Watson saga, Chapter II

Well, well, well, look who's back trying to make another comeback as the Deshaun Watson Saga unspools again Sunday at home against the almost-winless Arizona Cardinals.

The Browns' $230 million quarterback, who sustained major rotator cuff damage to his throwing shoulder in a week three victory over Tennessee, tried to come back two weeks ago from the injury that shelved him for two games.

He shouldn't have. He wasn't ready even though reports from practice that week indicated he looked good. The Indianapolis Colts defense made him look just the opposite, pretty much like a practice squad player. He was tentative, confused and victimized by the speed of the game. He belonged on the bench in street clothes that day.

In what eventually became a 39-38 victory at Indianapolis thanks to a strong relief effort by P. J.Walker, head coach Kevin Stefanski finally called it a day after Watson landed on his bad shoulder during a hard sack on his fourth -- and final -- possession of the game and aggravated the original injury.

Back to rehab and day-to-day status during which he occasionally skipped practice the last couple of weeks, leading to daily questions regarding his availability. It was day-to-day until Stefanski surprised everyone Thursday and Watson was back as QB1.

All of a sudden, we should believe Watson is ready to face game-speed action after just two weeks? He proved last time -- he admitted he might have pushed it trying to come back too soon -- that it was a big mistake.

The question now becomes whether Watson is, indeed, healthy enough to risk attempting it again. His strong (Stefanski's label) practices this week gave the coach the confidence to green-flag it again. "I have a ton of confidence in him," he said. "His teammates have a ton of confidence in him. The important part was having a really good Wednesday, Thursday and Friday." 

Even so, this move smacks of desperation. The Browns are a tenuous 4-3 and beginning to morph into an average, at best, football team with dates against Baltimore (at home) and at Pittsburgh lurking.

The defense is slowly beginning to look vulnerable, not like the unit that stunned the National Football League in the early stages of the season. It would not be incorrect to suggest the rest of the league has caught up to the Browns in all phases of the game and the proper adjustments are not being made.

And now that Watson's back, we surely can expect Stefanski to make some adjustments for an offense that has looked anemic this season no matter who has the huddle, correct? Not exactly. When healthy, Watson has booked just one good game (Tennessee) in 10 games as a starter.

Stefanski's primary goal for this one has to focus on keeping his quarterback vertical at all times with a secondary goal of a clean uniform at the end of the game. Absolutely no toying with this young man's health. Keep it simple.

The plays need to be quick, crisp and on time. No seven-step drops. Ball gone in less than three seconds in the passing game. Lots of pounding on the ground with the three-headed monster of Jerome Ford, Kareem Hunt and Pierre Strong Jr. Lots of misdirection, draws and counters with moving pockets for passes.

In last Sunday's loss in Seattle, Stefanski called a half dozen screen passes. All were successful, catching the Seahawks by surprise and keeping the Browns in the game. No reason not to dial up a few more against the Cards. 

This latest move with Watson is a huge gamble and smacks somewhat of desperation by Stefanski. Starting him against the Colts when he was nowhere near 100% was the first sad chapter of the Watson saga. There's no reason to believe he's that much better now even though he says he's confident this time that he's ready.

Chances are Stefanski will have him on a short leash and a pitch count and ready to yank him if there are any signs he's carelessly placing himself in harm's way. 

It's tempting to say chapter two of the saga will not end well. In theory, though, this one should be easy. The Browns are definitely the better team. The Cardinals have played some close games, but the 1-7 record speaks for itself. 

And with rookie quarterback Clayton Tune making his National Football League starting debut, the Browns falling to 4-4 would be a brutal setback. It will be close, but Dustin Hopkins comes through late in the final quarter once again in a low-scoring game. Make it:

Browns 16, Cardinals 13