This week’s Terry’s Talkin’ podcast has no shortage of ground to cover, and the biggest themes are hard to miss: the Browns are 3-1, the Guardians are in a deep hole, and Todd Monken has changed the temperature around Cleveland’s football team.
Terry Pluto and host David Campbell spend time on the Browns’ culture shift, and the difference between Kevin Stefanski and Monken comes through clearly. Pluto says Monken’s heart and transparent approach have brought a fresh sense of optimism to the building. He points to Monken publicly taking the blame for specific play-calling mistakes, a move that protects the players while creating real trust and accountability inside the locker room.
That mindset has carried over to the quarterback work, too. Pluto says the coaching staff dug in with intense film sessions to help Deshaun Watson stop holding the ball so long and get it out quicker. Watson’s average release time has dropped by nearly a full second, a change that has made it much harder for opposing defenses to generate pressure.
The conversation also turns to whether Cleveland fans are starting to change the story they’ve told themselves about Watson.
On the defensive side, Denzel Ward gets his due for what Pluto calls a quietly excellent season. Ward is blanketing his side of the field in coverage and also showing up in open-field tackling.
There’s also room for a look at the Browns’ youth movement. Pluto mentions two rookies to keep an eye on, one on offense and one on defense, and notes that the front office’s improved evaluation process is showing up on the field. Nine players from the last two draft classes are already playing meaningful roles.
Special teams and discipline around the league come up as well. Pluto calls kicker Andre Szmyt a weapon, and he also notes an NFL-wide rise in penalties that has been disrupting the flow of games, erasing an unusually high number of touchdowns, and dragging down offensive scoring.
The Guardians, meanwhile, are in the worst kind of October trouble. Pluto and Campbell dig into Cleveland’s 0-2 deficit against the White Sox in the AL Division Series, and the explanation is ugly: a team-wide offensive slump and poor plate discipline have left the lineup stuck in place.
Pluto also talks about Steven Kwan, saying the outfielder salvaged his season by walking away from an analytics-driven push for more swing velocity and returning to the flat swing that made him so effective.
The episode closes with a remembrance of “Sudden” Sam McDowell, whose legacy runs far beyond his days as a gifted pitcher. Pluto reflects on a life that moved from being derailed by alcoholism to becoming deeply meaningful work as an addiction counselor.
In Other News...
Jose Ramirez Decision Could Define Clevelands ALDS Fight
Jose Ramirezs October has become one of the quietest pressure points in Clevelands ALDS push. The seven-time All-Star has dealt with both performance and injury issues across the regular season and the first two games of the series, and the Guardians have spent enough time around him to know how much his presence usually shapes their offense. Even without a hit yet in the postseason, he has still found a way on base twice through walks and scored a run, a small reminder that his impact can show up in different ways.
Still, the Guardians are weighing whether a lineup adjustment might help ease some of the burden and get Ramirez back to his usual rhythm. Moving him down would be a notable call for a player who has long sat at the center of Clevelands attack, but the pressure around him has only grown as the series has unfolded. No decision has been made, and for a team trying to stay alive in the ALDS, how they handle Ramirez may say as much about their confidence as it does about his current form. [Read more 🡒]
Josh Naylors Rough 2026 Season Finally Has A Clearer Explanation
Josh Naylors difficult 2026 season now has a more concrete backdrop after the Seattle Mariners said he underwent TFCC repair surgery on his right wrist. For Cleveland fans still tracking the former Indian, the update helps put his downturn in context after a year in which his offensive production never matched the level he had established before. The wrist issue, in particular, gives a clearer sense of why things may have felt off for so long.
Seattle also revealed catcher Cal Raleigh had a left shoulder acromioclavicular debridement procedure, another reminder of how much hidden wear can shape a players year before the full picture comes out. In Naylors case, the surgery does not change what happened on the field, but it does add important context to a season that puzzled observers and now looks a little easier to explain. [Read more 🡒]
Guardians Season May Hinge On Vogts Toughest Pitching Call Yet
With the Guardians on the brink after dropping the first two games of the ALDS, the attention has quickly shifted to the one decision that could shape the rest of the series: who gets the ball in Game 3. Tanner Bibee, Daniel Espino and Joey Cantillo all sit in the mix, and each choice comes with a different kind of risk for a team that no longer has much margin for error.
The discussion around the pitching staff has been about more than just one start, because this is the kind of spot where every move can ripple through the rest of the postseason plan. Cleveland has been forced to weigh upside against reliability in a must-win setting, and with the odds of a comeback already looking slim, the answer to that pitching question may say as much about the Guardians October outlook as the series itself. [Read more 🡒]