jumpgo69

Browns fan (posted earlier about the Mayfield rumors a few weeks back). A few thoughts from someone who watched Baker each week. First let me say that I feel those that feel Baker is mediocre are wrong. He is a good qb. At times he showed he can be really good. In fact, if you watch his games (even his 2 bad seasons) you will see that he plays well. The one pattern he has shown so far is that he will motivate his team to play hard and he will also play hard. He takes any slight and turns it up 1000% and uses that as motivation. If your team is the underdog, he is motivated. If media talked about him, he is motivated. You can refer back to games against key opponents and see the level of his play went up vs when he played teams he was expected to beat. That said, he is not perfect (or the Browns would never have looked to possibly upgrade). He will play well for 3 quarters of football. Sometimes 2. Its usually that 4th quarter, he seems to start taking unnecessary chances and usually it comes back to bite him. Be it untimely int or a fumble because he refuses to give up on the play or getting overanxious and missing his target by quite a bit. He has warts. I am a big fan of his moxie. I am also a big fan of the tools he has as a qb. His biggest hurdle is absolutely mental. It can be the hardest to overcome and often the qb killer. This does not mean he cannot overcome the mental aspect. It just is his biggest flaw so far that I have seen. He can (and has) make all the throws. He throws with good velocity and relatively low arc, which means he has a pretty darn good arm. He doesnt always anticipate and so he throws "to" the receiver and not to the location the receiver will be when the ball lands if running full stride. He isnt an anticipation thrower (like Tom Brady). Defenses sometimes are able to fool him, especially on deeper routes. Overall, considering the other qb options, I feel he is CLEARLY your best qb, at least if/until Corral is ready. He is a drastic improvement over Darnold IMO. He will make defenses respect all levels of the field due to his ability to throw with velocity. Your team gave up about $5m and a 5th (possibly upgraded to a 4th) for a qb who is capable of keeping your team in games. He hasnt shown (yet) the ability to carry a team (outside of the Cincy and Baltimore game in 2020), but he has the ability as those examples prove. I know people will rip the Browns on the trade but closing the chapter is best for everyone. Browns get some extra cap relief and Panthers get a low risk, high ceiling player at a premium position. It softens the blow of the bad deal for Darnold (sorry). Good luck guys. That first game is going to be theatre!!

you get the wings,...ill get the beer

Browns fan. I dont really have an opinion on the matter in terms of Bakers likeability and value outside of Cleveland (I wouldnt know,....just hear opinions of fans and media).... I do know that it make no sense for the Panthers to trade for Baker if they dont view him as a necessary upgrade for Corrals grooming season. The ONLY logic that makes sense is if someone pretty high on the food chain in the FO believes Baker is significantly better than Darnold and because of that, it wouldnt be a lost season while the new QB gets up to speed. my opinion on the matter is that Baker is much better (as I have watched both play) but perhaps not good enough to be coached to improve his game. We may have seen Bakers ceiling after Beckham went down in 2020. For whatever reason, his production and decision making improved tremendously after he lost his best weapon. He did have a few sloppy wins due to weather but overall,....he was solid. This was the Baker the Browns really thought was turning the corner. Then,......2021 happened. Dont care who is to blame but Baker still showed bad decision making while he was on a roll (KC game). He will play well for a good chunk of the game but as the final quarter winds down, it seems like he loses his edge and makes bad decisions...ultimately changing the tide of the game. Exciting to watch for sure. Certainly gives a much better chance of a win than Darnold. Still....2021 happened. His injury (which was due to his bad decision leading to an int) was his fault. He was trying to make a play but obviously not experienced in tackling. What happened after that game is all speculation. Some believe Baker refused to give up his starting job even though it was clear injury was effecting him....some believe it was Stefanski that decided it best to see if he could go......who knows? Coach should have sat him whether he wanted to or not. Thats on Stefanski. Ultimately, we all seen the outcome. Some was injury,...some was a domino of that injury (hesitation),.....and some was just his bad decision making rearing its head more often then it had prior. Mayfield has warts. I feel in 4 years you pretty much know what you are going to get from a player who touches the ball basically every down. He has a really good arm. He has the ability to make some really nice throws anywhere on the field. He just doesnt seem to process the defense fast enough at times. Im not sure that wart will change. He hasnt shown willingness to take coaching to improve on it unlike Allen. That is a big red flag. My opinion is the Browns were completely fine heading into the season with Mayfield. They were likely viewing 2021 as mostly injury related results. The problem is,......Watsons criminal investigation came back with no indictment, basically opening the door to him playing in the NFL again. He is young so teams probably figured even a year suspension is worth the talent you get. I think the Browns fall into this category (so did Carolina, Atlanta and a few others). Mayfield took offense to them inquiring and decide to vocalize his frustrations through the media. He basically stated he would not play for them again,...and this is BEFORE the Browns actually got Watson....and because of that line of thinking the Browns were pretty much forced to address the qb position...so they desperately doubled down on Watson and threw out an offer to him and the Texans that they couldnt refuse.....a desperation move IMO. What Im getting at with my long winded commentary is this. Mayfield isnt anywhere near as bad as most are making him out to be. He is actually decent......but has not proven to be great or elite, nor that he can achieve that. He also comes with a guaranteed price tag that is cheap if you believe he is a long term answer but expensive if you believe his ceiling isnt going to be good enough to invest him him long term. I think that is where the NFL is as a whole. Supply/demand is playing a significant role in this. Most teams dont need a starting level qb and a backup isnt really someone you want to pay 19m to. THose that have a need fall into 2 categories......fringe playoff team that could use him to get over that hump and those who are really devoid of talent and are or should be considering tanking instead of treading. Not sure where Carolina falls here. I think it does not make sense to get Mayfield simply because there is already sunk cost with Darnold and the Browns do not seem to be inclined to basically give him away. Its an impasse that just makes sense to go a different direction. Browns should hold his rights for the year and he can be a free agent next year and go to a team of his choosing to reinvent himself. Browns, depending on FA may get a comp pick for their troubles. Most importantly, they aren't just giving him away. As for roster spot....eh.......53 allowed on roster........the odds of that 53 guy being an impact player is almost zero. Locker room distraction would be the only concern and I don't really see that either as neither Mayfield nor the Browns have an interest in him seeing the field. He may voluntarily accept being paid to stay home. All JMO. Please dear god do not let the Browns get Darnold........he is abysmal.....one of the worst qbs I have ever seen play the game at the NFL level...... just bad bad.