Ask Chris Baker to name the best reception of his career and he doesn’t take long to deliver the answer.
“Cleveland.”
In October 2006, Baker made a ludicrous one-handed reception at Cleveland Browns Stadium and it came at the most opportune moment. The Jets were trailing by seven with 1:06 remaining and they faced a fourth-and-4 at the Browns’ 24-yard line.
“It was just a natural reaction to go up and that was the only way I could catch it was with one hand,” Baker said today.
It appeared there would never be a pass to begin because QB Chad Pennington was caught in the hands of S Sean Jones. But somehow Penny escaped and hurled a spiral down the right sideline, Baker leaped in the air and made the remarkable single-handed grab with his right hand. Safety Brodney Pool delivered a big blow, though, and Baker was forced out of bounds.
"I need to see it, but I'm pretty sure from the way I jumped that I was going to come down inbounds," said the veteran tight end immediately afterward.
There was confusion on the field. The field judge, nearest to the contact, stood in the end zone and ruled an incompletion. But the line judge, farther away but right on the sideline, thought it was a touchdown. Unfortunately for the Jets and Baker, referee Mike Carey ruled the play an incompletion and the 24-yard game-tying touchdown never happened.
“"We took a timeout to provide a little more time for everyone to take a look at it," said Jets head coach Eric Mangini following the contest. "The coaches upstairs were yelling, 'It's a touchdown! It's a touchdown!’ "
“Every time I see everybody, they say I was in and that we were robbed,” Baker said today. “That’s a play everyone remembers.”
But forceouts are not reviewable. The Green & White lost in agonizing fashion, heading into the bye with a 4-4 record. The Browns won their second game of the ’06 season, escaping after almost blowing a 20-3 lead.
"I saw it the same way the referee did," said Browns head coach Romeo Crennel.
"We finally got a break," added linebacker Andra Davis. "This is a blessing."
The Brownies aren’t counting their blessings anymore. They may have traded places with the Jets as this year’s AFC dark-horse contender, but now they’re the team that’s snakebitten.
Trailing, 27-21, Sunday in Arizona, the Browns were in enemy territory at the 37 and just six seconds remained on the game clock. QB Derek Anderson was able to get off a quality fourth-down pass, though, and TE Kellen Winslow went up high in the end zone to corral the ball.
But non unlike Baker a year prior, he was hammered by a safety — this time, former Jet Oliver Celestin did the trick. The referees immediately ruled an incompletion and the game ended with nothing to review.
''I thought he was clearly forced out,'' said the aforementioned Andra Davis.
Ah, the irony. It seemed only appropriate that Celestin, a reserve DB and core special-teamer with the Jets in 2004 and ’05, would help the Browns taste defeat in the same manner the Jets had experienced a year before.
“I thought it was ironic that it was the week before we played them and the same situation along the sideline, the last play coming on fourth down,” said Baker, who was unaware that Celestin forced Winslow out of play.
On Sunday, the Jets will play host to the Browns. The Green & White are playing their best football of the ’07 season while Cleveland need this victory to enhance its playoff chances. The visitors have a lot of offensive firepower but are suspect on defense and have dropped four of their six road games.
Wouldn’t it be something if these two play down to the wire once again? Hopefully, both teams are done with their disputed endings and forceouts.
“They really need to define the rule because some officials do a good job of saying he was forced out and some guys don’t really see it that way,” Baker said. “I think it should be reviewable in the fact that it happens so fast on the sidelines, and a lot of times officials don’t get a good view and they have to make a snap judgment on it.”
