Cleveland Browns fans have had enough of the Deshaun Watson experiment. They've seen enough missed throws, enough sacks, and enough excuses to finally wish for, at minimum, a change at quarterback using the players Cleveland has on its roster right now and at most, some accountability for taking a gamble and losing it badly.
Unfortunately, fans aren't going to get their wish anytime soon. Before Week 6 against the Philadelphia Eagles and before practice on Wednesday prior to that game, head coach Kevin Stefanski continued to stand firm in his position that it's not just Watson's fault that the Browns are 1-4, but a collective effort to be bad.
After being directly asked if he ever thought about changing quarterbacks during the 38-13 rout in Week 5, Stefanski gave a straight "no."
That's it. Just, "no."
In addition to that Watson question, Stefanski was also pressed about whether he'd be open to giving full play calling duties over to OC Ken Dorsey. The two coaches have up to this point been collaborating on play calling, with Stefanski contributing to the offensive scheming. To this question, Stefanski went a bit longer, explaining that he felt that it's just a matter of collaborating on plays and execution at a higher level between coaches and players that'll turn the ship right.
"I’m comfortable with the amount of collaboration we have right now on the headset and how we operate, so that won’t change," added Stefanski.
You can watch the entire availability here.
LIVE: HC Kevin Stefanski speaks to the media before practice https://t.co/cxIgB1vDDB
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) October 9, 2024
Watson backs his coach
Watson was available to speak with press ahead of Wednesday's practice as well, and according to Cleveland Browns beat reporter for Cleveland.com Mary Kay Cabot, Watson was nothing but supportive of how Stefanski has handled play calling for him and the Browns offense.
"We believe in Kevin. He's been doing play calls for multiple years in this league. Two time head coach while running the play calling so, there's no loss of faith with Kevin calling plays. We think he's the best play caller in the league," said Watson.
Watson also added that he really, truly, does not go on social media much at all, so he knows nothing about the Browns fans about to start picketing outside of Huntington Bank Field. (Kidding, but also, wouldn't be surprised to see some cropping up soon.)
"The first time I'm hearing of this is you guys bringing it up, or you know, somebody else outside. I just don't know who it's coming from, so, that's one thing. But also, it's a new opportunity, it's a new week, so, those guys are seeing it from a different perspective about what we need to do internally," explained Watson.
Added Watson about the work he's putting in behind the scenes, also known as, the scenes those on the outside aren't participating in, "sometimes it goes our way, sometimes it doesn't. So, for outside people and the media, yeah, it might be loud, but for myself, I gotta make sure I'm locked in and trying to do whatever I can do so all of us are on the same page, playing winning football."
Fans would genuinely like to believe this, but they see the finished product after a week of practice out on the field every Sunday. It would be nice to see a turnaround this week, but if there isn't one, that outside noise might become boisterous internally, too.
