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Sam Baker

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jim1

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Talk about a glowing review:

If this guy is on target then a CLong/Sam Baker combo sounds pretty good to me. I'm still intrigued by Cherilius/Collins/Nicks/Benedict. And, of course, Jake Long :-)


Strengths​
Baker is huge and uses his plus size as leverage over smaller defenders. Baker is also scarily fast for a man his size. Probably the quickest tackle(for his size) I have ever seen. He has the speed of a tight end with the size of a tackle. A very savvy and tenacious lineman, who Pete Carroll LOVED. He has the most experience of any tackle in the draft this season at a high level(yes even higher than Jake Long), and was an All American 3 times! He does not just block sometimes, but he punishes the opposing defensive line. I have only seen him have one game in my 4 years of watching him play(UCLA 2006), but frankly nearly every other Trojan played poorly that day. He is, in my opinion, the most polished and ready to start player in the draft.​
Weaknesses​
Find me a weakness in his game, and you are a better football fan/draftnik than me. He really doesn't have one glaring hole. He does however, have some nagging injuries. In fact, he did miss 3 games last season due to hamstring straing, and he did have knee surgery in spring 2007. Injuries are a concern, but Baker did come back at the end of last season to make huge contributions to the Rose Bowl Champion Trojans.​
Projection​
Baker won't be taken that high, and it truly is a shame. He is the best tackle prospect in this draft for me, and should be #2 for almost anyone else. However, injuries, and the fact that he's a tackle(not exactly the sexy pick most struggling franchises are looking for), will drop him considerably. If he lasts until the end of the first, consider him THE steal of the draft. I see a bright career ahead of him, and possibly a starting job and rookie of the year consideration next season.​



http://condraft.com/database/pacific-10/usc/sam-baker/index.html

http://condraft.com/mocks/round-1.html

http://condraft.com/mocks/round-2.html
 
Baker's story reminds me of Eric Winston's. Considered a top 10 pick as a junior and then plummets. Winston had a serious injury that dropped him to the 2nd round and Baker's durability concern likewise drops him into the second.

I doubt Parcells looks at Baker. Durability and discipline are two big mantras for BP. My guess is he looks at Baker's injury problems and passes.

FYI Jake Long is durable and rarely makes a penalty. Take that for what its worth. Even though he is not a value play at No. 1, you are kidding yourself if you do not recognize that he is the archetype Parcells OT.
 
Stud

I remember seeing this kid when he was a freshman in high school and when he played varsity. He is a stud and comes from a good family. His father is the commissioner of the arena football league. There family used to shop at the grocery store I worked at when I was in college. His dad would always talk to me about arena football and football in general. They went to Tustin High school which is the same school Deshaun Foster went to. I would love to have his services because he was a beast in college.
 
I don't understand why he dropped so much in one season without really doing anything wrong. Oh well, it could potentially be better for us right?
 
Baker definitely has to be an option with that 32 pick . . . if we pass on Jake Long . . . hell, he still may be an option if we take Jake Long . . . though there are several guys I like at that 32 pick . . (Sweed, Baker, Cason, Flacco . . just to name a few)
 
I've always liked Baker and I must admit I'm a bit surprised by his draft board slide. But, from what I gather it is because people think he's simply not athletic enough. His blocking skills are solid, but many experts now question A) whether he is athletic enough to handle speed rushers as a LT with most deciding he isn't a LT, and B) whether he is even a good fit for RT in all schemes with a move to G or being a best fit for a zone-blocking scheme.

Personally, I don't get it. What I've seen of Baker on the playing field suggests he definitely has the skills and athletic talent to play T, and I'd think he could handle the LT position or at least a shot at it. Sometimes people get so caught up in these numbers without wearing pads that they overlook the simple fact that those times change dramatically with the pads on. For instance, nobody runs a sub 4.4 forty on the field, even the blazers are slowed considerably by the constrictiveness of pads and the weight of a helmet. The bigger players seem to have less of a dropoff than the speed guys. Baker may not time quite as quick in shorts and a T shirt, but he'll never play the game that way either. On the field what I've seen of him suggests he's explosive enough, quick enough, and athletic enough to have a decent shot at the LT position. If that doesn't work he should become a pro-bowl caliber RT for many years to come.

To me the biggest issues with him are health-related. Many OL guys have a lot of injuries, and he looks like he'll be one of those. For that reason I don't even know if he's going to be on Parcells' draft board at all. But me, I really like the kid and would be happy to snag him in the 2nd round. It would make me as happy as I was when we drafted Richmond Webb in the 1st and picked up Simms in the 2nd round many years ago. Simms was a monster guard for a long time for us whom we've really never replaced. I'm hoping it's time to re-invest in our linemen and rebuild this team the right way, starting in the trenches.
 
popularwar said:
I don't understand why he dropped so much in one season without really doing anything wrong. Oh well, it could potentially be better for us right?
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He dropped because Long & Clady are that far ahead. It is also a case of when a player comes back for his senior year, scouts get another yr of film to pick-a-part. Baker is also the smallest of the top tackles available and more of a finesse player with an injury history, not a good combo. But will probably end up like a Barry Sims type player which would not be a bad thing in the second round.
 
TraderJoe said:
He dropped because Long & Clady are that far ahead. It is also a case of when a player comes back for his senior year, scouts get another yr of film to pick-a-part. Baker is also the smallest of the top tackles available and more of a finesse player with an injury history, not a good combo. But will probably end up like a Barry Sims type player which would not be a bad thing in the second round.
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Baker is what, 6-5 305 lbs? That's plenty big for LT. I'm still intrigued by the notion of having JLong and a guy like Baker as our tackles with Carey being moved to Guard. With a formula like that our OL problem is most likely solved. Other options are Carl Nicks, Anthony Collins, Gosder Cherilius, and Heath Benedict.

The spanner in the works is Vernon Carey- where should he play? I'm going to start a thread about this. I doubt that we keep him at LT, which leaves RT and Guard. The million dollar question is twofold: to which position is Carey better suited, and given the plethora of Tackles available in the draft should we grab 2 of them in the 1st 3-4 rounds, move Carey to Guard, and have it done with for the next decade? I say a resounding YES. This is the best OT class in a quarter decade- grab a combination of JLong, Cherilius, Nicks, Benedict, Collins, Baker, move the pieces around and just start mauling people.
 
If Matt Ryan goes No1 then I definitely would take Sam Baker at 32. Don't forget Pete Carrol has history with Bill Parcels.

Why is Ryan Clady rated higher? I have no idea, Clady is bigger and maybe scout believe hes got a higher ceiling then Baker.

Clady scares me, the knock on him is his lower body strength.
 
If we can snag Baker at #32 I will be psyched.

I'll be happy with a Chris Long/Sam Baker one-two punch!
 
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