I think the 17 sacks, through what would be 8 weeks, would work out to 34 sacks across 17 games. Not a huge statistical improvement, it’s about the same actually.Baker so far has been sacked 17 times which is still surprisingly low given he was sacked 40 times last season. So yeah Baker has taken a beating but with a better OL post bye I think he takes off for the second half of the season.
In the 4 games of being able to play like Houdini, surviving by getting out of the pocket and extending plays, still opened him up to a lot of hits over those 4 come-from-behind wins in the last minute. The Lions game, the o-line & refs just about finished touches him. Although Baker seems to recover pretty quickly, he needs some offensive weapons to throw to/lean on. Will he have them?
Moving forward after the bye, we need to protect him better if we’re going to have any relevance in the playoffs. The line must also generate a run game, something we haven’t yet put on the field this season. The run-game finally developing is also a critical need for any significant playoff relevance. I don’t want just a one and done playoff run this season.
Gotta get some offensive weapons for him to utilize.
The final need, to me, would be an EDGE that can be trusted to shut down a game in the second half. I know we have/can generate sacks, but currently, that is accomplished only by taking someone out of coverage. The front 4 has to generate a killer pass rush.
Not sure the EDGE addition will be able to be significantly addressed in a trade by next week. Too many hunters (teams), not enough qualified players. That means the cost has increased for the relevant gain. That’s not something Licht has historically done. We’ll see.
Maybe but the OL was intact last year and you had a better run game and yet he was sacked 40 times, so that goes to show you that play calling isn't so black and white as there are many shades of gray.
I missed getting to watch the game live, but watched the replay last night.
Baker's still hurt. The knee is still an issue, you can tell that he's not moving as smoothly or quickly whenever he has to turn/cut. He also threw his best/most accurate throws when both feet were off the ground. Passes when he wasn't having to put weight or torque on his left knee. There was an intermediate throw to Tez in the first half that he tried to put some mustard on, but just didn't have his customary velocity. On that deep shot to Mek in the EZ, he had a chance to step into the throw, but his motion was slightly abbreviated. I would guess that was due either to the knee or the oblique issue, probably both. Also noticed that he was walking a little gingerly between a few snaps.
So far no mention has been made of any injury to his back or any continuing problem with his bicep, which would be great. The back and knee are bad enough. hoping neither is bad enough to linger after the bye, so he can look like himself from before the DET game.
Also, the OL has to play better. Was surprised to see Wirfs getting beat multiple times in NOR. But really the right side of the OL is just bad; we need Goedeke back in the worst way or Baker might not finish the season.
"And defensive coordinators are taking notice. Mayfield has not logged a carry over the past two weeks. Part of that may be attributed to the multiple injuries he is playing through – one to his knee and the other to his oblique. But it is also a derivative of defensive strategies changing to account for Mayfield’s effective scrambling. The Lions spied him throughout the game in week seven. That strategy was highly effective."