Jerome Baker – May 17, 2022
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Tuesday, May 17, 2022
LB Jerome Baker
(I was asking Defensive Coordinator Josh Boyer last week, ‘How often do you think about whether you come back with pretty much exactly what you did strategically last year, knowing at it’s best it worked over the final 10 games. Or how much do you add new stuff?” And he said he thinks about that every day. Without giving away anything, is your early impression that he wants to add some new things to keep teams off guard? So it’s the same personnel pretty much but it’s not the exact same defense?) – “I think he wants us to lock in on our fundamentals. That’s the simple things like breaks, angles on tackling the football. The little things are what you focus on right now so when you get to the season, everything changes. It’s playbook specific. So right now we’re working on our technique, our hand placement and things you don’t get as much time in the regular season (to work on). For me, the playbook is going to change. It’s going to be game day specific. I think that’s what I see that they’re harping on is let’s focus on little things and game plan specific (stuff) is going to come when it comes.”
(How surprised and happy are you that it’s pretty much the same defense with the addition of a couple of rookies? LB Melvin Ingram hasn’t been announced yet but it’s rare to see the same defense brought back. Are you surprised? Happy?) – “Yeah, I’m definitely happy. Just me personally, I always had different coaches, different linebacker coaches, different coordinators, going back all of the way to college. For me, it’s a good thing. It’s a chance to – you know what you expect. You have a little understanding before you walk into the building. Now it’s just time to build off that.”
(Seeing a Miami Dolphins offense with WR Tyreek Hill on it, your reaction as you witness that, seeing the speed and seeing him here is what?) – “I mean, the guy is fast. He’s a good player. He’s a great guy. I knew him a little bit before he got here, so I kind of knew what to expect. He’s definitely bringing that winning culture, just going hard every play of every practice. It’s definitely working out for us.”
(What are your thoughts on LB Melvin Ingram as a player? What has he shown you over the years?) – “He’s a playmaker. He goes hard every play. He has a high motor. I’m excited. He’s a veteran. He’s going to bring that to the young guys and we’re all going to learn from him.”
(This new-look backfield, what are your impressions from seeing them and going against them?) – “They’re fast. (laughter) Just on offense in general, they’re fast. They’re explosive. It’s definitely going to get us right during training camp and OTAs. It’s going to be exciting for us.”
(How tough is it going to be for teams to defend not only the receivers but also obviously RB Raheem Mostert, when he’s healthy, RB Chase Edmonds, etc.?) – “It just gives defenses more problems. When you give defenses more problems, it’s hard to really lock in on one thing. I’m excited. It’s going to be fun. I’m definitely excited in training camp to go against these guys.”
(I think LB Jaelan Phillips picked the playlist today. How would you grade his?) – “Terrible. (laughter) Nah, I think what happened was they kept skipping some parts, so we didn’t really see his whole playlist. The parts I heard, they were decent. But they were just decent. The first guy to have it, he’s supposed to come out with some fire. I’m going to work on it. (laughter)”
(What have you seen in LB Jaelan Phillips’ growth so far from last year to this year?) – “He’s always been a smart guy. He always went hard. I think now he’s starting to understand where he can make plays, what he can do and what he can’t do. He’s going to make plays for us just like he did last year. He did a great job last year and we’re expecting the same thing this year.”
(So I understand, the previous day’s practice player of the day gets to be the DJ the next day?) – “Correct.”
(What do you think of that as a motivational tool? What will you do once you get to be the DJ?) – “For me, it’s definitely a motivational thing. It just brings fun to practice and into the building. Me, when I get on there, you’re going to hear a lot of Drake. Probably, honestly, the whole playlist is going to be Drake. Hopefully I’ll get a chance to do it.”
(Early impression of LB Channing Tindall?) – “The guy, he’s going to be a great player. He’s just got to, just with any rookie, just try to soak in as much information as you can, and just remember you got to this point by playing football. It’s not that hard when you think about it. It’s still football like it was when we were younger. He’s got a lot of things to improve on but he definitely has potential.”
(Is the speed of LB Channing Tindall evident to you so far? I know it’s early) – “Definitely. He’s definitely got some speed, some explosiveness. He’s definitely going to be a great player in this league.”
(Last year in the second half of the season, you got to rotate inside and outside. Does the prospect of continuing to do that excite you?) – “Yeah. I think that’s my favorite part about this defense. I can pretty much line up anywhere and everywhere and I truly enjoy doing that.”
(You guys have an advantage in that you brought everybody back on the defense. On the other side though, offensive coordinators have seen all of you guys together playing on tape and in-person. Which way is there a bigger advantage, do you think?) – “I’m always leaning there’s a bigger advantage with us just because we know what we’re doing, we know how each other plays and how each other works. When you have that chemistry, things like that in this league are hard to build, and we already have a little foundation of it. Now it’s just time to build on that.”
(Plus you can add LB Channing Tindall and you can add LB Melvin Ingram.) – “Exactly.”
