I....I don't even know what to say.
Look, I'm not an NFL player. I'm not a left tackle. I'm 5'11, 160-ish pounds. I would get destroyed by any single NFL player if he hit me hard enough.
Shout out to DanishFalcons for getting that fanshot up of Smitty saying he's "Very comfortable." with Baker at LT. He does have a point. I'm pretty sure Baker's best year was 2010 as far as advanced stats goes (I don't know), and yeah, Baker had some issues this year.
But.....c'mon, man!
Anyone who watched last year knows that Svitek was a noticeable upgrade over Baker. I'm not trying to be hateful. I love all my Falcons (relatively) equally, but the brutal truth here is that Svitek was better than Baker last year, and Baker has never really been the LT we've needed him to be.
Going forward, Smitty sounds like he's committed to Swiss cheese. (Smitty, are you a cheese connoisseur? Because if you are, don't bring your love of Swiss cheese to football! Holes are only good for running backs)
This does not include the possibility that MM or Boudreau were making Baker worse than he actually is. (I doubt that's the case.)
Naturally, I don't expect Smitty to throw anyone under the bus, he's not that type of guy, but this does open up a whole different can of worms as to what we'll be doing this offseason. The pickings at LT are pretty slim, as far as I know, and it is much more stable to stay in-house with what you have and focus money elsewhere, like Mario Williams (To all Falcons staff everywhere: Please sign him)
Still, Baker at LT worries me. I almost worry if they're going to let the inferior guy start next season, for some reason.
Your thoughts?