More nuggets (seemed more like grenades after the last one) from Pro Football Prospectus 2008 …this time on Jets TE Chris Baker.

Baker caught 17 of 19 passes thrown to him on first down for 209 yards … it was essentially the same play over and over: Baker lined up as the tight end in a trips formation or as a slot receiver, ran a flat pattern or a short hitch against a linebacker, turned upfield for a few steps, then hit the ground after a healthy 8-to-10 yard gain.  Good stuff, but nothing that 25 tight ends cant’ do just as well or better, which is why the Jets signed Bubba Franks and drafted Dustin Keller.  Baker’s numbers don’t look as swell when you realize how often he lined up as a third or fourth wideout.

I didn’t realize that he was so effective on first down, but I did notice that they often lined him up from the slot or in trips as noted, and he often benefited from it — I’m guessing because he was the closest target while the QB dumped the ball off to avoid getting killed .  ESPN’s KC Joyner made a point about the Jets draft to NYT’s Fifth Down over a month ago, that drafting Dustin Keller was in effect ““solving a problem that doesn’t seem to be there.”

The problem (as I wrote here) with Joyner’s logic it is wholly backward, yes Baker can get the job done in this role, but Baker does not excel in it … yes he has great hands, but he’s not fast enough and he’s not athletic enough to play the Antonio Gates role in this offense.

For this reason, I’ve hoped the whole Baker contract thing will get smoothed over for the season and he can stay with the team in 2008 because he is versatile, but all the same, he’s not going to be a game-changer in that 0 TE role, he’s going to continue to be a ham-and-egger, and that’s where Keller can make the impact, while Baker can still be dangerous setting up in-line.

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