3rd Round Jerome Baker | Page 10 | FinHeaven - Miami Dolphins Forums

3rd Round Jerome Baker

I think the hope with this player is that he is going to be playing next to Raekwon McMillan, and he and McMillan worked very well together at Ohio State.

This is a case where again, I really hope McMillan comes back healthy and stays that way, because we badly need his brain out there.
 
I don't like making up my mind about what a player's going to do in the NFL before they even play a down. I'm just hoping for the best at this point. I see the logic as the team really needed some speed and cover skills. The fact they talked to RM about him helps too. We'll see how things work out but no reason to be down on the guy already like some people here are
 
Danny said:
I don't like making up my mind about what a player's going to do in the NFL before they even play a down. I'm just hoping for the best at this point. I see the logic as the team really needed some speed and cover skills. The fact they talked to RM about him helps too. We'll see how things work out but no reason to be down on the guy already like some people here are
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I can't speak for anyone else but I'm certainly not down on the guy. But I also won't throw roses all over the place and pretend I don't see what looks like weeds in the bunch as well.
 
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JakeMcAwful said:
I was watching some 2016 games of Baker, and all I could focus on was Raekwon making play after play. He might make a huge difference for us on defence..
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Yes Sir! Raekwon looks and plays like a traditional LB and not this new school hybrid stuff. He hits the gaps and smacks you right in the mouth.

I really miss those types of LBs.

Baker, on the other hand, looks like today's...i-don't-know what exactly he is type of players. I guess he's a SS-LBish hybrid...thinga..
 
interesting...

does he not run around enough in his own tapes that he has to fly around in everybody else's

he should be flying around in conley's tape... bosa's... hooker's and lat's too?
.... with all that he would have been the first pick in the draft

chasing te's... wr's and running backs around and down the field
how many yards does baker cover in a game compared to...

raekwon?

no... I don't want the player who may have to run 50 yards on the next
play to be flying around on every single play like he's superman

however... I will say this... the last few years

I didn't hear the name of another buckeye more than his... not that I watch every game
 
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ANUFan said:
Thank you! Some are trying to make it seem like I'm pulling the assessment out of my butt. The guy dogged it at times. If he was a DB then I kinda let those guys take a pass. Especially if the player being tackled is bigger-bodied like a RB, TE, QB etc.

But a starting LB needs to show more hustle and willingness to help bring someone down.

I think it was the Georgia game where he was beaten for a TD on a wheel-route type play. If it was someone else then hey it happens! But for him it was straight up lack of hustle and coasting.
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First thing i noticed on his tape - it's one of my pet peeves when watching tape, so i have the same concerns. Too many guys skate by on athletic ability at lower levels but can't in the pros and never reach their potential. Many.....not all. Hopefully Baker is the exception and not the rule.

I've watched more tape since he was picked and I'm still torn on him as a prospect. One play you see a guy who looks like a laser - he slips a block, flies across the screen and makes a physical tackle. The next play, he bounces in place, gets completely swallowed by an olineman and shows more effort shoving the lineman off him after the play than he did while trying to disengage.....or he jogs backside like his has no care in the world. Next play his sticks to a receiver in man coverage, followed by him getting lost in zone watching the backfield. I do question his instincts. He seems more like a "see ball, get ball" player who only makes plays when he's clean and sees it all in front of him, or when attacking and beating any potential blocker to the spot. When he waits, he's so caught up watching that linemen easily engage him....and once they do, he's usually done.

That said, etlite tools and athleticism are there in bunches (like Ballage, another enigma). It was a huge need and the physical talent remaining on the board was about to plummet once him and Jefferson went, so the pick makes complete sense and does come with reasonable value. I just happened to think there was just as much, if not more value with a few other guys at that spot, especially if McDonald is in fact kicking down to play more coverage LB in nickel. If we hadn't sucked so bad with LB evaluations/trades/signings for so long, we would have had that flexibility.
 
PSU Cane said:
First thing i noticed on his tape - it's one of my pet peeves when watching tape, so i have the same concerns. Too many guys skate by on athletic ability at lower levels but can't in the pros and never reach their potential. Many.....not all. Hopefully Baker is the exception and not the rule.

I've watched more tape since he was picked and I'm still torn on him as a prospect. One play you see a guy who looks like a laser - he slips a block, flies across the screen and makes a physical tackle. The next play, he bounces in place, gets completely swallowed by an olineman and shows more effort shoving the lineman off him after the play than he did while trying to disengage.....or he jogs backside like his has no care in the world. Next play his sticks to a receiver in man coverage, followed by him getting lost in zone watching the backfield. I do question his instincts. He seems more like a "see ball, get ball" player who only makes plays when he's clean and sees it all in front of him, or when attacking and beating any potential blocker to the spot. When he waits, he's so caught up watching that linemen easily engage him....and once they do, he's usually done.

That said, etlite tools and athleticism are there in bunches (like Ballage, another enigma). It was a huge need and the physical talent remaining on the board was about to plummet once him and Jefferson went, so the pick makes complete sense and does come with reasonable value. I just happened to think there was just as much, if not more value with a few other guys at that spot, especially if McDonald is in fact kicking down to play more coverage LB in nickel. If we hadn't sucked so bad with LB evaluations/trades/signings for so long, we would have had that flexibility.
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Beautifully written and well said. If you don't seem to have that 110 MPH on every play while you're in college hoping for the opportunity to get drafted. What's going to light a match under your butt to do it once you've gotten drafted and got the $$$$?

Players like that scare me because it's a mentality to want to be a dog all the time! Especially for an LB.

Like you pointed out and others when he actually plays like he wants to make a difference his talent is very obvious...Literally a flash of lightning.

It also makes you realize the guy could have been rated and drafted much higher 2nd maybe even 1st round if he played like the flash more often than the slug. If that's the case it tells you a lot.

He's definitely someone I'm going to keep an eye on.
 
ANUFan said:
We'll see! The guy's talents is undeniable and when he turns it on and puts forth full effort it jumps at you.
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Yes, hopefully he’s playing motivated and inspired football every snap, and as others have said, I also think it will be really beneficial being teamed up with Raekwon again.

I wasn’t necessarily disagreeing with what you said, but only pointing out that his overall production and body of work is rather good.

I’m optimistic with his future.
 
Needs to play with more consistent effort. I bet he will in the pros.

Sub package and specials run out the gate.
 
Seems very confident, borderline ****y, so hopefully he'll view falling to the third as a slight on his effort and really come with something to prove.
 
PSU Cane said:
First thing i noticed on his tape - it's one of my pet peeves when watching tape, so i have the same concerns. Too many guys skate by on athletic ability at lower levels but can't in the pros and never reach their potential. Many.....not all. Hopefully Baker is the exception and not the rule.

I've watched more tape since he was picked and I'm still torn on him as a prospect. One play you see a guy who looks like a laser - he slips a block, flies across the screen and makes a physical tackle. The next play, he bounces in place, gets completely swallowed by an olineman and shows more effort shoving the lineman off him after the play than he did while trying to disengage.....or he jogs backside like his has no care in the world. Next play his sticks to a receiver in man coverage, followed by him getting lost in zone watching the backfield. I do question his instincts. He seems more like a "see ball, get ball" player who only makes plays when he's clean and sees it all in front of him, or when attacking and beating any potential blocker to the spot. When he waits, he's so caught up watching that linemen easily engage him....and once they do, he's usually done.

That said, etlite tools and athleticism are there in bunches (like Ballage, another enigma). It was a huge need and the physical talent remaining on the board was about to plummet once him and Jefferson went, so the pick makes complete sense and does come with reasonable value. I just happened to think there was just as much, if not more value with a few other guys at that spot, especially if McDonald is in fact kicking down to play more coverage LB in nickel. If we hadn't sucked so bad with LB evaluations/trades/signings for so long, we would have had that flexibility.
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Inconsistency is a hallmark whenever I'm watching tape of underclassmen. It's just what I expect to see. It's usually ironed out a bit as a senior, if it's going to get ironed out at all. He came out early and so we don't get to see that.

But there are some things to keep in mind. He grew as a player in some ways from 2016 to 2017, but 2016 was a year where he had more favorable circumstances, and thus he was more able to allow his talents to shine, and not put in too many circumstances where his weaknesses showed.

By 2017 the Ohio State Buckeyes were operating a little bit different style of defense, with Greg Schiano no longer having to co-coordinate with Luke Fickell. They also lost Malik Hooker, Marshon Lattimore, and Gareon Conley from the back end, as well as his partner in crime Raekwon McMillan from the linebackers unit.

Trust me, that had an effect. There were times when a safety was supposed to be there and simply was not. There were other instances where some switch releases or pick routes could have gone better if the corner and linebacker had more chemistry and experience together.

There was a big touchdown by Ian Thomas of Indiana like that. Watch the secondary communication before the snap, watch what Jerome Baker tries to communicate to the boundary-side safety prior to the play, and the communication in the secondary on the field side. There's a reason Jerome Baker over-played the out on that out-and-up. He had far too much field to cover by himself. That he got there, and created a situation where Ian Thomas had to make a very impressive toe-dragging catch to score...is a credit to Jerome's athleticism. But that safety should've been there and he wasn't.

There were other plays where Jerome was late in relating to the receiver, peeking in the backfield, and tried to make up for it with his closing speed, didn't quite get there. This is all learning stuff, though.
 
We are going to get some interesting matchups at practice with Mike Gesicki vs Jerome Baker. In case some are not aware, Baker has a track record of have the speed to really take on TE's while Gesicki has size and speed for natural matchup nightmares.
This reminds me a little of the terrific matchups at practice every day between Jarvis Landry vs Bobby McCain in recent years. It might come as a surprise to some FH readers that Bobby competed very hard and wasn't shy in the trash talking on the days when he totally dominated. Bobby and Jarvis have both said that competing against each other every day at practice helped to make both better and Gase encouraged it.
 
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