Deshaun Watson Is Allowed Back In The Browns Facilities Today
Welcome back, Mr. Watson. And before you all jump down my throat, please listen to my stance moving forward.I think it's gross what Deshaun Watson did. Looking back with 20/20 hindsight, I would have advised the Browns front office to not make the trade, but unless you all know something I don't, time machines haven't been invented yet. The team that I have cheered for since I was born, in which my Dad, Grandpa, Great Grandpa, etc etc etc all cheered for as well, decided to mortgage their entire future on him. So yes, I will be cheering for him to play good football. If you don't like that, then I'm sorry. But I'm not going to sit here and pout and get upset and cheer against him. I am a Browns fan. He is on the Browns. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
The other story I'm sticking to is that while Deshaun Watson is clearly a top 5 talent in the league, I don't think he fixes many of the glaring problems the Browns have right now. Have we lost 3 games by a grand total of 6 points? Yes. Has Jacoby Brissett thrown an INT near the end of the game of in each of those one score losses? Yes. Is Deshaun Watson worth, on average, two points a game more than his backup? Yes. But the Browns are not losing because of their offense.
Exhibit A:
The fact of the matter is the Browns need to fix their Defense, their Coaching Staff, and their Special Teams, not their QB situation. I do think Deshaun comes in and immediately takes our #1 running game in the league to the #1 offense in the league, but if the defense can't stop a nose bleed, it really won't matter.
The other fact of the matter is that I'm not sure the way these Browns are playing right now, paired with the gauntlet of a schedule we have coming up, lead to us being in contention in Game #12 when Deshaun Watson even returns.
Browns: 2-3 (1-0)
Week 6: Patriots
Week 7: @ Ravens
Week 8: Bengals
Week 9: BYE
Week 10: @ Dolphins
Week 11: @ Bills
Week 12: Bucs
Week 13: Welcome back Deshaun, @ Texans
I'm not going to go game by game for the remaining six we have without Deshaun since you guys write them down in your notes app and bring them up in the comments if I'm wrong, but if I were to do that, I'd say: Patriots (loss), @ Ravens (loss), Bengals (win), @ Dolphins (loss), @ Bills (loss), Bucs (loss). And that would put us at 3-8 when Deshaun can finally play again, in which the season would already be over. I kind of think that was Goodell's plan, too. Make us waste a year of Deshaun by giving him back when he isn't needed anymore. Ruin our season and then ruin our draft pick.
The Browns need to be 5-6 when Watson returns to have a shot at the playoffs. It would be nice to be 5-0 right now, which we should be, and then anything else in the next 6 would be a cherry on top. But alas, we need to find 3 wins in the next 6, of which the schedule is nothing other than brutal. I could see us winning games vs the Pats, Bengals, and Dolphins, but I could also see us losing them. We could very well be 2-9 when Watson comes back.