DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum NFL Salary Cap To Take Another Big Leap in 2025

You are free to hate/dislike Baker...free to think he was responsible for locker room drama...free to be upset that he planted a flag on the O.

But it's not free to attempt to re-write history on why he was drafted...where he was drafted...and the circumstances on his first team...not to mention his continued success post-Cleveland.

"Browns should have taken Darnold, Allen, or Jackson."

None of those (3) guys broke Manning's rookie season TD pass record...and with fewer starts no less. None of those guys were drafted to a 1-31 team...HC'd by Hue Jackson no less. Two of those guys were drafted by playoff teams and STILL have the same HC since drafted. The other guy absolutely sucked until just this past year.

None of those guys have thrown as many TD passes as Baker over the last two years.

Baker has thrown more TD passes than any of those guys in his very first year...and most recently the past two years. What a turd.

None of those (4) guys have been to the Super Bowl.

I laugh when I think of Josh Allen and LJ being coached-up by Hue...and fans thinking they'd be the same QBs they are today if they were drafted by our dumpster fire.

Clueless Hue was gone 1 year later - not in place long enough to screw up Allen or Jackson.

You also neglect to mention ALL the rushing TDs Allen and Jackson have when comparing Mayfield to either and that Baker has led the league in interceptions the last 2 years.

Your hate is real. So you like the watson decision better than the Baker decision? So you think this FO made a better decision with watson? That turned it all around for you and put you in a better mood?

And yet, you think Baker would be the same QB he is today if he had stayed in Cleveland.

Yes, the rushing TDs keep being left out. Either of those two with Chubb would've been fun to watch.

Also, Baker led the league in fumbles this past year too. One added note to that: he did only lose one of those fumbles.

You are correct that Hue only lasted one (actually a partial) season...and then was replaced by Gregggg Williams for a few minutes...and then...wait for it...Freddie Kitchens...then a rookie HC with a now-5-yr losing record. I'm not going to count the number of OCs in that timeframe...one either recognizes that or they don't.

That's plenty of time to screw up a rookie QB.

Two guys from that draft went to garbage teams and shortly thereafter were gone...two guys went to playoff teams and are still there under the same coach...with talent and schemes that fit what they need. Crazy concept.

I would argue that Baker already WAS the QB he is today during the 2020 playoff-winning season...with Jarvis Landry and Rashard Higgins as his #1 and #2 receiver...the smartest guys in the world just couldn't see it. His team was one Chad Henne jailbreak from going to the AFC Championship game.

He had a great opening game in 2021 against the reigning Super Bowl champion in a loss. Destroyed his shoulder in Q2 of game 2...still won that game AND the next two before the wheels came off the wagon. That three game win streak matches the Browns win total from all of 2024.

2022 was a lost season coming off surgery except for that crazy Thursday night last minute victory with the Rams...after practicing ONCE with the team.

2023 & 2024 he was back in the playoffs.

A sane organization would have sat him...had him get the surgery he needed...and run it back with that ^ guy again.

Or he could not lead a game winning drive and beat a Chad Henne lead team in the Playoffs. Baker was a terrible #1 overall pick. There were 3 better QB's to be had that year and the Browns missed badly in that draft.

we are basically in the same situation as Denver. We have too much dead cap tied up in Watson to trade for a QB with a big contract.

We have to draft a QB or find a reclamation project and sign them for 1-2 years.

J/c


I'm not taking aside because I don't follow this stuff. I'm just posting information.