Is Bake on the verge of breaking out?

[Mach2]

I liked this kid from the day we made the pick. There are some who believe he doesn't "fit" Flo's system. There are some who dismiss his abilities, and only point out his percieved flaws.

He was drafted quite young, and that first season, his body hadn't yet even fully developed.

Since that time, he has measurably improved every season, and is the team's leading tackler, while expanding his role in coverage, and as a leader. At this point, he is an integral part of the defense. His range and versatility would be extremely hard to replace.

Who will forget him running down Patrick Mahomes, who for some foolish reason thought Baker wasn't fast enough.

In any case, an interesting article, with some interesting metrics....

Don't sleep on Dolphins LB Jerome Baker's coverage ability

When you most often think about Miami Dolphins linebacker Jerome Baker, you may think about his speed and range in pursuit. Or perhaps the viral video of him searching for his “mama” fr…

dolphinswire.usatoday.com

 

[Virginia99]

I liked this kid from the day we made the pick. There are some who believe he doesn't "fit" Flo's system. There are some who dismiss his abilities, and only point out his percieved flaws.

He was drafted quite young, and that first season, his body hadn't yet even fully developed.

Since that time, he has measurably improved every season, and is the team's leading tackler, while expanding his role in coverage, and as a leader. At this point, he is an integral part of the defense. His range and versatility would be extremely hard to replace.

Who will forget him running down Patrick Mahomes, who for some foolish reason thought Baker wasn't fast enough.

In any case, an interesting article, with some interesting metrics....

Don't sleep on Dolphins LB Jerome Baker's coverage ability

When you most often think about Miami Dolphins linebacker Jerome Baker, you may think about his speed and range in pursuit. Or perhaps the viral video of him searching for his “mama” fr…

dolphinswire.usatoday.com

In total agreement with you. Baker is a baller! Very underappreciated by Fin fans.

 

[dolfan91]

Baker displayed a knack for rushing the passer in 2020. Quite a surprise, in that, Miami hadn't used him in that role before. I think he's very capable of being a force in the pass rush role. He's got above average speed to shoot gaps and out flank the tackle. Love to see more of that in 2021.

Baker could be Miami's breakout player this year. The sack he made on Mahomes was enough to convince me he's got the hops for the role. #ShakeNBake#55.

 

[Feverdream]

The first couple of years, I was as probably anti-Baker as anyone on this board. He produced decent coverage and tackle numbers, but the impact plays just didn't happen very often. He didn't create turnovers, he didn't rush the passer very well, and tackles in run support were generally downfield...

Last year was another story altogether, he looked VERY good, taking several steps forward and becoming a plus player and a guy that I'd like to keep. I wouldn't break the bank for him, because I still see him as a support player, rather than a star, but I'd certainly be willing to overpay a little to keep him.

I still worry that with his low weight and lanky frame that he is more of a big safety than a true linebacker and he'll always be limited to the weakside, coverage linebacker spot, but in the modern game, that position is valuable... and it is why guys like Simmons and Owusu-Koramoah are more valuable in some schemes.

Still... keeping him for 10-12M/year might be less painful than spending next year's number one to replace him.

 

[spiketex]

Why doesn't he fit Flo's system? If he wasn't a decent fit, Bake would have been traded away 2 years ago, like Stinkah Minkah when we were aggressively trying to build Draft capital.
I disagree completely that Jerome Baker doesn't fit in Coach Flo's system. He's a natural athlete and he improved significantly last season.

 

[Mach2]

Baker displayed a knack for rushing the passer in 2020. Quite a surprise, in that, Miami hadn't used him in that role before. I think he's very capable of being a force in the pass rush role. He's got above average speed to shoot gaps and out flank the tackle. Love to see more of that in 2021.

Baker could be Miami's breakout player this year. The sack he made on Mahomes was enough to convince me he's got the hops for the role. #ShakeNBake#55.

I think the reason you didn't see more of that for the past two seasons, is because bringing him on a blitz leaves a gaping hole in the scheme. There is no other LB on the roster with his total skillset.

Maybe AVG can get there, but he isn't close to as fast/quick as Jerome.

 

[Feverdream]

Why doesn't he fit Flo's system? If he wasn't a decent fit, Bake would have been traded away 2 years ago, like Stinkah Minkah when we were aggressively trying to build Draft capital.
I disagree completely that Jerome Baker doesn't fit in Coach Flo's system. He's a natural athlete and he improved significantly last season.

Yeah, that's a poor argument.

It assumes that every linebacker is the same, and there are major differences between an edge-type linebacker, a mike, and a weakside coverage linebacker. Each of the three have different roles and different responsibilities.

Baker's snap percentage was just under 84%. This means that Flores uses a coverage linebacker... a lot, much more than he uses a mike.

 

[eMCee85]

I liked this kid from the day we made the pick. There are some who believe he doesn't "fit" Flo's system. There are some who dismiss his abilities, and only point out his percieved flaws.

He was drafted quite young, and that first season, his body hadn't yet even fully developed.

Since that time, he has measurably improved every season, and is the team's leading tackler, while expanding his role in coverage, and as a leader. At this point, he is an integral part of the defense. His range and versatility would be extremely hard to replace.

Who will forget him running down Patrick Mahomes, who for some foolish reason thought Baker wasn't fast enough.

In any case, an interesting article, with some interesting metrics....

Don't sleep on Dolphins LB Jerome Baker's coverage ability

When you most often think about Miami Dolphins linebacker Jerome Baker, you may think about his speed and range in pursuit. Or perhaps the viral video of him searching for his “mama” fr…

dolphinswire.usatoday.com

I'm on his side. He showed major improvement last year. Looking forward to seeing him ball even harder this year

 

[Mach2]

Yeah, that's a poor argument.

It assumes that every linebacker is the same, and there are major differences between an edge-type linebacker, a mike, and a weakside coverage linebacker. Each of the three have different roles and different responsibilities.

Baker's snap percentage was just under 84%. This means that Flores uses a coverage linebacker... a lot, much more than he uses a mike.

I don't think any of us, with more than a superficial knowledge of defense, believes all the linebacker roles are the same.

My arguement about the "not a scheme fit" nonsense assumes Flo is a one trick pony, that isn't capable of recognizing what a player can be, and evolving to use the specific talents of players to his advantage.

This "Donte Hightower role" or "Patrick Chung role" stuff is a load of crap. Flo is a whole lot smarter than to think he can be sucessful by being static, or inflexible.

 

[Feverdream]

I don't think any of us, with more than a superficial knowledge of defense, believes all the linebacker roles are the same.

My arguement about the "not a scheme fit" nonsense assumes Flo is a one trick pony, that isn't capable of recognizing what a player can be, and evolving to use the specific talents of players to his advantage.

This "Donte Hightower role" or "Patrick Chung role" stuff is a load of crap. Flo is a whole lot smarter than to think he can be sucessful by being static, or inflexible.

I did not intend to imply that your specific argument was poor, only that the general argument of this or that guy doesn't fit into a scheme was a bad argument.

Indeed, I completely agree that a good coach finds a way to use good players.

 

[djphinfan]

Well, I thought Raekwon was gonna be the better player, was way off on that..

This rush ability and getting home so quickly is pretty awesome

 

[Mach2]

I did not intend to imply that your specific argument was poor, only that the general argument of this or that guy doesn't fit into a scheme was a bad argument.

Indeed, I completely agree that a good coach finds a way to use good players.

I know, and I didn't intend to come off as arguementative (I can see how it appeared that way).

I only meant it as an "elaboration".

I have to admit, odd as it may seem, it gets my ire up when I see the "not a scheme fit" rhetoric, as if there is a magic recipe, never to be deviated. The NFL doesn't work like that.

 

[Travis34]

Quickly read the title as Blake..... thinking.. Blake? Blake Ferguson? Man, he's gonna explode and be our John Denney lol


but Baker has a shot imo, with McKinney here, he should be less involved with lining up everyone and calling the D

 

[AdamD13]

I am predicting a Bake-out year.

 

[lbmclean_nocal]

If he was in the NHL he would be Bakesy