Thomas31873

4 hours ago, DaveThePanther2008 said:

I saw way too many calls that should have been let go.  Many calls of the same offense let go early in the game. 

There should be fewer calls overall. I think it's better to err on the side of too few calls than too many.

That looked like holding... don't throw a flag unless you saw holding. If you didn't see a grab or a jersey hold let it go, for both teams.

The worst part is when they assume a penalty or seem to force calls late in games, it gives the fans reason to suspect something is up. The other team will always say we got a bad call earlier in the game but that isn't the same as getting screwed over at the end of the game. That does determine games.

The Panthers didn't play well enough to win. Neither did the Browns, if you let a team back in it by giving up 17 points in three 4th quarter drives to take the lead you should have to earn the win back and not be given anything.

17 minutes ago, rippadonn said:

Looks pretty accurate. Sundays performance is a nutshell of what we read from Cleveland media after the trade. They said he would wow you at moments but was inconsistent in the crunch. Yup.

Also the media didn't make the decision to draft Baker that high. The Browns did.

Actually the biggest complaints were his height and reading a defense.

Last year there were numerous complaints and rightfully so, he didn't look like himself. He was much worse last year than 2019 in which he was statistically worse but a lot of that was out of his control. Last year things weren't great but while wearing the sling he just lost accuracy. Instead of an occasional high ball he was all over the place. It had to be injury related.

8 minutes ago, rippadonn said:

Agreed. It's just hard as a fan to stomach another journeyman QB after another, after another.

Regardless of how Baker turned out as a disappointment for Cleveland, the excitement that came with rooting for your own QB that you drafted isn't easily replaced by a factory flawed vet.

It is easily replaced but it has to be immediate. You'll give a rookie a few years but you expect a vet to fix a broken offense right away. Fair or not.

20 hours ago, rippadonn said:

Brees had a career 65+% accuracy and many 70% completion games. That man was obsessed. The Cleveland press said Baker had his head up his ass for years. THEY said in conclusion he was too short, too slow, too cocky. He may be more humble but what they already know ain't something the QB guru Matt Rhule can fix that's for sure.

In 58 starts with the Chargers Brees had a 62.2 completion percentage, 12k yards, 80 TDs and 53 interceptions.

In 59 starts for the Browns Baker had a 61.6% completion percentage, 14k yards, 92 TDs and 56 interceptions.

They both hurt their shoulders and were sent to the NFL south.

That certainly doesn't mean Baker's career will equal Brees, that is unlikely. What it does say is that there isn't any reason to lose faith in Baker being like Brees because the beginning of their careers are almost identical. Well, Bress was replaced with a sex addict that stayed home while Baker was replaced with a sex addict that went after dozens of women who had to try to fight him off.

2 hours ago, CRA said:

coin flip game.  the less stupid team wins the game. 

 

Same as week 1.

Last week it seemed both teams should be run heavy and whichever team that stopped running first would lose. I didn't have much faith in either team being smart.

Neither team was. Both teams seemed to come out pass heavy and overall the Browns were 1-1 passing and running though and the Panthers passed 3 times for every run. Panthers were more stupid.

I have no idea what the Giants defensive strength is so I don't know the smart game plan this week

2 hours ago, Call Me James said:

His complain was that he wasn't targeted enough or at least that was the complained put out by his father.

He was targeted more as the no 3 receiver on the Rams and had a higher catch rate and 5 more TDs.

We can agree that he isn't the guy he was when he was with Manning, but also accept that he had a pretty big turn around when joining the Rams. And a team will certainly pick him up once he's able to pass a physical.

His catch percentage went from an awful 50% with the Browns to a bad 56% with the Rams. It wasn't a big turn around. His yards per catch also dropped by more than 2 yards per catch so his percentage should go up. He averaged .6 more catches for the Rams and .6 less yards. 

He did have a good run in the playoffs, he likes the spotlight. He also had more TDs with the Rams ands that is very important to him. He turned his back on the offense after Njoku caught a TD pass and Baker ran over to him and said he was sorry and to be patient his will come and he just sulked away instead of joining in celebrating with his team mates. 

He is beloved by most players. An icon. He isn't a good team player. 

As far as his career drop off, that started after his rookie season. His catch percentage never came close to that again. His ypc fell after his second season. Statistically he has been nothing special since 2015. With enough targets he still puts up numbers but many WRs can do that with enough targets. Good job, 130 targets, 70 catches for 1000 yards. 

1 hour ago, Call Me James said:

So he had the same splits as a no 3 as he did as a no 1? 

Interesting.

Are you claiming he had less targets per game with the Rams? He didn't.

It is sorta an old school vs new school. OBJ is about OBJ. Garrett goes over and hugs Lamar after Lamar makes a 1st down to pretty much seal a win. They just don't have the winning is the most important thing mentality.

Baker is the opposite. Same with Chubb. Same with Clowney. While Garrett was hugging Lamar and laughing Clowney was pounding his fist in the ground in anger.

Difference between Baker and Chubb is Baker is a leader and makes his thoughts known. Chubb doesn't say much ever.

32 minutes ago, Shocker said:

4 hours ago, t96 said:

fug your fantasy team hope we hold Chubb to negative yards and no TDs

He will need to miss the flight

Well for him to get negative yards he will have to tear his ACL on his first carry. He seems like a great guy so no one should hope for that. I would certainly bet the over on Chubb, He averages about the league average ypc after his first contact.

7 hours ago, ncsdawg said:

Hello!  I am a long time Browns fan, but as a father I've decided not to support the current team leadership for obvious reasons.  I've lived in NC most of my life, so am going to enjoy rooting for the home team with my kids.  This has nothing to do with Baker, IMHO the jury is still out on him.  Being that this is his 4th offensive system in 5 seasons, and having suffered through brutal injuries last season, he may not hit his stride for a couple more seasons.  Which is unfortunate due to his age.  But on to the Brownies...

The defense should be the strength of this team, SHOULD being the operative word.  They run a 4-2-5, base is a cover 3 or quarters.  The defense is predicated on not giving up big plays in the passing game.  Starting up front, Myles Garrett is a beast and should not be left alone with a rookie.  He has been known to try to do too much, when this happens he can be moved out of position (see the NE game last year).   He is also known for strip sacking QBs, so there's that.  Clowney is also a beast on the other side, much harder to run against that side of the line.  Their DT unit is very much unproven.  The Browns don't ask much of them, mainly just maintain gap integrity and allow the ends to collapse the pocket.  Even with Clowney and Garrett, they have trouble generating pressure against good o-lines.  You will see either 2 or 3 LB's on the field.  JOK and Walker are both exceptional and can make plays in coverage and in the backfield.  Either one could have primary coverage responsibility on a given play.  At corner Ward is as good as it gets on one side, and Newsome is becoming a top young corner as well.  The safeties are Johnson, who is very good, and Delpit who is also very good when he's on the field.  For the defense one big question will be slot.   As dominant as this defense has the potential to be, they have never been consistent enough to live up to their billing.  Last season they were infuriatingly inconsistent, often giving up the big plays underneath.  Or as one poster already pointed out, making career backups look like all pros.   They had some success towards the end of last season, we'll see if it translates to 2022.

On offense the Browns play multiple blocking schemes, but their strength is outside zone.  Starting with the offensive line, they are beastly and fast up front.  Teller and Bitonio are the best guard tandem in the NFL.  Wills has been a solid enough LT, great in the running game, and Conklin is all-pro at RT (though coming off an injury so we'll see).  They will miss Tretter up front, C is unproven.  At running back, Nick Chubb.  Over the last four years he has ranked 1st in the NFL in yards after contact and missed tackles per rushing attempt.  He also has the speed to take it to the house.  His highlight real is full of plays where he ran over someone and then sprinted 50+ yards to the end zone.  And then there's Hunt.  Their best TE is David Njoku who has speed and has big play ability in the passing game, and is also a willing blocker.  Depth beyond that is questionable, with Bryant showing potential but not putting it all together yet.  At WR Amari Cooper is a solid #1 who can lineup just about anywhere, but they are unproven after that.  DPJ has good speed and athleticism and the rookie Bell has looked good in camp.  The Browns run a timing based offense requiring very precise route running.  The lack of experience and depth at WR is likely to rear its head at some point.  At QB there's Brissett, who I admire because of where he started and the fact that he's still in the league.  If the defense plays up to its potential and the run game is working, and they win the TO battle, he's good enough to win. The biggest challenge with the offense has been play calling.  Coach Stefanski will inexplicably stop handing the ball to Chubb with the game on the line.  The best offensive play calling I've seen from that regime was the one game where Stefanski was at home in his basement.

Thanks for reading, I hope at least some of this babbling makes your Sunday viewing more enjoyable.  

 

Agree with most of this.

Wills is pretty good in the running game but I'd say below average at pass protection, I think this is his make or break year as a LT. He might need moved back to RT (which would work out because this is the last year Conklin is under contract). Conklin struggled a bit before his injury and may or may not be ready for week 1 but he is light years better than Hudson so the Browns will need him to suit up.

You're higher on Walker than I am. Delpit hasn't proven much, he is still potential at this time. Johnson is okay, not special. Corners are very good and very deep. Garrett is a beast but ever since he got covid he has worn down quickly, another season may get that out of his system. He also jumps offside a lot and Baker has one of the best hard counts in the league so as long as his lineman don't jump I could see 4 or 5 off sides for the Browns, mostly by Garrett.

It will be interesting to see if the Browns end up with more sacks or off sides penalties in this game.

1 hour ago, Basbear said:

I recently seen a DWI video of old baker that both increase then decrease my feeling about him.... he pulled a lame run as well.....

It wasn't a DWI they were just questioning him about an incident that wasn't related to him and he ran. He didn't run far, he was tackled rather quickly. He had been drinking and that hurt his decision making that prompted him to run and his ability to get away.

Mostly just funny though, had he not ran they would have just asked if he saw anything and moved on. Instead he picked up a charge.

1 hour ago, NAS said:

If you can't count on your RB2 to get you a couple of first downs then you don't need him on the depth chart.

Odds are the second string RB relies more on the OL than the starter. Odds are CMC breaks a tackle that most backs in the league wouldn't, if that's the difference between a win and punting the ball to the other team it seems like an easy choice.

Now there are times to rest your starter. It depends on the time in the game and the score. There is a good chance fresh legs late can be an advantage.

Then again, a player can have 40 touches and not get injured and the next game have 6 and get injured so it's really a crap shoot. A lot of luck involved. Certainly fewer opportunities to get injured the better but I don't think you can play scared in this league.

35 minutes ago, TrevorLaurenceTime22 said:

I can respect that although rooting for Baker now that he isn't a brown and Ohio State alum makes for an odd bedfellow.

I never cared about the flag planting. It's sorta like TD celebrations, if you don't like it don't let it happen.

59 minutes ago, TrevorLaurenceTime22 said:

Just trying to recall if I've ever seen the Browns in a SB... Guess you could live vicariously as a Ravens fan seeing as they are the OG Browns.

Yeah, F the Ravens. I had to go 4 years without a team and just watched my favorite Ohio State players on Sundays like Eddie George and Joey Galloway.

I'm in a similar place now not wanting to root for a sexual predator at QB. So I'll root for Baker and Ohio State players when I watch games but I won't watch the Browns games because I don't want to go to a place that I can't turn back from in case I ever get the opportunity to turn back.

I think Baker will play well if the offensive scheme is smart. I'm not real confident in that since he hasn't been there long and coaches usually make players adapt to their system and don't adapt their system to suit their QB but I guess we'll see.

17 minutes ago, TrevorLaurenceTime22 said:

Shouldn't you be on the browns massage board?

I am.

I'm taking the season off though so this week is entertaining for me even though I won't be watching the game. I can't watch the Browns and root for them so I'm just not going to watch. So I'm a casual fan this year and just take rooting interest in players like Baker and Hollywood. Then next year I'll see where my head is and go from there. Kinda hoping Watson just goes away somehow and I can get back to normal but it seems unlikely.

4 minutes ago, onmyown said:

it literally won’t get any easier than this for the entire rest of the year, unless we lose, I wouldn’t put any stock in the outcome

It will get easier but it's still a good time to have them on the schedule. They are talented, although they should be susceptible against the run as the DTs aren't special and only JOK is an NFL quality LB.

I expect them to play 2 QBs. Dobbs with get a handful of plays in which he will mostly run with the ball. Just a hunch to try to mix things up with a non-starter at QB.

12 minutes ago, NAS said:

I don't have a problem using CMC as the primary back, but you don't need to risk injury in situations where we are just trying to run out the clock.  It's just stupid.

Agree unless you need to run out the clock. If two first downs seal the win that is as important as a game winning score.

18 minutes ago, Luciu5 said:

$70M????? wtf?

If Baker has a pro bowl level season, we will absolutely sign him long term. Undoubtedly. Those of you with cap concerns, get over it. The cap is a myth. This has been shown over and over again. Don't worry about cap space people.

Well just give Baker a 5 year 200 million dollar deal now and cut him if he doesn't pan out... If the cap isn't real and all.

7 minutes ago, Jackie Lee said:

Yup. If Baker plays well the ball is in his court, if he decides to go elsewhere it won't be a good look for the coaching staff

I think most will assume he listened to his agent and took the most money offered. Unless he talks about wanting out which isn't realistic, just wouldn't be a smart move.

1 hour ago, Jackie Lee said:

That's not really the point. Point is we got ourselves into a situation where we don't have the flexibility to franchise tag Baker if he does play well. If he balls out and Seattle or Giants/Texans etc offer him more. We would realistically need to clear about $70M in cap space somehow to franchise him. If he plays well and wants to be here long term it's doable, but if he wants to test the waters we could be out of luck in a bidding war

Franchise tag option is pretty much not possible. However, If Baker starts strong and the franchise feels they can make an informed decision they could attempt to extend him during the season and give him a small base salary for 23. He would have to be willing to discuss an extension which is unknown but if they feel confident they could at least attempt it.

Otherwise you pretty much sit back and collect a comp pick. Unless you sign him as a free agent with that same low base salary for 2023 idea.

50 minutes ago, mrcompletely11 said:

wuuuuuttttttt??????

I said...

vsBrowns  45% chance of winning

 

@Giants 55% chance of winning

 

vsSaints 55% chance of winning

 

vsCardinals 40% chance of winning

 

vs49ers 35% chance of winning

 

@Rams 30% chance of winning

 

vsBuccaneers 45% chance of winning

 

@Falcons 55% chance of winning

 

@Bengals 40% chance of winning

 

vsFalcons 60% chance of winning

 

@Ravens 40% chance of winning

 

vsBroncos 45% chance of winning

 

@Seahawks 55% chance of winning

 

vsSteelers 55% chance of winning

 

vsLions 60% chance of winning

 

@Buccaneers 35% chance of winning

 

@Saints 50% chance of winning

 

No real theory with my percentages just my thought as I looked at the matchup. With that being said, if the Panthers win all of the 45% or better games that is 11-6 and what I would predict the ceiling is. If they lose all of the 55% or lower games they would be 2-15 and would be my floor.

 

Realistically they are 8 or 9 wins unless things go great or really bad.

 

Hope that clears it up.

4 hours ago, trueblade said:

At 9, you just miss the playoffs and get a mid-round draft. Worst case scenario. Franchise purgatory.

Only if you don't draft well at your position. You can draft 15th-18th and get a really good player. Also you can draft #3 and get Sam Darnold.

8 minutes ago, mc52beast said:

Big question going into this game is can we stop their run game. Will probably see a lot of support from our cb’s.

Fun fact: Browns haven’t won a home opener in over 20 years.

2004 so not over 20 years but still a good point.

15 minutes ago, Panther_Path said:

 

Based on what? This seems plain as day she fabricated this to get a few interviews and have a few talking points. She thought she could embellish and it would not explode on her, but got busted. Baker is brash, but to say something like that after deliberately laying low makes no sense.

The only way this is a story in any way (besides in the world because Baker is a story for some reason) is if it seen as him calling his shot or guaranteeing a win. Every player (at least those with any passion for the game) go into the game with that same mindset. I'm sure it's pretty much said in every pregame speech. 

For some reason, Baker equals story. I don't think he ever really did anything wrong while in Cleveland. Yeah he would go back and forth with reporters who trolled him but who cares, sometimes trolls need called out. He told a team mate who demanded to be traded that he didn't matter if he wasn't part of the team. Maybe a little harsh but entirely true. He felt betrayed that his former head coach went to a division rival the same week he was fired, not sure why he cared but I see no issue treating the enemy like the enemy. 

Obviously some media people and people in general don't like him just because he rubs them the wrong way. I guess it happens and it seems to happen to him significantly more than other players so maybe that's why most of the league is extremely bland and only gives coach speak. Baker is bland with his comments but not quite as much as some so I guess by comparison he may seem like an extreme case. 40 years ago he would be considered a QB introvert.