What did Chris Baker expect?

By Os Davis  |   Thursday, May 01, 2008  |  Comments( 2 )

New York Jets
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The day after the NFL regular season ended, New York Jets tight end Chris Baker was hopeful about renegotiating his low contract; hopeful as in, “Hopefully, we'll get something done.”

Baker entered the ranks of the rankled about six weeks ago when management signed Bubba Franks to a one-year deal at a higher rate than Baker’s base salary. He became disgruntled in the five weeks running up to the draft, reckoning it unfair that the Jets were unwilling to renegotiate his deal while throwing money at any and every free agent within range.

Baker probably officially became ticked off Saturday evening when, in classic fashion evoking fond memories (more on this below), New York went with ex-Purdue tight end Dustin Keller in the second round of the draft.

But, hey, what did Baker expect? This is the 2008 New York Jets, a maelstrom of chaos after free-agent signings aplenty and another mostly bizarre draft.

For those of you keeping score at home, it looks something like the following. Out are, among others, two-year starting OT Anthony Clement and four-year starting linebacker Jonathan Vilma. In is Andre Woolfolk, who played last season for ... well, he may have played some touch football in the backyard; Damien Woody and Alan Faneca, a pair of 30-somethings their former teams didn’t re-sign in favor of youth; Kris Jenkins and linebacker Calvin Pace, not terrible signings but hardly worth the exorbitance ($22 million for Pace? Guaranteed?)

What did Baker expect? Fairness? Kerry Rhodes got his deal redone after some heavy anonymous quotes hit the Daily News in early March; nothing, however, was done for Laveranues Coles, perhaps the most electrifying player on the Jets’ offense and a guy they’ve been hot enough for to acquire twice.

What did Baker expect? Logic in the draft? If so, you know he’s playing for the wrong team. Sure, Vernon Gholston was a good bet at No. 6 (not even Jets management could biff that one, it seems), but the Jets have appeared doomed in the first round since time immemorial, either selecting busts or players destined to blow town or demand a trade the minute the clock strikes midnight to end the contract term, i.e. Vilma, Dewayne Robertson, Santana Moss, James Farrior ... one wonders how much time D’Brickashaw Ferguson, Nick Mangold, and Darelle Revis have in New York.

And when Keller’s name was called Saturday, Radio City Music Hall was filled with the sound of flashback, right down to the distraught, confused and pained-looking dude clutching his Jets cap. If you're not a Jets backer, be sure to check out the traffic accident-fascinating compilation that the No. 30 overall selection may someday grace in the remake.

So going into 2008, the Jets have a stitched-together and untested depth chart, anonymous veterans grousing to press that “I don't know what they're doing,” and a choice at quarterback between Chad Pennington (“good” for $6 million in 2008, up from $4.8 million last season) and Kellen Clemens. Quite a mix, indeed.

Editorial policy at RealFootball365.com says that full-season predictions this far in advance are unwelcome, but from this perspective it doesn’t look good in Gotham; in fact, the 2008 New York Jets most resemble the proverbial train wreck waiting to happen. I’d hold off on those Super Bowl B-E-T-S for a year or three ...

Welcome to New York, Mr. Gholston!

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About Os Davis

Os Davis has taken a twisted route to get to RealFootball365.com in his nearly 17 years in professional writing, working in any number of capacities in the sportswriting, news reporting and film criticism worlds. In print media, Os has served as editor at a few publications, including Albuquerque's ...
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