QB King of the AFC North

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Who you got this season? As in, who will finish with the better season?

We've got 3 Heisman winners & some fat bearded dude...

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

 

[Golden Spur]

BR comes back in a big way. Performs Shaolin Kung Fu moves on Myles Garrett.

 

[Dr. Strangelove]

I think Big Ben comes back strong and has a big year.

 

[Shanemansj13]

Too easy...

 

[Shanemansj13]

Lamar - still dangerous as ever but I think defenses catch on and his passing stats aren't nearly as crazy as last year.
Big Ben - I don't think he goes back to great Big Ben but still helps this PIT team a lot. I would say they are the favs if Big Ben is even average Big Ben.
Baker - gotta have a bounce back season with this offense, scheme and new head coach. It is a must. He has the arm, just needs the footwork and decision-making to be successful. The verdict is out.
Burrow - all the talent in the world and is set up almost as good as you can hope for, after being a #1 pick. He could have a better rookie season than Baker/Kyler and he has more talent around him.

Could be the toughest division in the NFL.

 

[GNG]

Lamar Jackson.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Lamar - still dangerous as ever but I think defenses catch on and his passing stats aren't nearly as crazy as last year.
Big Ben - I don't think he goes back to great Big Ben but still helps this PIT team a lot. I would say they are the favs if Big Ben is even average Big Ben.
Baker - gotta have a bounce back season with this offense, scheme and new head coach. It is a must. He has the arm, just needs the footwork and decision-making to be successful. The verdict is out.
Burrow - all the talent in the world and is set up almost as good as you can hope for, after being a #1 pick. He could have a better rookie season than Baker/Kyler and he has more talent around him.

Could be the toughest division in the NFL.

Agreed on all counts except for Burrow... It's not the talent I'm worried about (whether his own or his supporting cast), its the defenses he's going to be facing this year. PIT & BAL were top 4, and CLE was close behind at #6 or 7 IIRC... And I think those are passing defense ranks IIRC. Absolutely brutal division to start out in as a rook. He's gotta be a Mahomes-level transcendent type talent in order to thrive in his rookie season. Color me pessimistic lol

 

[Shanemansj13]

Agreed on all counts except for Burrow... It's not the talent I'm worried about (whether his own or his supporting cast), its the defenses he's going to be facing this year. PIT & BAL were top 4, and CLE was close behind at #6 or 7 IIRC... And I think those are passing defense ranks IIRC. Absolutely brutal division to start out in as a rook. He's gotta be a Mahomes-level transcendent type talent in order to thrive in his rookie season. Color me pessimistic lol

True and don't disagree but it could be worse. Now Cincy was bad but he is set up with a lot of weapons. He could be on a Miami team that is in total rebuild...but yeah it is brutal the defenses and pass rushes he will face week in and week out. It doesn't get tougher than that. We saw Baker do pretty good though his rookie year...I think these could be 3 top 10 defenses (if CLE can fight the injury bug).

 

[blue_suns]

Right because Big Ben is known for not taking hits and being more elusive than Lamar

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Right because Big Ben is known for not taking hits and being more elusive than Lamar

Thought the same. Even with a top 3 O-line over the past 3-4 years he's still been taking plenty of shots. Most haven't been recorded as a sack, but I bet the next gen stats for QB hits would show a lot.

It's just the way he has always played.

 

[Dr. Strangelove]

I won't get into the whole " Lamar will get injured" schtick. It's been done to death and ir's virtually impossible to predict. However, I do think he will face a lot tougher defenses this year and teams will use a variation on what the Titans did in the play-off game. We will see how Jackson and more importantly, Roman adjust. I just see a bit of a step back and don't see that dominance from last year coming as easy.
I don't know what to expect from Mayfield. The kid has talent out the wazoo but sometimes his brain farts are really stinky. If Stefanski can calm him down and get his mind right, we could see a huge upside but Baker has to quit reading press clippings and spouting off nonsense and concentrate on the most important aspect of the QB position. Between the ears.
I think time will tell on Burrow but it's the Bungals. Nuff said.

 

[RememberTheKoy]

Lamar Jackson.


I think Joe Burrow is going to have a great rookie season though. Like, really good potentially getting the Bengals in the wild card good.

 

[Cincyfan78]

I go with Ben, but not because I'm afraid of LJ getting hurt (though a reasonable issue). It has more to do with his overall skill-set as a QB compared to Ben. Assuming both are healthy through the year, Ben is just a better passing QB. What LJ did last year at the QB position was historic from a running stand-point. The key word, to me, is historic. That tells me it is unlikely to happen again, and assuming that is the case, how will that impact his passing. The less he runs, or the less effective he is as a runner compared to last year, his passing numbers are likely to suffer as well as teams will start to key in on those tendencies and areas.

It will be a race between those two, but I think Burrow passes Mayfield. Not because I root for Cincinnati, but because Mayfield hasn't shown me a whole lot since being in the NFL. While some things have been out of his control (coaching, scheme, etc...) the one thing that has always bothered me is that he doesn't seem to lead his team very well. He seems to be very divisive within his own team. I could be way off on this, so don't shoot me - just from what I see at a glance. The one thing I really liked about Burrow in college and so far through the summer practices - the entire team has immediately praised his leadership and he has everyone on the same page. He embraces things that go wrong, and figures out how to fix them - rather than discredit others or make excuses, which is what I see from time to time from Mayfield.

If Ben hangs on for a few more years, and the QB's all develop like we think they will - this division is going to go from the black-and-blue history of the early 2000's to a QB driven division led by 3 really talented QB's and a veteran who has done nothing but win games.

 

[Shanemansj13]

I go with Ben, but not because I'm afraid of LJ getting hurt (though a reasonable issue). It has more to do with his overall skill-set as a QB compared to Ben. Assuming both are healthy through the year, Ben is just a better passing QB. What LJ did last year at the QB position was historic from a running stand-point. The key word, to me, is historic. That tells me it is unlikely to happen again, and assuming that is the case, how will that impact his passing. The less he runs, or the less effective he is as a runner compared to last year, his passing numbers are likely to suffer as well as teams will start to key in on those tendencies and areas.

It will be a race between those two, but I think Burrow passes Mayfield. Not because I root for Cincinnati, but because Mayfield hasn't shown me a whole lot since being in the NFL. While some things have been out of his control (coaching, scheme, etc...) the one thing that has always bothered me is that he doesn't seem to lead his team very well. He seems to be very divisive within his own team. I could be way off on this, so don't shoot me - just from what I see at a glance. The one thing I really liked about Burrow in college and so far through the summer practices - the entire team has immediately praised his leadership and he has everyone on the same page. He embraces things that go wrong, and figures out how to fix them - rather than discredit others or make excuses, which is what I see from time to time from Mayfield.

If Ben hangs on for a few more years, and the QB's all develop like we think they will - this division is going to go from the black-and-blue history of the early 2000's to a QB driven division led by 3 really talented QB's and a veteran who has done nothing but win games.

Agree but at least Baker has now realized the bigger picture and admitted he needs to grow up...hopefully he can grow from this. I feel Baker needed to change things mentally. I feel like mentally Burrow is already there, he will just need to adjust to NFL defenses now.

Cleveland Browns QB Baker Mayfield: 'I lost myself' at times last year

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Agree but at least Baker has now realized the bigger picture and admitted he needs to grow up...hopefully he can grow from this. I feel Baker needed to change things mentally. I feel like mentally Burrow is already there, he will just need to adjust to NFL defenses now.

Cleveland Browns QB Baker Mayfield: 'I lost myself' at times last year

By realizing the bigger picture he must also realize there are finer establishments than the Cheesecake Factory...

 

[Shanemansj13]

By realizing the bigger picture he must also realize there are finer establishments than the Cheesecake Factory...

I agree, way overpriced. There are better options.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

I agree, way overpriced. There are better options.

Agreed. His Oklahoma livestock days are behind him... Time to set the bar higher

 

[Cincyfan78]

Agree but at least Baker has now realized the bigger picture and admitted he needs to grow up...hopefully he can grow from this. I feel Baker needed to change things mentally. I feel like mentally Burrow is already there, he will just need to adjust to NFL defenses now.

Cleveland Browns QB Baker Mayfield: 'I lost myself' at times last year

100% agree. I don't follow the Browns enough to know exactly what all went on, but I have a buddy of mine who was a roommate in college and he's from Cleveland and lives there now. We chat through football season, and I know he was extremely frustrated with how Baker carried himself, and how he "lead" the team last year.

I hope he does figure it out. A good division where you have 3 or all 4 teams battling every year with winning records, or playoff spots sure beats the hell out of what normally happens.

Edit* FWIW - I was very high on Baker coming out of college. I thought he would have done better, honestly. He's got the arm and he's got talent - but he allows too much of the negative that happens inside of his head. That is where he's got to learn/grow. Realize that bad things are going to happen. What matters is what he does on the next play. Too often, he's still living in the last play and then the quicksand effect gets ahold of him.

 

[ducky]

Thought the same. Even with a top 3 O-line over the past 3-4 years he's still been taking plenty of shots. Most haven't been recorded as a sack, but I bet the next gen stats for QB hits would show a lot.

It's just the way he has always played.

Interesting to see a Steeler fans say that still. In 2018 Ben supposedly had the quickest release of any QB in football as he made an effort to change his ball-patting habits.

But that was certainly an anomaly. His entire career he held the ball WAY too long.