Steelers will likely move to #1 in all the power rankings, deservedly so. And I imagine Cleveland falls back out of the top 10 for sure. I saw them as high as #6 last week. There's no doubt Baker struggled yesterday, but so did Rodgers, Newton, Goff, Bridgewater etc. It happens, they all put up similar bad numbers. There were some real dominant defensive performances on display yesterday all over the league. It wasn't just in Pittsburgh, though they were the most impressive. Gotta give em credit. One thing to keep in mind in regards to our blowout losses to B-more and Pittsburgh, is that those are two of the most stable franchises in the NFL. They've been together and worked the same system for years. We, on the other hand, change regimes like furnace filters. Plus we had no preseason, so losing on the road to elite teams like that, in the fashion that we did, probably shouldn't have come as huge surprises. Unfortunately, we play in the toughest division in the NFL, but it is what it is. We get another crack at each team back at our house, so hopefully there will be marked improvement if nothing else... I still think we are a playoff team, but we have to beat the team's we are supposed to beat, and that includes this Sunday. The landscape in the NFL changes so dramatically from week to week, it's unreal.
You guys are one of the reasons why this is the toughest division in the league. You guys will make the playoffs and be a tough out.
I guess I just see things in a different light, TD. If you could put this roster around Tim Couch, would he have performed better? We'll never know for sure, but I suspect he would have faired much better than he did with an expansion team roster. And . . . virtually every Browns QB since Kosar had to deal with new coaching staffs during their stints on the Browns. It was what it was but has no bearing on what it is now. I look at Mayfield and I see a QB that excelled in college because: (a) As a walk on had something to prove - twice. (b) His senior year at Oklahoma (his best year) he was pushed by a really good backup (Kyler Murray). As the #1 O/A pick in the NFL draft, he had nothing to prove and he hasn't had to deal with really good backups. (Although I submit that - at this point in time - Case Keenum may be the better NFL QB.) I'll give you last year. Freddie Kitchens was a disaster. But there are two things you can't coach. Height and mobility. He's still relatively short which impairs his down field visibility post snap. So they design roll outs to compensate but his lack of (NFL) mobility negates this. And - when he isn't getting pummeled in the pocket - he's developed the nasty habit of staring down his intended receivers. IMHO, this is a major contributor to his increased INT's over last year and (so far) this year. You could see Fitzpatrick's pick six coming from a mile away. I also believe his pre-snap reads are way off. Maybe that's coachable. IDK cuz I've never played or coached the position. I sincerely hope I'm wrong because this team is just good enough to keep us out of a Franchise QB sweepstakes in the near future.
Well I have to disagree on this. None of them had to deal with an offseason like 2020 Baker is playing for his 4th coach and 3rd different offensive system, with no normal preseason (due to pandemic) puts him at a very distinct disadvantage IMO, especially in games against teams like Pitt and Baltimore.... No doubt. Mayfield can't do that, and he knows it....
As @TopDawg put it... And he was playing with injured ribs. At the end of the day, our defense is so bad that more pressure is on the offense to perform. As I noted earlier, our point differential per-game in wins is 9.75 (very solid) but we're averaging 37.5 points per game while surrendering almost four touchdowns (27.5)! That's absurdly bad, and ahead of only the Minnesota Vikings (1-5) and Dallas Cowboys (2-4). We're at 4-2. And we now have the easiest strength of schedule remaining in the NFL.
Amen brother.. It's amazing to me to hear Browns fans bashing this team, and especially Mayfield. My god....We are 4-2 for the first time in 26 years! If the criticisms had come out before Sunday, they might have had a slight bit of validity, but all Browns fans were riding high heading into the weekend... Suddenly, Mayfield is trash, and we don't even belong in the NFL??? Classic over-reaction IMO. Maybe the Steelers are just really good? I don't think any quarterback would have had success against that Pittsburgh front this past Sunday,... #buzzsaw...
I wasn't placing blame on Stefanski, just making the point this is what I consider his first test: bringing the team back to play well against the Bengals. Seems it was misinterpreted to I thought Stefanski was to blame in Pitt. Not my intention at all.
