Hour 2 - Big Day at the Factory

Deshaun Watson was named the starting quarterback for the Cleveland Browns, and Ben Maller is not buying the explanation. On this episode of The Ben Maller Show, the host dissects the decision, the press conference spin, and the implications for everyone involved—from the front office to the backup quarterback to the long-suffering fan base.

The Stench from the Factory

The central argument of the hour is that the decision to start Watson had nothing to do with merit and everything to do with ownership meddling driven by the sunk cost of Watson’s $46 million salary this year. Maller calls Browns coach Todd Monken’s explanation—that Watson “gave us the best chance to move the ball and score points”—a shameless lie. He plays the audio of Monken saying the decision came after the staff “re-looked at everything,” then immediately calls him a liar. Maller’s reading of the situation is blunt: owner Jimmy Haslam forced Monken to start Watson to get a return on investment. “They gotta get something back for my investment,” Maller says, impersonating the owner. “At this point, the Browns trying to get something out of Deshaun Watson. You'd have as much success if you went down to the mountains and you took some rocks and you tried to squeeze them and get juice.”