Everybody seems to have had just about enough from Deshaun Watson, whether it be the media or the fans.
While the loudest voices have come from the media, Jason Garrett and Dan Orlovsky to name a few, it hasn’t exactly changed how the Cleveland Browns view their starting quarterback.
Everyone can see it, but there’s so much money attached to this failed decision that the decision-makers are inclined to ride Watson into the ground, giving zero indication that benching him in favor of Jameis Winston or Dorian Thompson-Robinson is even remotely possible.
But as Watson continues to cash his checks while providing some of the worst quarterback play in the league, he’s been likened to a failed superstar in another sport — Ben Simmons of the Brooklyn Nets. But before we can get there, Sharpe was incredulous about Watson, as he told his Nightcap co-host Chad Johnson that he didn’t know what to say about the Cleveland Browns quarterback.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJczfRA3we0&t=1s
“I’m running out of words, Ocho. At some point in time, Ocho, this gotta stop now,” Sharpe told his co-host as he removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes in despair. “…The only time I can say I see this kind of drop-off is through injury.”
But Sharpe doesn’t believe it has anything to do with injuries and has much more to do with what’s happening upstairs. The former Denver Broncos and Baltimore Ravens tight end can’t quantify what’s wrong with Watson, but he believes it has to do with something mentally.
This is the same Watson who led the NFL in passing yards during his final season in Houston. He didn’t become a bottom-five quarterback overnight. Still, it’s hard to say how a quarterback who was once considered the second-best in the AFC behind Patrick Mahomes has turned into such a shell of his former self.
Enter the Ben Simmons comparison.
“I don’t think Deshaun, I don’t think what happened — same thing, look at Ben Simmons,” said Sharpe. “Look at Ben Simmons in basketball, Ocho. All-Defensive, All-Star, All-NBA, Rookie of the Year; yeah, he got hurt, but his mentality was that what happened in Philly. Y’all remember I said he was never going to be the same. His coach and the best player on the team (Joel Embiid) criticized him — I said it’s over. I said he was done in Philly.”
“You remember that game when they played Atlanta? They passed Ben Simmons the ball and Ben Simmons passed it,” Sharpe added. “He was right there for a dunk… He didn’t want to run the risk of getting fouled and have to go to the free-throw line. The difference, Ocho, is here’s the thing: I can teach you to swim if you’re not afraid of the water. If you’re afraid of water, I can’t teach you how to swim.”
As Sharpe alluded to, the mental aspect of the game is often overlooked but can be a chasm too vast to cross. Watson and Simmons aren’t just dealing with physical limitations; they’re wrestling with an identity crisis in front of millions. It’s hard to ignore that both players were once lauded as future superstars, only to become cautionary tales of unrealized potential.
The Browns are now at a crossroads, tethered to a quarterback whose talent feels like a distant memory. They seem determined to ride this rollercoaster to its inevitable conclusion. Still, the question looms: is Watson’s decline just a temporary setback, or has he slipped into the abyss of sports purgatory?
The comparisons to Simmons are as stark as they’re unsettling. And in Sharpe’s eyes, they’re both products of their own psyche, and that’s a tricky beast to tame.
[ Nightcap ]
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