DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum Browns QBs under Stefanski

what does that have to do with anything? The browns caught lightning in a bottle with Flacco, he was horrible the last couple years thats why he was unsigned sitting on his couch and we had no other options, it just happened to work, until it didn't. Flacco has been horrible again this year. so yeah last year was mostly a fluke

j/c

Before we succumb to locking in the fantasy that 2023 was indicative of progress...go back and look at the QBs we played AGAINST.

So you're in the club that when mistakes are made they suck but when they do something good they were just lucky? I think we got it.

He's been the leader of that club with all Cleveland sports teams for decades. The Cavs sucked for all of 2016... until the final buzzer.

I honestly think Stephanski is good with QBs. The problem I see is the QBs they give him. You don't get a steak out of bologna. This year, he had a horrible Watson, a turnover machine, and an arena football QB

so you're in that club that you look for arguments with every single poster because you're a bitter old man with nothing else to do? I think we got it. They were lucky, nothing other than that. I also said I gave KS for holding the team together during a rough patch. Doesn't make him a great head coach long term, but in that moment he kept the team fighting, Flacco came in and ignited the passion again. It was a perfect storm.. If it wasn't luck, we would have seen much better play this year wouldn't have we?

Who traded and drafted these “kings”?

Just curious because from your description it seems like bad luck comes from nowhere.

NFL has a unique system where last seasons worst team is given the opportunity to draft first the following season. I like that because it level the playfield and give all organizations a chance to be more competitive.

Unfortunately can’t this system level out all sorts of incompetence and therefore the Browns leadership has chosen three so called “kings”, instead of taken advantage of the advantage that this system has given them.

Maybe you should explain to Berry that the system is actually designed in his advantage….. because I think he must have misunderstood how it works.

I honestly want supporters like you (and me) and other life long fans to have the opportunity to someday see a successful Cleveland Browns team.
Nothing else.

Way to address the topic! Your own words show who is bitter.


Thanks for helping prove my point. When they do good it has to be luck according to you. When they do badly it's what they are and it's Stefanksi's fault that the FO gave him crap QB's. Who was this seasons Flacco? There wasn't one. That's the answer no matter how hard you try to invent a different one.

You want to NOT give KS any credit for taking a QB off the FA scrap heap and putting together a potent NFL offense. I think that's a flawed take.

I'll put it this way... I'm of the opinion that KS has a 'type' that he needs at QB. He needs a guy that can throw accurately and on time. Despite saying so (like every other coach we've had) he can't seem to tailor an offense to the QB he has. A QB can have all the talent in the world, but if he can't do the above then he's not going to work in KS's offense.

A QB who can’t throw accurately and on time won’t succeed in any HC’s system. The most obvious difference between this season and last is that Flacco was putting up points, which took pressure off the defence. Our D has has numerous breakdowns this year, but much of that could have been hidden if we had a good offensive attack. Too many turnovers, not enough points.

I'm just saying that KS seems to do best with "do your job" type of QB vs QBs that like to freelance.

….but the smartest guy in the room had other ideas.

he had that in baker and couldn't make it work.. for all of baker's faults with maturity, the dude has been accurate most of his career and has plus level NFL velocity, he can sling it and is accurate at every level and on the move. Im not sure I would call getting a super bowl mvp qb that has thrown for 45k yards and over 250tds "off the scrap heap", its not like he was JAG, if it was going to work with any FA at that point of the year it was going to work with flacco, but as I have said before, they had a skeleton offense in, which is understandable given how long he had with the team. So Flacco was doing alot of adjusting on the fly.. He's a deep ball thrower that takes risks, It was fun to watch until it wasn't, he threw 8 picks in 5 games. So no, between the HC who can't seem to consistently win and has a losing overall record and has never had a top 15 offense, or the 17 year veteran superbowl MVP QB that destroyed us every time he played us. I'm taking the QB making it work because of his ability to audible and see the field and having the experience to know what work. KS has had every type of QB, scrambler, pocket passer, PA , RPO. He's not been able to make any of them work at consistent pace for us to climb out of the cellar and go anywhere. I'm not sure anymore what has to happen, it seems everytime we have momentum, the next year we are right back to seasons like this. I believe its a simple as the time has run out on this staff. KS and Berry are holding this team back.

Sure you do. Here in the South, fried bologna on white bread is well known as an Alabama steak sandwich. They are pretty darn good!

He was a FA mid-year. He was with the Jets the previous year, but they didn't bring him back (IIRC). I did a brief search and couldn't see if he was in their TC that year. If so, that means he was available for free agency and nobody picked up him until the Browns called him in late-November.

That absolutely qualifies as 'FA scrap heap'.

Also, he didn't have that with Baker. Baker could sling it and had all the arm talent in the world but couldn't throw on time. He was hesitating a lot.


I get that you don't like Stefanski, but making stuff up to bolster your point is a bad look and makes your argument look weak. His record is currently sitting at 41-44... meaning he dipped below .500 well after the Watson debacle this season.

I’ve been advocating for possibly signing Kirk Cousins for next year but I’m starting to wonder if he can play in the cold weather at his age after Atlanta and Minnesota. Maybe it won’t be an issue.

He made it work just fine with Baker the last year Baker played healthy in Cleveland. Revisionist history won't change that.

Baker wasn't good enough for the Browns, but he's been good enough to win division titles for the Bucs. SHOULD NEVER HAVE TRADED HIM!!!!! WOULDN'T OF HAD TO GIVE UP ALL THOSE DRAFT CHOICES FOR A USELESS WATSON IF THEY HAD KEPT BAKER!

Baker back to back division winner.
Mike Evans 11 straight season with more than 1000 receiving yards.

It’s safe to say that there’s only one clear winner in the Stefanski/Berry vs Mayfield conflict, and it isn’t the smartest guys in the room.
Nice weather and low taxes is also the icing on the cake for the guy who has fight against adversity all his career without giving up.

Well done young man. You deserve all praise you get.

Congratulations to Baker Mayfield for winning another division title in Tampa. Wish the Browns had a QB like him. Oh wait, they did and traded him.

.... for nothing.

Watched Baker and the bucs today. Man, I like watching him play. He had Brady showering praise on him and giddy like a kid about it. And most of this season was him driving them. They dealt with loses on O and their D is a sieve. I’ll be surprised if they go more than one and done, but it won’t be on Baker.

Best case scenerio for Browns is Watson is not ready to start the season and being placed on IR. The team can get insurance claim money and use that claimed money for cap space. I heard if he was to miss entire season, they could recoup up to 55 Mill.

In that case, we need to hire the villain lady from Misery.

When DW is healthy and ready to play use him as a backup. I really don't want him to start but eventually he will have to because our starter, whomever that may be, will get hurt. That's our track record. We usually go through 3-4 QB's a year because of injuries. DW will play at some point.

Because no other team would give up anything.

And then two teams had him and cut him.


It is absolutely a failure on KS and his O-staff that we punted on Baker and weren't the team that furthered his development... but people want to make it seem like we cut Baker and he immediately went on to back-to-back division titles. That's simply not true. Dude lost his job to Darnold (who was also later dumped), was picked up by LA who also dropped him at the end of the season. Baker got a wake-up call and is now better for it.

Yeah, I agree. He definitely had a wake-up call. He's also in a good division to experience said wake-up call.

Carolina was a dumpster fire. No QB was winning there. You act like LA dropped him..lol, they had Stafford, he was injured and was coming back in 2023. He came in as the backup to finish the season and played very well for missing the season with them and being thrown in. Baker was never coming back in 2023 to be a backup. So yeah, he went to TB and has won back to back division titles. Further proof of how bad Carolina was that year, they started 1-4 and fired their HC. Look at what both Baker and Darnold are doing this year with good coaching and actually playmakers to throw the ball to

With a WR that perfectly fits his "give his guy a chance" skillset. Unfortunately, the chances he gave here bounced straight to defenders too often. Baker's confidence can be a double edged sword. Definitely thought he could fit it in any window instead of finding the open guy too often while he was here. Sometimes one's got to face consequences before one will take the coaching.

I want to say that this is where you and I agree.

I feel like I'm the resident Stefanski defender on here, and I don't really like doing that. I don't like giving the impression that I believe he can do no wrong (believe it or not). I just think we'd be better served hanging onto him and getting him a legit QB to start instead of Watson.

As for Baker and KS, KS deserves a fair share of blame for him wanting out, but Baker also played a big part in that. As I've mentioned before, he's matured quite a bit. It also doesn't hurt that he went to a team that had already won the division title once or twice before he got there (and the SB w/ TB12).

Anyone who can't see that it took Baker being humbled and thinking his career was in jeopardy of being over for him to grow up and mature aren't willing to look at the complete story and admit the obvious. Both Carolina and the Rams saw him as not worthy to keep on their roster. And both the Rams and Carolina had him on the cheap. Keeping him just as the backup would have been a bargain for either of those teams. But they didn't even see him as worthy of that.

Sometimes it takes adversity and an introspective look at yourself and realize your shortcomings. To dedicate yourself and push yourself to the limit to be all you can be. That's the way it was with Baker. But I don't think that it would have worked out that way had he stayed here. He needed to go through that experience to be the QB he is now.

He has always been a tough kid with the will to win. Brings intensity to the field. Can rally his offense. Wonderful traits to have in your QB. But a QB also has to have it between the ears. He didn't back then. But he does now. I'm happy for him. I like him as a QB. But he is the type of person who had to go through what he did to make him the QB he is today.