Jerome Baker – November 17, 2021
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Wednesday, November 17, 2021
LB Jerome Baker
(G/T Robert Hunt just told us he went swimming with alligators during the mini bye week. Your thoughts?) – “I hope he had a great time. I go shark diving with my boy Ryan. Shout out Ryan. (laughter) So yeah. You can’t be in Florida and not do some adventurous stuff so I hope he had fun. (laughter)”
(You went shark diving?) – “Yeah, I went shark diving. Yeah.”
(On shark driving) – “So Ryan will take you on a boat. He does the little thing to get the sharks ready, put blood in the water. Then you go out there and he’s just observant of everything and he’s protecting you, but it’s a very nerve-wracking experience. I guess sharks are more scared of you unless you look like you’re dying. So I was out there trying not to look like I was dying. Had a great time. The only bad part was I got seasick, so the whole ride back I was pretty much throwing up the whole time. But it was fun.”
(You played well on your snaps on the edge last week. Was it good to see the package with you and LB Duke Riley and LB Elandon Roberts together? Do you think you would be a good edge player if you did it more? Is that something you ever thought about or do you think inside is your best position for the most part?) – “Honestly, I think running back is my best – no, I’m playing. (laughter) No, what’s cool about this defense is you can play anywhere. It’s fun for me that sometimes I can be inside linebacker and then next game I could line up outside and the offense is not even ready for that. I think that’s the cool thing, but my best position is whatever position I’m playing. I really take that to heart and I truly try to perform wherever they put me. Coach (Josh) Boyer and ‘Flo’ (Brian Flores) – they all do a great job of putting me in different spots and it’s just my job to execute what they tell me to do.”
(I wanted to ask you – I’m writing about S Jevon Holland. As a rookie, what do you think is unique?) – “The guy – he really gets better every day. If you look at – well I know you guys can’t look but if you go back and watch the training camp tape, he was a step behind. And then every week it was like he got better and better. I remember the one practice he was a step behind – well at first he was a step behind and then he was deflecting the ball and then the next week he was actually catching the pick. And sure enough the following Sunday, he ended up actually catching a pick. He’s one of those guys that if he just keeps doing what he’s doing, he’s going to be one of the best safeties in this league. He’s young, but he truly just loves being out there with the guys and performing and just going hard. I’m just surprised his leadership back there. He really took that to heart. When guys went down, he stepped up and he knew that we were going to lean on him a lot and he definitely stepped up to the challenge and his ceiling is going to be so high. I’m definitely happy for him and honestly I’m glad he’s on our team.”
(Borrowing a term from basketball, when you miss a lot of shots sometimes you just need to see the ball go through the hoop. Do you guys feel like as a defense you’ve started to see the ball go through the hoop these past few weeks?) – “Yeah, I guess you could say it like that in basketball terms. I think it was just one of those we saw what executing can do and once we saw it, it was like, ‘all right, let’s do it, let’s keep doing it, let’s keep doing it.’ And now it’s just staying on that same process and that same pace. What we were doing was right. We just have to execute. We come in Wednesdays and Thursdays and we practice hard and we talk, communicate, do all of that. But Sunday is the day that really matters and now that we have a win or two under our belt, I think now we can just keep stringing those games along and Sunday is going to be a great test for us.”
(From watching film, what has got your attention about the Jets?) – “They are actually a great team. They’ve beat some great teams. They play very hard. They have some great backs. They’ve been banged up, but you can’t fall asleep on them. They’ve beat some great teams. They play physical, they play hard and that’s what we have to expect. We’re going up there and essentially going into their home and taking a win from them so you’ve got to expect they’re going to give us their all and we’ve got to go up there and be prepared for that. They are a physical team. They’re fast. They definitely have size and I think the one thing you can always say is they play hard and it’s definitely going to be a challenge for us.”
(I don’t remember if you’ve faced QB Joe Flacco in your NFL career. Any recollection of his skillset at all?) – “Yeah, we played him, what – last year? Was it last year?”
(24-0 shutout. He was starting for the Jets.) – “Yeah, so we played him last year. Veteran quarterback. He’s seen a lot so we’re definitely going to have to throw some disguises in there, but it’s going to be a good one Sunday.”
(Name one adventurous thing you haven’t done and you’re not sure you will ever get to do but you’d kind of like to do.) – “Skydiving. I haven’t been skydiving, but I’m definitely going to do it. Bungee jumping. I think those are the two things that I’m scared of, but I’m going to do it eventually. Anything else I’m down to do it. I’ve been cave diving. I did all the crazy stuff, I guess. Shark diving. Did all that. But bungee jumping and skydiving are on my list and I don’t know when I’m going to get to that one.”
(What’s it going to be like when you’re about to jump out of the plane?) – “I think Will Smith said it best: you’re scared as hell, but then when you jump out, you just feel at peace and effortless. You’re just falling. I think he had a little story on it or a book or whatever and I think I saw the interview. I’m going to get to it. But not right now.”
(I thought it was a lyric you were about to…) – “Oh no. I do got a few bars if you guys want to hear it. No, I’m playing. (laughter)”
(Were you in a cage or were you just in the ocean free diving?) – “I wasn’t in a cage. Yes, I was in a cage. (laughter) I think you do get that option. You can be in a cage, but I wasn’t in a cage. It was pretty scary. Not going to lie, but it was worth it. I would do it again. I don’t know when, but I will.”
(Dolphins can outswim sharks. That’s a real thing.) – “That’s a real thing. I like that. Yep. I can’t swim that fast, but I’m a Dolphin, so there you go. (laughter)”
