Age: 25
4th
season in pro football & with Oilers
College: Jacksonville
State
Height: 6’5” Weight: 272
Prelude:
Baker was
twice named a Little All-American by the Associated Press and starred on the
1977 Jacksonville State team that contended for the Division II national
championship. He was chosen by the Oilers in the second round of the 1979 NFL
draft and was used in passing situations in place of Pro Bowl DE Elvin Bethea,
accumulating an unofficial total of 15.5 sacks. Baker continued in that role
for the next two years, and was credited with 10 (unofficial) sacks in 1981. He
moved into the starting lineup for the ’82 season, the first in which sacks
were officially compiled for individual players.
1982 Season Summary
Appeared in all
9 games
[Bracketed
numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]
Sacks – 7.5 [6,
tied with Curtis Greer & Lawrence Taylor, 1st in AFC]
Most sacks,
game – 3 at Cincinnati 9/12
Multi-sack
games – 1
Interceptions
– 0
Fumble recoveries
– 1
Fumble
recovery TDs – 0
Oilers went 1-8
to finish 13th in the AFC, divisions having been eliminated due to the
strike-shortened nature of the season.
Aftermath:
Baker had a
down season in 1983, still leading the 2-14 Oilers in sacks, but with only 5.5.
He bounced back with 11 in ’84. After another lesser year in 1985 he was waived
by the Oilers and picked up by Dallas, but was released by the Cowboys after
three games and returned to Houston for the remainder of the season. Baker
played in nine games in 1987, his last year. Better as a pass rusher than a run
defender, Baker recorded an official total of 35 sacks (all but one of them
with the Oilers), but when adding in unofficial totals prior to 1982, his
actual total was at least 25 more than that.
--
Highlighted Years features players who were consensus
first-team All-League* selections or league* or conference** leaders in the
following statistical categories:
Rushing:
Yards, TDs (min. 10)
Passing:
Yards, Completion Pct., Yards per Attempt, TDs, Rating
Receiving:
Catches, Yards, TDs (min. 10)
Scoring: TDs,
Points, Field Goals (min. 5)
All-Purpose:
Total Yards
Defense:
Interceptions, Sacks
Kickoff
Returns: Average
Punt Returns:
Average
Punting:
Average
*Leagues
include NFL (1920 to date), AFL (1926), AFL (1936-37), AAFC (1946-49), AFL
(1960-69), WFL (1974-75), USFL (1983-85)
**NFC/AFC
since 1970
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