What happened to Chris Baker?

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

Chris has not been the blocking TE we thought he was but he seemed to have played O.K. in the first 3 games he was in and Chris happens to be the receiver who has caught the longest completed pass from Brady so far with that 36 yard TD reception against the Falcons.

Since the Falcons game and that beautiful TD catch Baker has not played in the past 2 games or has not been a factor in either game since week 3.

Is he injured or he is just not performing up to standards to get more action in the passing game?

We NEED TEs to participate in this lackluster offense right now to improve it,I hope Baker once again becomes a target when Welker and Moss are blanketed or Watson is having some problems getting open.

 

[JSn]

Since the Falcons game and that beautiful TD catch Baker has not played in the past 2 games or has not been a factor in either game since week 3.

Um... dude played 40+ snaps against the Broncos.

Also, I don't think he was brought in primarily to block.

 

[ALP]

im wondering that myself...

u say he hasnt played the last two games?

 

[The Dynasty]

Chris has not been the blocking TE we thought he was but he seemed to have played O.K. in the first 3 games he was in and Chris happens to be the receiver who has caught the longest completed pass from Brady so far with that 36 yard TD reception against the Falcons.

Since the Falcons game and that beautiful TD catch Baker has not played in the past 2 games or has not been a factor in either game since week 3.

Is he injured or he is just not performing up to standards to get more action in the passing game?

We NEED TEs to participate in this lackluster offense right now to improve it,I hope Baker once again becomes a target when Welker and Moss are blanketed or Watson is having some problems getting open.

I agree. I think that we need to use our TE's more. I think this a strength of ours. We never have had 2 good TE's. I would like to see more double TE formations and using them more. This will help off set our lack of depth at WR.

 

[mgteich]

Perhaps posters should be required to at least read the Reiss articles on number of snaps. I suspect we should stickie those articles.

Baker has played alot.

 

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

Um... dude played 40+ snaps against the Broncos.

Also, I don't think he was brought in primarily to block.

Did he really play 40 snaps last week?

I must go back and look closer at that game,I never saw him out there,maybe I was not paying attention but there are no stats on him playing last week when I went to pro football reference or yahoo sports data on him.

 

[JSn]

I agree. I think that we need to use our TE's more. I think this a strength of ours. We never have had 2 good TE's. I would like to see more double TE formations and using them more. This will help off set our lack of depth at WR.

20 2-TE sets and 4 3-TE sets. 29 Snaps of just one TE.

I'd say the TE's are getting lot's of play.

Even Matthews, the newest TE on the team and the clear #3 guy had 13 snaps.

C'mon guys.

 

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

Perhaps posters should be required to at least read the Reiss articles on number of snaps. I suspect we should stickie those articles.

Baker has played alot.

Maybe data is slow but it says he has been active in 3 games,maybe they are off with Baker not doing much lately,I don't know.

If this is true then Baker like Derrick Burgess and a number of our players are not doing much that we hardly notice they are out there.

 

[RobertWeathers]

20 2-TE sets and 4 3-TE sets. 29 Snaps of just one TE.

I'd say the TE's are getting lot's of play.

Even Matthews, the newest TE on the team and the clear #3 guy had 13 snaps.

C'mon guys.

Baker was never going to be a certifiable threat in the passing game. Pass/run blocking is his forte. I did expect him to catch around 20 balls and move some LBs around in the running and passing game.

 

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

So if he did play in the past 2 games he had no receptions and not a single yard in either game...is that correct?

If he played in the last 2 weeks then how has he been in the blocking scheme then if that what he is solely here for,anyone?

 

[Ochmed Jones]

If this is true then Baker like Derrick Burgess and a number of our players are not doing much that we hardly notice they are out there.

Bingo! I think the number 1 reason BB brought back Seau is because we lost a ton of veteran leadership from our locker room and the new guys have been mostly POSERS that sit around wanting to watch other guys get it done.

BB needs players to be accountable and too many are watching and not enough are doing.

 

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

im wondering that myself...

u say he hasnt played the last two games?

There is no data or record of anything he has done,maybe he did play but apparently didn't catch a ball or even gain a yard on the field the past 2 games.

I am sure he was here for blocking purposes..but Come on,we need him for at least a little more than that,Watson is O.K. but no world beater so its not like we have Tony Gonzalez on the roster,besides Baker looked damn good on the 36 yard TD that even Moss has not been able to get yet. .

 

[mgteich]

So, you want Baker as a pass receiver instead of Watson? We don't need a Tony Gonzalez. We have Welker and Watson. They are both fine.

There is no data or record of anything he has done,maybe he did play but apparently didn't catch a ball or even gain a yard on the field the past 2 games.

I am sure he was here for blocking purposes..but Come on,we need him for at least a little more than that,Watson is O.K. but no world beater so its not like we have Tony Gonzalez on the roster,besides Baker looked damn good on the 36 yard TD that even Moss has not been able to get yet. .

 

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

So, you want Baker as a pass receiver instead of Watson? We don't need a Tony Gonzalez. We have Welker and Watson. They are both fine.

I want more weapons on offense,if that takes some offensive formations of a 2 TE set then great,We need more than just relying on mainly Brady looking for Welker every week ,Moss has been covered well for the most part of this season and time for others to step up the more we spread the ball around the more the defenses have to react- Baker needs to get in the mix and catch some balls like EVERY receiver on this team to keep defenses guessing.

 

[aurakilla]

Chris Baker

^^^hees played every game thus far^^^

 

[satz]

I want more weapons on offense,if that takes some offensive formations of a 2 TE set then great,We need more than just relying on mainly Brady looking for Welker every week ,Moss has been covered well for the most part of this season and time for others to step up the more we spread the ball around the more the defenses have to react- Baker needs to get in the mix and catch some balls like EVERY receiver on this team to keep defenses guessing.

Bakers is not fast or clearly not fast enough to force a safety to cover him.LB cannot cover watson a reason he opens up as when a defence is forced to cover him with a LB he is wide open. When watson goes into pattern it puts stress on the safety or forces a dime package. Do you want to hold watson back and send baker so they can cover him with a LB and not worry too much.

 

[mgteich]

I agree that Brady should be spreading out receptions more. My GUESS is that the problem is with the lack of direction and help from the coaching staff.

We almost always have four receivers (WR's and TE's) in the game as well as a running back. ALL should need to be accounted for by the defens as receivers. I recall games in the past where 10 patriot players caught receptions. I would like to see more screens and dump off pass to the running backs. All our running backs are food receivers and are good after the catch.

And BTW, the spreading out of receptions is as necessary on short routes as long one.

We have Moss, Welker, Watson, Baker and Maroney/Morris in the base 2 TE set. This should great for Brady. Bringing in Faulk and Edelman on passing downs shouldn't hurt. That's 8 receivers that Brady should be able to count on.

There are enough weapons for the OC. Brady, even rusty, is better than Cassell last year, and is a bit better than being an average quarterback. Brady's stats and performance are OK for an NFL quarterback. He will get better, but I really believe that Josh would be be doing a much better job with the great offense that we have than the current coaches.

BOTTOM LINE
Brady has limitations. He is performing reasonably well, given his limitations. The offense, even with Brady as he is now, should be a top offense. I will put it another way. What would expect our record to be if we had Josh and Orton as our OC and QB. If you think for even a short second that we would be better off as of now, then the problem is indeed the coaching.

I want more weapons on offense,if that takes some offensive formations of a 2 TE set then great,We need more than just relying on mainly Brady looking for Welker every week ,Moss has been covered well for the most part of this season and time for others to step up the more we spread the ball around the more the defenses have to react- Baker needs to get in the mix and catch some balls like EVERY receiver on this team to keep defenses guessing.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

TE's were thrown at 5 times. Only one pass was completed albeit for a TD to Watson who later went out with a concussion. Whether they are only being targeted 5 times because they are not in the pattern since they are being held back as blockers or because they are not getting open or because targeting them only results in completing 20% of those attempts is something we can't ascertain because we don't know the game plan and we don't see the coaches film so we don't really know what the situations were or should have resulted in. That's why threads castigating players are often off the mark. You watched the games and believed he didn't play...

Brady just finished saying in his PC that all teams want to target their best players. The situation we face currently is that isn't resulting in sufficient points and W's. So we have to look at ways to involve everyone. Some of that is on the players to each consistently execute better and some of it is on the coaches to scheme better. And some of it is likely on Brady to trust more, although trust is generally earned... If the OL can handle it's job the TE's can do more route running. Then it's up to them to run the correct one. Of course if the OL can do their job the RB should also be able to contribute more and that would go a long way towards opening up opportunities for everyone from the QB to the TE's to the WR's...provided those guys also do their job and catch the damn ball...

Lots of posters lament the loss of Dan Graham. Not that he's lit it up since leaving but there was a reason he wanted out besides money and playing for his home town team. He didn't want to be a glorified blocking sled. Here, regardless of skillset, that has been at least 60% of the job description from the outset.

 

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

I agree that Brady should be spreading out receptions more. My GUESS is that the problem is with the lack of direction and help from the coaching staff.

We almost always have four receivers (WR's and TE's) in the game as well as a running back. ALL should need to be accounted for by the defens as receivers. I recall games in the past where 10 patriot players caught receptions. I would like to see more screens and dump off pass to the running backs. All our running backs are food receivers and are good after the catch.

And BTW, the spreading out of receptions is as necessary on short routes as long one.

We have Moss, Welker, Watson, Baker and Maroney/Morris in the base 2 TE set. This should great for Brady. Bringing in Faulk and Edelman on passing downs shouldn't hurt. That's 8 receivers that Brady should be able to count on.

There are enough weapons for the OC. Brady, even rusty, is better than Cassell last year, and is a bit better than being an average quarterback. Brady's stats and performance are OK for an NFL quarterback. He will get better, but I really believe that Josh would be be doing a much better job with the great offense that we have than the current coaches.

BOTTOM LINE
Brady has limitations. He is performing reasonably well, given his limitations. The offense, even with Brady as he is now, should be a top offense. I will put it another way. What would expect our record to be if we had Josh and Orton as our OC and QB. If you think for even a short second that we would be better off as of now, then the problem is indeed the coaching.

I don't know whether you or other guys in here agree but going back to 2007 when the team was gasping for air in the last 4 games of the regular season it appeared that Brady was looking far too much for Randy Moss and was hesitant to look elsewhere,although we did win those games.

In 2009 after seeing the past 2 games it looks like Brady is looking heavily at Welker and a well covered Moss and less on the other receivers so defenses are making it tough on him by doing thier best to shut down the slot or at least making it more crowded there and even though Welker has had some good catches I think the ball most definately needs to be spread around more and Maroney and Faulk catching out of the backfield are two of the players like the TEs that need to stepup when guys like Galloway and Aiken are struggling to make any type of impact as a WR on this team.

 

[The Dynasty]

Baker was never going to be a certifiable threat in the passing game. Pass/run blocking is his forte. I did expect him to catch around 20 balls and move some LBs around in the running and passing game.

Yes this is what I meant. There is a difference from the TEs just being in the game than them actually being involved in the offense. That is what I would like to see.