top dawg

Yeah, I said it. And you remember that I said it! Once Corral gets up to speed, whether it's 2022 or beyond, he'll do things that Baker or Darnold wish that they could do as far as throwing and running the rock. I'm tired of the Huddle's general disrespect for "our QB of the future."

Honestly, this is one of the things I'm talking about: some here think it's some great win to compare Baker favorably to Panthers QBs, but that's not anything great. I mean, you can't compare him to Cam really because Baker didn't have all the tools in his bag that Cam did, and Cam probably isn't even a HoFer himself (sorry, homers). When looking at Baker, compare him to the top tier QBs in the league! You're not really making your point by comparing him to lesser guys. Can he get to that top tier or even the tier of Stafford or Dak on a consistent basis? Can he be even a Romo or McNabb? That's what remains to be seen.

I can't give Baker a pass for last year because he chose to play. They had a higher end backup who may have given them a better chance than a hurt Baker. I'm a harder task master, so I'd say that he had a decent year, a so-so (leaning toward bad) year, a good year, and a terrible year (in which he was playing hurt). I haven't thought that any of our QBs were consistently top tier (which is what I want). Cam excelled due to his extraordinary running ability, but his decision-making was consistently suspect in my opinion (like Baker's), and his touch on the ball, particularly outside of the pocket and in motion, was highly suspect (like Baker's), and reads were mediocre (akin to Baker's). If Baker keeps throwing double digit interceptions at the rate that he has been (assuming he is a starter), he's going to pass many QBs by a wide margin, including Cam and Jake. Beuerlein has a similar passer rating as a Panther as Mayfield (87.5 vs 87.8), but higher TD percentage, lower INT percentage, but a slightly better average per reception. Now, I can see saying that maybe he's in the discussion as the second best QB to to ever don a Panthers uniform, but he's going to have to accrue a few years and earn and prove his ranking as a Panther to be considered the second best Panthers QB. He may have the arm talent to get there, but it's hardly a guarantee.

Nah. He has a long way to go. Baker has been as inconsistent as any QB in the league, and that doesn't make for a franchise QB. If he stops turning the ball over on a consistent basis, then we can begin talking about him, but it' going to take several more seasons of him taking care of the ball. Talent, TDs and yardage begins to be secondary when you're consistently throwing it to the opposition; just ask Jameis.

Sure, but Newton did care what the fans thought. I suspect Baker does also. The big difference--kind of of off note--may be that Newton was willing to take responsibility for his failings and the team's failings (even when he wasn't necessarily responsible).

I suspect that he has a serious problem with criticism though based upon his responses about only caring what people in the building think.

Yeah, I like him more.

The thing that I zeroed in on was Baker apparently believing (or knowing) that he will have more "freedom" at the line to audible and counterpunch based upon what the opposition is trying to do.

I concur.

Yes, they are. They're already presuming that he's the starter, calling him the QB with the best arm talent that we have (notwithstanding he has flat out missed a lot of important throws) and even one of the best in the league, referring to him as the second best QB in Panthers' history and simply getting overly giddy at him being here. I kinda get the excitement, but you'd think from looking at some of these posts that Baker was one of the most sought after QBs of the 2022 offseason, and he was anything but. Teams that could have really used him did not get into the fray because they don't value him like that, and that should at least be a caution flag to fans here. I have been on record saying that it was an excellent bet, but Baker is going to have to show me more than he showed in Cleveland for me to hit the throttle. Being better than Sam Darnold is not good enough. That's a low bar. It's really a joke. Being Browns' Baker is fine, but I don't believe that it gets us to where we want to be. We need a better Baker. What we really need is for Matt Corral to ultimately be much better than what we've seen from Darnold or Mayfield, and that's what I'm placing my hope in. It may not come in 2022, but it's coming.

My thing is, even if the locker room stuff was just drummed-up media manipulation by the Browns FO, the fact is is that his on-field play particularly in crunch time has been suspect. He has missed some important throws and open reads on a consistent basis unfortunately, regardless of whether Mayfield fanboys want to admit it or not. Another player acknowledged that when they were asked if they had seen the vid that OBJ's father retweeted, they responded, "Why would I watch the video? I see it everyday in practice." That aside, I guess his behavior just rubbed the Browns' brass the wrong way. Between his personality and seeming refusal to take responsibility for his bad play, he wore out his welcome. There were reports back in February that the Browns informed Mayfield that they'd be exploring options such as A-Rod and Russel Wilson (however improbable a potential move would ever come to be), so it's not like they were satisfied with Baker. They may have been resigned to the fact that he was their best option at the moment, sans Watson, but I kinda doubt they were going to give him the long term contract or big payday that he wanted based upon all of their actions that led up to the Watson trade. He was like their default short term security, not their longer term answer at the position.

I'm interested in what Mayfield will say. This could be one of the most awaited and watched pressers in Panthers history.

Just the fact that you said this is pretty stupid considering what Mahomes has achieved in his time in the NFL and what Baker has achieved. Anyone that doesn't acknowledge the fact that Baker comes with a lot of questions, was on the market for weeks, and even notwithstanding purported locker room concerns was still faultering at crunch time, is more interested in trolling than actual discussion. I call it like I see it and nothing more. Mayfield has displayed diva-ish behavior in the past, has been inconsistent, and will have to change before he can earn a long term job, much less get his team deep within the playoffs. If you can't accept that, then tough fuging tittie!

It never is. But writers for national publications don't generally publish a story that they can't back up. It would be career suicide.

I doubt it's happening, but keep dreaming.

They probably promised that he'd get a fair shot, that is all, and that probably appealed to Baker's sense of competition like Bucky said, or his arrogance. He was also ready to move on from the Mistake By The Lake at all costs, and 3.5 mil was a relatively small amount to sacrifice for one whose probably a top level backup at worst.

He seems to be that already. Depression? Maybe, but he's had therapy and appears to be in a good place. As for alcohol, it's not like he's an alcoholic. He stopped drinking because he didn't want it to be an excuse for his perceived failures. I think he's stronger mentally than you give him credit for being, and I also think he's in a good situation. The immediate pressure is off, so he can learn at a comfortable pace. He also thrives off of competition, and he is still viewed as the QB of the future in Charlotte. I think some of you are glossing over that fact amid this Mayfield mania.

It's starting to sound like some Huddlers want to simply give Baker a pass and disregard his issues pertaining to his issues in Cleveland. I just refuse to do it. He is going to have to earn any loyalty from me before I crown him as the savior that the Panthers need. I don't know if the article from the Athletic was posted here, or any excepts considering the Athletic's paywall, but a Fox Sports article from today makes reference to it, and it has basically said what I've been trying to tell you: Mayfield is going to have to change his way of being if he's going to be anything close to a long term answer in Charlotte. Jason Lloyd of the Athletic rightly blamed the Browns for their decades of dysfunction, including their part in Baker's beginning as a young pro. "But Lloyd also zeroed in on the issues that Mayfield brought to the table, and a lot of it had to do with how he acted on days other than Sunday, in addition to his struggles on gameday. "Yet his constant failures in fourth quarters and tight moments, dating back to his rookie year, made it evident the Browns needed to get better at the most important position to compete with the arms race of AFC quarterbacks," Lloyd wrote. 'Mayfield always thought he was better than he was, and it repeatedly got him into trouble with terrible footwork and ill-advised throws at inopportune times.' Lloyd continued. 'Mayfield was widely viewed as childish and immature. His behavior annoyed teammates and divided the locker room. He was often difficult to coach.'" The Baker that Mayfield displayed in Cleveland is destined to fail in Charlotte. Baker is going to essentially have to turn over a new leaf, and in my opinion, Huddlers and Panthers fans everywhere should internalize and acknowledge this opinion as close to the truth as possible. Regardless of past injuries or other rationalizations about his ultimate failures in Cleveland, he can't bring that act to Charlotte and expect to be successful. So pump the brakes and simply stop. We're going to have to see what type of Baker is coming to Charlotte before we crown his ass as anything but a guy with some potential, but who hasn't gotten it done. He hasn't earned the right to be a diva, including getting on his high horse with the media. He's just another inconsistent QB with a certain amount of untapped potential with questionable decision-making (and we've become too accustomed to that in Charlotte for at least the last decade). https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/can-baker-mayfield-turn-it-around-carolina

I didn't say that it was, however I'll clarify: If anything but a true competition is on their minds, then they're wasting our time. All of us have probably seen insinuations that Darnold's days as QB1 are done. We've also seen threads here (based on tweets and such) that Mayfield is the presumptive QB1 even before he was officially a Panther. If that is in fact the case, and Rhule is just being rhetorical (much like Riverboat Ron was with his so-called competitions), then I don't care for it.

I'm not against competition, and actually prefer it. What I'm against is a farce of a competition. If that's even remotely on the radar, they can dump Darnold.

I just think that normally rational Huddlers have become irrational pertaining to Robbie. Perhaps if our team wasn't so bad last year, or if Robbie has had other similar years, I would understand the utter hate, but some of y'all are way over the top in my opinion.

I would put Tagovailoa in the Time Will Tell tier, and Dakota (as much as I hate Dallas) in the Next Level tier. I also, without a doubt and probably some consternation, put Russ in the top tier. I might eliminate the Starting Caliber tier altogether and drop all of them down to the Ups & Downs tier.

Well, I can't say that you're wrong, but I hope that you are. But if you're not, there will be substantive changes next year.

I don't believe that they made up their minds to quit, I just think that it's more difficult mentally to stay dialed-in when the season is essentially over. In December, and especially January, you're not going to be as focused as in September if you're not really playing for anything. Moreover, Donte was hurt, Horn was hurt. Chinn was essentially playing out of position. Henderson was still green and uncomfortable. I am Older vets were probably trying not to get hurt and looking towards their next contracts and legit opportunity. Yes, some of our best guys weren't even on the field outside of the beginning of the season. We had to lean on backup level talent due to injuries. We have some talented new young players, and a decent vet at a key position in Xavier Woods. Sure, our DTs may be a problem, but if we can just be mediocre, we should be better than last season. So quash that logic if you want, but there are still reasons to be intrigued if not a little (just a little) optimistic.And I wouldn't say is about logic as much as it's about rationale.

Looking at the schedule, I just can't see it, but I will acknowledge that we probably won't know if we're competitve until late September or early October and won't know if we're legit legit until late November. Baker's going to make that big of a difference, huh? I'll believe it when I see it.