top dawg

DJ has left a few on the ground, as per normal, including in the end zone. And it's not for lack of opportunity, regardless of the QBs. He needs to improve his route running and score, particularly when it's crunch time. If he can do those two things, he'll be worth his salary. My hope is that he outplays his salary, but I can't help but think that if he doesn't step it up this year in an appreciable way in those two areas, that we're probably seeing his ceiling.

It's simply too early to say...on both accounts, but I will continue to say that it's only a matter of time before the room is Corraled.

It's OK not to believe...but you will.

L O fuging L! That's bad, but I can't blame you.

Oh, yeah, not only did Baker have really an exponentially better O-line and weapons in general than Darnold---taking Darnold out of the equation entirely, Mayfield still has thrown more interceptions than every QB in the league since he's been in...every QB. That's not good.

I mean, I understand that people don't like it, but Rhule is the lead dog until he's relieved of duties. For all the talk of Tepper taking away his power, just reading between the lines and seeing the draft night on Panthers Confidential, you could easily see that Rhule was still ultimately the one in charge, but you also saw him trusting Fitterer to do what he does. Bottom line, Fitt works at Rhule's pleasure. Now of course Rhule could be acquiescing to someone else's demands (probably not McAdoo's), but it leads me to think that he's behind the Baker thing. And, well, he's the one fighting to keep his job. By most accounts, Fitterer has done a good job drafting, you can see it in how GMs have been ranked recently; I know there has been at least one article (if not more).

You do realize that the emoji means sarcasm? Still, notwithstanding the higher-ups not pulling the plug (which could very much be customary in the NFL), at the end of the day, Baker can't blame anyone but himself.

Yes, you can. The team is still Rhule's.

Well, you heard Baker, it was his right to make the call.

True, but just to keep things in perspective, he's also been in a much better situation, especially in regards to offensive line and offensive weapons. One could easily argue that he was the weak link on a championship team. Darnold's teams were basically terrible.

It's just taking another swing and giving your team the possibility of improving the coming season. For as much as I suspect that Mayfield is not a legit top-shelf QB, there's always a chance that I and others could be wrong. I think that Baker could have a negative effect on the locker room due to his entitled attitude though, and that shouldn't be downplayed. For me, bottom line, is that he's been in a damned good situation and just didn't succeed because of his own decision-making. He's the only QB in the league who has thrown more INTs than Darnold since they have both been in the league, and that's bad.

Mayfield should've been out most of the season. I don't even like his attitude about his inury. He hurt his team by not riding the pine. He was injured though, make no mistake...more than 25 percent of his career. https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/04/14/baker-mayfield-opens-up-about-extent-of-shoulder-injury/

I agree, but your title (even with the question mark) kinda alludes to it. You didn't mention Corral at all. At least the tweet alludes to the opinion that Rhule is starting to get comfortable with the idea of going into the season with what's on the roster. In any event, I sense there's a certain degree or element of smoke and mirrors going on. It may just be par for the course to motivate the guys, or to drive the price down--or at least to nudge the Browns into reality--on Baker to acquire him on the cheap.

I'm not saying to expect him to be an All-Pro, but you sound like you're taking the glass-half-empty perspective before the kid can even show you what he's got. Now I don't have a PFF subscription, but I'll take an inferior site's word for it (I won't link it because I know there is/used to be some discrimination here against the site, but you can look it up if you want): "Outside of Brady Christensen’s Week 7 spot start at left tackle, he didn’t start there again until Weeks 16-18. And how did he perform in those three games against pretty stiff competition from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (twice) and the New Orleans Saints? His average pass block grade in Weeks 16-18 from PFF was a solid 73." The an inferior site article was pretty scathing in reference to Rhule wasting snaps on obviously inferior vetarans, by the way.

To be fair, the article is behind a paywall. I was referencing the tweet. And, sorry, your title and the tweet aren't exactly square. I would doubt that Rhule has made any decisions upon the starter. Plus, I remember how Rhule was talking about Darnold after the season. He didn't sound exactly enthused about Sam's situation. Lastly, I'd also think that the OC and QB coach would have to weigh in on things during TC before any warming up on a starter would genuinely take place.

Discounting BC so soon, eh? Your opinion seems to be at odds with Campen's. Indeed, PFF scored him in the mediocre range his rookie season, and I'd expect him to get better.

Also, I've told y'all about Corral months ago, so I'm not buying into all the Darnold or Baker hype. One or the other may start the season, but they won't be finishing it.

Nobody believes that Ickey is only going to be on special teams...

That's not exactly what's being said.

Robbie has shown plenty of times that he actually gives a damn. Even amid his drops. What you're saying doesn't equal up.

That's taking it too far...

Drops are drops, but Robby (Robbie or however he decides to spell it) has historically not had a huge problem with drops until 2021, and it was really one week that skewed the stats at that. No one was complaining about Anderson putting the ball on the turf until last season. It was likely in his head. He was obviously pressing. I don't understand why a sensible football fan doesn't appear to understand that situation. Take away the one week, and he's likely middle of the pack. I can see if he continues to drop an inordinate number of balls in the coming season, then perhaps all this hate will be justified to a degree, but until then it's just ragging on a seemingly eccentric and introspective dude because he makes for an easy target for more conservative-minded individuals.

Anderson has had more than two good years, especially considering his circumstances. He has never been a WR1, but has been leaned upon as such for a marked part of his career. Furthermore, his entire career up until last year has been pretty good, especially for a UDFA who wasn't expected to make the team, much less survive so many years in the NFL. He is a legit NFL receiver and his career is a testimony to that fact.

It was one off year with a horrible week. Take away one week and the stats look a little differently. You have a right to your opinion even if it's without any type of analytical perspective.