CANTON— What can one say about the Deshaun Watson saga?
Dan Fouts preferred to say nothing.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback did share some interesting thoughts about quarterbacks, though, after serving as master of ceremonies at a special Hall of Fame event.
Fouts, who quarterbacked the San Diego Chargers when their offense was the rage, dubbed "Air Coryell," smiled when asked to name his favorite current quarterback.
It was mentioned to Fouts that the same question recently was put to Coach Dick Vermeil, a member of the Hall of Fame's Class of 2022. Without hesitation, Vermeil named Cincinnati Bengals QBJoe Burrow.
"I'm going to stick with Justin Herbert," Fouts said. "Oregon Duck. Chargers."
Burrow, the No. 1 pick of the 2020 draft, took the Bengals to the 2021 AFC championship. Herbert started every 2021 game for a Chargers team that missed the playoffs after a 1-3 finish left them at 9-8.
Fouts played college ball at Oregon, then spent his NFL career (1973-87) with the Chargers. His pick of Herbert goes past nepotism.
"He's got it all," Fouts said. "The physical part is as good as anybody. It's the mental part of it. The makeup of the person."
Herbert was a high pick, No. 6 overall, but he was the third quarterback drafted in 2020 behind Burrow and Tua Tagovailoa.
Fouts is an example of how draft pecking order doesn't dictate career flow. He was the third QB drafted in 1973, at No. 64 overall, behind Bert Jones (No. 2), Gary Huff (No. 33), Ron Jaworski (No. 37), Gary Keithley (No. 45) and Joe Ferguson (No. 57).
Fouts is well acquainted with Brian Sipe, a famous Browns quarterback who fits into that topic and his era. Sipe was the 12th quarterback drafted in 1973, at No. 330 overall.
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In 1980, as field general for the Browns' "Kardiac Kids," Sipe was NFL MVP. In the playoffs that season, Sipe drove the Browns to within field-goal range of what could have been a last-second win sending Cleveland to the AFC Championship Game at San Diego, against Fouts and the Chargers.
Instead, the Oakland Raiders beat the Browns when coach Sam Rutigliano, on a frozen day not conducive to kicking or passing, opted to take one last shot at a touchdown. On a play the Browns called "Red Right 88," Sipe threw an interception. It was the Raiders who went went on to face the Chargers.
"I know Brian pretty well," Fouts said. "He lived in San Diego. We played golf together. I admired him.
"He played for Don Coryell at San Diego State before I played for Don Coryell with the Chargers. Brian got into architecture, but he did a lot of good things as a coach, too.
"We played the Browns a lot in my career. It was always a challenge, especially playing against Brian and that offense."
Sipe's ill-fated interception was intended for Ozzie Newsome, who was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1999. Fouts was elected in 1993.
The first Fouts vs. Sipe duel, in 1974, was a shootoutat San Diego Stadium.
Sipe extended a Browns lead to 35-26 when he scored on a sneak. Fouts threw touchdown passes of 70 yards to Harrison Davis and 75 yards to Don Woods to rally the Chargers to a 36-35 win.
"When you played against a guy like Brian or Elway or Marino, you had to score a lot," Fouts said. "You had to keep attacking and attacking, because that's what they were going to do. Brian was such a clutch quarterback."
Sipe's last hurrah with the Browns peaked early in the 1983 season. His 27-yard touchdownpass to Bobby Jones provided a 21-10 lead. Fouts passed the Chargers back in the game. In overtime, Sipe's 48-yard touchdownpass to Harry Holt left the Browns with a 30-24 win.
Fouts was in town to give an added touch to the Hall of Fame's Awards of Excellence luncheon. He is on the Hall's advisory board. He is a Hall of Fame voter as part of a fairly recent adjustment in which the Hall added players to a panel dominated by media members.
He has a player's appreciation of Class of 2022 Hall of Famer Cliff Branch, who played against the Chargers in the 1980 AFC finals.
"He was so fast," Fouts said. "You just held your breath. He was so fast, and he was so clutch."
As a track man, Branch set an NCAA record in the 100-meter dash in 1971.
"His speed on the football field was pretty good, too," Fouts said. "He had to play on that sod at Oakland. The grass was always wet.
"He had a way of beating everybody. You just never knew when it was going to be."
The epic year for bothBranch and Sipe was 1980. The playoff stunner against the Raiders left the Browns out in the cold. Instead it was Oakland going to San Diego for the AFC finals.
in the 1980 AFC finals, Branch caught three passes for 78 yards and, as a constant threat, discombobulated the Chargers' defense.
The Chargers fell behind the Raiders 28-7. Fouts rallied them to within 28-24 with lightning speed. The Raiders rallied to win, 34-27, then beat Vermeil's Eagles 27-10 in Super Bowl XV.
Before their playoff hopes froze over in the Raiders game, Browns players liked their chances of getting to the Super Bowl in an AFC title game at San Diego.
These years later, the Browns still haven't been in a Super Bowl. Fouts knows the feeling. In his 15-year career, the 1980 AFC finals against Oakland was as close as he came.
Reach Steve at steve.doerschuk@cantonrep.com
On Twitter: @sdoerschukREP
