I guess it depends on the alternatives. He made a nice catch and run Sunday---but, hopefully without causing an eruption of vitriol, I think TE is an area that the Jets can improve upon. Given his totality of play thus far in his career, I wouldn't see it as a major loss.
Okay stop it, this guy is a a decent guy who does everything good but nothing great minimal speed. I like the guy, and I dont hate him at all. I just believe without all the shenanigans sure he would have got extended.. Well im going to just leave it alone, I like the guy.. Lets hope he doesnt make the pro bowl though or hell want another contract..
The deal is a very good one for the Jets. In essence they've turned this year into a contract year for Baker. So they know they will see his best game. At the end of the season they can just cut him with no cost if they don't like what they see. If Baker plays out of his mind and gets 70 receptions, the FO can lock him down for several years. He got paid peanuts this season so the guaranteed $$ isn't that big a deal when viewed over the life of the contract. Also it gives the team a year to evaluate Keller and see if he's ready to be the #1 TE. Basically if Dustin learns how to block, he's the starter and Baker is cut with no salary cap cost. The Jets are in total control of this situation.
This is exactly what i believe the situation is. If Keller is great this year and looks ready to take over full time, Baker is shown the door, and he gets this year to showcase himself to 31 other teams. If keller isnt ready, and Baker lights it up, he stays in NY, the only difficult situation here is if Keller shows he's not ready, and Baker has a down year. Can't really justify one choice over the other, keeping Baker or tossing him by the way-side.
Agreed. I am a big fan of Baker. The man can block, but most importantly he has great hands for a TE. When is out there playing, he does his job.
I disagree completely. Baker is a truly complete TE who fell victim to a bad roster. I don't think he had a right to raise the stink that he did, but I would hate to see him cut and then go to the Pats. He's a great outlet that could see a lot of attention when things get difficult. He's not a speedster, but how many true stalwart offenses have those? They have a guy who can make clutch blocks and tough catches when they are needed. Baker is our answer to the Heath Miller/Doug Jolley mistake. (I had originally likened him to Coates, but I think it's a bad comparison) I'd rather have Baker and Keller than any other combo of TEs we've had on our roster in the past decade.
This regime is so attentive to detail and that's what I like about them Tannenaum is a smart f*ckin' guy probably outright confused Baker's agent into controlling the 'extension'.
1,333,333 is significantly less than 3,800,000, in fact it's pretty much exactly a third of the amount. And that's assuming Baker ever sees that money.
Baker is a stud. If he only had the speed of a Dustin Keller, he would be a huge playmaker with those hands, routes, and blocking skills he already has. I honestly think I would rather have Baker on this roster at the end of this year then Dustin Keller. My mind could change if D.Keller flat out becomes a overall monster at TE, I doubt it though.
Keller is going to be lined up all over the place. I saw him at TE, in the slot, and coming out of the backfield last week. He did not record a catch, but would have had one for a first down if not for a holding penalty. I agree with keeping both because I feel both can make big contributions to our offense.
Lets not go crazy here, Baker is a nice player and a good all around TE, one of those guys that does everything good but nothing great, although he does have great hands. This has nothing to do with Keller, it is pretty clear that the Jets are going to run a lot of two TE sets this year and as someone mentioned earlier this might be the best TE pairing the Jets have ever had. Which is pretty amazing considering the overall shittyness if the TE position since Mickey Shuler
As most have said here, Baker is good but not great. Tannenbaum is a smart guy. He knows Baker is not worth 4M per year. So what he did was put together a sham deal that shuts up Baker for this season. That's all Tannenbaum really needed to do - get one more good year out of him. Then Baker will be cut loose in the off season. Harsh but good business.
I don't think Bubba Franks is going to be around in 2009. And with this new contract Baker probably won't be as well. So I wish we would have kept Pociask. He could block well and showed improved receiving ability this preseason. I think Pociask could have been a nice #2 for 2009.
It's just a deal to keep him happy for this year while they evaluate him against the other options. If he plays in 50% of the offensive plays (I'm assuming that's the definition of plays) then the Jets have the option of guaranteeing his money or letting him go UFA. If he doesn't play in 50% of the offensive plays then the Jets have the option of keeping him around with no guaranteed money or letting him go UFA. Baker really has no say in how this all turns out. I think it's better than 50/50 that Baker is on the street next March. Assuming that doesn't happen then it's very likely he's a late camp cut next year. All of these scenarios are better for him than staying on the Jets under the terms of his old contract. He'll get picked up somewhere else virtually instantaneously upon getting cut by the Jets.
does this mean that keller will never be a starting TE on this team, and we will use our 1ST round pick on a utility go to guy?
C'mon SJ, let's do this math again... Baker's extension (per Rotoworld): $12.2 million/3 years= $4.07 million/year Cotch's: $19 million/5 years= $3.8 million/year I believe Cotch will be a perennial 1000+ yard receiver. Like I said, either he is getting jacked, or Baker jacked the FO.
