Business is not exactly booming

Rams punter Baker is able to kick back

By Jim McCabe, Globe Staff, 1/30/2002

NEW ORLEANS - Imagine being the photographer for the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. Or Tiger Woods's caddie. Or a meteorologist in Hawaii. Or a taste-tester for Emeril.

Sound nice?

Then you perhaps can imagine what it's like being the punter for the St. Louis Rams. Hey, it's a job and someone has to do it, but you're not exactly saddled with a ton of pressure and the perks are pretty good.

''He's like a part-time employee,'' said a wise-cracking scribe, pointing to No. 4 for the Rams in your Super Bowl XXXVI program. His name is John Baker, a pleasant 24-year-old from Brenham, Texas, who has a firm grasp of reality as the days dwindle to Sunday's affair with the New England Patriots. He understands that the Rams sometimes need a punter like Bill Gates needs a paper route.

''I have a pretty good seat for the greatest show on earth,'' said Baker. ''It's a great job. It's a lot of fun being part of the team and watching some of the things they do - and getting out there to play now and then, too.''

The emphasis should be on ''watching'' and ''to play'' because Baker spends a lot of time doing the former and very little of the latter.

So dominating has the St. Louis offense been the last two seasons that Baker constantly is being told that he has the best job in football. ''I mean, if I had a dollar for every time I heard that,'' he said, laughing so hard he could not finish the sentence.

Baker knows the numbers as well as anyone, that he had 43 punts a year ago and 43 again in 2001, the sum of 86 so staggeringly low that six punters in the league had more than that this season alone. (Chris Gardocki of Cleveland, 99; Sean Landeta of Philadelphia, 97; Todd Sauerbrun of Carolina, 93; Rodney Williams of the Giants, 91; Bryan Barker of Washington, 90; and Brad Maynard of Chicago, 87.) ''I mean, after four or five games, one of the guys came up to me and said, `I have put more inside the 20 than you have punts.'''

The crowd huddled around him inside the Louisiana Superdome laughed, and so did Baker, who played collegiately at North Texas following one season at Blinn Junior College. Certainly, he's far from the spotlight that goes to teammates such as Marshall Faulk and Kurt Warner, and even field goal specialist Jeff Wilkins, to some degree, but while he is humble about his role, he approaches it with great professionalism.

''Those guys,'' he said, waving his arms toward the hulks and speedsters who attracted more media attention than the lowly punter, ''are expected to perform when they go out on the field and it's the same way with the punters, whether you get one punt or 10 punts. When you get out on the field, you expect to have a great punt; that's the way they look at it and that's the way I see my job as the Rams' punter.''

Baker ranked 16th among NFL punters in average kick, but only Josh Miller of Pittsburgh (59) came remotely close to him when it came to fewest punts by those who played in all 16 games. Baker's average of 42.1 yards wasn't significantly worse than those ahead of him, and only one attempt was blocked. It was at Tampa Bay, ''although I think they technically called it a fumble,'' he said.

Following coach Mike Martz's aggressive philosophy, Baker said the Rams don't kick away from returners, which is fine with him because that's his choice, too. The last time he kicked away from someone, he said, ''was in college,'' though Deion Sanders was treated very carefully a year ago.

So where does Baker rank Troy Brown, the Patriots standout whose touchdown return of a Miller punt last Sunday is a big reason the team is here? ''I haven't watched him that much,'' said Baker, ''but right now I'd say he ranks No. 1 because he's all that is standing between us and the championship.''

If Baker doesn't seem fazed by Brown, it's not out of disrespect, ''because as a punter, you hate to see a guy run one back; it puts a little bit of a fear in you to know that he has that ability.'' It's just that earlier this season when the Rams beat New England in Foxborough, Mass., 24-17, Brown got his hands on only one of Baker's punts. The 52-yard boot was returned for just 7 yards, so it's not as if that should stick out in his mind.

Of course, Baker had to punt it only one other time that night, which ranks as what constitutes a busy evening for him. Again, he laughed.

''Last year it was a little more of a big deal than it is this year,'' he said. ''Guys would say, `Are they actually paying you for this game?' Stuff like that.

''I mean, it's one of those things that's funny to see when you look at it that way. It's kind of odd. I think [my family and friends] have come to the game with the expectations in mind that I might only get a chance for one kick or two. But they have a good time anyway.''

Baker will, too, just so long as you understand that he is doing his job and you treat him respectfully. After all, it's not like he's doing nothing. In fact, only once has that happened.

''Last year, there was one game. No punts.''

Good work, if you can get it.