Looking Forward to the 2019 AFC North

Also RR3: *quotes total yards, of which 26% is rushing, as evidence for MVP award*

 

He's the only QB from the class that has a QB rating above 100

Your beloved Mayfield is at 66

 

Friendly reminder that Cody "My Guy" Kessler had a 92.5 QB rating as a rookie.

You did get one thing right... I do love Mayfield.

 

Alright. This should be interesting. Never did this before myself so I'm not sure how it'll turn out..

Browns opponents passer rating allowed and where it ranks, and then passer rating allowed minus the Browns game and where that would rank:

Tennessee: 89.8 (15th) - 92.4 (19th)
New York: 84.6 (8th) - 83.6 (9th)
Los Angeles: 89.9 (16th) - 91.9 (18th)
Baltimore: 81.7 (6th) - 79.7 (5th)
San Francisco: 60.7 (2nd) - 67.9 (2nd)
Seattle: 84.9 (9th) - 88.8 (11th)

"Weighted average" of 9.34 with the Browns and 10.67 without

Ravens opponents passer rating allowed and where it ranks, and then passer rating allowed minus the Ravens game and where that would rank:

Miami: 127.9 (32nd) - 113.9 (29th)
Arizona: 115.7 (30th) - 114.4 (29th)
Kansas City: 84.9 (10th) - 84.8 (10th)
Cleveland: 102.6 (25th) - 102.8 (25th)
Pittsburgh: 89.4 (12th) - 92.2 (18th)
Cincinnati: 102.0 (24th) - 106.0 (27th)
Seattle: 84.9 (9th) - 85.0 (10th)

Weighted average of 20.28 with the Ravens and 21.14 without

In BOLD are the teams who's opposing passer rating allowed look BETTER because they played the Baker or Lamar, meaning those players played poorly. There's at least a full point of improvement, and up to 7 points in one case, in these ratings thanks to playing Baker for 5 of his 6 games. That's 5 of 6 games where Baker played so bad, he made opposing defenses look better than they would had they never played him. Meanwhile, Lamar had 2 of 7 teams see an actual improvement thanks to playing him,

The UNDERLINED teams are the ones who actually had their numbers get worse because of Lamar or Baker, meaning those two player played well enough to lower the rankings of those teams. 1 of 6 for Baker, 2 of 7 for Lamar

First, this was annoying to do. Beach has done a few things like this over the years so I have a new respect for the time it takes. Second, the Browns definitely played better pass defenses. Third, Baker under-performed against far more teams than Lamar, but it could be hard to distinguish since they have played different teams. They do have one single common game though, and they played that team in back to back weeks.

Even with the superior offensive talent, and getting Seattle in Cleveland vs Lamar getting them in Seattle, Baker still performed worse against the only common opponent he and Lamar had, while Baker also had the most advantages.

 

But we're talking about 2nd year performances. Like Baker, Kessler dropped off dramatically after his rookie year

 

FYI, Rudolph outplayed Baker when it comes to common opponents (Seahawks and 49ers) while also having less talent around him on offense

 

Actually... we're not really talking about anything. I doubt any serious sports fan would agree that Rudolph is taken ahead of any of the 2018 first rounders - including Darnold and Allen who I had, and continue to have, an extremely low opinion of.

Also, considering Rudolph didn't play as a rookie...

 

Okay?

Approximately 31 other QBs have out-played Baker this season. Whoopty hell.

 

Sooo... Baker played a significantly more difficult pass defense thus far through his schedule, and... his numbers reflect that.

Shocking?

 

Because he's a Steeler. Duh...

 

All bets are off if he loses to Miami at home on MNF.

 

What if Mayfield loses to Miami?

 

Something, something... @Lyman "what if a frog had wings", something...

 

I completely missed this, and yes I'm coming back to it late. I'm not understanding your point here. Does MVP stand for "most valuable passer" or Most valuable PLAYER"? If it's the former, you are correct. If it's the latter, then........this post was pointless

 

Lamar is definitely an MVP candidate, right now. Let's see how that plays out as the season goes on, but for now I don't think you can argue otherwise.

His ability to press a Defense, due to his running, is a game changer. He benefits from a coaching staff that understands and capitalizes on his skill set. The threat of his running forces defenses to focus more eyes and bodies on he pocket, leaving recievers room to run their routes, thus more open looks.

It's great offensive game planning, not unlike Kapernic's first year, or RG3's first year. Either could have been the MVP in those years, but .......

Lamar has the body type that can absorb more punishment than those two guys, so maybe he'll be the exception to the norm. If he can develop his QB skills like Russel Wilson has, he could be one of the greats. That's a big if, but for now, he's a massive advantage in Baltimore, and yes an MVP candidate.

He's not one of the league's best QBs, but may be one of the league's most valuable players.

There are still 9 games, more than half a season to play. Let's see how he plays through some better opponents, before we start measuring for the crown.

 

OK, full disclosure, I love a good conspiracy, so....

There is something "not right" in Cleveland. Freddie seems uncertain, not a good look for the team's leader.

I lean toward Quincy's theory that Monken / Kitchens haven't yet figures out how to meld their offensive philosophies, and it's impacting Baker, the O line, the Reicivers, everyone.

I'm not ready to believe it's a power struggle, but it's definitely not seamless. The loss of Njoku, has had a much larger impact than anyone expected. He was the checkdown hero, but they haven't adjusted, by using the backs, and or putting Jarvis in the slot and getting Higgins and Calloway outside, to capitalize on each guys best position. At least that's how I see it.

It doesn't even seem obscure to me, so I gotta wonder what's up. The Higgins situation has baffled me completely. Did he key Kitchen's or Monken's car in the parking lot?

I recognize Calloway's threat down the field, but have always felt Higgins was the superior WR, at least up to this point of their careers, and has Baker's confidence, so why is he riding the bench?

Don't understand it. Feedback.....

 

Evidently, I just see this in a completely different light. I've been in the Callaway corner all along, and it's based strictly off of talent assessment. IMO, he poses a much bigger problem for the defense. Higgins has some skills, and has certainly behaved more professionally, but AC is the guy that can take it to the house from anywhere on the field, and the one that came into the league with "first round talent" written all over him. So it's not surprising to me that he gets the nod. Antonio was "out of favor" with many Browns fans before he ever got to Cleveland because of the red flags from his college days. In fact, as I recall, the overwhelming majority of the Browns posters here didn't like the pick from the beginning. Having the minor weed issues since he got here, hasn't helped him endear himself to the fan base either. At the end of the day, the coach has to put the most talented players on the field in an effort to win.

 

No argument on "talent", but he clearly should not have been on the field against SF.

That game illustrated his lack of understanding of his position, which in that case was the slot, one he is unfamiliar with. Dumb coaching move IMO, but still shows Calloway's lack of command.

My argument is that Higgins has learned and worked his craft, has great hands, and seems to find ways to get open, get Baker's attention, and most importantly catches the ball.

What Calloway has is speed, and elusiveness with the ball. Granted, but he drops balls, and seems to not be where he's supposed to be too often. He has watched two interceptions happen, without reacting to pursue the defender. Just not a complete player. Yet.

He "may" end up a better WR than Higgins, he certainly has the tools, but he hasn't learned the position and the nuances yet. For now I'd like to see he and Higgins alternating, so he can learn and grow, but we don't sacrifice games to his learing curve.

 

Maybe it's the "homerun hero" attitude that seems to permeate the O, that makes me resist Calloway. I see this team ignoring the checkdown by design, to the detriment of Baker, and the O in general.