http://www.nypost.com/seven/0807200...e_sitting_on_a_big_season_jets_dan_martin.htm I don't buy it. We havent had a signifigant reciving threat at the TE postion CONSITENTLY since Mickey Shuler retired. Yet we have heard stories, MANY I might add, that have said that our TE whether Mitchell, Brady, Becht, or whomever were going to be "more involved" in the passing game. I hope it is true, I think Baker can do a good job if this is put on his plate. However due to hstory, I will believe it when I see it, Baker Blah Blah Blah!
Baker has supposedly had a good camp so far. He was quiet and basically unnoticed the days I was there, but I read that he had a real nice catch from Penny in the Green and White game. I have no problem with Baker at all. They've been giving the second tier TEs the reps because of the huge battle going on for #2 TE, so you haven't heard much from Baker but that's not to say he hasn't been having an excellent camp. Jow Kowalewski was having a great camp until he pissed off Mangini the other day with that fight, which Mangini later referred to as "selfish." Not a smart move, Joe.
True every year we hear something like this. But this year I do believe it is for real. Last year they had to hold Baker in to help block and I think what they are sayin is that he will not have to pass protect as much and should be able to get more involved as a reciever in the passing game rather than and extra blocker.
I completely disagree with you. Most of the time, you are right, they say the TE will be more involved in the passing game, yet you never see any proof. But Baker has proved (i.e. Pats playoff game) that he can get open and catch the ball. I am a huge fan of Baker. I think he goes 700 yards and 7 or 8 TDs this year. He will make an impact.
We've got a more improved O-line than last year, IMO, even if Kendall is riding the pine. I like what I see in Clarke and think he can fill in very nicely, especially since Kendall didn't have a sterling year last year anyway. If the right side progresses as well as the left side, then I think Baker will have an unbelievable impact this year.
:lol: :lol: The boston papers seem to do the same.. with the Pats tight ends.. I'm still waiting for Ben Coates to walk thru the door
I've said it before, and I'm sure I'll have to say it again. BAKER IS AN AVERAGE TIGHT END AT BEST. If he was anything special, they (Hackett, Heimerdinger, or Schotty) would have found a way to utilize him more. I don't buy this whole "he had to stay in to block" theory. If he was as good a reciever as these articles make him out to be, he would have shown it by now. Hell, a good recieving tight end is often a great thing to have if your line has trouble pass protecting. If the line blows the protection, just dump it off, but unfortunately that's not the situation we're in. Baker is average, adequate, ok, he's serviceable and good enough to start in this league, but if you think he's putting up anything close to 700 yards and 8 touchdowns you are out of your mind.
Ill agree to that. We finally have a running back that can spell Ladamian in T Jones and we have always had a TE in Baker that has the potential to put up numbers like you suggest. This year is the year we see the S.D. like offense that IV been expecting since Schotty Jr. came aboard.
I really really hope you are joking about that bolded part, unless you meant "spell" as in "relieve or take turns". Also, you really haven't been waiting all that long since Schotty Jr. came aboard, it's only been one season. And finally, don't expect a S.D. like offense. Thomas Jones is better than what we had, but he is not LT, and the S.D. offense revolves around LT.
Well when curtis was healthy the entire offense revolved around him. T Jones will be our featured back and Im sure they will Run him much like LT. I dont go as far as saying TJ Is LT. But He is our LT in Shotty's system. My refrence to the TE was the comparisson to S.D. offense. Lots of tight end play. My belief is baker can do it!
That TD catch that was ruled a forceout (the refs brutally buttslammed the jets on that one) against cleveland last year was one of the sickest catches I've ever seen -- if that was a teeter instead of incomplete, it would be canonized in jets lore for eternity. Alas, that wasn't the case, but the dude DOES have hands...
nope...ive seen him make more good plays then bad ones...i dont recall seeing him drop too many either ( if any at all)
No. Baker will have a terrific year this year for several reasons and I completely disagree with Predator's above post. First, Baker has matured and gotten a lot more experience. Also, our O-line was never what it should have been, even last year, because they didn't have the experience yet and Mangold and Ferguson were both rookies. If it wasn't for Kendall being there to anchor the whole thing (and let's face it, Kendall didn't have that great a year either) we wouldn't have gotten even as far as we did. With all that going on and with no running game to boot, getting open was an impossiblity not only for Baker but for our wideouts. Pennington couldn't pull off the play action very well and honestly, it's a miracle that we got as far as we did with all this going on. So Baker's production suffered along with the whole offense. I imagine Schottenheimer's game-planning took all this into consideration too... lack of aggressiveness because we knew we weren't firing on all 8 cylinders. A lot of this has changed this year. In fact, it's a whole new ballgame. Penny's going to finally have the protection he's needed in order to play his game. And he's got beaucoup weapons at his disposal, Baker being only one from which to choose. Thomas Jones working in tandem with Leon Washington for starters... a running/short passing combination that has to keep defenses honest, to say the least. Our WRs are capable of wreaking absolute havoc, from Cotchery coming on and finally maturing, to Coles as the solid go-to guy and McCareins a threat also. Factor in Brad Smith and you've got to watch out for a lot of weapons. And then there's Chris Baker himself, who's quietly having an A+ camp this year and who's going to drive defenses bonkers with all the other distractions going on. Look, even if Predator is right, and Baker is an average TE, I say he's still going to have a dynamite year. Schotty knows it too and I'm sure he's already got plenty of plays involving Baker. I'm really fired up with this offense this year.
