Although he’s been on fire in the last month and is on pace to set career highs in virtually every offensive category this season, Jets tight end Chris Baker has not been a happy customer.

“The team’s season has obviously not been very good. It’s the first time I’ve been with a team with this record, and I’m trying to work through it,” Baker said after today's final practice of the week before Sunday's game at the winless Dolphins.

“This year, personally, my season has gone OK, but not ideally,” said Baker, who has 24 receptions for 247 yards and three touchdowns. “I want to be more involved. I’ve had that chance the last two weeks, and I’m trying to make the best of it.”

And in those past few weeks, Baker — who set or tied career highs last season in receptions (31), receiving yards (300) and touchdowns (four) — has stepped up to the challenge, amidst a slew of adversity, including a quarterback change and injuries.

His chemistry with second-year quarterback Kellen Clemens has been going extraordinarily well.

“He has done a good job,” Baker said of Clemens. “It is still really early in his career, so he is going to have good times and bad times. We need to pick up the play around him to help him out.”

The former Michigan State tight end is doing everything in his power to help the Oregon product. From the outside looking in, this may not appear to be an easy task with it being Clemens’ first venture as an NFL starter. Baker, however, feels at ease with his young batterymate, citing the bonding in their short time together.

“It helped a lot last year when we had a ‘quarterback derby,’ I guess you could call it, where we didn’t know who the starter would be,” said Baker. “We got the chance to work with different guys, so I got the chance to work with him a lot last year and then some this year as well. It’s been something where we’ve been working together for a while.”

In just three games since Clemens was named starter, Baker has recorded 11 receptions for 112 yards. Prior to the Week 8 matchup with the Redskins, Clemens’ first game as the team’s newly named starter, Baker had just 13 receptions when Chad Pennington had the starters’ role.

In fact, two of Baker’s catches and his first TD of the season in those first eight weeks came from Clemens in his first professional start, at Baltimore in Week 2.

These past few weeks have showcased Baker’s abilities, and the Queens, N.Y., native is reveling in the opportunity.

“Any player on the field who has the chance to touch the ball, you want to touch it as much as possible,” he said. “It’s definitely something that I embrace and look forward to.”

“I really like what Chris has done,” head coach Eric Mangini said, “and I think he's made progress over the course of two years with the route running. He has a good feel for getting open against man coverage. At the top of the route, there’s so much that you have to do to really separate and Chris has done some nice things there.”

Another reason for Baker’s improved role in coordinator Brian Schottenheimer’s offense is unfortunately because of the recent injuries to wide receiver Laveranues Coles, who suffered a concussion against Buffalo in Week 8 and an ankle injury against the Steelers in Week 11.

The loss of Coles not only took away the Jets' leading offensive weapon but it gave opposing secondaries the ability to double-team Jerricho Cotchery, who leads the team in receptions (54) and receiving yards (730).

As if luck couldn’t get worse for the Jets’ passing game, Cotchery did not participate in practice this week due to an injured right index finger.

“I’ve been playing with these guys the last few years,” Baker said. “I’m not happy that they’re not on the field. I just have to go out and get more involved in more plays.”

“We go out there with the guys that we have,” Clemens said Wednesday. “We do our best to execute no matter who is out there. Laveranues is obviously a great player and a very talented wide receiver. We try to focus on the guys who are on the field and who are able to contribute and help us out that week.”

This week, Clemens, Baker and company have been preparing for 0-11 Miami. Even though the Jets-Dolphins rivalry may have lost its luster this season due to the lack of wins for each club, Baker isn’t about to downplay the importance of the game.

“In my six years, this is the first time that both teams have had this amount of losses,” said the six-year veteran, who caught a 4-yard touchdown in the Jets’ 31-28 victory over Miami in Week 3. “It's going to be a close game — it always is, no matter what the records are. They are a team with a lot of pride, so they are going to come out ready to play. We have to do the same.”