I thought I'd stop in and give my thoughts on Baker and maybe a couple of other topics. Probably won't stick around. I left the board quite some time ago due to all the attacks by the Baker fans. I asked Ref 3 to delete my account and I assumed he did. I miss talking football, but the Pure Football forum turned into comments like "I am glad you were never my children's teacher." Pure Football, indeed. I do know that some of you respected my football knowledge. So, here goes.

I have read this board off and on since I left. It always seemed like an alternative universe. Almost all of the sports world had a far different take on Baker and the Browns than the guys who dominate the conversations on this board. Here are some of my takes on Baker.

First, and foremost, I think he is an emotional midget. I brought that up long ago and it didn't turn out too well for me on here. LOL. I think he is extremely arrogant and has a real sense of entitlement. I think that can work in high school and college, but he is playing w/grown ass men now. Baker and his wife were so visible on social media. Neither could endure any sort of criticism. Lashing out at anyone who threw shade at Baker, even if the things that were said were true. It's weird that one can be so arrogant and insecure at the same time. Challenging a fan to a fight. Calling out a teammate. Lashing out at the fans. Chastising the media. Alienating teammates. Using excuses to mask poor play.

On the field, the guy has major weaknesses. He holds the ball way too long. He is terrible at going through his progressions. He can be accurate, but analytics show that he is off target on more throws than just about any qb in the league. The only guys worse than him this year were two rookies, Fields and Wilson. One of his main issues is how he can't handle pressure. He stinks at the end of games when the Browns need him to step up. He also folds when he is pressured in the pocket. Watch how many times he ducks his head and takes needless sacks. The other qbs on the Browns were only sacked once in three games when Baker was out. Coincidence? I think not. His failure to handle pressure in the pocket always leads to breakdowns in his mechanics. His front foot is often way too open. A recipe for errant throws. But, this is a guy who was too good for "broom sweepers." Another huge problem is that teams figured out to keep him in the pocket. He is short. He has a hard time delivering the ball over the LOS. Thus, his throws are often high.

I think his act got old w/his teammates and the coaching staff. It had to be tiring to hear how bad the OL play was. How his receivers sucked. How Stefanski was holding Baker back. His TEs were terrible. The fans and media were "haters." It had to be exhausting.

I did notice the outrage on the board when OBJ's dad called out Baker, but did anyone even mention that Baker's wife did the same thing to the Brown's receivers when someone was comparing Baker to Herbert w/the Chargers? How the hell did that get overlooked. It's a rhetorical question. She also implied the other guys were not as tough as Baker. And OBJ's camp said that Baker was jealous of attention that he got and refused to throw him the ball......even in practice. OBJ did not want out of Cleveland. He wanted away from Baker. The former was the local villain, but that was not the case in the locker room. Rob Nikovich, a former edge rusher for the Patriots who now does radio work for the team relayed a story on Get UP about how not one teammate went up to Baker after he left the blue tent in the game. Baker lost the team w/his arrogance and poor play.

There will be folks who try and spin why no one is trading for Baker. But, just last year.......there was a poster on here who said Baker was like Joe Montana. The owner of the board said he would not take one qb over Baker. Others claimed he was top 2, top 3, top 5. If he was even in the top 20, teams would trade for him. No one wants him right now because he is a bad qb, has a guaranteed salary approaching $19 million or so, thinks he is way better than he is, and is an emotional midget.

The Once Upon a time poster[s] on here who say that no free agents would want to come here because of Stefanski have it all wrong in my book. I have been saying that no WR in his right mind would want to come and play w/Baker. Landry got worse w/Baker. So did Hooper. As did OBJ.......and then the latter went and balled out in LA when he had a decent qb. I think the NFL has wised-up to Baker, even if he and his loyal fans have not.