Jerome Baker – September 8, 2020
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Tuesday, September 8, 2020
LB Jerome Baker
(Do you remember the last football player that you tackled in a football game? My point is, it’s been a long time since you actually tackled somebody right?) – “Right, right.”
(Do you remember it? I know it was the Patriots.) – “I have no idea. No, (it was) the last play. Who was it? White? James White? I think he was the last person I tackled actually. They kept doing the lateral stuff. I think he was the last person I tackled.”
(Are you wondering how sharp all of the tackling is going to be?) – “I think naturally it’s going to be a little sloppy just across the league. That’s why we work on it every day. That’s why we go so hard on it now. I think that’s pretty much around the whole league. We all haven’t tackled in so long, we all haven’t really got that much time as we’re used to. Over time, we’ll definitely get better at that. We’ve been working on it every day, but we’ve still got to go out there and perform.”
(Head Coach Brian Flores told us that you guys voted the three captains with S Bobby McCain, LB Elandon Roberts and with LB Kyle Van Noy. Specifically with Kyle and Elandon, they haven’t been around here that long. What did it mean to vote them as captains and can you speak on the presence that they’ve given you and obviously heading into Week 1 against their former team?) – “Yeah. What’s unique about them is they’ve played in this system. They really know the ins and outs and they do a great job of vocalizing that and making sure everybody knows what things to look out for. They just have a lot of experience, really. They are great people off the field, so definitely ‘E-Rob’ (Elandon Roberts) and Kyle, they are great leaders. It wasn’t really no surprise of them being captains. Definitely congratulations to them.”
(What’s a realistic goal for you guys as a defense as far as ranking? What you guys can be by year’s end?) – “Realistically, that’s hard. That’s really hard because nobody really knows what’s going to happen for sure. The one thing I do know is we definitely take pride in different things – batting the ball down, interceptions, sacks. Just the regular – every defense has those goals. We have our goals and we truly strive for that every day. Our goals are not just on Sundays, but actually during practice. That’s the one thing we definitely strive for.”
(LB Kyle Van Noy, LB Elandon Roberts and even LB Kamu Gruiger-Hill I think have spent some time in that organization. To kind of give you an inside look at the Patriots mystique and how they kept it rolling for so long and the faces would change but the result would stay the same; have they drawn back the curtain a little bit on that place?) – “What’s funny is that they don’t really talk about the Patriots too much. You know me, I like to know things. I keep asking about it, but it’s kind of hard to get the little things out of them. The one thing they really truly only talk about is honestly football. That’s really all they talk about, just the different things they had. The one thing they always bring up is that you have to be consistent because being consistent and truly getting better throughout the year – that’s the one thing they bring up, just being consistent. No matter who’s in – that person that comes in that’s new, whoever it is, you’ve got to be consistent. You’ve got to do the same thing. You’ve got to truly just get better. They don’t really talk about the Patriots too much.”
(I found it really, really funny that Head Coach Brian Flores came up to you and said that his kids love when you say “Jerome is in the house!” How would you say Flores has evolved himself as a coach and as a person with you guys from last year to this year?) – “I don’t think he’s really evolved that much I wouldn’t say that. It’s more that people are starting to see how he really is. He smiles, he jokes around, he truly loves his players. He likes building that connection. I think now people are finally starting to see it. That’s pretty much one thing. I always find it funny with him. His kids, they truly think I made up ‘Jerome is in the house!’ But everybody knows that came from Martin, so shout out Martin!”
(You had a solid year last year, no question. Where do you think you can be better as an NFL football player? And has either Head Coach Brian Flores, Defensive Coordinator Josh Boyer or Linebackers Coach Anthony Campanile told you that you’re a good player, but we think there is more there that you haven’t tapped into yet?) – “Yeah, they do a good job of just pushing me every day. Even going back to last year, I can make a good play – for example, an interception or whatever it is – they still get on me about that of, ‘Yeah, you caught an interception, that’s cool; but you could’ve had a pick-six.’ Even this year, there is just more pressure of they want me to get better in all phases of the game. If it’s pad level, if it’s hand placement, if it’s rushing the passer, coverage. Whatever it is, they stay on top of me to get better and be consistent every play. The one thing I know is ‘Camp’ (Anthony Campanile) always gets on me (about) getting off blocks – getting off blocks clean. That’s the one thing that in this offseason has been grinding in my head. We’ve been working on it nonstop, so I’m definitely excited.”
(When you think about all the guys you’ve added, there is probably seven of them between DE Shaq Lawson and DE Emmanuel Ogbah and CB Byron Jones and CB Noah Igbinoghene – I could keep saying more and more names. How would you describe the overall talent has increased in the defensive group?) – “We definitely – talent-wise, we definitely got better. But one thing that is unique is all of the guys we have, they truly work hard in the sense of they go hard no matter who it is. Our expectations for whoever is in are high no matter who it is. That’s the one unique thing of even just rushing the passer. I might not have that much experience, but Shaq gets on me on how to do it. Kyle, he coaches me up on how to do it. The expectations do not change no matter who it is. Just having that, I think that raises everybody. It’s not just the individual player; but everybody in the room, it just raises your game. That’s one unique thing that truly I’m excited just to see, because it’s going to be a race to the quarterback. It’s going to be fun.”
(For so long, there was a quarterback that was associated with New England and when you went in there you think of Tom Brady. Have you reminded yourself, have you had to remind yourself that it’s going to be Cam Newton? Is it still hard to kind of grasp?) – “I think now, just our week to week thing is – when you look at film, all you see is Tom Brad. You can go back three years and you still see Tom Brady. You keep seeing Tom, keep seeing Tom; but the one thing about Cam is – it’s Cam Newton now. He can do it all. He’s got a strong arm, he can run, he’s athletic. If you still think about Tom and all of that, it’s going to be a long game. I think we do a great job of just making sure everybody remembers that it’s going to be Cam Newton. The type of player he is, he’s dynamic. In our heads, the coaches do a great job of constantly putting that in our ears. It’s going to be a different quarterback. A lot bigger, stronger, just an ultimate different player. I think we have a good idea that’s it’s Cam Newton, it’s no longer Tom.”
(How would you compare the excitement level of heading into this regular season after bringing in a lot of talented players this offseason compared to last offseason when there were a whole bund of big name players who were leaving the team?) – “Of course it’s different. It’s unique. But I think the excitement is truly – it’s around the whole building of just like any organization, nobody has played football in so long. We haven’t played any preseason games, we really didn’t have OTAs in the sense of being out on the field. I think not just us, but everybody in the country, everybody is waiting to play football. The excitement level is definitely up there. What’s unique is this is the first time there is not a preseason game. The first game is a real game, so all those nerves you have or whatever it is, you’re going to have to get over it quick, because it’s the real thing. I think we’re all excited; we’re all prepared. Guys are just ready to go out there and just have some fun.”
