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For the Ryan Baker Fans

Discussion in 'Miami Dolphins Forum' started by ckparrothead, Jul 23, 2010.

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  1. ckparrothead

    ckparrothead Draft Forum Moderator Luxury Box

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    [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CE7o8GzHgCo"]YouTube- Universal Draft Presents Miami Dolphins DL Ryan Baker 2009[/ame]

    Just thought I'd share.

    Here's what I see in the man. I see a guy that's not doing it all right...yet.

    But there's something there that is worth developing and finding out more about. The athleticism isn't going to knock your socks off. As I said in another fence he probably couldn't clear an 18 inch fence if chased by raptors. But there's more to it than that, especially if you want to play in this defense.

    Like I said before, he's not doing it right. In fact, he's looking like a rookie on some of those plays. But I think what you see is some natural ability, his leg drive, his overall length (nearly 6'5"), his eyes and ability to read the backfield. He has drive and a will to get to the ball. You see things that make him a natural choice to get on the field in pass rush situations. You see the potential for reading the backfield, recovering on his feet, hustling to the screen, and even commanding double-teams in pass protection.

    I'm not saying this guy is a starter but his luck seems to be gaining momentum each week because he already, as far as I'm concerned, did away with Lionel Dotson. Dotson played in Week 9 against the Patriots, about the same number of snaps I just reviewed of Baker's, and he looked to my eyes like a waste of space. Maybe that too was a young player that just needs to get better, a concept that needs some modification and improvement. But I don't think so. I think Lionel Dotson is a back to the drawing board kind of guy. Dotson played Week 9 and the coaches never let him play another snap for the rest of the season. Instead, they turned to Baker in Week 12, and then again in Week 14, and again in Week 15, and again in Week 16. The snaps were minimal of course, but symbolic. Dotson is one obstacle that is out of the way. Next thing you know, Ferguson is another obstacle that is out of the way, because he up and retires. Now, Merling is out of the way.

    I'lll be looking for him this preseason. I think that Odrick and McDaniel will be legitimately ahead of him in all rotations, both base and nickel. Further, Baker's luck could change for the worse if Kendall Langford takes the next step we've been thinking he could, and starts showing more ability to collapse and pressure the pocket. But right now, absent a signing or a trade, Baker's making the roster, and I think the coaches like him so he'll probably get more than 14 snaps this year.
     
    Tijean, MrClean, B.Sebo and 7 others like this.
  2. PhinsRDbest

    PhinsRDbest Transform and Transcend

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    the next dimension
    I think we're all still waiting to see why this FO has kept Dotson on this team. There's got to be a reason. I like giving Baker or Dotson the try rather than acquiring Spears.
     
    Topdawg13 likes this.
  3. Topdawg13

    Topdawg13 New Member

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    I would tend to agree, unless they feel Spears would be an upgrade(I don't).
     
  4. PHINANALYST

    PHINANALYST Well-Known Member

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    the challenge is that this FO wants to and continues to build this team to win THIS year ... so signing a veteran would not surprise - as opposed to waiting for 2 rookies in Odrick and Baker; granted i projected Odrick as our drop down 1st rounder -- and i expect him to start by game 4-5 at worst ... whilst Baker is an UDFA in year two of growth.

    we will continue to look around for DE, OLB and S throughout the summer even with positive signs from Odrick, Misi and Clemons ! The offense is set ... the defense is not ...
     
  5. PhinsRock

    PhinsRock Premium Member Luxury Box

    Thanks CK, good intel. Baker might just have the goods we need him to and this could be his year to step up and prove it.
     
  6. ckparrothead

    ckparrothead Draft Forum Moderator Luxury Box

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    Based on what I saw, Dotson is over. I'm writing him off. I hate to do that but it's been two years and you've got to show me SOMETHING by now. Paul Soliai came out raw as an uncooked biscuit, but he did show us something by the end of his second year, in very limited opportunities.

    As for Ryan Baker, if you play only 12 plays (there were 13th and 14th plays that was just a kneel downs I believe, I didn't tape them) and you have a QB Sack (Bills), a QB Hit (Bills), a QB Pressure (Titans), and a TFL (Bills)...you're doing something right. PFF didn't even give him credit for one of his plays on the QB. And I came close to awarding him a second QB Pressure against the Texans. He arrived at the QB at the same time as a couple of other people and Schaub did feel that pressure, but he got the ball out to I believe it was Jacoby Jones. We're only talking about 8 pass plays here.

    He's a bottom of the roster guy, but he'll get more than 14 plays this year. I don't think he'll end up a "somebody" by the end of the year, anymore than guys like Tony McDaniel, Chris Clemons or Tyrone Culver are "somebodies" at the moment. Nobody outside Miami really knows those guys' names and I don't expect people outside Miami to know Ryan Baker's name after 2010. You can't project him to shoot that high based on 12 plays. But after watching the highly depressing tape on Lionel Dotson, watching Ryan Baker was pretty damn pleasant.
     
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  7. rafael

    rafael Well-Known Member

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    Thanks CK!

    Looking through those snaps I see a guy who I feel is adequate as part of the rotation. I don't think he'll ever be a star. But he seems disciplined and can make some plays without giving up too many. I think he understands his role and generally fulfills it. I don't know that he does anything exceptionally well. I don't see great explosiveness or power. I can see him being a slight liability in the run game b/c I doubt he's able to get off the block quick enough to corral most decent backs. But he generally holds his ground and fills a lane and that's mostly what you want from him. I do agree that he seems to have good awareness in that he's filling the right lane. In the pass game, he can get some pressure, but nothing special. And again, he shows good awareness. He won't be a play maker, but he's a nice role player.
     
  8. ckparrothead

    ckparrothead Draft Forum Moderator Luxury Box

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    Another strong possibility involves moving Quentin Moses to DE. Moses didn't get a whole lot of playing time, but the tape I put together shows a few choice snaps that lead you to believe he could play a 3-4 RDE role.

    He's got great length, and because he's been here for over two years, he's come a long way in using his hands and his eyes, reading the plays and getting used to the 3-4 style of play of engaging, reading and getting off blocks.

    Mike Nolan is not going to be a huge fan of him at LB because he's a little too bulky in space, not fast or quick enough. He's more of a downhill guy. In Nolan's defense, in my opinion he'd have to play WOLB, and I don't think he has the pass rush ability to justify playing him at that position.

    But if you move him to 3-4 RDE, you might actually have something.

    [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=um8wPIfmWBc"]YouTube- Universal Draft Presents Miami Dolphins OLB Quentin Moses[/ame]

    What stands out to me about that video is really his physical work in the trenches. He seems like he's laboring pretty hard when asked to make plays in space, I thought he was surprisingly mediocre doing so but still not exactly starter quality. But when you look at his work in the trenches, if he can do that same work against offensive tackles (he's very strong and has long arms), again you might have something.

    Now if you like, fast forward to 3:17 in the video. He's up against New England's left tackle, Matt Light. This isn't a 3-4 exactly but it's actually close enough considering the responsibilities. He pretty much does it perfectly here. He engages the left tackle, reads the play, uses his hands to keep the blocker off him, disengages and gets off the block to hit the runner in the gap. This is really the only time in the video he does this against an offensive tackle, but he's doing the exact same thing over and over again against Tight Ends the whole time. Maybe it's time to see if he can bump up to tackles, and use his quickness advantage against them.
     
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  9. ckparrothead

    ckparrothead Draft Forum Moderator Luxury Box

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    I'll say this, if the Dolphins do not make a move on someone significant like Marques Douglas or Marcus Spears, then the reason they would feel comfortable not doing that would probably be because they feel that Ryan Baker and perhaps Quentin Moses can provide depth at that position.

    In Nolan's Denver defense he made use of lighter guys like Darrell Reid and Vonnie Holliday, both of whom regularly pulled out into space with their hand off the ground...not necessarily to cover, but to confuse the offensive line. I think Moses could be a guy like that.

    And as for Baker, we're talking about 8 pass plays here, one of which was a screen and he got 1 QB Sack, 1 QB Hit, and 1 or 2 QB Pressures. We're talking about 4 plays here where the guy got to the QB, out of 6 where he was single blocked and it wasn't a screen. And the other 2 plays, one he had a contain responsibility and ran himself wide to make sure neither the QB nor RB popped out of that lane to the left side of the OL, and another was a quick pass and he just got his hands up to try and knock it down. If you can't get away with single blocking him in pass protection, that's a pretty good player.
     
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  10. PhinGeneral

    PhinGeneral PC Texas A&M, Bro Club Member

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    Every once in awhile you see guys like Ryan Baker, limited athletically but who reportedly has one of those non-stop motors and a strong work ethic, make themselves into very good players over time. Hopefully he can become one of those guys.
     

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