I'mWithDan
"Straight Cash Homie"
- Joined
- Jul 21, 2010
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For me... I don't have lofty expectations for Baker. He's never gonna be Aaron Rodgers. He'll likely never be a top 5 QB in the league. He CAN be a top 10 QB but only if he's more consistent. I view him in the 12-14'ish range in a league with a ton of good QB talent, though he can perform top 10 pretty often himself.
Do I wish he could be better and more consistent? Absolutely. But there are ramifications for swinging for a new QB every time you discover your guy isn't Aaron Rodgers. And I can bring up some serious warts for just about any QB not named Rodgers/Mahomes. You don't always have to strike a 21 to win. I'm cool with my 17 when I know it's enough to win. If people wanna hit on a 17 then that's on them. There isn't a single team in this league I don't think we can't beat, and if we get games 1-3 Baker with games 3 and 4 defense when it matters, I believe we'll win it all.
I think it is so easy to find a league average QB right now. And to me, 12-14 is pretty league average. Who is that? Carr? Ryan? etc.?
The Browns could go out and get a guy like that without expending a ton of assets IMO and could likely pay them far less than what they will pay Baker.
The argument for paying Baker has always been one rooted in improvement (to me) and he has really plateaued analytically over the last 1/3 of games he has played under Stefanski. He had the Pittsburgh game, where he played at an extremely high level but the rest of those games is a pretty big mixed bag.
The more concerning thing is just seeing bad habits crop up.......like dancing around under pressure, locking on to receivers, rushing throws, etc. Maybe it will be more of a yo-yo effect as he plays and grows but it is concerning what is popping up on tape again with him.
In an ideal world the shoulder is the problem but I think that is a bit of fools gold.......if I were making a guess, I think it is probably just that Baker is a great front running QB, who can play with a lead and make low stress throws (not easy but just ones where he doesn't HAVE to make it) but will not be a guy who ever consistently carries an offense when things go sideways or south.
I'm not overly negative on Baker.......he's fine.......but the decision point is coming for the franchise where I am (today), pretty uneasy about committing the next 4-5 years to him as the QB. I hope we get a bit more clarity during the next 6-8 games but it is just disconcerting seeing everything else come together and then feeling like QB is just going to be an anchor in way too may games than you would like.