Chris Baker got the Jets’ tight ends off to a memorable start in 2006. His go-ahead touchdown catch in the fourth quarter against the Titans propelled the Green & White to a season-opening victory. It was a career year for Baker as he led a corps that included Sean Ryan and James Dearth.
Following his first win as an NFL head coach, Eric Mangini was asked about his starting tight end.
“I really like what Chris Baker has done. He has worked extremely hard, he has reshaped his body,” Mangini said. “He is in outstanding physical shape. He is doing a good job blocking, which has always been a strength.”
Against the Titans, Baker finished with four receptions for 34 yards. Besides his physical improvement, Mangini also mentioned the strides Baker had taken in getting into the pattern.
“Chris is refining his route-running and improving in that area, and working with the quarterbacks. He has been excellent that way, and you saw the key catch that he made on third-and-10 that set up a TD before the half, and obviously the game-winning TD,” he said. “That preparation and that approach, seeing that translate to the game is good for him, and it is good for the team.”
The Jets' use of Baker helped quarterback Chad Pennington and the team’s receivers. Defenses were forced to take note of the 6’3”, 258-pound target when he left the line of scrimmage.
“It takes the coverage and it brings it back in the center of the field, and it doesn’t let defenses push it back out to receivers, and tight ends are a big part of that,” Mangini said. “The more effective the tight end position is, the more it opens up overall and the more difficult it is to defend.”
Baker posted career-highs in receptions (31) and receiving yards (300), but he arguably should have had one more 24-yard catch to his total. Instead of matching his career high of four touchdown receptions, he should have finished with five scores.
After getting outplayed for much of the afternoon in Game 8 at Cleveland, the Green & White found themselves trailing by seven points with 1:06 remaining. On fourth-and-4 from the Browns’ 24, Pennington escaped pressure and threw down the right sideline into the end zone. And there was Baker, jumping into the air, and somehow corralling the pass with one hand before being forced out of bounds. But after a marathon huddle, on-field officials ruled Baker wouldn’t have landed inbounds had he not been hit.
“There's nothing we can do about it. We shouldn’t have put ourselves in a position like that where we would have to come back,” said Baker. “We should have executed the game plan, and then we wouldn’t have had to worry about it. Like I said, there is really nothing you can do about it now, so it doesn’t make sense to sit there and dwell on it. You just have to move on.”
Fellow tight end Sean Ryan joined the Jets in ’06. He played a full 16 games for the first time in his career and caught his first six professional passes. The 6’5”, 265-pound Ryan was a consistent run blocker throughout the year.
Ryan also embraced the feistiness that Mangini encouraged and that came through in road wins at Green Bay, Minnesota and Miami late in the season.
"We've got a lot of guys who are feisty players. I think that bodes well for us," he said. "Coach Mangini put it great: We weren't going to be anyone's Sports Century moment. Obviously he doesn't want us to do anything stupid. But he also wants us to go on the road and not play scared."
James Dearth, a holdover who has now completed six years with the Jets, was used infrequently as a tight end but continues his consistent play as the club’s long-snapper. Dearth collected two special teams tackles in ’06 and has 25 for his career.
All three veterans will return when training camp commences. It is possible the Green & White could look to add a tight end in the middle or late rounds in April’s draft. Baker, who will enter his sixth season, has become a complete player after being selected in the third round of the 2002 draft.
“When I came out in the draft they said that I couldn’t block. I just tried to go out and improve on that and as the opportunities came in the passing game, I tried to take advantage of them,” he said. “Obviously, I’ve played a lot of games and I know more than I did back then. Overall, I have just worked on different things and parts of my game to try and have no weaknesses in my game.”
