Deshaun Watson is struggling mightily for the Cleveland Browns which is frustrating. It's still not as bad as his inability to self-scout.
Watson continues to have a blind spot for anything he does wrong. Without getting into his off-field concerns, Watson showed this by claiming any criticism hurled at him means he's "pretty damn good." He continued to paint himself in a positive light this week after the Browns lost to the New York Giants.
Cleveland was attempting to make a comeback, and Cedric Tillman dropped a pass on fourth-and-one, which ended the game. Tillman took heat for the drop, but after the game, a still from the play made the rounds and put the spotlight on Watson. In that image, it was plain as day that Jordan Akins was open for the first down but Watson threw it into tight coverage.
Watson was asked about this and said Akins was a "decoy." He said not everyone knows the reads, which is fine. It would have been fine if he said Tillman was his first read and he liked what he saw — because Tillman should have caught it. But claiming a tight end running a route is a decoy feels like a stretch.
Now, it seems as though he might not have been telling the truth either. When asked about his take, offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey didn't go out of his way to confirm what Watson said.
These comments from Dorsey don't outright put any blame on Watson but it can be interpreted that he made the wrong read. Or at the least that he fired the pass before making his progression.
While that can be debated, there's one thing we know for sure. Players don't typically run routes as decoys, especially on a fourth-and-one.
