Jerome Baker – August 17, 2020
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Monday, August 17, 2020
LB Jerome Baker
(How was the first day of practice?) – “It was good. Everybody was excited. It was hot, like always; but I was definitely excited.”
(We’ve seen the Dolphins post some videos of you – your normal energetic self. Have you taken pride in being that role – the Energizer bunny, so to speak – for guys in this difficult time coming back to football?) – “Oh yeah, definitely. Before everything that happened – I like being that energy. I like being just my fun self. It’s still football. It’s still a game we all love and it’s definitely something we all just have fun doing, so I try to be that and show pretty much anybody that it’s still a fun game.”
(There’s another year for you to be a team leader and a team captain, especially on this defense. How do you take this role into the second season that you’re going to be in it?) – “For me, I kind of just take it day by day in the sense of I just try to be myself. I try to get better every day, help this team in every way, and that’s my approach every day – just doing anything and everything I can. It’s all to help us win, so that’s just how I take it.
(How did the virus make today different?) – “There’s a lot of safety protocols, but when you’re on the field, it’s still football. You go hard. You don’t really think about anything like that; so for me, once we touch the field it’s still football. It’s still just go hard in everything you do and off the field, our medical team, they do a great job of taking care of us. That is my approach. When you’re on the field, just play football.”
(What is your vision for this Dolphins defense in 2020 and how do you feel you guys have grown and improved from last year?) – “Honestly, we’ve just got to build off of what we did last year and that’s just kind of our approach to – today was our first day in pads, we’re going to watch this film and tomorrow we’re just going to get better every day. Honestly, if we really do that, we’ll definitely be a good defense. So that’s just going to be our approach for now, just take every day as the days come and honestly we’ll be all right.”
(I’m sure you want to do as much overall improvement in your game as possible; but if I could pin you down into one thing that you’re focusing on that you hope is a better version of Baker this year than last year, what is that main focus you have?) – “One thing I’m definitely working on is my pad level. This offseason, that’s what I’ve been working on every practice. I really am just conscious of my pad level. Yeah, that’s just like the one thing I’ve been focusing on; but every day I try to work on something new. I just try to ultimately get my game better as best as I can, so this offseason I would definitely say my pad level.”
(You spent some time on the COVID-19 list. How was that experience? Was it shocking when you were put on it? How did you manage it and how are you feeling now?) – “It is what it was, but (Head Athletic Trainer) Kyle (Johnston) and those guys – our medical staff – they did a great job of just taking care of me, making sure I had everything I needed and honestly it was just, I really just wanted to make sure our team was safe, so I stayed home and pretty much just watched our Zoom meetings and did that. It was definitely unique, but I got through it.”
(I wanted to ask you about LB Kyle Van Noy’s experience doing some of the same things you do. He just told us he was a bit of a dying breed in terms of a guy that can do a little bit of everything and being one of those guys yourself, how much does his knowledge and experience in this defense help you in that regard?) – “It helps me every day. Kyle, since the day he walked in, he’s kind of just been in my ear about anything and everything – if it’s on the field, if it’s off the field, whatever it was – he’s definitely been a great mentor, just an older vet, so I definitely appreciate that. I always make fun of him because I think he’s like the second-oldest player on the team. He’s definitely unique, but he’s a great person and also a great player.”
(I’m wondering if there’s anything that you learned about this team today, the first time you’ve been in pads?) – “I don’t know yet. We still didn’t watch the film yet, but guys just went hard. I think that was the big thing. We just went hard. We did everything we did as hard as we possibly can and it might not be perfect, but we definitely got better today.”
(Just the value of having linebackers who are skilled in coverage – obviously you do that well. LB Kyle Van Noy, he can do a ton of things. He has good metrics in pass coverage. LB Kamu Grugier-Hill did in Philadelphia. What’s the value of that?) – “It’s a great thing. He can definitely mix it up as far as our defense; but also it just adds to our overall depth in our linebacker room and it definitely helps us. It’s kind of cool that we all just kind of pick each other’s game and help each other get better. It’s definitely a fun aspect.”
(I know a lot of times defenders have competitions when there’s a new quarterback, especially a rookie quarterback, on who gets the first interception off of him. Do you guys have anything of that sort?) – “(laughter) No, we don’t have anything like that, but I definitely – not just the rookie quarterbacks, but pretty much any quarterback – I talk a little stuff here and there. That’s just what I do. That’s just how I play the game. We don’t have anything yet, but if we do, hopefully I’m the first one. (laughter)”
