QB Deshaun Watson (8.12.26)
How excited are you about this opportunity, whether or not Coach (Todd) Monken has told you if you’re starting or not, just getting out there finally and playing in a real game?
“I’m super excited, I think. All the hard work that I put in with the training staff, with my team, my personal team, to get to this stage has been tremendous for me. So, I’m super excited for those opportunities and can’t wait for it.”
Deshaun, can you talk about the way that over the past week, at least from my vantage point, it seems like it’s really come together for you and your performance has elevated by leaps and bounds, going back to maybe like last Wednesday and stacking good practices. What’s going on there with you?
“Just getting comfortable with what Coach Monken has wanted us to do as a QB and as a team, and what he’s looking for, trying to get on the same page on how he’s calling plays in certain situations. My job every day is what I live by. I just keep trying to win the day, and every day I take it one day at a time. Can’t rush anything and let the football that I’ve been doing my whole life kind of take care of itself. So again, I’m in a good spot, and I just keep trying to work and find ways to get better.”
Looking back on some of those earlier interceptions, around the last time we talked to you. Looking back on them now, how much of that was maybe due to you experimenting, trying different things, like you talked about last time?
“I think every interception isn’t, especially at this time of the year, you kind of got to look at them differently in certain situations. What are we working on? What throws are we working on? Have I tried this throw before? We might have tried it in an in-route scenario and see if I can try it in a live period. Sometimes the defense makes a good job, and then also, sometimes, it might be a bad throw or a bad decision. So, you kind of got to grow from them, and it’s better to have those moments now rather than in an actual game.”
Off of that, how do you go through it mentally figuring out? Like this is a session where I should try some things, I can try some things, versus this is one where I want to make sure I’m just going to take what the defense is giving me?
“I think it goes back to, in between periods, just making sure I’m on the same page on what period are we working on? Is it third down, is it third and short, is it fourth down, is it red zone, is it first and ten, is it an opportunity where we’re taking shots, is it third and long where Coach Monken is giving us a green light to test those throws? So, I think it’s just finding those situations within the game and being smart and then watching the tape and actually sitting down with the coaching staff and reviewing it, so we don’t make those same mistakes. Or even if it does work, we don’t want to go and live on those types of throws and situations.”
Coach Monken said the other day that he wants to see you and Shedeur (Sanders) in preseason games, because obviously you guys can get hit. That’s a different situation than in practice, especially for you, since you haven’t been hit in a couple of years now. What extra layer of evaluation does that add for you in a preseason game?
“For me, it’s just really being able to play live football against a different opponent. I’m not worried about being hit or anything like that. That’s part of the game. But as far as me operating in a live setting without being on the practice field with coaches being on the field with you, that’s what I’m looking forward to, and just getting those reps.”
Shedeur was talking about how Coach (Monken) makes practice very game-like. In what ways do you feel like he does that, having been in games before? What can’t you replicate, no matter how hard you try when you’re out there, beyond the contact you face from the defense?
“I think the biggest thing is really what we just talked about, is just those mistakes. The interceptions, the turnovers, the bad operation. Those things get you beat. That’s the biggest thing where you’ve got to take it with a grain of salt, learn from it, and pick your spots. Sometimes we might get a little too greedy and try to do some things and it goes the wrong way, and then we’ve got to go back and watch the tape and know in this situation, these are the things that can lose you ball games, and you’ve got to be able to check it down. You take that, put it in your memory bank, and then the next rep, you try to improve from it.”
How does a game setting help you build rhythm differently from practice?
“Because the game is a lot faster. People are thinking differently. You don’t have that time when your kind of prepping. Again, this is like, ‘third down, we’re going to play the sticks.’ Where in a game you’ve got to be locked in on the situation. The plays, you might be thinking about the last rep, the last play, but you forget that it’s third down or second down, or you might play it a little different than in practice. So, all those things just take time, and the more opportunities we get in preseason to get those opportunities and reps, is very helpful.”
What do you think you’ve learned most about yourself since training camp began?
“Learn most about myself? I already know who I am, so I don’t think anything.”
I mean as far as getting back into that football group.
“It’s like riding a bike. It’s just kind of getting back and just playing football, playing free. I think the biggest thing is really mental. My mental side is really just coming in, taking it one day at a time, not worried about what’s going on outside, and just focusing on my opportunities.”
I’ve never heard the word cadence used so much as a training camp, everyday Coach Monken brings it up. As a 10-year veteran in your position, are you as frustrated as he appears to?
“Yeah, I think coach is definitely going to be frustrated, because he wants professionalism, and that’s what we strive for, you want a coach that’s striving for that. Even one pre-snap penalty, two pre-snap penalties, might seem small in the grand scheme of things, but those things get you beat, like I mentioned before. This is very similar to how my training camps were back when I first got drafted, with Coach Bill O’Brien. Very aggressive, very intense. He wanted professionalism, especially coming from the New England system with (Tom) Brady everything was about crossing the T’s and dotting the I’s. So, I’m very familiar with that, and we’ve got to stay on top of those things, because they’re either going to help you, or they’re going to help you lose a lot of games.”
How much do you think it’ll help you, once you get to take those, if you do, first-team reps every day, to develop that continuity day after day with the ones?
“It’s very helpful. I think it’s very helpful when you get to play with the same guys, practice with the same guys, you build that trust, you build that understanding of how this guy’s coming out of his route, because everyone’s different, everyone has different tendencies, different ways of running routes, how explosive they are, their catch radius, everything about that. It’s obviously hard to go back and forth between different guys, but you just try to learn as much as possible and trust it as much as possible until that opportunity comes.”
Nine times out of ten when I see you make a throw; it goes exactly where you want it to go and looks very accurate. Occasionally, it looks like the ball didn’t go exactly where you wanted. Is that just typical for any quarterback, or are you still knocking the rust off? What happens when you see a pass that looks a little off?
“I think not every quarterback is going to be perfect. I don’t think it’s any different than Steph Curry shooting a three. Sometimes it looks really good, but that’s not the first time he’s tried that. So, a lot of times he’s missed shots, and you keep repeating it until you get it perfect. So sometimes it’s going to be off. The defense gives you different looks, they get paid on the other side, and we have a really good defense, and they’re doing a lot of different things, disguising and making it tough for the offense. So, you just try to time it up, and sometimes the ball doesn’t go that way, or they’re in the right spot. Again, that’s what the tape and this time period is for, being able to learn and gain that trust and experience so, you put it in your memory bank and move forward.”
Deshaun, when you get back on the field, do you envision yourself playing exactly how you did in Houston, or do you think you have to change your style, given the injuries and the years that have passed?
“I’m different, man. I think, ever since I’ve been here, early on bringing up Houston was cool, but I’m 30 now and I’ve had some injuries and things like that, so my game has definitely changed. But the mentality in how I play, and how I approach it, doesn’t change. So, I think the biggest thing is just going out there, playing free, and letting my instincts take over. That’s the biggest thing. Coach O’Brien always told me to trust my instincts, so I think that’s the biggest thing, just go out there, play free, and let the game come to you.”
Do you think you’re practicing better than you ever have as a Cleveland Brown?
“Of course, yeah, of course. I have a clear vision; I have a clear mind. I think the world knows what I went through. It’s no secret, off the field and on the field, with injuries. So, I think for anybody that has gone through what I went through, they might be in a different spot. I think I’m mentally tough, and I dealt with it as best as I possibly could to be able to stand here talking with you guys. If I were to have handled it differently, I definitely wouldn’t be sitting right here in front of you guys in my fifth year.”
In recent days you’ve been working within the run game, and that’s become an integral part of your game now given the injury. How’s it been for you, reacclimating and what’s your level of comfort?
“It’s been good. I think being able to practice it and get out on the field. I know it’s not live, but guys are chasing us, and our defense is doing a heck of a job of reacting and going full speed to the point of attack. It’s been really good to be able to test my injury and see where I’m at with my strength. So, I think I’m in a good spot, and confident that it’s going to continue to get better and improve.”
Deshaun, you talked about the pre-snap stuff and working through that. Especially with a totally different offensive line in front of you, what does the work look like, both on the field and off the field, to get some of that correct behind the scenes?
“A lot of film study, a lot of one-on-one time, and just a lot of communication. Just normal conversation – when we’re eating lunch, dinner, breakfast, in the locker room, just bringing it up, showing them different clips. Then once we get on the field, we try to apply everything we talked about off the field, on the field, and see how fast we can operate it, and just go out there and try to execute. So, it’s a lot of talking, watching film and being on the same page.”
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