Jerome Baker – August 3, 2021
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Tuesday, August 3, 2021
LB Jerome Baker
(How much of this is like a redemption day for all the big passes and plays that they’ve gotten on y’all without pads?) – “(laughter) I wouldn’t call it a redemption day. It’s just one of those days that it’s the first day of pads; we come out here and have fun. And we really just see who can compete, who really loves the game. It’s definitely easier on the first day, but the fourth, fifth day is where you see who really loves it.”
(Did it help that you had a little cloud coverage today?) – “Definitely. Oh man. That was a blessing. But yeah, it definitely helped. It was fun.”
(What was the energy like in that last period there on the goal line?) – “Amazing. It was fun. It was just one of those periods where it was live and you can really play ball and you can just let it loose and really show what you got. I just loved the energy. We were hyped with the ones and we were hyped with the twos. And we carried that same energy. We made some mistakes, but at the end of the day, we’re just getting better and that’s what it’s really about.”
(You’re probably getting to work with LB Benardrick McKinney. What’s it like to have him as a teammate and also how long does it take you guys to get that chemistry and communication together?) – “Oh, it’s amazing. He’s a big dude. He’s willing to learn. He goes hard and communicates. That’s the one thing he does; when he doesn’t know something, he asks. He tries to get better. Right now you can get chemistry, but the real chemistry is in a game and you really see when the bullets are flying who’s really with you. We’re just getting better every day and I definitely love having him next to me.”
(First day of pads on. I know it’s early, but did you learn anything about this team today?) – “We compete. We really are competing. Even the young guys – they came in and they’re doing the same thing. They’re feeding off the older guys and that’s what it’s all about – the young guys feeding off the older guys. The older guys – we set the example. I’m definitely proud of this team. Today is the first day, but we’ve definitely got more days to go.”
(Was there a hit today where you felt back to football? One that you made or somebody hit you with?) – “It wasn’t me. It was ‘B-Mac’ (Benardrick McKinney) on the goal line. He was bringing it. But it’s football at the end of the day. It’s all good.”
(A lot of the defensive players have talked about they need to do better stopping the run this year. When you look at film of last year, what did you see in terms of the run defense?) – “Technique and knockback. For us, you know where to be but sometimes your technique is not good and just the knockback. It’s not about just being in the right gap. It’s about being in the right gap and stopping them and not getting the extra two or three yards; and me especially, I know I have to work on that and it’s definitely an emphasis this offseason.”
(Does it get discouraging when guys are running on you like that?) – “I mean, yeah. Running the ball is one of those things of if you can’t stop the run, it don’t matter how they pass or whatever they do, they’re going to keep running it. So as a defense, there’s an emphasis to stop the run.”
(I know you get some visitors on the sidelines. When you’ve got a big boy like Vince Wilfork out there, what does it mean to have a guy like that out there watching practice?) – “You want to show that we still have that tenacity he had when he was playing. He played in this defense. He knows how it works, so it was one of those things where you want to make the older guys proud. Especially me – I went up to him just to say hi to him, but at the end of the day you want to make the older guys that played in this defense proud and that’s what it’s about. That’s what football is about – continuing the legacy and continue being a great defense.”
(I know you take pride in a lot of that stuff because of the history and all that. What does it mean to have Head Coach Brian Flores – he always has those type of guys come around – so what does that mean for a program like this?) – “It means a lot. It means the younger guys know that you can see the success older guys had and the cool thing is, is these older guys; they come back and they teach us. They give us the tools. They give us a little insight of what to look for and we take those nuggets and we apply it to today’s game, so we definitely appreciate it.”
(Last week when you talked about CB Xavien Howard, you were so supportive of him. Just to have him out here even though he’s not able to practice and supporting you guys, high-fiving you guys – what does that support mean?) – “’X’ (Xavien Howard) is ‘X.’ He loves us. We love him. That’s what it’s all about. We support him. He supports us. That’s one thing you can never say about ‘X.’ He’s a great teammate. He’s a great guy and we all love him, so we’re going to be good.”
(What stands out defending this offense now compared to…) – “They’re fast. They are fast. We have some young guys. We have some weapons. Our o-line; they’re ready to get better. They come out there every day and they’re getting better. They’re communicating. Tua (Tagovailoa) – he comes in the linebacker room. He asks questions. It’s one of those things where our team is truly trying to get better and we’re truly trying to be the best team we can be, so I’m excited. That definitely is encouraging so I’m definitely excited.”
