SHOW OF RESPECT
NFL peers make Baker Pro Bowl starter
It only took 14 games, 15 weeks and a 4-9-1 record, but now we know exactly what’s been wrong with the Cardinals’ defense this year.
“If everyone played like Budda Baker, we wouldn’t lose a game,” defensive coordinator Vance Joseph said.
The beleaguered Joseph might be guilty of exaggerating, but don’t just take his word for it. Baker’s teammates hold the third-year free safety in equally high regard. Ask Larry Fitzgerald, who knows a thing or two about talent.
“If you have 53 Budda Bakers, you’re going to be competing for a championship every year because the guy lays it on the line every single day,” the veteran wide receiver said. “… He holds people accountable, he wants the pressure on
him, he wants to make the plays. There’s a reason why he’s a two-time Pro Bowl player and hopefully in the future, he’ll have many, many more.”
Baker made the Pro Bowl as a rookie for his performance on special teams. Last Tuesday, he was named the starting free safety for the NFC when this year’s NFL Pro Bowl rosters were announced. That’s a big leap in a short amount of time and it’s put an extra bounce in Baker’s step as he returns to his home state for Sunday’s game against the Seahawks in Seattle.
He’s walking a little taller and feeling a little prouder.
“I had kind of that pride feeling just because when I made it my rookie year, people would always say, ‘Oh, a lot of people can do that as a special teamer,’ ” Baker said. “So, this year, being a free safety and doing it, that’s definitely special for me.”
Baker has been especially special for the Cardinals despite their inconsistent season, which included a lengthy sixgame losing streak that finally was snapped a week ago.
The former second-round pick from the University of Washington leads all NFL defensive backs and ranks sixth overall with a career-high 125 tackles. Dating back to last season, he has 13 tackles for losses, the second-most by a defensive back during that span. He’s always around the football and his energy seems to be unparalleled.
“He plays so hard,” Joseph said. “He’s so engaged on every play. On every play, he plays 100 percent. That’s rare. I think you’re born with that. That can’t be taught.”
Joseph referenced a recent game in which Baker, caught on the other side of the field, fought through traffic and a series of blocks to race back to the other side and make a touchdown-saving tackle at the 3-yard line. It’s that type of hellacious hustle and never-give-up drive that continues to completely win over his coaches and teammates.
Now, it’s finally earning the national respect of his peers, as proof by him being selected as a Pro Bowl starter at safety.
“I think any time you have confidence and start to see how people view you outside of this building, it goes a long way,” head coach Kliff Kingsbury said. “The tape doesn’t lie. When you turn it on, you see him flying around and making plays and selling out each and every week. Guys respect that, and that’s why he was voted in.”
Outside linebacker Chandler Jones, who ranks second in the league with 15 sacks, was also selected as a Pro Bowl starter. When Baker was asked if feels he has now reached the pinnacle of NFL greatness, Jones quickly, but politely, interrupted.
“I’ll answer that question,” he said. “Honestly, on a serious note, Budda makes everyone look slower. And the reason why – it sounds funny – but he outruns everyone. You watch the film, there’s times where he’s running past me, running to the ball. The effort that you see, you can’t coach that. You can’t coach effort.
”Some of the things that he does is just amazing and I’m happy he’s getting national recognition for it, because what he’s doing, it’s crazy.”
Joesph added, “For him to make the Pro Bowl and our team only winning a handful of games and our defense not being great this year, the film is honest. If you watch the film, you have to say this kid is one of the best players in the league.”
Baker turns 24 next month, so there’s a chance he could start stockpiling Pro Bowl selections like the eight collected by Cardinals cornerback Patrick Peterson.
“He’s our sparkplug,” Peterson said. “He’s always all over the field. I tell him all the time, ‘We’re following you today’ because he always sets the tone. He plays at one speed and that’s fast. I’m very happy to see him get his first Pro Bowl selection as a starter. I told him, ‘You’ve got seven more to catch big bro.’ ”
The Seahawks could have easily snatched Baker away from the Cardinals during the 2017 draft. Baker, who grew up just 10 miles away from CenturyLink Field, was all over their radar. Seattle had the 35th overall selection that year, one spot ahead of the Cardinals, but instead of drafting Baker, they took Michigan State defensive tackle Malik McDowell.
The quickly learned to regret it, too. McDowell suffered numerous injuries during an all-terrain vehicle accident shortly after the draft and never played a down for the Seahawks. He eventually was released and has been in trouble with the law ever since for various offenses. Last month, a Michigan judge sentenced him to 11 months in prison.
Baker, meanwhile, could have served as the perfect bridge to the Seahawks rebuilding and re-branding their “Legion of Boom” secondary.
“I loved him as a football player,” Seahawks coach Pete Carroll told Arizona reporters during a conference call. “We knew him well. Such a savvy guy and plays with such tenacity. You couldn’t get a bigger spectrum range there between Malik McDowell and Budda with style, type of player and all that stuff. I think Budda’s a fantastically instinctive guy and I like watching him play.”
Like his previous two visits to CenturyLink Field, Baker is sure to have a multitude of family and friends on hand to watch his next exploits. It will be his second trip home since the death of his older brother, Robert, who in April 2018, was gunned down outside a Seattlearea bar. Budda plans to visit his brother’s grave before Sunday’s game.
As for returning home as a Pro Bowl starter, he said he will keep his head down and focus on the task at hand.
“Being in the Pro Bowl is great, but then again, people hold me to a higher standard,” Baker said. “If I go back and play terrible, anyone could say anything that they could say about me. So, for me, I’m just blessed to be in the Pro Bowl, but I’m just focused on this week, these last two weeks, hoping we end up strong and get ready for next year.”
Have an opinion on the Arizona Cardinals? Reach McManaman at bob.mcmanaman@arizonarepublic.com and follow him on Twitter @azbobbymac. Listen to him live on Fox Sports 910-AM every Tuesday afternoon at 3:30 on Calling All Sports with Roc and Manuch and every Wednesday night from 7-9 on The Freaks with Kenny and Crash.