Nobody expected the Cleveland Browns to be 4-2 at this point of the season with only the 1-5 Tennessee Titans standing between them and matching last season’s win total just seven weeks into the year. This team received a ton of backlash this offseason for a number of different moves, namely the Todd Monken hiring, Deshaun Watson being named the starting quarterback, and the Myles Garrett trade, but there isn’t much to criticize now that the Browns are in first place.
Monken and Watson may have bonded from the fact that nobody believed they could get this team to this point, but this is the best Watson has looked since coming to the Browns and he looks a lot more like the guy this team traded for than he ever has. What was supposed to be a bridge year is turning into a potential run at the AFC North crown and Monken recently discussed what one of the turning points may have been with this team and his QB.
During a recent appearance on The Pivot Podcast, Monken discussed Watson’s growth. He touched on the conversation he had with Watson after he lashed out at the fans after his poor preseason performance against the Buffalo Bills, and he noted that Watson had to let everything go and let winning cure all.
“After the Bills preseason game, we had kind of a heart to heart because he emptied himself to the media, and I just said, ‘Only you know this, but have you let it go? Has that been something that has been with you for two years?'” Monken said.
Watson made a few separate comments that rubbed fans the wrong way after he was booed in the preseason, but after being named the starter and after having this conversation with Monken, it was clear he had taken on a different tone. After a 4-2 start, there are certainly many fans who will never be on his side, but this whole situation has become a complete non-issue.
Watson’s numbers aren’t jaw-dropping, but he has been clutch in every win and this team wouldn’t be where it is without him. He has looked noticeably more comfortable and looked like a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders following his first win, and he is now at the point where he is smiling all the time, enjoying speaking with the media, and hosting his teammates for big gatherings at his house.
With each passing week, Monken and Watson look less and less like sitting ducks and are building a culture that could last for a long time with them at the forefront of it all.
NEXT: Todd Monken Reveals His Message To Jared Verse After The Trade
