Dawgs By Nature
Hard coaching could be one solution, but does Cleveland’s QB have any incentive to accept a tougher approach?
The Cleveland Browns offense continues to be the league’s worst by just about every known metric.
And while no unit can avoid blame, many of the issues start and end with quarterback Deshaun Watson.
Even though everyone can see that Watson is not the same quarterback he was with the Houston Texans, and the dawning realization that the Houston version is not coming back, Watson continues to be the unquestioned starter.
That has led fans and media to somewhat comically be puzzled about why head coach Kevin Stefanski has not sent Watson to the bench, which Stefanski reiterated this week is not happening.
Whether or not Stefanski and the coaching staff truly believe Watson gives the Browns the best chance to win, there are 230 million guaranteed reasons why Watson will remain the starting quarterback for the rest of the season.
The real question is if there is anything the coaches can do to make Watson into a serviceable quarterback at this point in his career?
That is a question Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer tried to answer on Wednesday during an appearance on The Rich Eisen Show, with Breer starting by stating the obvious:
“If it weren’t for the contract, (Watson) would probably be sitting right now. That’s just my opinion, but I think if it weren’t for the contract (the Browns) would probably be on the verge of making a change right now. The problem is they owe him $46 million in 2025, fully guaranteed, and $46 million in 2026, fully guaranteed. In those two years, there are $172.77 million in cap charges they have to deal with. The contract compels them to do everything they can to make it work.”
So, what can the Browns do to “make it work”? Breer believes it could come down to coaching Watson hard like the coaching staffs did in Houston.
“I know Bill O’Brien and the staff in Houston got a lot out of Watson because they built a level of trust with him and were able to coach him hard. If you are talking about finding a way to get the most out of Watson, it is sitting down with him and going through some hard truths.
“I know a lot about the formula that worked in Houston and that was to coach him hard, be tough on him, and he really responded. But it remains to be seen whether he would respond the same way in Cleveland.”
It all sounds good on paper, but it may also be fair to wonder just what incentive Watson has to improve given the guaranteed dollars in his contract essentially guarantee that he will remain the starting quarterback, at least for the time being.
Stefanski is not stupid, nor is he a bad coach. (Trust us, we’ve know from bad coaches in Cleveland.) If there is a way to unlock something...
