The unwavering ass-kissing of this FO and CS by so many fans, at the expense of bailing on the players, is nauseating.
Who is bailing on the player? I've never changed my stance on Baker. I like his ability to catch as a TE. His blocking is average, at best. I've always said this, I always will, unless he somehow changes his ability. Where do you draw the line? Should we give Leon more money right now? I mean, he played above his contract last year I think. Maybe Stuckey deserves a few more bucks? He probably would have had a great year if he actually played. Kenyon Coleman played better than anyone expected. He deserves a renegotiation too! Come on. This is ridiculous. These guys get their contract, then decide they don't like it, and suddenly it's "Oh poor me. I deserve more or I'm staying home." Try that garbage at your job and see what kind of raise you get.
This post is dead-on. When teams win, then they reward their players. When teams lose, they shake up the roster in bring in new talent. That's what the Jets have done. Chris should stop whining and get out there and prove he's a reason the Jets win, and not lose.
41 catches, 409 yards, 3 TDs...... and THAT's his career best? Baker... you're average at BEST!!!!! you owe the jets money for the first four years your lame ass was here.
I love how people compare NFL contracts to real life contracts when in reality they arent worth the paper they are written on. If Baker were underperforming his ass would be cut and he wouldn't receive another penny from the 'contract' that he signed. Would anyone be chastising ownership for not 'honoring' the contract that they signed? It is silly that people side with management and call the players spoiled. Hello - do you think Woody Johnson is spoiled? As much of a fan of the team as I am and realize that Bakers call for a trade hurts us - I have to realize this is a business first and it is wrong of me to hold a personal grudge against someone for trying to get paid more. The simple fact is Baker has been a solid performer for us. Every year he handles what is thrown at him and appears qualified to take on more. I support him seeking a raise as a person and as a fan I hope he is given a bigger role as he could be a consistant threat in the passing game.
Coles is one of the Jets top 3 players and all he got was his money guaranteed. The money that he agreed to when he originally signed his contract, which happens to be pretty damn good. Rhodes is one of the Jets blooming young stars who is getting grossly underpaid, he had that corrected because it was deserved. Baker is an average player making average money. I find it very hard to side with him on this.
I didn't make the argument that he should get his money - I made a plea that people see his request for what it is and not a personal slight against the Jets or their fan base. People seem to have a warped view of how contracts work in the NFL and want to paint a player as spoiled or immoral for not honoring a contract that is for all intensive purposes not worth the paper it is written on.
He doesn't owe the Jets anything, but he hasn't had enough production to demand a trade/more money...
Oh believe me I understand that. I don't blame the players for doing what they have to in order to get paid. I just don't want them on the Jets. Ala John Abraham - cya!
Okay, let's try this from another angle. Who said anything about him being spoiled? And who said anything about a grudge? If he comes back into camp, ready to work out with the rest of the team, no harm, no foul. If he wants to bitch like a girl, then he can go screw himself, and he'll get that nothing that his contract is worth when he's released. Then he'll be free to go wherever he wants. The real simple fact is that he has not been a solid performer. He's been consistently overrated by this entire board. He does not help the running game because he is an average blocker at his best. He's nothing more than a speed bump for better defenders. Can he catch the ball? Sure. Is he an elite pass-catcher? Nope. Everyone can sit here and speculate all they like about how he could play if he got thrown the ball more. People also speculated that Lamont Jordan was going to be an All-Pro in Oakland after we didn't give him a fair chance. Oops! I'd have no problem with him requesting a raise, if he continued to do his job, regardless of the outcome. Instead, he huffed and puffed, then left camp. He can piss off now. Either he comes back ready to work, and willing to talk, or he can sit at home and get nothing. Either way, the Jets will move on.
So basically he is asking for a release because no one wants him on the open market, I think he is alright, but not even a top 15-20 TE in this leauge. I don't know what I would do
He is skipping voluntary workouts. Screw him because he won't participate in voluntary over a contract dispute? If he wants to bitch like a girl? no grudge? If he gets released he will be more than happy - he'll be free to sign a deal at market value which will surely be a raise if you include any signing bonus the jets gave him which is the only guaranteed part of the jets agreement with him. I don't think it is fair to say that his blocking is not helping the running game. I have heard some fairly respected posters on this board that pay more attention to the running game than you or I do say that he is better than average. If he is just a speed bump as you imply then shame on our FO for not even attempting to upgrade the position. Hey hindsight is 20/20 on Jordan. As far as Baker goes though - he catches everything we throw his way. He gets open when he is allowed to run a pattern rather than help out blocking. He is a threat in the red zone. I think the only that holds him back from being an elite pass catcher is an oline that can pass block(seems like we should have that now) and a QB who can stretch the field thus opening up the middle(I believe Kellen will win in camp and do that). We have him under contract at a bargain price. If we are willing to pay Franks what we are then Baker should definitely be in consideration for a pay raise. He excercised the only leverage he has. It was a business move. This is different from the Pete Kendall experience in the respect that Baker is not an aging vet on the downside of a career - he is a guy in his prime ready to contribute for 3-4 seasons. Of course this is contingent on how much he's asking for but if he isn't looking for world beating money then we are not seeing the forest for the trees as far as holding a hardline on refusing to renegotiate. Sure the Jets will move on regardless - but will we walk away winners? That is all that really matters to me.
Here are the guys I would take in front of Baker 1-Gates 2-Gonzo 3-Winslow 4-Shockey 5-Heap 6-Cooley 7-Watson 8-Witten 9-Heath Miller 10-Dallas Clark 11-Vernon Davis(on upside) a case could be made for a handful of others but I dont think it is unreasonable to rate Baker as top 15 in the league. How does a guy in the top 15 make less than backups? The case I am really trying to make here is that Baker isn't exactly out of his mind thinking he is worth more than what we are paying him.
He wants a new contract, he can cry about it. We have him for 2 more years, if he doesnt want to play, he doesnt have to, we have a capable backup. When he starts missing game checks he will come back.
capable backup? do we really need to create another hole on this team? If TE's were a dime a dozen don't you think we'd have a new one by now? Bubba Franks has had one season with more than 400 yds in his career. He has caught 4 TD passes in the last three seasons(he didnt play in 8 games last year and 6 in '05) and 68 rec over that span in a pass happy offense with a prolific QB. And last I checked his blocking is no better than Bakers.
As I always say...sign a one-year contract if you want to be paid market value on previous production each year. Besides, the real people to blame in all the holdouts and griping is THE AGENTS. They should have known the impact of the new CBA. More easily, they just had to read the cap projections when it was signed. This shouldn't be a surprise to anyone that 2008 back-ups are getting "2005 starter money." Unfortunately, the players are too stupid to realize this because the agent tells them, "Well, I got your contract upgraded last year, it's the owners/FO fault...let's hold out." Thankfully I root for the Jets because, unfortunately, it is getting harder and harder to root for the players.
Franks is proven (although he might be well past his prime ) ....go out somewhere and ask a non NYJ fan or non New Yorker if they ever heard of Chris Baker ...I bet you 9 times outta 10 they say who the Fuk is that?!? Baker needs to cut out the BitchAssNess and play ball! If you think you should be making more money, then go out there and prove it this year. Rework your contract next year. Talk to the coaching staff and get more plays designed for you, start demanding the ball! From what i can see Baker loves talking to the media -- Remember last year when he all of sudden showed up on the injury report after making comments to the media from the week before. Mangini doesnt stand for that shit! Outting the Jets in the media isnt going to help his cause!
