How has Joel Bitonio’s experience in the league helped the team so far?
Joel Bitonio is a true veteran offensive lineman for us. He brings experience and leadership to the team. He is the definition of a professional in this league and you can see how his presence affects the young guys in the locker room. His knowledge of the game, consistency in performance, and understanding of opposing defenses will be critical in our offense's success this season. He will anchor the offensive line, providing protection for the quarterback and creating opportunities for the team's running game. This brand of Cleveland Browns football will be about being physical and imposing our will on our opponents. This starts up front, and it'll start with Joel.
I want to ask you about the receiver position in general. How have you seen that position evolve in importance over the years and how does having a player like WR Amari Cooper sort of factor into that perspective?
With the rules of today's game, the passing game is more important and effective than ever. And a focal point of any great passing game relies on great receivers. You see a lot of young speedy guys come into the league and are able to make an impact early on, but eventually that speed dwindles and their effectiveness does as well. That's why guys like Amari Cooper are invaluable. He has stood the test of the time because of his incredible route running, release ability off the line, his football IQ, as well as his athletic ability. While the defenses have tried to find different types of CBs in the modern game to neutralize the passing game, such as tall WR-type bodies to super fast track guys. None of them have shown they can consistently stick with an elite route runner like Amari Cooper.
Who is your quarterback, and why?
Deshaun Watson will be our QB for this season. He has certainly had a history in this league of high level play before off-field issues derailed his career's momentum in Houston. But this franchise gave up a lot to bring him here and paid him a lot of money, so our expectation levels are sky high for him. He has looked at that as a challenge that pushes him every day to get better and make our team better. He is the first one in and last one out, and his report with Amari, DPJ, Njoku, and Moore has been growing every day since OTAs. We can tell the excitement and trust levels he has with the new OC here in Cleveland are at an all-time high, so we are expecting to see great things from him this season.
