00:00Let's get to some football as we bring in Lance Reisland on the Wise Heart Right.
00:04We make it right. Call Kyle Wright Hotline. Good morning, brother. How you feel?
00:07Hey, good morning, gentlemen. Happy Saturday morning to you.
00:10Happy Saturday to you, brother. So we're going to ask you the first thing that we've kind of, you know,
00:14start talking about.
00:15But through three days of Cleveland Browns training camp, what's been the biggest observation for yourself?
00:21Well, you know, I'm going to say this. There has definitely been an influx of talent on this football team.
00:26They move better, right? Side to side, lateral movement, explosion, the offensive line moves better.
00:31The receivers move better. So there's a definite influx of young athletic talent.
00:37I think the next thing that stands out is how Todd Munkin, before you get to any players, how Todd
00:42Munkin runs his practice.
00:43So talking with Spencer yesterday, one of the cool things that I've noticed from my notes from last year,
00:48as compared to this year through three days, is that they've gotten over double the amount of reps in 11
00:55on 11 drills.
00:55And I mean 11 on 11 where they're competitive, because they're in 11 on 11 a bunch where they do
01:00their walkthroughs and installs and perfect plays.
01:03But competitive at 11 on 11, they have doubled the amount of reps.
01:08Now, that doesn't make it wrong last year. It makes it different.
01:11But what it does when you're in a quarterback competition, it gives you a true evaluation of these quarterbacks.
01:17Even if you go down the line to Dillon Gabriel and Taylor Green, these guys are getting quality reps in
01:23team situations to be evaluated.
01:25And I think that's so important.
01:27So just how Munkin runs his practice, it's very old school.
01:30It's very gritty.
01:32The influx of talent.
01:33And now I'm ready to get the pads on and see what this offensive and defensive line can do.
01:37Because this defense right now, this first-string defense, has been extremely disruptive to whoever's that quarterback during the first
01:45three days.
01:46Lance, you mentioned the quarterbacks.
01:48I'll go there next with you, because obviously everyone wants to know every single day how the quarterbacks are doing.
01:52We know that. It's the topic du jour.
01:54No.
01:56What have you noticed from the way Shador's played, the way Deshaun's played, and even the way Dillon Gabriel's played?
02:02Because he's had now a string of days where he's looked really, really good, minus an interception yesterday.
02:07So what's maybe stood out about the way those guys have performed here early on in camp?
02:12Well, it's funny, because I always try to evaluate day-to-day.
02:14And if Dillon Gabriel doesn't throw that interception yesterday, he's the best quarterback on the field yesterday.
02:19Yeah.
02:20He throws that interception.
02:21But, again, it takes in the context of everything that's going on.
02:25And I always speak of context with these quarterbacks, because when people are asking who the best quarterback is, you
02:30and I were talking about it yesterday.
02:32The best quarterback out of those two is who's going against the second-string defense, because there's two things.
02:37Because the first defense, especially those corners and the linebackers getting underneath pass routes, are just really hard to throw
02:45against,
02:45especially if they don't have the threat of a true run game with pads on.
02:49And then Casey Concepcion and Denzel Boston are making life miserable on those second- and third-string corners.
02:55Those guys are really talented young kids.
02:57So, for me, I think they've both done a really nice job.
03:00Now, you look at some of the things that, you know, the learning curve of these guys.
03:04So, this is a new coach.
03:06This is a new system.
03:07This is a new position coach.
03:09This is a new coordinator.
03:10This is new philosophy.
03:11So, there is going to be a little bit of a learning curve, especially the talent of the first-string
03:16defense.
03:17But if you start with Deshaun, so the idea of both these guys, you try not to have bias.
03:22You try not to have confirmation bias.
03:24And I'm going to use Wednesday as an example.
03:27Wednesday, Deshaun Watson throws two interceptions.
03:29One was just a great play by Denzel Ward.
03:32One was a really bad play that the backside corner came in, made the play.
03:35Deshaun was late with the ball.
03:36But the narrative was that he was terrible.
03:40He wasn't outstanding, but he also wasn't terrible.
03:42But if you have confirmation bias, you say, oh, those two plays, he was terrible.
03:46Then yesterday, during, you know, Shador is working, and the defensive line is just creating such pressure.
03:52And he started, you and I were talking, he started to get his little habits where he starts to gain
03:56depth a little bit.
03:57And you hear people saying, oh, he's got to get rid of the ball.
03:59He's got to, you know, his feet are terrible.
04:01No, he's just got, those are learning moments.
04:03So, I think they're both doing a great job of learning.
04:06And the thing that we don't see is I think we're the best, you're seeing where the most improvements happen.
04:11In the film room right now, when they're going through their walkthroughs, what they're seeing on the board when they're
04:17drawing up plays, they're doing their stuff.
04:19That's what we don't see.
04:20That's where, without pads, I think that's what the most improvement is, are things that we don't see and can't
04:26understand.
04:27But I think they both, you know, things that people don't talk about with these guys, they're very supportive of
04:32each other.
04:32They work very, very hard.
04:34They're getting a lot better at what they're doing within the system.
04:37And that includes Dylan Gabriel and Taylor Green, who are also getting a good look, which is going to make
04:42them value for special teams.
04:44Or if they're in the mix, you know, we know there's injuries.
04:46So, I don't like to say somebody's in front.
04:49What I think is in front is this system and the amount of learning and the steps they're taking to
04:53be the starting quarterback.
04:55And we're going to get a true evaluation with the way Munkin runs things.
04:59Lance, when you sent me your notes from day two and you kind of highlighted, you know, footwork and balance
05:06were some of the themes of the day when it came to working on your mechanics.
05:10And one thing that you put in here that I really love was every repetition was tied to proper footwork.
05:15Completing a pass was not enough if the quarterback's base and balance were poor.
05:20Talk about just the nuances that you see from not just Todd Munkin, but, you know, the assistant, the position
05:27coaches and coordinator on the details of the mechanics and not just throwing a perfect spiral that we see on
05:34Twitter is enough for coach when it comes to this is how I want this to be done.
05:41Well, this is a great question, Earl.
05:43So if you think about, like, keeping track of completions and if the completions is your measuring stick for a
05:48quarterback, especially during camp, that can be a little misleading and kind of not give you the whole story.
05:54So when you look at, like, Shador, for example, one of the things he does when you see him throw,
05:59when he transfers his weight from the backside and kind of comes forward, if you think like a pitcher, right,
06:04where he transfers his weight from the backside as a right-handed quarterback, so that back foot driving his weight
06:08forward to the front foot.
06:09So when he came out of college, and I think a lot of it had to do with poor pass
06:14protection, as a quarterback, he's trying to buy time so he can get rid of the football.
06:18Well, that's a bad habit created by necessity.
06:21And two things that happen with, you know, guys in the NFL, especially guys like Shador and Deshaun and these
06:29Casey Concepcion and these young guys that come into the league and veterans, is that they're always the best players
06:34on the field.
06:35So they can get away with bad habits. They can get away with not doing it right. In the NFL,
06:39you can't. If you're a step behind, if you take an extra step, if you don't transfer your weight, if
06:44you don't anticipate, you're going to be late.
06:47And those are picks, those are interceptions at the NFL. The windows are so incredibly tight. When you're down in
06:53that field and you see the, when you see Denzel Ward, you know, the interception that Deshaun threw, Denzel Ward
06:58was like seven yards behind and just tracked it.
07:00And then, you know, Shador is yesterday, he threw a pass that was his best pass of the day on
07:06a corner route versus cover two.
07:07There's a little hole you can throw it into, but you have to trust the receiver. You've got to throw
07:11it on time. You've got to understand what the coverage is.
07:14So the idea with Munkin, not only with fundamentals, but Munkin wants you to go to the right spot. He
07:19wants your feet to match your eyes.
07:21So if you watch these quarterbacks, all of them, including Taylor Greene and Taylor Greene can kind of give you
07:26a great measurement of the learning that the older guys are, or the first three guys are making, because he's
07:31making great progress, but the eyes have to match the feet.
07:34So you see these guys going through the progressions with their eyes and then their feet are matching it. But
07:39you only do that if you understand coverage, if you understand your routes that you're running and you understand what
07:45the flow of the offense is, where your checkdowns are, where you're supposed to go with the football.
07:49So when you don't do that, you get off balance. Your feet aren't right. And in the NFL, you can
07:54make really good throws not being on platform, they say.
07:57And basically that just means your fundamentals are bad. There's guys that do that well. Mahomes, Aaron Rodgers, they've always
08:03just kind of flicked it like a dart, right?
08:05Most quarterbacks can't do that. And these quarterbacks on this roster, they have to be fundamentally sound. That's 99%
08:11of quarterbacks.
08:12So you just see the idea that Munkin wants it done right. He just doesn't want a completion. He wants
08:16it to the right shoulder.
08:17He wants it thrown on time against the coverage they see with the routes they're running. It's just very precise
08:24in everything he does.
08:25They talked about quick game and then level triangle read level concepts and then working one, two, three levels yesterday
08:31on third long.
08:32So there's a system they have and he wants it done right over and over and over again. It's refreshing.
08:38I love it.
08:39And I think these quarterbacks, like when people say, well, if it's all equal, let's go with Shador.
08:43Or if Deshaun, he's a veteran. I think you just go with the best guy.
08:47And I think the way they're doing things, you're going to get one of these guys is going to kind
08:52of rise to the top as this camp progresses.
08:55Lance, I know Todd talked about this yesterday, but I'm curious your perspective on it as a former coach yourself.
09:03There's philosophically what he wants to do and then there's, you know, the old philosophy of like catering to your
09:10players and what they can do.
09:12And training camp is a lot about figuring out what, you know, what your players can do within what you
09:18want to do.
09:18So how do you, as a coach, kind of strike that balance?
09:22Like, what is Todd trying to, how does Todd sort of figure out, like, here's what I want us to
09:27do, but here's what we can do.
09:28And how do you then kind of find the middle ground of we can't run these things, we can run
09:32these things and sort of sort that out?
09:35Well, you heard him say yesterday, we were talking about he's got nine days.
09:38So they have nine days to install.
09:39So through nine days, they're getting through situational stuff and they're getting through like short game.
09:45Let's start with like Wednesday.
09:46They worked on the short game.
09:47It was third and short.
09:48They were working quick outs, slant arrows, curls, things that are pretty under 50.
09:54I guess the way to look at it is just think about throws that are under 15 yards.
09:57Well, within those throws, what throws do these guys do best?
10:02So his philosophy on third down can stay the same.
10:05But what routes do these quarterbacks throw best?
10:08What routes do the receivers run best?
10:11What do they do?
10:12You know, where do you have to get the ball to Denzel Boston where he can be successful?
10:18You know, Casey Concepcion, he's a run after catch guy.
10:21Where can we get?
10:21So if it's third down and seven, do we necessarily need to get him the ball past the sticks?
10:26Or do we want to get him the ball behind the line of scrimmage and let him make it?
10:29So the philosophy stays the same on how they want to do things.
10:33But you have to everything, you know, coaching is super important.
10:37But the most thing, the most important thing about coaching is, especially on the offensive
10:41side of the ball, is to make sure your best players get it in the position to be successful.
10:45There's lots of really good coaches.
10:47You know, if you think about in the NFL, college, even high school, you know, the only thing that
10:52ever makes me mad, and I don't criticize coaches because I know how hard they work,
10:56is when their best player only has a touch, right?
10:58We always, you know, such and such only has one reception.
11:01That, to me, is not something you're going to get with Todd Monk.
11:04And players over plays means the best guy's got to touch it.
11:06So they're going to install for nine days, and then they're going to figure out what
11:10these guys do well.
11:12And there's going to be things they have to cut back on.
11:15And there's going to be things that, you know what, this looked good, but we need a lot
11:17more work on this.
11:18Because after nine days, when you're six years old and you're thinking about winning week
11:23one, that's what I love.
11:25After nine days, this is, all right, what are we going to do to get ready for Buffalo
11:28in the joint practice?
11:29And then what are we going to do to get ready to beat Jacksonville in week one?
11:33And that is maximizing the strengths of your players.
11:37So your philosophy stays the same on what you're going to do.
11:40But how do we get the ball to these guys?
11:42And what, you know, we've installed all this now.
11:44What does everybody do best?
11:45Lance, real quick, we got about a minute left.
11:48But day four of Brown's practice kicks off about 115 today.
11:52What is the one thing that you're looking forward to seeing as we go into day four with Shadour
11:57again running with the ones?
11:59Well, you know, it's great.
12:01I'm going to see how these quarterbacks, now that we've kind of ironed out this first-team
12:04defense, I'm looking for these quarterbacks to have success against this first-string defense.
12:09And again, going back to a couple of things that Shadour has done very, very well that no one
12:14talks about.
12:14He's thrown the ball away a number of times.
12:16He hasn't retreated.
12:18He's checked it down a number of times.
12:20You've seen things that are almost open vertically, and he's checked it down.
12:24That's what's going to open up those things vertically.
12:26So that's what you want to see out of him.
12:27Don't press against this really good, sometimes the defense wins.
12:31And until you get pads on in this situation, make sure you're patient and protect the football.
12:36So he's thrown it away, and he hasn't thrown interceptions, and he's protected the ball
12:40in the pocket.
12:41That's what you want to see if the defense is continuously be dominant.
12:44And then, you know, as you get into day four and you get into next week, you want to see
12:48guys who have great energy, because it's easy to have energy when camp starts.
12:52You want to see guys with energy, especially when the fans aren't there next week.
12:56What, you know, and they're in pads, and they've been going for a while.
12:59Who has energy and can keep going when the honeymoon's over, right?
13:04Now you're in the grind part of the season.
13:05So, you know, protecting the football, taking what they give you, and then as a team, just
13:10making sure you keep the energy up as you get tired.
13:14Nice, man.
13:14We appreciate the time this morning.
13:16Drive safe out to Berea, and I'll see you soon.
13:19Absolutely.
13:19Thanks for having me, guys.
13:20Thanks for having me, guys.
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