NFL Wild-Card Weekend thread

[Octave]

Mayfield played an entire season with a torn labrum. I'd like to see anyone in his peer group do it.

 

[da man]

Stop using the “Baker is actually good if he just wasn’t banged-up.”

Baker is ALWAYS banged up. That’s the problem. Then he’ll use it as an excuse when he doesn’t play well. It’s his move. He’d be better off just not playing if he’s really hurt rather than act like a tough guy, suit up and them leak to the press how injured he is.

I don't think I said what you say I said. I just said he's injured and they scored nine points last week, so I wouldn't bet the ranch on the Bucs, and certainly not on them to win by double digits. And I don't think his injuries have been "leaked to the press."

BTW, do you think he's not really hurt?

I do know he's thrown for more than 4,000 yards this season with a pretty good 28-10 TD-INT ratio -- better than Mahomes, Josh Allen, Tua, Goff, Stafford, Trevor Lawrence and Burrow, among others, and the same as Purdy. That said, his .643 completion percentage ranks 20th in the league.

Is Mayfield great? No. Is he terrible? No. Where he fits between those two extremes, I'm not sure. Good enough to take a team to a barely over .500 record, apparently. Good enough to win a playoff game? We'll see.

 

[Michael_ Gee]

Mayfield's up against a defense that made Tyrod Taylor look like John Elway yesterday. He can win this one.

 

[QYFW]

Bet the house on the Eagles.

 

[Gutter]

Dez dropped it.

 

[da man]

Speaking of the Pro Bowl (which someone did just upthread here), I want to say the two most egregious omissions from the Pro Bowl rosters that I noticed off the top of my head were L'Jarius Sneed and Amon-Ra St. Brown.

Oh yeah, Antoine Winfield, too. In fact, his numbers remind me of Sam Mills in 1995, when he had a great case for defensive player of the year but somehow didn't even make the Pro Bowl.

Winfield this season: 122 tackles, 6 sacks (he's a safety for those who aren't familiar with him), 8 QB hits, 6 TFL, 6 forced fumbles, 4 fumble recoveries, 3 interceptions, 12 PBUs.

 

[BYH 2: Electric Boogaloo]

Bet the house on the Eagles.

No subtweeting!

 

[User 149557]

I don't think I said what you say I said. I just said he's injured and they scored nine points last week, so I wouldn't bet the ranch on the Bucs, and certainly not on them to win by double digits. And I don't think his injuries have been "leaked to the press."

BTW, do you think he's not really hurt?

I do know he's thrown for more than 4,000 yards this season with a pretty good 28-10 TD-INT ratio -- better than Mahomes, Josh Allen, Tua, Goff, Stafford, Trevor Lawrence and Burrow, among others, and the same as Purdy. That said, his .643 completion percentage ranks 20th in the league.

Is Mayfield great? No. Is he terrible? No. Where he fits between those two extremes, I'm not sure. Good enough to take a team to a barely over .500 record, apparently. Good enough to win a playoff game? We'll see.

It was a jumping iff point to where I am with Mayfield. If he plays 10 seasons, he’ll have ten seasons where people are defending him as being health away from being a solid quarterback.

 

[jr/shotglass]

Baker being banged-up should be, uhh, baked into the equation at this point. It's probably going to keep him from ever being a true franchise QB. But the Bucs looked like a surefire contender for the no. 1 pick & he had a terrific year. If a guy can start for four teams in three years, it means he's got to be talented and somewhat likable within the locker room. Those are big traits for a QB and it's easy to see Mayfield having a pretty good run in Tampa for a few years. Of course, the line between surprising playoff QB and guy who will drive you crazy b/c he's just good enough to not lead you to a Super Bowl is a super thin one. But it would still make him a top-5 QB in franchise history down there.

Baker Mayfield represents what's becoming a fairly common narrative in the NFL.

The QB comes into the NFL as a potential franchise savior, isn't ready for that. He's eventually banished to limbo for a period of time, both by their peers and in the court of public opinion.

He emerges from the cocoon later, and people start seeing and realizing why he was a pretty good QB in the first place. Warts and all.

Justin Fields could be that. Daniel Jones or Kenny Pickett could be that. Even Carson Wentz could be that.

 

[Octave]

Mayfield knew he was laboring for a clown organization. I don't think Wentz thought that, or even Sam Bradford before him.

 

[BYH 2: Electric Boogaloo]

Baker Mayfield represents what's becoming a fairly common narrative in the NFL.

The QB comes into the NFL as a potential franchise savior, isn't ready for that. He's eventually banished to limbo for a period of time, both by their peers and in the court of public opinion.

He emerges from the cocoon later, and people start seeing and realizing why he was a pretty good QB in the first place. Warts and all.

Justin Fields could be that. Daniel Jones or Kenny Pickett could be that. Even Carson Wentz could be that.

Sam Darnold, for sure, falls into that category. Got drafted before turning 21 by the dogass Jets. He never had a shot there and then he went to the Panthers, where he also never had a shot. Now he's on the 49ers, working under a QB-friendly coach and still only 26. He could still be pretty good.

(Carson Wentz, though, cannot)

 

[outofplace]

I get the exact same vibe from Daboll, which probably explains today.

There has been a lot of talk about them not getting along this season, so it's not really a surprise to see him go.

 

[outofplace]

Mayfield played an entire season with a torn labrum. I'd like to see anyone in his peer group do it.

Yup. He was stupid to do it and the Browns were stupid to let him do it.

 

[BYH 2: Electric Boogaloo]

There has been a lot of talk about them not getting along this season, so it's not really a surprise to see him go.

If I were Martindale and I had to watch Daboll **** down his leg in every semi-challenging clock management spot, I'd decide I didn't like the guy either.

 

[outofplace]

Baker Mayfield represents what's becoming a fairly common narrative in the NFL.

The QB comes into the NFL as a potential franchise savior, isn't ready for that. He's eventually banished to limbo for a period of time, both by their peers and in the court of public opinion.

He emerges from the cocoon later, and people start seeing and realizing why he was a pretty good QB in the first place. Warts and all.

Justin Fields could be that. Daniel Jones or Kenny Pickett could be that. Even Carson Wentz could be that.

Jones is already five seasons and 59 starts into his career. I think we might have seen his high-water mark last season. Daboll is a good offensive coach. I don't think that is the issue anymore.

I believe the stories about Wentz being uncoachable, which translates into not willing to put in the work to fix his flaws.

Pickett fits your narrative. He was dropped into a situation with a terrible offensive coaching staff and a terrible offensive line. Then, after a few rough games, they pounded the notion into his head that he has to protect the ball at all costs. The result was a guy who doesn't trust his protection and he's afraid to take a risk unless he absolutely has to do so. I think that is why he struggles so much early in games but seems to be at his best if his team needs a score late to win. I think he can be fixed, but most of the fan base wants to throw in its lot with Mason Rudolph.

 

[outofplace]

Saturday
Cleveland (-2.5/44.5) at Houston, 430, NBC
Miami at Kansas City (-3.5/43.5), 8, ****

Sunday
Pittsburgh at Buffalo (-10/35.5), 1, CBS
Green Bay at Dallas (-7.5/50.5), 430, FOX
L.A. Rams at Detroit (-3.5/51.5), 8, NBC

Monday
Philadelphia (-3/44.5) at Tampa Bay, 815, ESPN/ABC

I can't say I'm surprised the Steelers are huge underdogs. They just lost Watt, just the latest of the injuries that have wrecked the defense that carried them most of the season. Now their primary hope is Mason Rudolph. Vegas doesn't trust the red-nosed quarterback. I'm not sure why anybody else should.

 

[outofplace]

If I were Martindale and I had to watch Daboll **** down his leg in every semi-challenging clock management spot, I'd decide I didn't like the guy either.

I've heard the same criticism of Andy Reid and Mike Tomlin and neither complaint is without merit.

 

[Shropshire Slasher]

Mayfield played an entire season with a torn labrum. I'd like to see anyone in his peer group do it.

Better than a torn labia. (Ouch.)

As for the Cowboys, anything other than an NFC Finals appearance is gravy.

 

[Octave]

Yup. He was stupid to do it and the Browns were stupid to let him do it.

The Browns broke so many players they didn't care if he was one more on the cordwood pile. Like that Hillis guy they ran into the ground after one or two seasons. Stefanski should not be coaching professional athletes.

 

[User 149557]

I can’t keep track of the stupid Kevin Stefanski takes on this board. First he doesn’t play Nick Chubb enough. Now he ran Peyton Hillis into the ground nine years before he became coach.

Meanwhile he’s the first coach since Marty with two winning seasons in his tenure.