The Cleveland Browns are all set for Week 1 against the Jacksonville Jaguars following a shaky preseason and an offseason full of big, sweeping changes all throughout the organization. Among those big changes is new head coach Todd Monken, who after decades of experience is finally getting his first opportunity to be a head coach at 60 years old.
His offensive acumen and emotional nature have already started winning over some of the doubters who believed he was a last-resort hire in the first place. Unfortunately, not everyone is a fan of his just yet and you can add Rachel Nichols to that after her recent comments on what she believes is a big mistake that Monken made.
During a recent press conference, Monken was asked about whether or not he had watched film on Deshaun Watson in the past, and he said he hadn’t. He mentioned that he watched film from afar over the years since it was part of his job, but he said he is trying to take everything at face value and evaluate who Watson is right now. Nichols doesn’t believe that’s such a great idea.
“You can go into the season thinking every player on your roster is elite. They’re not. You might need to give them some help. No film from when he got there except for cross film from when he was with the Ravens? Come on, man. This is so ludicrous,” said Nichols.
View this post on Instagram
Nichols added that she knows Watson isn’t the same player he was when he was with the Houston Texans, but doesn’t understand why Monken can’t watch old film and help find things he used to do that worked well for him. After she was done tearing into him, her co-host chimed in and said he believes Monken is going to be one-and-done as a coach.
It’s fair to criticize Monken for this, but he deserves the benefit of the doubt until he proves otherwise. Living in the present might not be so bad because there is a lot of talent on this offense now and perhaps watching some of Watson’s awful Browns film would cloud his judgment and cause him to not be able to lead this team with a clear mind.
Watson being named the starter was always going to bring a ton of backlash, and rightfully so. All Monken can do is put his head down and keep working, and if the Watson experiment crashes and burns, it’s not on him. He inherited this unenviable quarterback room and he needs to be given time to shape this locker room in his vision.
NEXT: Richard Sherman Believes Browns Made Massive Mistake This Offseason
