http://blogs.timesunion.com/collegesports/?cat=2 This guy is worthless. He couldnt stay healthy in a sport that does not require tackling. He was constantly banged up and couldn't even get up and down the court. He couldn't even stay in shape during the basketball season, and he's gonna be in football shape? Lastly, he's coming off an acl injury. Maybe it's a case of a local newspaper pumping up a local guy, none the less..... Steer clear JETS.
baker is fine, and if anything underutilized. a much better reciever than given credit for. i think this year the jets will find that out.
I used to think that but it appears like the jets just don't have BIG plans at TE. I definitely think Baker is underutilized and its a shame we don't involve him more in the offense.
Keep an eye out for Joe Kowalewski. He was a UDFA out of Syracuse who spent last year on the practice squad. We also have Jason Pociask who we drafted in the 5th round last year and was on the IR.
He's an UNDRAFTED FREE AGENT. No harm bringing him in to see what he has. He causes us NO HARM. He's not a person to help fill the TE position. He's camp fodder, as are all the UDFA's until they prove otherwise.
Well, I'm surprised no one has stopped to notice. This kid's father played for the Philadelphia Eagles back in the 80's. It's not as if there isn't a bloodline. Like 2004 said, this is not "a pathetic attempt to fill the tight end position." This is a camp guy. Moreover, aside from Greg Olsen(and he's no saving grace) there was no one in this draft who was going to be an upgrade at the position. Say what you will about Baker, but he caught 30 balls last year. We need a dynamic athlete, and none of these guys really brought more to the table athletically than Baker. So essentially, spending a middle round pick on some hack who caught for 400 yards last year would have been a colossal waste of time masqueraded as a "fix." Well guess what? Mangini and company don't care what you think. They knew we had to upgrade our front seven, and we added significant talent while doing so. We knew we needed a true upper echelon corner more than we needed a guy who, in an offense with two possession receivers, would probably only catch about 40 balls. A tight end does us no good with Randy Moss and Donte Stallworth in the division. Tight end is a luxury pick, and we're not a team that currently has that luxury. -X-
if you took 32 starting TE's, i'd say Baker is somewhere in the 17-21 range. while i think he can be upgraded, i also think a lot of his skills go unseen because he doesn't get the ball often; not to mention, we use him to block. cheers
After that catch he made in Cleveland (and that was a catch, we got robbed) I'm very high on Baker. He's pretty clutch when they go to him. That's just it! They need to go to him more often!!!
I like Baker too, nice easy target for a guy with a weak ass arm like Pennington. He's tough to take down too, not like Kyle Brady catch the ball and fall down technique.
Don't forget the impact a guy like Thomas Jones will have on Baker. Defenses will be less inclined to assume he is staying in and blocking, and he will have more options getting down field.
you put it perfectly. how many te's in this league can honestly make that play? i'd say no more than five.
But his "improvement" in the passing game would be contingent upon the Offense decreasing his pass protection responsibilities. Can the Jets afford that now? They certainly couldn't last year. If and when the line becomes more solid on the right side, we'll probably see an increase in Baker's production. Until then, we should cut him some slack. A TE that blocks when called upon to do so and makes the most of his pass catching opportunities when the need arises is all we can ask for from anybody playing the TE position.
