It’s been less than two months since we traded for Mayfield…..

[Waldo]

It was going to be hard to not find a better QB than Sam this offseason, that guy should never have been made a QB and teams should have seen it before he was drafted. If they can keep Baker upright he will put some points on the board though I am not expecting him to carry wins. 

I still don't think he will make it through the year without him showing the Baker that got his team to look anywhere else but if we are lucky we can use him as a bridge QB to a young stud we pick up in the next draft. If he asks for too much money and years then let him walk and find a new bridge. Keep drafting QBs and hope this next draft has better offerings than the last. 

[Panther_Path]

Drafting a "stud QB" and developing him to a point where you win is a very poor odds proposition. It's not like you just make a decision to go that route and it happens. 

IF Baker balls out (3500-4000 yards, 25-30 TDs, and 8-15 Picks) with 8 or more wins, I think it would be very short sighted to not sign him. He won't be cheap, but he will be less than the absolute top QB tier. And I believe he can play top tier enough, coupled with the better roster that comes along with him through cost savings that the panthers could compete for SBs with him. 

Those that think Baker is going to go through two "proof it" years are not thinking straight about this. Baker's stock was artificially low for three reasons this off-season: (1) big contract number when teams knew Browns had to let him go after signing DW and 2 backups, (2) combination of the media pile-on and Bakers self-created media spats, created narrative Baker is not a team player and has a bad attitude, (3) playing poorly last year with a significant injury made him look like a scrub. 

IF he has the year described above or better, with a good attitude, the narrative becomes: (1) He pulled the Browns out of the dumpster and took them to a playoff win despite inept management and coaching, with a great QB year in 2020, (2) he took a coach on the hot seat and team picked to be in the bottom 25% of the NFL to/on the verge of the playoffs, with a second top 10-15 QB season, (3) he is the reformed, humbled, team player Baker. With that someone is signing him to a fringe tier one contract.  

[top dawg]

21 hours ago, Brooklyn 3.0 said:

It's going to be weird in here this season to see some people slowly turn a 180 and start rooting for Baker.

I don't see anything weird about earning support. He's got default support just by virtue of being the starter. If he wants to deepen that support, he must show better than what he did during two out of the last three seasons (I'll personally discount his rookie season as a wash). The depth of his support will depend upon his play, and that's how it should be in my opinion. He needs to showcase better play in crunch time, better accuracy on his touch throws, and better decision making and ball protection. If he can do that, then his support will strengthen.

[Tomcatn]

2 hours ago, panthers55 said:

Actually lots of fans tired of losing are thinking differently this year. It is the we are afraid we will suck again crowd that are too traumatized to go out on a limb for the team and root wholeheartedly for fear they will be disappointed yet again.

Absolutely this^^

[Brooklyn 3.0]

I'd much rather have someone else worry about Baker's cap hit if he performs well (as in ... I don't work for the team), than me being bummed watching Corral slowly develop over the next few seasons. IF Baker is legit you gotta run with it.

[mrcompletely11]

16 minutes ago, Brooklyn 3.0 said:

I'd much rather have someone else worry about Baker's cap hit if he performs well (as in ... I don't work for the team), than me being bummed watching Corral slowly develop over the next few seasons. IF Baker is legit you gotta run with it.

I have a funny feeling we will be arguing over exactly what “legit” is come mid season

[kungfoodude]

3 minutes ago, mrcompletely11 said:

I have a funny feeling we will be arguing over exactly what “legit” is come mid season

I think that will likely be an argument all year long. I don't forsee an All-Pro caliber year nor a bunch of victories, so although he might be playing very well the hand he is dealt will impact the results. That will allow the anti-Baker crowd to snipe away at him. 

That's my prediction for the scenario.

[mrcompletely11]

Just now, kungfoodude said:

I think that will likely be an argument all year long. I don't forsee an All-Pro caliber year nor a bunch of victories, so although he might be playing very well the hand he is dealt will impact the results. That will allow the anti-Baker crowd to snipe away at him. 

That's my prediction for the scenario.

I hope it’s either lights out put the team on his back or Sam darnoldesque.    Having a middling season just puts a ton more pressure on our front office.   However I still think we draft a qb in the first regardless of where we are drafting 

[LinvilleGorge]

6 minutes ago, mrcompletely11 said:

I hope it’s either lights out put the team on his back or Sam darnoldesque.    Having a middling season just puts a ton more pressure on our front office.   However I still think we draft a qb in the first regardless of where we are drafting 

This. I want everything about this season to be a raving success or abysmal failure. We desperately need clarity on our direction. "The Process" is either working or it's not. Mediocrity would be the worst case scenario IMO.

 

[CPF4LIFE]

Baker has to atleast make a pro bowl for me to even think about giving him 40 million a year. 

[DMathematics]

5 hours ago, joemac said:

No we should not. If Baker proves he’s that guy, we have bigger pressing needs than QB at that point. Namely LB and DE.

What the guy to you? Anything less than a super bowl which is why they ran him out of cle is not the guy

[Pimpdaddy]

5 hours ago, joemac said:

I’m definitely not part of the tea and crumpet crowd, whatever that means. Only tea I drink is sweet tea and I’ve never had a crumpet in my damn life. I see the talent we have, and I see the best QB we’ve had in a LONG time. So, pardon some of us if we’re actually optimistic about our chances this year.  It’s gotta be miserable going into a season actively thinking we’re gonna fail before the first game, even when we have as much talent as we do.

I could see if we had a roster like Atlanta or some of these other teams, but we’ve actually got some real players up and down the lineup on both sides.

And yeah I know “Rhule sucks”….but damn what if we actually turn it around this year? Wouldn’t that be something?

....Mayfield is the best addition for hope that we've had.... I see the talent we have and I see the talent we don't have. Im optimistic but not blind.... we have been conditioned like Pavlov's dog for losing... so if they can change that this season... Great. You have to show up on any given Sunday. We're gonna be lucky to beat atlanta twice.... They have proved me wrong before...hope its this year....