My own feelings are I'm glad this season is over... I won't watch this game, Might listen to it a little bit if I'm in the car. what about any of you ? going to watch ?

Bengals will most likely sit the starters and as we all know Case will get the start.. Most paid back up in the league will start a meaning less game.

One thing is I don't believe there is a chance for a QB controversy... How can there be ? A beaten injured starter and the most paid back up and who saw more starts ?

We have all talked about the season the Browns had in multiple threads in familiar forums and posted our thoughts and feelings with each other in a agreement or disagreement... a weekly thing.

Now comes the last game.. Thank goodness ! any of you thought it would end this way ? Honestly ! I did. just typical Browns fashion.

What comes next ? Draft talk.. opinions on coaching and player performances.. pretty much what happens after a season of being let down.

Bengals at the top..the Browns at the bottom. surprise surprise... nah ! not really...

The most hated saying ever.. Hey ! there's always next year, which is actually this year.

Can the players injuries that took place heal along with the feelings of the players and fans ?

Seriously what would you like to see happen next ?

I want to see most things stay in place, Honestly I look at other QB's and see a cool and calmness about them, with Baker it's always seems he's always hyper and unsure of himself just can't relax and get the job done, and that's even before the injury.

And the dropped balls.. my goodness !

it feels so close yet so not ! what happens next is going to drive most of us crazy waiting on it !

What the heck is going to happen in the next few months of this Organization ?

I would guess we sit a lot of starters aside from Baker. I will probably watch it.

Makes it feel like a pre season game... you moved right ? got a local place you like watching the games ?

I still live in ATL. There is a sports bar I like, but its not likely I'll be there. Not dropping 50+ bucks to watch backups.

I always remember you saying you had a local place you liked going to... It's great that you are such a good fan representing the Browns down there ! Your awesome and thank you !!!

If Kansas City loses on Saturday, the Bengals will play their starters.

What happens next? 1st of all.you get everyone in.the organization on the same page.
Im.sure in Berea there are Baker supporters and the anti Baker crew
But the fact that not everyone is behind Mayfield tells you right there he is not the answer
At QB. Im mean is their questions in Cincy,Buffalo , Los Angeles about their QBs?
No.
Until the Browns can claim they have the best QB in the North or a top 4 AFC qb, this franchise
Will.go.no where

Stefanski needs to hire a legit play caller. Freddie Kitchens tried to wear too many hats
And it got him.fired.

This team came into the 2021 thinking all.they could do is show up and win.
Sorry just because you get a easy schedule one year and amass 11 wins doesnt equate
To automatic success the next year.

Next, this franchise has no leadership. No leaders. It has talent, but it lacks leaders
The team top.to bottom is soft.

Youre very welcome! The next town over has a Browns Backers bar. There are a lot of us down here.

It’s best for the long term if we lose this game.

It would be hilarious if Keenum lights it up.

OMG ! LOL I can just imagine people wanting Keenum to start after all this silliness.

He had one in Van Pelt, at least I think so. This really is a big ? lots of talk was it QB play or play calling...

Play all and only the backups

I'll be up at the game. Can't say I'm excited to attend.

From my seats, I can turn around and look up and see Donovan and Dieken calling the game. I'll give Dieken a thumbs up.

I don’t want Keenum to start. He is starting.

Haven't they been doing that most of the year? What are you saving them for?

So they don’t pop an Achilles and miss a full year.

We find out if the Haslems' have the guts to keep this team together, under the pressure, constant pressure, ongoing pressure, from around the league to take the good pieces away.

I'll be there too. I hope they give him a nod and we can watch him take a bow on the big screen. May actually be the highlight of the day.

I’d sit anybody of significance to next season. Losing the game will be a bi-product of that

I know I am not going to drive up for the game and know I am not going to do anything with my tickets. Under different circumstances I might have offered them up, but not this time. I want my seats unfilled. That is my small way to protest how this season has played out.

I am not pointing a finger at Baker, or Stefanski because I don't know what or where the problem is, I just know there is one.

I also know that Haslam and Berry have a tough road to navigate. I also know that fixing a damaged relationship between QB and Coach is hard to repair. Maybe impossible because finding some middle ground is still going to leave bruised ego's.

In the end, as it stands today, I think one of the two is going to have to leave. But, that is as it stands today, who knows what will be discovered tomorrow or next week?

I'm actually driving up to this game.... and I paid "we just gotta win out and we're in the playoffs" prices. I'm so mad at myself, but I'm going to go because I wasn't able to go to the game down here in Cinci.

Ugh.

I don't think a comment said in the heat of the moment is indicative of the bigger picture.

I will not be watching any football on Sunday as long as I can avoid it.

Time to start catching up on house projects and or movies.

Now that the Browns are out, and my heart is still broken, I need some time to be mad and heal.

I expect this to feel like a preseason game though from our point of view.

Guys with fringe injuries will sit, and I expect Keenum and possibly even Mullens to both play.

I would give D'Ernest as many carries as possible as he's earned them.

Get some young guys as many reps as possible as well.

I don't particularly care if we win or lose, in fact, the loss is probably better for our draft positioning.

Ditto.
Weather permitting, I have a sawmill to get running that is far more deserving of my time.

The Bengals are likely not sitting the starters. They have an outside chance at the overall first seed in the AFC and a bye. It is unlikely to happen, but because it is possible, I'm guessing they won't just start backups.

Win + Titans loss (@HOU) + Chiefs loss(@DEN) + Patriots loss (@MIA)
or
Win + Bills win (NYJ) + Titans loss (@HOU) + Chiefs loss (@DEN)

We had the 2nd most players in the league injured or protocols with 54 going into last week. We had 6 losses where it was a one score game. Our QB was mangled most of the season and Stefanski chose to play him rather than let him heal. We're better than I think most people on this board make it seem. 7-9 isn't what we wanted, sure, but we weren't terrible considering.

We had a lot of 1 year deals and a couple others with expiring deals that we'll need to take into consideration for next year. I'd like to see us bring back Clowney, McDowell, Hance, Dunn, and Walker for sure and extend an offer to Johnsons. Harrison maybe as well. Based on performance, I can see us cutting Hooper this offseason (13.25M cap hit if we keep him, 11.25 if we cut him) and Keenum (7.8M if we keep him, 1.3M if we cut him). I want to keep Jarvis, but with a 16.5M cap hit if we keep him and 1.5M if we cut him or trade him, I can see a re-structure, trade, or outright release.

FA and Draft is next. I wouldn't be surprised if we are players for Watson (not a fan of that) or Wilson (not sure how I feel about that) this offseason. I think we draft a QB in the 2-4 range just in case. We need at least one WR in FA or Draft, likely a TE as well.
We could use a run stuffing DT and swing OT too. I want Nakobe Dean - having 2 JOKs out there would be great, but if we re-sign Walker, is LB a priority? Not likely.

I think Stefanski needs to take a good look at himself and the staff this offseason. He should put some serious thought into giving up play calling, he got worse as the season dragged on. Teams knew what we were doing. I'm not a fan of Joe Woods at DC, but the D grew and improved as the season went on. I'd like us to be more aggressive than we were, but that's just me.

One thing I do like is that this team seems to play better when they are the underdog. Baltimore will always seem to be the favorite, and Cincy winning the division will make them a favorite next season. That means we'll be projected 3rd or 4th in the division which means we can "over perform" above talking head's expectations. Hopefully a healthy team and some growth by the coaching staff will lead to bigger and better things next season.

I am not sure who's comment you are talking about?

If you are talking about mine, that is why I said who knows what tomorrow holds. For me, it really isn't a heat of the moment deal. It's more a resignation of it is what it is. Many of the comments and body language by both Baker and Stefanski made it pretty clear something isn't meshing. This isn't something that manifest during the game. It reached a boiling point over something that has been brewing for a while. How long is a while? I couldn't say. Earlier in the season? Training camp? Last year?

If it is about me not wanting to go to the game, it's partly about how things are. I think it the larger picture it is simply a matter of me not wanting to spend around the $800 I spend going up to games. I've never really kept a accurate count, but I know that gas and hotels for 3 nights alone run over $500. Why go up to sit in the cold with most of the Cincy and many of the Browns starters on the bench? I mean, what's the point?

Maybe wanting my seats empty....well ok, that is just my protest.

I think he was referring to Baker's post-game comments about the scheming for the right tackle...maybe I'm wrong, but that's how I took it.

what happens next...

That was my take as well

Sorry I wasn't clearer. Trooper was right. Here's what I was commenting on.....


Maybe you have more to base it on than Baker's comment right after the game. But that's the only thing I could speculate you drew that conclusion on. It was a comment made in the heat of the moment at the point that ended our playoff hopes. Body language can often times indicate frustration but I find it hard to infer what or who that frustration is guided towards. I can understand how both would be frustrated seeing how this season progressed. I'm just not so sure they were frustrated with each other on a personal level. But that was just my take on it based on the information I have.

As far as your seats go. No, I don't really have a take on that. I understand the frustration and you paid for those seats so it's your right to do as you please with them.

Scratch this. Apparently Mixon is out with Covid and they're sitting Burrow with knee and finger issues.

A higher draft pick is all we may get out of this game.

Also, I hope neither the Ravens or the Steelers make the playoffs. Cincy is the only AFCN team that deserves to go.

I think it was absolutely both. This is the thing that sometimes gets me a bit infuriated. . . when you criticize the woeful play calling by KS, and there has been a lot this year, it does not mean you are giving free pass to Baker. Baker has played very badly in many games. It's not one or the other - it is both. Prime examples: In the loss to Packers - Baker has been playing inconsistently with 3 interceptions and something like 6 sacks. 1 in 5 pass attempts in that game lead to disaster. So the last 3 play calls in that game when we were averaging over 8 yards a run attempt? Pass-Pass-Pass. . . . In the loss to Pittsburgh, Baker was shockingly bad, TJ Watt had sacks and pressures 'all day' - and we kept leaving a rookie stand in RT one on one with TJ ... Just nuts.

I don't want Haslam to step in and interfere with anything on the football side - but who is it that holds KS accountable and puts pressure on him to relinquish play calling?

Both require the Colts to lose to the Jaguars, so it's a fairly safe bet that they're both out.

In the Packer game Baker hadn't thrown an int. during the entire second half.

That looks like some of Yosemite Sam vs. Bugs Bunny cartoons.
But in all of those cartoons I ever saw.

I never once saw Yosemite Sam, or Bugs Bunny give up on a top of the league quarterback because of outside peer pressures!

Baker? Top of the league? In his career he has played that way in some games. In others he has played far below that.

I don’t know what he is.

Baker is the Browns franchise quarterback. And if Baker is unhappy and wants out then the team needs to franchise him so he can't leave, in 2022, or 2023.
Now, in a small moment that may not be popular, but I think if people take a smart, long term 10 year plus look at what is going on here, it will be more and more clear, if the Browns let Baker get away, they will be being dumb, caving to pressure, and so on.

Baker's trajectory was way better than what we saw most of this year. No QB plays top of the league every week but last year there were far more good games than bad.. after his injury this year he was bad more often than not.