an excellent question. I wish we had a long time to talk about it. I'll say this. I think part of it comes down to is overvaluing.

12:51The position, I've yeted, it's the highest pay position. They touch the ball on every single place. But I think we tend to overvalue and reach on a lot of these guys just off of physical skill sets. Guys that could throw the ball the mile, but may not be the most accurate. There's always you know someone in the building that says, Hey man, I can fix this guy, right? Because you see the physical tools and as a scout, like that's the one thing you that you don't want to miss on is the guy with the intangibles or the height weight speed. Let's call it. And then if you want to go, if you want to build the onion all the way back, I think it starts in that the NFL game is such its own game that colleges, a lot of colleges don't run NFL style systems. A lot of high schools don't run NFL style systems. So you get a ton of quarterbacks that had just have never done things that you're asking these NFL quarterbacks to do. These copies high school quarterbacks, because I actually spent a lot of time with one of our local high schools here in the in the

13:52Brentwood Tennessee area. And it's primarily shotgun. You're seeing everything in front of you same thing with college. You're not really asking them to call plays in the huddle. Guys are getting placed, signal in. Guys are reading plays from the board from little boards that they have on the sidelines. You're not asking these guys to play with their backs to the defense. You're not asking to read a ton of coverages. It's if the linebacker does this, you throw to this person. If he does that, you throw to this person and then usually the way the game is evolved or quarterback who has the mobility becomes him as a runner becomes the third option in the offense, right? But then you get them as you get them as NFL quarterbacks. Now you're asking them to play under center, turn their backs to the defense. And you guys know how complex these defenses are. Preach and app post nav reads. And so now you get these guys and these guys are pretty smart. They can regurgitate to you the play. The who wouldn't win? Where and why? But the preach and app reads versus the post nav reads is sometimes a lot different. And then now these guys are playing like I said,

14:58under center play action back to the defense. Get your head around quick and the pictures completely changed. And then now they're confused. And so to me, that's a huge part of what we're asking them to do. I actually love and respect what the Raiders are doing right now in terms of the development of Fernando Mendoza. And just because he was the number one pick, you're not forcing him to play. I think that's a problem because you have to be able to withstand the outside noise and trust your development project or process that you're doing because most people were came to the pressure and say, Hey, you know what? We're going to still roll with Fernando even though we don't have maybe the offensive line of protecting more of the weapons around him to help him be successful. So I appreciate what they're doing because they're making a long term investment in this kid. And I think a lot of time, I think it becomes with the development of the quarterback, which to me starts in high school. And then you get to the NFL. And I think we came to the outside noise and the pressure and forced these guys out there when they're just not ready.

15:59Ran in your almost 20 years in NFL front-off. So you also played the NFL for a while as well. What is the highest grade you ever had on a quarterback? Who was that quarterback? Who? You asked me to go deep into the bag. Let me see. Let me, I really got to think deep about this. I'm trying to think of all the quarterbacks that have come out who. And I do, I promise you, I have it on the file here in my office and sitting in my office at home. Because I know if I say someone, I'm going to miss. So I started in 2008. And I'm trying to think of quarterbacks who have come out since then. Can you just throw me some names? I don't want to. I'm trying to. I would think Andrew Luck would have to be there. My homes. Cam Newton. Joe Burrow. RG3. Honestly, I will say this. And I'll be, I'm always going to be transparent. And honest,

16:59Andrew Luck was pretty high for me. Matthew Stafford was really, really high for me. I did not evaluate Patrick Mahomes coming out. Because at the time, I was with the Rams and we had just drafted Jared Gawst a year before. And so I just knew we weren't going to be in that market. And so I just really didn't put the time into the quarterbacks like that that year. I really, really wish I would have evaluated Patrick Mahomes just to see where I was. Obviously hindsight, everybody's going to say they loved him or they would have taken him had he fallen to them, right? But so I didn't do Mahomes, but Andrew Luck was really high. I remember evaluating Andrew Luck with a guy named Lionel Fytale. And he called myself and Anthony Robinson. We were two young scouts at the time. He called us to his office. And he told us he was like, you guys want to see what a real quarterback looks like. And he sat us down and we went through about four games of Andrew Luck. And he showed us on a play to play basis. Like this is why this guy's going to be

18:05successful. And so I really remember that. And then the thing I remember most about Matthew Stafford, obviously being in Atlanta at the time, him being right in our backyard there with the Georgia Bulldogs. Obviously, I hated it as a gator. But just the his arm strength, the velocity in which he threw the ball, the different arm angles that he could throw from those tight pockets, where he could just, you know, really rotate his hips and get the ball out quick. His ability to make that far hash throw that really became a staple for me in terms of evaluating these college quarterbacks is can they make that far hash throw, right? And just sit there and just drives the ball on the line. And there was nothing that Matthew Stafford couldn't do with his arm while he was at the University of Georgia. And we see that now we saw it with him in Detroit. We really see it now, you know, with the no look pass that he's throwing in the LA. So, you know, guys like that, I'll tell you, in this year's class, this year's class, I'm a really big

19:10friend of Doug Tamor. And I'll tell you this, a guy that I think is going to have the ability to rise. With this year's drive class, it's turned to that chambler. I know he's not the biggest guy, but watching him play. There's something that makes you believe in him that you, I don't know what it is. It just jumps off the tape to me. And I've always felt like there are two people in your football building, whether you know ball or not, that when they walk in the room, your eyes should gravitate to them. And one of them is your head coach. I think your head coach should have that presence and your quarterback. So I'm really interested in seeing Trinidad Chambliss in person to see if he has that aura as the kids call it or that feel because watching him on tape, like he, I love the way he plays the game with football. So those are two guys I'm really excited about watching this year. Ryan, you are every every bit as good as advertised. As our first time talking with you, hope it's not the last really appreciate you bud and catch up with you down the

20:12line. All right, man. Hey, listen, I'm hoping that my stock in the Cleveland Browns shoot something this year and Jimmy has them if you're listening and there's really stock available, please give me a call. I'm the guy here on the station will help me pay for it. So we'll be all in. Yeah, yeah, we'll have to see if Keith will allow that one. I'm not sure if we have the corporate card on us. Rand card thon there. Great stuff with him. He can be heard on serious XM NFL radio channel 88. Of course, he just appeared on the make it right call Kyle Wright fan hotline. You can also listen to 92 to the fan on serious XM channel 172 or wherever you go on the serious XM app checkout serious XM dot com slash sports pass for more details on how you can subscribe to serious XM's all new sports plan. We'll react to what he had to say about the Browns going to buy some brown stock there in five minutes on 92 through the fan. New shoes, new clothes, brand new grade switched a Verizon to make sure their tech keeps up. This back to school season buy

21:13or bring any Android phone and get a Samsung Galaxy tablet on us. Get your kids ready for the school year without breaking the bank. Visit Verizon.com or your local store today. Bring an Android phone or purchase a new phone with device payment on post paid service plan required $3.29.99 tablet device payment purchase with new mine on $20 per month tablet plan for 36 months required. Less $330 tablet per month credit applied over 36 months additional taxes fees in terms of apply. Let's clear the air about hybrids with Kia. I live in Pasadena so my Kia Tell You Ride Turbo Hybrid has to do a little of everything. School bags, speech chairs, a grocery run, I swore would be small. And somehow there's still room in my sister text. I'm landing in Burbank, compact me up. It seats seven has over 600 miles of range and makes the 134 feel a little less like a test of character. Space, range, flexibility, the Kia Tell You Ride Turbo Hybrid is built for the way L.A. moves. Find your way forward at Kia.com. Kia, movement that inspires. Crystal Geyser Alpine Springwater is now the official water partner of the Iron Man North America series. Together, we'll hydrate athletes from the first mile to the finish line with Alpine

22:17Springwater that's always bottled at the natural spring source. We're proud to partner with Iron Man and support a community defined by perseverance, determination, and the pursuit of extraordinary goals. Crystal Geyser Alpine Springwater always bottled at the source. Crystal Geyser Alpine Springwater is now the official water partner of the Iron Man North

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