Seems to be todays NFL... if you cant score 30 and hold opponents to under 30... you lose... captain obvious said. Just want to say, Im not knocking the Browns and Mayfield. I want to see them succeed. If it wernt for my Vikings fandom, id be a Browns fan. Just like to conversate about the team. Hope you all dont mind my comments. 2022 still leaves me with high hopes for them (Browns). I see Pittsburgh in a rebuild of sorts, Baltimore is unpredictable at the moment, and when the Browns play Cincy, take care of business and all will be well. Baker will, if healthy, be better, in my opinion. The whole damn enchilada does'nt depend on Bake's... its a team thing. The 2022 season is future, but its just fun to talk about now. Good luck.
I see Kenny Pickett falling into their laps at #20 overall, not unlike Najee Harris last season. Perfect pick to the right spot. Quietly, their QB had a very bad year as well and remains un-extended. Unlike our situation, no one outside of Baltimore seems to be discussing it. Baker is 6-1 against the Bengals and 3-0 against Joe Burrrow. Honestly, outside of Baker's injury, this was the biggest issue in 2021 -- in maybe only one game in 17 did the team play compliementary football (the first Cincinnati game).
If Picket or Willis fell to the Steelers, watch out world because our SB window just got so open that they removed the glass completely.
Our run defense will be a lot better with Aluila and Tuitt back on the field this season. Just get our offense moving and this is a legitimate SB contender.
Gid, if that's true, then the AFC North is going to be tough sledding for all 4 teams. No doormats anymore.
I've been thinking about the Stephanski/Baker era. 2020 was fantastic, and I remember the excitement as that season closed out with such promise. There are a couple of things that made that a "unique" year, that have to be considered. #1 It was the COVID year, when nothing was "as usual". #2 We played the NFC East, a division that had no team over 500 Given what we witnessed this year: is Stephanski a better coach "virtually" than in person? He clearly got the best out of his guys in a year when most communication was electronic, and clearly did not in 2021. The Odel thing underscores a rift in the team, that one would expect a head coach to have been able to identify and avoid, if he's got the heartbeat of his guys. I watched the AZ cardinals playoff game and one of the announcers noted, that with his team disentegrating on the sidelines, Kingsbury had his nose stuck in his playsheet, not addressing his guys to provide some kind of encouragement, or remind them the could turn this around. I sometimes think the same about Stephanski. Is he in tune with the Jims and Joes, or is he to focussed on the X's and O's. NFC North: what can i say here. They were simply the punching bag for the NFL, and gave us 4 wins virtually uncontested. That was essentially something we won't likely ever see again. That always made me feel like I was putting too much faith in the 11 and 5 record, and wondering where we truly ranked going into 2021. I still believe we are a team who should compete for a title, and be in the playoffs for the forseeable future, but we may have overblown our position in the league coming into this year. Undoubtedly Baker getting injured is the single biggest reason for our failures in 2021, but maybe our coaching staff blew that one by not sending their franchise QB to the bench and to a specialist to get his shoulder taken care of, and used our well paid backup, focusing on the strengths of the team in running and in D. Had that been done, wouldn't we have avoided the lockeroom rift (who would piss and moan about the backup?). wouldn't we be in a better spot right now, instead of calling for Baker to be traded? Just some food for thought, that pushes some of the blame toward our 2nd year HC. Any thoughts?
You mean like the season we just finished? That was a good fight till the end. The Bengals have a legitimate shot to win it all. They did beat the Chiefs a couple of weeks ago. That could be nice to have a real division fight every season.
Yeah Gid, who'd have thought the Bengals would be where they are, 2 years ago. Doormats to Championship contenders by changing coaches and getting a legit QB. It's going to be a dog fight.
Absolutely. Several players made this comment at the end-of-season interviews. There was a disconnect between the players and coaches, offense and defense, etc. They didn't play like a team. I've noted it several times in the past, but this team failed to play complimentary football and it's hard to believe that underlying rift wasn't part of it -- THAT falls on the coaches. Baker's injury (the second, severe one) was/is a part of the game. Of course a fiery competitor isn't going to take themselves out of the game -- THAT falls on the coaches. Your mercurial wide receiver (who may not fit your offense and who consistently runs wrong routes) demands a trade or release situation in the offseason but you stick him in the lineup and give him the most targets of any other receiver until the situation completely dissolves -- THAT falls on the coaches (and front office). 2022 will be as much a referendum on Stefanski as it will on Baker.
A perfect example of something you'll never see on a stat sheet. Baker doing his best Ben Roethlisberger impression on 3rd and short...
But... thats what the magic of a Vikings defense can do to you!!!!!! Its not fair on Bakes when its against the Purple People Eaters!!!!!
FTR, we did win that game...But yeah, that play really sticks out. WTH was he looking at? Clearly over-thinking and trying to do too much. There were at least three plays in the home game against Pittsburgh where I could ask the same question. Baker doesn't seem to see the field very well when he's taking snaps under center. IMO, the Browns should have a shotgun spread attack, similar to what Arizona does, if they want give Baker his best chance for success.
Not sure how anyone can sit here and say what he should or should not have done when we don't know what the playcall was, what the coach asked him to do, and what we think he should -- or should not -- have seen. This is literally no different than what Odell's dad did grabbing plays where he ran the wrong route and was supposedly "open". Baker's looking downfield because the first read is most likely attacking downfield. No surprise that Odell is the guy there running what looks to be a seam-ish style route. Are Stefanski and AVP telling Baker he can catch the defense for a big gain over the middle? Are they - Baker and the coaches - trying to force-feed Odell? Is Odell not giving a s**t? All likely "yes". FWIW... I've never once claimed Baker can't improve his field awareness and reading of defenses. But how is any of this a surprise to people? Mayfield with Odell on the field is an average QB and without Odell is an absolute stud. Minnesota was Week 4 - Odell's second week back to action. In Weeks 1 & 2 last season, Mayfield completed over 80% of his passes, threw for 267 yards per game, had a whopping 10.9 yards-per-attempt, posted a QB rating of 101.9 and the offfense averaged 30 points per game. In Weeks 3 & 4, Mayfield's numbers plummeted to 53% completion, 201 yards per game, 6.3 yards-per-attempt, a QB rating of 77.7 and the offense averaged 20 points per game. Unfortunately, the exacerbation of the injury against Arizona meant the end of the season so Mayfield's numbers continued to be crap, but in 2020 without Odell Mayfield was superb.
And please spare the "what about Odell in Los Angeles" line where his numbers are on par with his output in Cleveland with the exception of touchdowns, a by-product of a pass-dominant offense and a QB who finished 2nd in the NFL in passing touchdowns last season. If anything, the lesson to be learned from the Rams is that of Matthew Stafford. In Detroit, and with HOF wide receiver Calvin Johnson for much of his career, Stafford was 74-90-1 in his career. He averaged 62.6 comp.%, 4.5 TD%, 2.3 INT%, 7.2 YPA, 89.9 QB rating, 274 YPG, and a 6-10 record (0-3 in 12 years in the postseason). With Los Angeles, it's 67.2 comp%, 6.8 TD%, 2.8 INT%, 8.2 YPA, 102.9 QB rating, 287 YPG, and a 12-5 record and Super Bowl appearance (3-0 in the postseason). As they say, It takes a village...
