Was Sam Baker a reach?

Reaching for a draft pick. We hear about it all the time. Teams using a high draft pick to select a player that wasn’t valued that high…or was he? The reason I bring this up a full week after the draft is because I have been hearing a great deal about how the Falcons selection of Sam Baker was a reach.

Baker is an imposing offensive tackle from USC who was projected by the experts to be a second round pick. He was projected to be between the fourth and sixth tackle selected in the draft.

Players’ on-field rankings and expert opinions are not the only factors that figure in when a team selects a draft pick. Character, work ethic, common sense, a passion for the game, the ability to be easily taught, and placing team success over personal success are several of the intangibles not measured by a stopwatch or tape measure.

So lets assume that after studying the tapes, grading the performances, and interviewing each and every prospect, a team decides that out of the 200+ players that will be selected in the draft, 12 are the exact perfect fit for their team. They target another 20 as top prospects that would be a very good fit for the team. Another 10 designated as good prospects. These players meet or exceed not only the physical rankings that we see on ESPN but also the needs of the team from a positional standpoint and the intangible standpoint. These 42 players are now on the top of their wish list or draft board.

Come draft day the team has their list up and ready. Their goal? To obtain as many players from the top of their list as possible. When pick #3 rolls around, the Falcons look at their draft board and see that Matt Ryan, their #1 guy is available…he is selected. As the draft progresses, a few more players from their list fall to other teams. Guys like Clady or Otah fall quickly and it is determined that Sam Baker, their next highest pick on top of their draft board, could be snatched up during this latest run on offensive tackles.

The Falcons move up and trade picks in order to obtain Baker. Some NFL experts furrow a brow, some fans groan, yet the Falcons are ecstatic. They have just acquired the next highest player on their best player list. Now remember, that list isn’t Mel Kiper’s list. It isn’t Mike Mayock’s list, it is the Atlanta Falcons list.

This list, compiled by the entire Falcon staff and meticulously refined by Coach Smith and Thomas Dimitroff, is the only list that matters. Unless we are in the room when the tape is watched, or when the mini-camps are conducted we can never know what the staff knows about the Falcons and their needs. Unless we sit in on the meetings and listen to directives laid down by Arthur Blank, we can never truly know the foundation from which this team will be built on. So it is the Falcon draft board from which the team makes its selections.

Who cares what Mel Kiper thinks. Who cares if some fans are questioning the moves. What does it matter if the Falcons draft grade is less than stellar in USA Today? What matters is that the Falcons targeted certain players and went out and got them. They didn’t wait for a player to fall into their lap or cross their fingers in the hopes they got lucky, they went out and FOUGHT for their picks and got the men they wanted.

These players have the tools, skill, and intangibles that the Falcons want in a player and they landed the players that meet all the criteria laid down by the GM and his staff. Whether Kiper had Baker going in round one or round two does not matter. Kiper doesn’t sit in on the team meetings and run drills at mini-camp. Kipers list is based on a generic overall picture based on statistical grading. The Falcons list is based on so much more and I have to believe, held to a higher standard than that of any mock draft “expert”.

Sure there are exceptions and blunders that can be made. The Jets drafting Johnny Mitchell in 1992 comes to mind when thinking of all time greatest reaches. I’m sure the Jets front office was happy to get the player they wanted but with only one tight end taken before and none taken after (in the 1st round), I think that there is also accountability when it comes to building a proper front office and scouting staff. If either fail in their jobs its almost impossible for a coach to do his.

Baker was taken 22nd by the Falcons, the fifth tackle taken.

So let the media cry reach. Let the “experts” believe we overpaid for a draft pick. Let the message boards flow with words like “waste” and “poor value”. The Falcons got just what they wanted and they didn’t go outside the realm of reality to get it. I predict Baker will be a staple on the Falcons offensive line for years to come and the 2008 draft will be the first of many victories for Thomas Dimitroff and his staff of talent seekers.

Horse, who wrote that?

It`s telling it like it is, IMO. 7i87,m7t8

Thats what I been sayin.

Wow great read..Baker was a reach we had to make and who cares if ESPN talking heads likes it or not..

Gerald Laskowski

It's the same thing I've been saying the whole time...Baker, before the injuries this season, was graded out as a bonafide first rd pick...he was actually considered to be potential top 10 pick going into this past season...The team is obviously looking at his entire body of work, and not just this single season...personally, I like the pick...I believe he's going to be a great LT for us for years to come... :)

Yeah if everybody else wasn't taking tackles in the first round we could have had him at 34.

He couldn't have been a reach.........






































............his arms are too short! b667ur nr6

Been savimg that lomg?

Nah, we had to trade up because all the tackles were coming off the boards. If we we came out of the 2nd round with no Tackle then this fanbase would of went crazy.

Actually, it just hit me.

I'm surprised you couldn't tell...... nr6

Thanks for the kind words guys. I got tired of hearing about Baker being a reach and wanted to set the record straight about the talking heads at ESPN.

Feel free to drop over to MVN.com and comment anytime. Always good to hear from fans who know their Falcon football.

Thanks again, glad you liked it.

-Gerald Laskowski
MVN.COM/nfl-falcons

Thanks, for the good article, you done you`r homework.
I give you an A for listening to what TD had to say and expressing the Falcon POV well. 7i87,m7t8