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Apparently his hip injury was the result of a fractured back.
I had read today that the vast, vast majority of Baker’s interceptions were directed towards Landry and Beckham (not exactly a huge surprise, as they were his top targets). Their hip injuries would have a huge impact on their ability to make cuts while running routes, as well as getting position on defenders and hitting that extra gear on deep routes.
In addition to a change in play-calling, this gives me a lot of optimistism regarding a rebound from Mayfield.
My hope in Baker comes from replacing a coach he really liked with a coach he hates and respects. I think he was coddled and indulged a bit too much instead of pushed. Landry was anything but a hindrance this season. He was nothing short of amazing.
I think scapegoating the receivers is missing just how badly Baker regressed.
2nd year guys tend to regress. He’s had 3 HC, 3 OCs and 2 QB coaches in 2 years. Kitchens took t he offense in the opposite direction of 2018.
His regression is based on horrific coaching more than anything.
If he isn’t ruined after next season (4 HC in 3 years and 4 OC in 3 years and 3 different playbooks in 3 years) it’ll be incredible
Freedom!!!
I think scapegoating the receivers is missing just how badly Baker regressed.
I have to argue this point a bit. I’m not going to go as far as calling it “scapegoating”, but the simple reality is half, and probably a couple more, of Bakers TD’s came directly because of the receivers.
Did Baker make some bad throws? Yes, yes he did and I’m not arguing that or saying Baker didn’t have a sub-par year. He did. But between passes going off the hands of receivers and being picked, receivers quitting on a route, or a receiver being in the wrong place on a throw……..a large portion of Bakers INT’s were the fault of the receiver.
I’m aware that there are some people, quite a few actually, that don’t want to hear that, but it’s true.
Poor coaching and a lack of knowing what the hell was going on out on the field didn’t help him either.
All that being said, I’m kind of glad all this happened because I do honestly think that Baker needed to be knocked down a peg or two. I love his attitude, I do. I love his personality, his leadership, his fire and his drive. I love all of it and I don’t want any of it to go away.
But it was “I’m still a kid in college”, immature-level of that attitude. I want that same attitude to be there, just a little bit more grown up. Be Aaron Rodgers-ey. Aaron Rodgers, let’s be honest, is kind of a dick. He gets cocky out on the field, he jaws, he pops off in press conferences………but he does it just a little bit differently. A little bit more “wink and a nod” than “Go fuck yourself, I don’t care”.
And yes, obviously he goes and backs it all up by playing HOF level ball, but my point is the attitude.
I hope Baker can get to that place now after having a big ‘ol slice of humble pie.
To clarify, I’m not giving up on Baker at all. I’m just saying that if this was his first season in the NFL we’d be wondering if we made the right choice. The good news is that last year he was fucking amazing. I’m with Soup in hoping that the coach was the biggest issue, because that’s what we’re changing. The QB and WR’s will be the same people. But I’m not buying any stuff about players regressing in their 2nd year or the WR’s not being healthy. Is a dinged up OBJ better than a 100% healthy Breshad Perrimen or Callaway? I say hell yeah. What we saw from Baker this year was almost the complete opposite of last year. Last year he was deadly accurate both short and deep, and he made his hay with frequent deep shots right on target. This year he very rarely threw a pass more than 20 yards in the air and often when he did it was not accurate. Last year we had a QB who was tough in the pocket; this year he Frye’d out of the pocket after 1.5 seconds whether there was pressure or not. All the things that made him a great rookie disappeared. That’s my concern. Baker needs to be pushed hard.
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