NFL 2022

[pdub]

He was a top 7 guy when he last played which is worth a lot considering his age.

Who knows what the time away from football will do.

[Overlander]

Top 7. Not that impressive.

Once again, Cleveland shits the bed

[twocoach]

Just wandering if you all forgetting he sat out all last year. He did not play a year of football already.
Is this not considered or just forgotten.

This has nothing to do with anything as he chose not to play last season. It was reported all the way back in early Feb. of last year that he would sit out if the Texans did not trade him.

https://nesn.com/2021/02/deshaun-watson ... by-texans/

He wasn't suspended or ineligible to play. He was eligible to play all last season but chose not to.

[CrimsonNBlue]

Yup. Not a time-served situation.

And the Browns structuring his salary the way they did--lot of unlikable people around.

[NewtonHawk11]

I think that’s another reason the NFL wants to go very hard in this case.

[CrimsonNBlue]

I think that’s another reason the NFL wants to go very hard in this case.

If karma gods are real for the Browns, then Watson will be kicked out of the NFL and Baker Mayfield will win a Super Bowl with Carolina.

Obviously, the odds of those happening are slim to none, but what an ending that would be.

[pdub]

Aaron Rodgers has kinda gone on a similar path for me as Durant ( in terms of likeability ) except exponentially more annoying. And I think it's going to end in a lot of negative drama.

[Overlander]

I think that’s another reason the NFL wants to go very hard in this case.

Baker Mayfield will win a Super Bowl with Carolina.

Threw up in my mouth just a bit

[pdub]

I'm not a fan of Mayfield ( fuck his antics v KU, bleh his commercials ) but I do think he really wants to win ( fights through injuries ) and I actually think he's better than people give him credit for ( i.e. he's in the top 20 QBs in the NFL ) b/c he's had a swinging door of coaches and coordinators while he's been at the Browns.

[Deleted User 863]

I'm not a fan of Mayfield ( fuck his antics v KU, bleh his commercials ) but I do think he really wants to win ( fights through injuries ) and I actually think he's better than people give him credit for ( i.e. he's in the top 20 QBs in the NFL ) b/c he's had a swinging door of coaches and coordinators while he's been at the Browns.

Agreed. Maybe without the KU thing I'd feel differently. Especially because I thought our guy should have shook his hand. But after seeing how Baker acted afterwards, I was glad our guy was a dick to him.

I think Baker needs a good fit with players in the locker room who he can lead emtionally because his best attribute is his competitiveness. It allows him to play slightly above his talent level at times imo.

QB is such an important part of NFL teams though. It's almost like if you don't have a top 8-10 QB that it's almost like not having one at all.

[pdub]

QB is extremely important but not having a top 10 QB isn’t like not having one at all unless you’re of the ilk that it’s Super Bowl or bust every season. The Browns were on a playoff drought and Mayfield got them there. JimmyG is another example. Or old Big Ben.

If you had to start, say, Peyton Bender in the NFL, you’re going to loose every game.

[RainbowsandUnicorns]

The day I stopped trying to analyze NFL QBs as a whole was the day I realized the Chicago Bears were 11-3 in the regular season with Mitch Trubisky as their starter in 2018 AND he made the fricking Pro Bowl (as an alternate).
In 2018 was Trubisky a top 10 QB? No. Was he a top 20? Maybe.

[Deleted User 863]

QB is extremely important but not having a top 10 QB isn’t like not having one at all unless you’re of the ilk that it’s Super Bowl or bust every season. The Browns were on a playoff drought and Mayfield got them there. JimmyG is another example. Or old Big Ben.

If you had to start, say, Peyton Bender in the NFL, you’re going to loose every game.

Not super bowl or bust every year or it's a total failure. But I think in competitive sports the goal is to win the championship. And you're not doing it with the 20th best QB as your franchise QB. So those teams have to constantly be looking for creative way to upgrade that position. Either via draft, trade, or free agency.

[pdub]

I'd rather have Mayfield and the draft picks ( 3 1sts, a 3rd and 2 4ths ) than the Watson situation and Josh Rosen despite the fact that Watson is a top 10 QB.

[Deleted User 863]

I'd rather have Mayfield and the draft picks ( 3 1sts, a 3rd and 2 4ths ) than the Watson situation and Josh Rosen despite the fact that Watson is a top 10 QB.

Absolutely.

I wouldn't want Watson on my team regardless of alternatives.

[twocoach]

The day I stopped trying to analyze NFL QBs as a whole was the day I realized the Chicago Bears were 11-3 in the regular season with Mitch Trubisky as their starter in 2018 AND he made the fricking Pro Bowl (as an alternate).
In 2018 was Trubisky a top 10 QB? No. Was he a top 20? Maybe.

37% of the NFL made the playoffs back then (12 of 32) and now it's up to 43%. So it doesn't take an elite QB to make the playoffs. The teams trying to go from playoff teams to true Super Bowl contenders are inevitably the ones who make desperate QB decisions trying to upgrade the position. Sometimes it works out (Bucs/Rams) and sometimes it doesn't. In general, teams making the NFL playoffs seem to be much more likely to get there with a QB that they drafted than a QB they signed via free agency or traded for.

[KUTradition]

i’m sure there are other examples, but trent dilfer won a SB

is it easier with a top flight QB? absolutely

is it necessary? nope

[CrimsonNBlue]

i’m sure there are other examples, but trent dilfer won a SB

is it easier with a top flight QB? absolutely

is it necessary? nope

I've always been of the opinion that within a single regime/window, without an elite QB an NFL team can win one Super Bowl, but not two. I think that's largely been true in the modern era. The hard line here would be Eli Manning--not sure if elite, but I think he was a franchise QB.

[UnholyLivingDead]

i’m sure there are other examples, but trent dilfer won a SB

is it easier with a top flight QB? absolutely

is it necessary? nope

I've always been of the opinion that within a single regime/window, without an elite QB an NFL team can win one Super Bowl, but not two. I think that's largely been true in the modern era. The hard line here would be Eli Manning--not sure if elite, but I think he was a franchise QB.

And the Ravens won that one by being all-time great on the other side of the ball.

[CrimsonNBlue]

The day I stopped trying to analyze NFL QBs as a whole was the day I realized the Chicago Bears were 11-3 in the regular season with Mitch Trubisky as their starter in 2018 AND he made the fricking Pro Bowl (as an alternate).
In 2018 was Trubisky a top 10 QB? No. Was he a top 20? Maybe.

37% of the NFL made the playoffs back then (12 of 32) and now it's up to 43%. So it doesn't take an elite QB to make the playoffs. The teams trying to go from playoff teams to true Super Bowl contenders are inevitably the ones who make desperate QB decisions trying to upgrade the position. Sometimes it works out (Bucs/Rams) and sometimes it doesn't. In general, teams making the NFL playoffs seem to be much more likely to get there with a QB that they drafted than a QB they signed via free agency or traded for.

I think the parity in the NFL means that any elite QB is very likely going to stay with the team that drafted him. You can pretty much build a winner anywhere. Of course, there are places I wouldn't want to live (e.g. Green Bay, Buffalo, . . .) but it hasn't stopped many from re-upping the contract.

I think Stafford as an outlier is just a lot because the Lions is the dumpster fire organization of the NFL and then you have the Chargers whom made the egregious mistake of wrongly believing Drew Brees's height wasn't going to cut it. Tom Brady is some kind of alien that figured out how to beat Father Time.

Then you have what I would call weird limbo situations, which also seem rare, I would put Alex Smith and Kirk Cousins here. Yeah, you're going to make the playoffs, win games, sell a ton of tickets, but need to get pretty lucky to hoist the big trophy.

And then I think a lot of bad free agency signings.