Falcons: Sam Baker

[TAZZ77]

(09-18-2012 02:17 PM)ATLBound Wrote:  I dont think any LT never gets pushed back....his weakness may possibly be the bullrush but understand that he gave up ZERO sacks to Dumervil and Miller, two well known sack artists, and he was on an island by himself all game long.

He got a few chips here and there from the RB. I'm not saying he is perfect, the long term answer, or even dominant. But for these first 2 games of the season he has been nothing but mediocre. I would call his game above average total and what he did last night was absolutely phenomenal.

I can totally agree with the first part of this. I just saw too many instances of getting bullrushed for my comfort. And compared to his performance last year yes phenomenal but compared to great LT's on other teams just not IMHO.

@pauli I am not trying to make friends on a message board seems kinda silly I have a life. I just pointed out how I saw Sam Baker's performance. And I included a link showing him getting shoved around pretty bad.

[ChrisD]

(09-18-2012 12:49 PM)TAZZ77 Wrote:  I don't know about a round of applause. First off he is just plain bad at run blocking, granted it appears that is a problem of the entire line. But secondly while he hasn't given up a sack yet he has been getting his ass handed to him. Every pass play I saw his man drove him back no less than five steps and once he was shoved into Matt seconds after the ball was released. He is mediocre at best in my book but looks all world compared to last year.

Mediocre? I saw one, maybe two occasions where Baker was pushed back to Ryan. One was after Dumervil timed the snap PERFECTLY and got the jump on him. The other was just the fact that Ryan was flushed toward Baker. His run block is average, it always has been average even when he was at the top of his game when he first came into the league. In the 2nd quarter, I watched Von Miller line up against Baker 4 or 5 times, to no avail. To completely shut these two guys down during the game is extremely impressive.

I'm not sitting here saying we need to tag him one of the best in the league, but after what we saw last season, this is an extremely major improvement. Very rarely do Dumervil and Miller get held without a sack amongst the two, they are two of the best pass rushers in the AFC right now, maybe the NFL from their positions.

[ATLBound]

(09-18-2012 02:34 PM)TAZZ77 Wrote:  I can totally agree with the first part of this. I just saw too many instances of getting bullrushed for my comfort. And compared to his performance last year yes phenomenal but compared to great LT's on other teams just not IMHO.

@pauli I am not trying to make friends on a message board seems kinda silly I have a life. I just pointed out how I saw Sam Baker's performance. And I included a link showing him getting shoved around pretty bad.

I never said he was great. I personally don't care for him to be great. I want hin to be consistent and good. LT doesn't need to be great anymore. Just good enough and so far thats what he has been.

Our offense has great players in a few positions. 2 @ wr, qb, Te...but teams dont win superbowls being great at every position. This is how u run into salary cap issues. You're great at certain key positions and good enough at other positions. I think Sam....SO FAR....has been beyong just good enough. Not great but a step above good enough to me at least.

[juraitwaluzka]

Do I think we need to upgrade the LT position? Certainly. Am I pleased with what I've seen from Baker so far, especially compared to last season? Hell Yes.

[AUTiger7222]

(09-18-2012 05:36 PM)juraitwaluzka Wrote:  Do I think we need to upgrade the LT position? Certainly. Am I pleased with what I've seen from Baker so far, especially compared to last season? Hell Yes.

Exactly.

Nobody is saying Baker has been great. But he's been good and that's all we ever needed from him.

[nativefalcon]

All I can say, he played like a 1st round pick, he has been playing great. I would like to take all the bad crap back Ive said about him. Hes been quite good. Just get Garrett Reynolds off the field and put Konz in. We might have a run game again.

[papachaz]

ok a couple of you guys, don't make me put ya in time out

Like I said, I'm not sold yet either. I remember his first year he seemed to be the answer, then went through so much time playing hurt. I just don't believe he'll stay healthy, he hasn't yet

[RnB]

We have a massive project LT waiting in the wings and learning.

Thus far, Baker has proven that what Smitty said about his injuries and overall fitness was correct. He looks like a different player and held up well, pass blocking, against one of the better pass rushing tandems in the league. He did an admirable job out there even without RB/TE help at times. The run blocking has been terrible overall so I don't think saying he has not been good at that is fair, none of our other guys have done well with it this season either.

Could he be better? Of course, every player can. I hope he continues to play at this elevated level and proves that he is a starting quality LT in the NFL. Nothing would make me happier than Baker not giving up a sack all season. That being said, if he runs into the same injury/fitness issues he has had in the past and his level of play drops, there are guys on the roster that could replace him.