Jets' Baker is no troublemaker By ANDREW GROSS THE JOURNAL NEWS HEMPSTEAD - That Jets tight end Chris Baker craves more opportunities to catch the ball each week is no secret. But his desire comes with no Chad Johnson-like tantrums on the horizon, no Keyshawn Johnson-like demands being made. "I promise you won't see that,'' Baker said. "Showing up your quarterback, yelling at guys on the sidelines - that's only going to cause a distraction. Obviously, with your position coach, you can say, 'Hey, look at this.' Sometimes you can get into stuff like that.'' The fifth-year pro has 15 catches this season - three short of his career high - and a spectacular, one-handed effort that probably should have counted as the tying touchdown in the Jets' 20-13 loss at Cleveland prior to their bye week. The Jets (4-4) resumed practicing yesterday after a four-day respite, and making Baker a bigger part of the offense likely is in the plans for the second half of the season. Already, he's shed the good-block, no-catch perception that's clung to him through his first four seasons, and he's being used more in passing routes. "We've always known about Chris' ability to catch the football,'' offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer said. "The more we face teams that want to play us (with) two-shell coverage, the more he'll get involved. Baker has done a good job. We can hit him with a ball and probably need to do so.'' Last week, quarterback Chad Pennington acknowledged he wants to "reward" Baker with more passes. There have been four games this season in which Baker had just one reception, and he did not catch a pass in the 41-0 loss at Jacksonville. "He's a selfless guy,'' Jets coach Eric Mangini said. "Not a lot of tight ends can do the things he consistently does without ever mentioning the fact that he'd like more balls.'' The 6-foot-3 Queens native impressed the new coaching staff from the start with his work ethic after re-signing with the Jets March 24. Listed at 258 pounds, Baker played in the 260s last season, but through a new conditioning program and diet, is now closer to 250. He said he hasn't been timed in a 40-yard dash since the NFL scouting combine, but knows he's quicker without sacrificing his bread-and-butter blocking skills. Baker knows the perception of him around the league prior to this season was "can't catch that good, can't run that fast, can't get open - basically, more of a blocker.'' That's different now, as he showed with his athleticism on the non-touchdown catch. Along the right edge of the end zone, Baker leapt and hauled in Pennington's pass with his right arm, fully extended and with both feet off the ground. As Baker brought the ball into his body but before he could get his feet down, Browns safety Brodney Pool collided with him, causing Baker to land out of bounds. "People say, 'You look faster,' '' Baker said. "Even at the end of last game, Chad had the confidence in me to throw that ball even though it was fourth-and-four. That's a big change. I wouldn't have even been an option before. I'd have been picking up that blitz.'' Baker could have started anew this season after being an unrestricted free agent in the offseason. He drew interest from Miami, Seattle and Oakland and seriously considered the Dolphins and, to some extent, the Seahawks, acknowledging his return to the Jets was "50-50'' at one point. But Baker said he was intrigued by Mangini and Schottenheimer's plans for the offense and felt a loyalty to new assistant wide-receivers/tight-ends coach Richie Anderson, his former teammate. Plus, it would have been tough leaving the Jets since he grew up rooting for them. "(Anderson) promised me he'd help me at my game,'' Baker said. "I just didn't want to leave out of here not having accomplished some of the things I thought I should have.''
I'd like to see Baker catch the ball in space a little bit more. He's pretty good after the catch and I think that if we gave him some of the routes that Jerald Sowell used to run that he could be a weapon.
This is good news. Baker really is the man. I know he can catch the ball, and he can do the blocking when it's needed. I saw that video today of the "Jets Draft Blunders" and how they drafted 3 TE's in 3 Consecutive Drafts [and that did not go so well]. Let's show that we have a Tight End that can be used as a weapon instead of just always blocking.
The CS is not going to announce how they're going to utilize offensive players through the media. I don't really see anything in the quotes of that article that make me think otherwise, either.
i like the idea of spreading the ball around more...i'd like to see brad smith, dwight, and even j-mac get some more touches...hell i'd even like to see askew, blaylock, and washington see some passes...i'm a big believer in getting the running backs involved in the passing game
I never had a real problem with the offense, it's the defense that is not stopping the run is what's bothering me.
Chris Baker has shown so many flashes of brilliance in the passing game. If we can give him more opportunities I think we will have a great player here. He has potential.
Ah, it says that, but later on it says that he gave serious consideration to playing for Miami when he had other options, so I'd have to question it! :grin:
well loyalty to the team you cheered for is allowed to be in question when you work for them and theyre possibly giving you the axe. plus im sure this was in the offseason when he thought Miami might actually be going somewhere this year.
It would be very shotrenhiemer like to use the TE in the game. I cant remeber beyond johnny mitchell when the last time we had an explosive TE .Baker looked like that kind of player when H edwards started using him more but that useage and production fell off! This year we have used the TE's to pick up a few first downs but thats it!
or how about i just read a newspaper article about BEN GRAHAM and the possibility of him being involved in the offense? maybe a TE? ben said something like "i know i can contribute elsewhere"...haha gotta love the guy
wasnt during my time but ive seen and heard enough about him to know he was a great player and we'd be lucky to have someone like him right now. his son is a fresh at penn state. i think hes around the same size. taller and lighter than his fathers pro size, but of course he'll only put on weight in the next few yrs.
I didn't realize his son was at his alma mater, I'll have to check him out. Shuler had some of the softest hands ever and during the mid 80s he was routinely catching over 70 balls a year. Great receiver and pretty good blocker... ---EDIT--- I just pulled the numbers, I may have exaggerated a bit but still some pretty impressive years. Year TM | G | Rec Yards Y/R TD | +----------+-----+-------------------------+ | 1978 nyj | 16 | 11 67 6.1 3 | | 1979 nyj | 16 | 16 225 14.1 3 | | 1980 nyj | 16 | 22 226 10.3 2 | | 1981 nyj | 6 | 0 0 0.0 0 | | 1982 nyj | 9 | 8 132 16.5 3 | | 1983 nyj | 16 | 26 272 10.5 1 | | 1984 nyj | 16 | 68 782 11.5 6 | | 1985 nyj | 16 | 76 879 11.6 7 | | 1986 nyj | 16 | 69 675 9.8 4 | | 1987 nyj | 11 | 43 434 10.1 3 | | 1988 nyj | 15 | 70 805 11.5 5 | | 1989 nyj | 7 | 29 322 11.1 0 | | 1990 phi | 16 | 18 190 10.6 0 | | 1991 phi | 4 | 6 91 15.2 0 | +----------+-----+-------------------------+ | TOTAL | 180 | 462 5100 11.0 37 |
