Jerome Baker – November 7, 2018
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Wednesday, November 7, 2018
LB Jerome Baker
(You’re heading over to Lambeau Field for the first time. Have you thought about that? Is it a big deal?) – “It’s a big deal, definitely. It’s one of the greatest organizations ever, so it’s definitely going to be a big deal. We’ve just got to go up there and get a win.”
(You’ve got to get over that real quick though because QB Aaron Rodgers is there too.) – “Yeah. He’s one of the best quarterbacks that’s ever played. It’s going to be a fun one, for sure.”
(What is the biggest challenge with QB Aaron Rodgers because he does so much so well?) – “That’s the big challenge. (laughter) He does pretty much everything well. There’s not a defensive coverage he hasn’t seen. There’s not pretty much anything he hasn’t seen. He’s definitely one of the best quarterbacks to ever play the game.”
(When you watch film on QB Aaron Rodgers, some of the things that he does are very unconventional. He’ll take off, he’ll throw off his back foot, etc.) – “Yeah, he can be on the left hash and throw an out route all the way to the right sideline like it’s nothing. It’s just Aaron Rodgers. He can do it all.”
(Is that assignment? Is that the most important thing, assignment?) – “Yeah. Even last game, it was just a testament of just do your job and everything is going to work out. That’s pretty much the main focus for pretty much the whole rest of the year is do your job and the rest will handle itself.”
(One of the messages I got from interviewing a lot of players last week is the message from the coach was ‘trust your teammates, don’t do too much.’ As you say, do your job. Was there more of that last week where no one tried to cover up for anybody else, just do what you have to do and don’t worry about other guys’ assignments?) – “That’s exactly what it was last week. Just do your job and the rest will handle itself. Luckily it came out in our favor, so it’s all good.”
(It sounds simple but is that harder than it seems?) – “It’s a lot harder than it seems.”
(Why?) – “You always want to do more, you always want to make plays; but at that moment when you want to do more, that’s when you mess up. You try to do somebody else’s job and you don’t focus on your job. It’s just a competitor thing. You want to do more but if you just do your job, it’s going to work out.”
(When did that hit you? When did you understand that? Has it?) – “It’s just a work in progress. Every week, there’s something new. There’s a new challenge. You’re playing Aaron Rodgers, I want to make a play; but you have to pretty much humble yourself of I’m going to make a play by doing my job. That’s just the approach that I take pretty much every week.”
(I know you’re 10 weeks in but is it at all still surreal when you’re watching the film and it’s Aaron Rodgers, that’s the guy you’re going against this week?) – “Yeah. It’s definitely surreal. It’s definitely a cool feeling of when I go out there Sunday and line up, it’s going to be against one of the greatest quarterbacks who ever played. It’s definitely surreal, it’s definitely a fun experience; but when the ball is snapped, that’s when it all goes away.”
(You had to make the adjustment coming down here in the heat. Now you go back up north.) – “It’s like going home. It’s nothing. I’m very excited but a little bit nervous. I haven’t been in any cold weather in a while, but it’s definitely going to be fun.”
(How many times have you seen on replay your touchdown?) – “I must’ve been tagged on Instagram and Twitter over 100 times. I kind of stopped looking at it now. It’s definitely a cool experience, definitely a cool memory.”
(Have you watched it at least a dozen times?) – “Definitely. (laughter)”
(Just because it’s fun to watch, I assume?) – “Yeah, it’s definitely cool. This is my first one. Just to see the dance, everybody else dancing, it was pretty cool. I’ve definitely watched it a few times.”
(I asked you after the game how many text messages you had. You said you hadn’t checked yet. How many did you end up getting?) – “When I got … I think it was like 357. That was right after the game. After that, I tried to answer them and more come. Between text messages and DMs, it was crazy.”
(You’ve played in this weather before. Is it easier to pick six in the warm weather or in the cold weather?) – “It’s way easier in warm weather. When it’s cold, your hands are cold, the ball seems like it’s harder; but at the end of the day, you just have to catch it.”
(Is that the signature dance move we should expect?) – “The Baker shuffle? (laughter) No. It was just a cool little thing I did. When I get another one, it’s going to be a different dance. Something special, something unique. It’s going to be all good.”
(How much pride do you take in starting as a rookie and being a contributing player who is doing good things as a rookie?) – “A lot of pride. I look to my side and I see Raekwon (McMillan) and I see Kiko (Alonso). I look in front of me, I see Cam Wake and Rob (Quinn). I look behind me and I see T.J. (McDonald) and Reshad (Jones). They expect me to go out there and do a job. When you go out there and just do your job, that’s pretty much the basic thing. You have to go out there and contribute and make plays and get excited. It’s definitely very prideful for me. I want to go out there and play for those guys. They’ve been in the league longer than me. I have the honor of being a rookie and still playing with them. It’s kind of cool so I go out there and give it all I got just for them.”
