http://www.newyorkjets.com/blog/posts/997-keller-s-take-on-bake-blocking-and-his-qbs Keller's Take on Bake, Blocking and His QBs Published: Fri, April 10, 2009 - 9:11am ET By Eric Allen Allen is the senior managing editor of newyorkjets.com. He is in his seventh season with the Jets. File Under: Chris Baker, Kellen Clemens, Brett Ratliff, Rex Ryan, Dustin Keller, Bubba Franks change font email article Real Player Not Found Sorry. You do not have RealPlayer installed or your version is out-of-date. Click here to install the latest RealPlayer so you can enjoy Jets multimedia. 04/10 ? The Jets released Chris Baker in February and the Patriots wasted little time scooping up the veteran tight end. ?I was kind of surprised," Dustin Keller said this week. "It?s always the Jets and the Patriots going at it, but I think it?s going to be a great fit for him. I think he?s going to do well. Every time he played against them, he had a good game. He?s going to be in that stadium [Gillette] every week, so it?s going to be really good for him.? We?ll never know if the Jets would have preferred to keep Baker at a more cap-friendly number, but it was Keller?s emergence as a rookie that made any release possible. Keller became a Brett Favre favorite and finished with 48 receptions while Baker has averaged 21 catches over his seven-year career. The 24-year-old Keller says Baker proved to be a good mentor. ?When you go from a college tight end to an NFL tight end, of course guys are a lot faster. He helped me with my spacing on routes and sometimes my footwork, which I learned from Bubba [Franks] also,? Keller said. ? He played with Kellen [Clemens] and Chad [Pennington], so when I first got here he told me what they normally do.? Baker (6?3?, 258) was a solid run blocker and his contributions could be missed in that department. Keller, a bit smaller at 6?2?, 245, is on a mission to prove he can be more than just an adequate blocker. ?I definitely want to prove people wrong. It?s something I like ? I like people to say I can?t do something,? he said. ?At every single level, I?ve competed, so I?m going to continue to do that.? The Jets have a new head coach in Rex Ryan, but offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer has returned and TE coach Mike Devlin is also back for another season. So Keller won't have to learn a new system and he has already established a relationship with his position coach. ?I became more comfortable with the offense as the year progressed,? Keller said. ?I worked on blocking with Coach Devlin on hand placement and footwork and things should get better from here on out.? Keller, who is always a matchup problem because of his speed, says he?s trying to get up to 250 to ?become more of a full-time guy.? Since Laveranues Coles also left via the free agency route, Keller's first -year catch total ranks second among the Jets' returning pass catchers. He figures to be counted on even more in his sophomore season and has begun getting reps in with the Jets' quarterbacks. ?Kellen and Ratty are both looking really good out there right now," he says. "We throw twice a week and both of them have been putting the ball where it needs to be, so we have a nice little competition.?
Good to see he's not satisfied at just being a receiving threat...if he adds weight without affecting his athleticism that'd be great
It's adequate. I don't want to see Keller pile on twenty pounds in an off-season. If he sacrifices his agility and athleticism to slightly improve his blocking ability, that would be wrong. I'd rather have an excellent receiving tight end with poor blocking skills than a decent receiving tight end with average blocking skills. As I hope we've learned from Eric Mangini, it's the coach's job to use his weapons; not the weapon's job to fit his coach. You got a bat, you don't whittle it down into a knife; you go fuck up some shit with yo bat!
Yeah. The thread title made it sound like a lot more. WTF? I'm going to miss Baker. I thought he was underutilized on this team.
If he can improve his blocking ability fine, as long as it doesn't compromise his play-making skills. I'd rather see him improve on a great 600 yard rookie season. He needs to be that threat down the middle, a first down guy.
For Keller to be effective in the passing game the Jets need to be able to run the ball with him lined up on the line as a TE, just as the Colt do with Dallas Clark
Keller is going to be a monster this year? Even if he loses five or ten pounds, he's still stronger than most NFL tight ends. He just needs more experience blocking.
5 pounds of muscle makes a bit more of a difference :wink: Seriously though, I hope he puts on 5-10 lbs without sacrificing some speed. He's proven the ability to make the catches. The ability to knock a blitzing defender out of the way will take his game to the next level hmy: I'll admit, I was not happy when I saw them make the pick at the time (compounded by the fact that I didn't want Gholston either) but it looks like I was wrong.
