The Baltimore Ravens shed their skin this offseason. They canned the old coaching staff, moving toward what will hopefully be a brighter future. In the chaos of it all, there was one man who could be a thorn in Baltimore’s side for years to come: Todd Monken.
When Monken became the head coach of the Cleveland Browns, it was clear they were hoping the veteran mind could craft an identity to give the team a much-needed sense of direction. While he could certainly still do that, Monken recently made a decision that has Dawg Pound up in arms.
Monken announced on Monday that Deshaun Watson would be the starting quarterback for the Browns in Week 1. This ends a highly scrutinized QB competition.
“Deshaun is gonna start against Jacksonville,” Monken said. “[We] took in the full body of work over the course of offseason, to training camp, to the games, the joint practice. Ultimately felt like, to start the season on the road, Deshaun gave us the best opportunity to move the ball and score points.”
Former Baltimore Ravens OC Todd Monken risks losing new fanbase with Deshaun Watson decision
As loud and as relentless as the uproar has been since the second Cleveland’s QB decision was revealed, it may never have been a real competition. It shouldn’t be shocking that Todd Monken is rolling with the veteran Deshaun Watson. People probably should've gotten the sense of where he was leaning since the day he was hired.
Ravens fans know as well as anyone that Monken has an old school vibe to him. The 60-year-old head coach has always emphasized avoiding negative plays and making the most of tough moments like third-down situations. It’s a given that he’d prefer an experienced signal caller to lead his system.
Perhaps where he went wrong, though, is advertising the QB battle as a close competition. It was a job that he consistently mentioned was up for grabs week after week. And after seeing the preseason performances of both Watson and Shedeur Sanders, it’s fair to speculate whether it was a fair and truly realistic competition.
In what became the deciding battle in Week 2 of the preseason against the Buffalo Bills, Sanders outperformed Watson. That’s what has fans so riled up.
It wasn’t anything outstanding, but Sanders had his moments on Saturday. He completed 9-of-11 passes for 74 yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception. The second-year pro kept the chains moving, which is what Monken wanted.
As for Watson, his day against Buffalo was a disaster. He went 5-for-12, throwing for 36 yards, 0 touchdowns, and 1 interception. I guess that was the final nail needed to lock up the QB1 job, though.
As Monken continues to make his mark in Cleveland, this is the first big question mark about his tenure. Browns fans want success, and given the trend of Watson’s career, this doesn’t feel like a great direction to take your team in year one. And judging by the reaction, plenty of people are wondering if Monken got this one right.
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