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00:00Welcome back to Newswire here on Sports Grid, time to take a look at the upcoming Cleveland Browns season.
00:08Of course, former three-time Super Bowl champion Jarrod Cherry joins us here on the show.
00:12You may remember his days, of course, with the New England Patriots and the Saints.
00:15And working for WKNR, doing Cleveland Browns broadcasting as well.
00:19Jarrod, thanks for coming back here on Newswire. Great to have you.
00:22Thanks for having me. It's a pleasure being here.
00:24All right. So, you know, let's kind of get into who left and who the Browns have added.
00:30And simply put, you know, I think every team undergoes change.
00:34The Browns relied on Joe Flacco a lot last year at quarterback because of, of course,
00:39Deshaun Watson being hurt for some of the season, playing ineffective.
00:43And, you know, on the flip side, the Browns added another backup quarterback in Jameis Winston.
00:47So I think that's a pretty good place to start.
00:50I know we tend to do that at the quarterback position, Jarrod, you know that.
00:54It's sort of the talking point. It always drives the bus, the offense, the quarterback.
00:58It's no different for the Browns going into the season.
01:01You know, Deshaun Watson is going to be a pivotal focus, I think, for everyone watching Browns football.
01:07And rightfully so, because one, you paid an ample amount of money to have Deshaun Watson in a Browns uniform.
01:14And on top of that, you simply put, can't get far in the National Football League
01:18if you don't have a quarterback playing at a high level.
01:20Deshaun Watson in previous stop in Texas with the Texans, in Houston with the Texans, played phenomenally well.
01:27And we're hoping that he regains that form here in Cleveland.
01:30But I'm of the opinion that if he just plays average to good because of how great this defense is,
01:35he'll be A-OK and the team will be OK. But you're absolutely right.
01:38Joe Flacco, he became a cult figure around Northeast Ohio and amongst Browns fans
01:43for his exploits to what he did on the football field last season for the Browns.
01:48So he certainly was a noble loss. But we do get Jameis Winston here,
01:51and he's obviously a veteran's veteran, been in the league for 10 years,
01:55understands how to get the job done and has done great things on the football field as well.
02:00I think, Gerard, also, that's a really good point because we know the Browns defense has been stellar the last few years.
02:07It's really carried them. But Kevin Stefanski and, of course,
02:10the front office went out and did add players to this to help him.
02:15They had to go last year back to Kareem Hunt after Nick Chubb came back.
02:19So I definitely want an update from you on Chubb and sort of where he stands.
02:23And they also added a wide receiver from the Denver Broncos in Jerry Judy.
02:28And I think that's another player, by the way, Gerard, that the jury is very much still out on.
02:33I mean, a lot of people had high hopes for Judy, did get his contract with the Browns.
02:38But there are some skeptics. There are also some people who feel like maybe a breakout is coming.
02:43Yeah, well, the jury is definitely hung right now on Jerry Judy due to the fact that I believe
02:48because he had just a bad quarterback situation with all due respect to the guys that played there.
02:53When you have inconsistency at the quarterback position,
02:56you're not going to have guys have much success at the wide receiver position.
02:59It goes hand in hand. But one thing that we are hoping is that we will be able to acquit Jerry Judy
03:04of not being a bad football player, but that he can truly live up to the talent that he represents
03:10for when he got drafted out of college, coming from Alabama.
03:13So the sky, we believe, is the limit for him.
03:15And then when you think about just the other people that have come in,
03:18we've got some veterans on the defensive line who could help our cause in Jefferson
03:23and what he represents from the New York Jets and his ability to get to the quarterback.
03:26Looking forward to see what he could do. We got Hicks from the Minnesota Vikings.
03:29He'll be making up for the departure of Anthony Walker, who was a leader on his defense.
03:33So when I look at the Browns as constituted, it's pretty much a run it back situation
03:39where a lot of guys outside of Kareem Hunt, outside of Joe Flacco, outside of Anthony Walker,
03:45who are preeminent figures on this team, are no longer here.
03:49But I really do like the guys that they brought in from what I've seen so far in training camp.
03:53I've been impressed with Judy. We had a practice against the Minnesota Vikings for the past two days.
03:57And I'm here to tell you that in one-on-one drills and when he was able to get the ball
04:01in seven-on-seventeen drills, he looked really good. So I'm excited about Jerry Judy.
04:06Now, you know as well as I do, Gerard, that a lot of people in this world, I'm going to guess,
04:13lean on you for fantasy football advice, too. It's just sort of the way that this world works.
04:17We don't do a lot of it here, but as I alluded to before, I mean, Nick Chubb is a very good running back
04:24in the National Football League. And I think that whether it's fantasy or reality,
04:28I think people are rooting for this kid to get back on the field after that horrible injury last year.
04:32Now, I understand Jerome Ford is there and they added Deonta Foreman.
04:35Foreman's been on, I think, four teams in four years.
04:38But Chubb is, I think, the one that we're keeping an eye on.
04:41I believe if I saw correctly a couple weeks ago, he was doing like work off to the side.
04:45Has anything improved as far as that goes? And I think expectations are he will play this year.
04:50Is that correct? We just don't know when.
04:52It should be that way because we've seen him do phenomenal things.
04:55We've seen him jog. We've seen him run. We've seen him squat, what, 600 pounds.
05:00So right there gives me a great indication that Nick Chubb is well on his way.
05:05So I expect and anticipate him being back at the Hill.
05:09And a beautiful thing for Nick, even though this is a horrible injury that he had to deal with
05:13in that Pittsburgh Steelers game in week two, is the fact that he has familiarity with this situation.
05:19He got hurt real bad in college and some thought his career would be over there
05:23and he would even make it to the NFL. But he got to the NFL and he has been more than stellar.
05:28So I have to imagine that he knows what it requires of him to get back to that place
05:32where he's one of the elite running backs in the National Football League.
05:35All right. And finally, Gerard, the AFC North has eluded the Cleveland Browns since it began a long time ago.
05:43This is probably going into the season the closest shot that the Browns have had going in.
05:47I think we would agree universally they'll favor it over the Steelers like to have a better season than them.
05:52The Ravens have always been the cream of that division.
05:56Do you think the Browns, Gerard, have what it takes to win the division this year?
06:00This is as close to it probably can get. I think even halfway through last year,
06:04some people thought the Browns were going to win the division.
06:07Right. It certainly has been within reach and the Browns, to their credit,
06:11have gone from being a joke in the division, not standing a chance to competing in a division,
06:17and now in a spot to where you can truly say with a straight face and no one look at you irregularly that,
06:23hey, these guys actually have a chance to win this division.
06:25Now, yes, you have one of the toughest divisions in the National Football League that you have to go through,
06:29but that's a good thing. I see that as a blessing in that.
06:31What does it do? It prepares you for the playoffs.
06:33But ultimately, it's going to come down to probably the Browns and the Ravens.
06:37And I wouldn't sleep on Pittsburgh or the Bengals because Joe Burrow is back
06:41and the Pittsburgh Steelers, to their credit, have a much better quarterback situation.
06:45They do. And we'll see how it all plays out when the season gets going in September.
06:50Thanks again, Gerard, for coming here on Newswire. It's great to catch up with you once again.
06:54Thank you for having me. Pleasure talking with you.