Is Barber the new RW31?

[BAZ]

I predict in two years Felix and TC will have similar threads.

 

[Ren]

I wish he'd stop almost highfive'ing every defender that tackles him it's really annoying

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

LOL!

Seriously though, the only way I trade Newman is for one of the following:

Asomugha, C. Bailey, Samuel, Revis.

Same here. I think people don't realize how Newman ranks among corners in this league. He's still better than most. And with Ashanti Samuel he's a wierd one because he does have a lot of picks but the guy jumps so many routes he gets beat his share of time as well.

 

[chinch]

few things RW & Barber have in common off the top of my head...

sloooow
many big hits early
HUGE premature contract
duck from the media

we saw huge red flags in attitude when barber sided with TO last year and he apparently dodged the media yesterday again running from reporters. no accountability is a huge problem with the cowboys. maybe he's still smarting from jerry calling him out last year for missing games, thinking he should be playing (pitt game?).

it's sad to see him fall so quickly. that does mimic Roy and hoping things to turnaround does not seem like an adequate plan. his pass catching has even been stunted.

really sad to see.

I've rarely seen a relatively young layer decline so rapidly. He almost reminds me of Roy Williams in that he was never quick to begin with, but then he seemed to lose a step and was done.

Really, what good is Barber right now? He can't seem to bulldoze people anymore, and the big runs he does get are through huge holes where Felix or Choice would get more yards than he does.

I'm not really bashing the guy, because we all love his heart and effort, but he's a total spare right now. I just can't believe how fast it seemed to happen.

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

few things RW & Barber have in common off the top of my head...

sloooow
many big hits early
HUGE premature contract
duck from the media

we saw huge red flags in attitude when barber sided with TO last year and he apparently dodged the media yesterday again running from reporters. no accountability is a huge problem with the cowboys. maybe he's still smarting from jerry calling him out last year for missing games, thinking he should be playing (pitt game?).

it's sad to see him fall so quickly. that does mimic Roy and hoping things to turnaround does not seem like an adequate plan. his pass catching has even been stunted.

really sad to see.

Give me a break. We saw red flags when he sided with TO? The whole locker room sided with TO according to this site. This is when I noticed fans started turning on Barber. When he sided with TO. Ridiculous. How can you judge that man's accountability because he doesn't talk to the media? You guys hold the media to such high standards. Who cares if no one talks to them? Its a shame how fans have turned on Barber but I saw it coming. I shouldn't say all fans. Just a selective bunch.

 

[CATCH17]

I think he has a bad wheel and we will find out more about it at the end of the year.

He looked like a completely different back before his leg injury.

I bet he has a hole in his leg from that injury.

 

[Ren]

Give me a break. We saw red flags when he sided with TO? The whole locker room sided with TO according to this site. This is when I noticed fans started turning on Barber. When he sided with TO. Ridiculous. How can you judge that man's accountability because he doesn't talk to the media? You guys hold the media to such high standards. Who cares if no one talks to them? Its a shame how fans have turned on Barber but I saw it coming. I shouldn't say all fans. Just a selective bunch.

It has far more to do with his obvious decline in play then any conspiracy theory about TO

 

[LittleBoyBlue]

He is being ruined just like the Yankees are ruining Joba Chamberlain by making him a starter.


Barber was a knockout artist as a late game player. A closer.

Joba was lights out out of the pen for 1-2 innings.


NOW, Barber fumbles and gets tackled.
NOW, Joba's fastball is 4-5 mph slower.

 

[wileedog]

It's hard to pick up yards when you have defenders hanging on you. When the line does their job he picks up yards.

He has defenders hanging on to him because he is slower to get through a hole than Felix or Choice.

The difference is he used to have the strength to shrug those defenders off and keep going. That burst seems to be gone now, making him a very average RB.

 

[Dallas]

Some of those runs he was popping off early yesterday looked like the old Barber. I wasn't down on him running yesterday. He had an initual burst.


The fact is folks, our OL sucks at running the ball and mauling defenses.

What drives me crazy w/ Barber is Red Jesus getting cute calling perimeter running plays w/ him. When was the last time Barber got outside and hurt a defense?

I just don't understand the thinking w/ using Barber that way.

On that last play yesterday where they stuffed Barber over and over again, had Davis PULLING out on that play. What flippin OC calls a play where you have OL pulling out when all you need is half a yard?

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

I think he has a bad wheel and we will find out more about it at the end of the year.

He looked like a completely different back before his leg injury.

I bet he has a hole in his leg from that injury.

I agree. I think that goes to Felix as well. I think both are playing hurt.

It has far more to do with his obvious decline in play then any conspiracy theory about TO

Isn't he on pace to have a better year this year than he did last year? I disagree though. There's only so much Barber can do. He's never been the fastest back. He's a physical one. So if i'm judging him based on him being a physical back he's the same back to me. I don't blame him for being tackled in the backfield. I just don't.

 

[Chocolate Lab]

I don't think so, or at least I hope that's not the case. I watched the first Giants game about 10 days ago and MBIII looked as explosive as ever, hit the hole quick and looked for contact. I'm hoping that his regression is due to the quad strain lingering all year and we have not seen the demise of the Barbarian.

Hopefully you guys are right about this. I just thought that by now, especially after the 10-day Thanksgiving break, he'd be pretty much okay by now.

Whatever it is, I think he may be our third best back right now. I think one of the other two, especially Felix, would've scored on the goal line play where Barber got so close. Because it's not all about running over people; it's just as much about finding the soft spot in the line and getting to and through it.

 

[Yeagermeister]

He has defenders hanging on to him because he is slower to get through a hole than Felix or Choice.

The difference is he used to have the strength to shrug those defenders off and keep going. That burst seems to be gone now, making him a very average RB.

He has defenders hanging on him because the oline isn't blocking worth a crap. He's never been the fastest rb but he also didn't have a thigh injury.

 

[chinch]

sorry, but WINNERS (and those accountable) DO NOT DUCK THE MEDIA.

EVER

that is the problem with brooking's lame comments ripping into the media.

If you feel that is too high a standards then i feel sad for you.

Give me a break. We saw red flags when he sided with TO? The whole locker room sided with TO according to this site. This is when I noticed fans started turning on Barber. When he sided with TO. Ridiculous. How can you judge that man's accountability because he doesn't talk to the media? You guys hold the media to such high standards. Who cares if no one talks to them? Its a shame how fans have turned on Barber but I saw it coming. I shouldn't say all fans. Just a selective bunch.

 

[Yeagermeister]

Hopefully you guys are right about this. I just thought that by now, especially after the 10-day Thanksgiving break, he'd be pretty much okay by now.

Whatever it is, I think he may be our third best back right now. I think one of the other two, especially Felix, would've scored on the goal line play where Barber got so close. Because it's not all about running over people; it's just as much about finding the soft spot in the line and getting to and through it.

Felix and Choice wouldn't have gotten as close as Barber did.

 

[wileedog]

He has defenders hanging on him because the oline isn't blocking worth a crap. He's never been the fastest rb but he also didn't have a thigh injury.

They're blocking like crap for Felix and Choice too, yet both have over a 1 YPC advantage over him.

And if the thigh injury is still slowing him down, sit him. That's why we have 3 RBs.

 

[Ren]

Isn't he on pace to have a better year this year than he did last year? I disagree though. There's only so much Barber can do. He's never been the fastest back. He's a physical one. So if i'm judging him based on him being a physical back he's the same back to me. I don't blame him for being tackled in the backfield. I just don't.

A lot of his good plays in 06, 07 and even early last season came when he bounced a bad play outside rather then Julius'ing it for 2-3 yards. He's still trying to do that but the quickness isn't there anymore

 

[TellerMorrow34]

There are three things I think are killing the production for Barber now.

#1: He never should have been an every down, start the game, type of back. He's the kind of guy you sprinkle in during the early parts of the game and then a big dose late in the third and through the fourth. He keeps his power and legs much better that way.

#2: Once he began starting last year, and maybe this is just me, but it seems like he lost a little bit of the edge to just run up field, get all he can, bowl over people, etc. and started trying to dance, cut, make moves, and such in trying to make highlight reel runs like a Felix Jones would get cause of his speed and agility. Obviously Barber is not that type of back and he shouldn't be trying to be and I think that's hurt him as well.

#3: He's been dinged up a lot since taking over full time. I don't think there is any way to not notice the noticable drop off from Barber the moment he gets dinged.

For example last year he was doing pretty well, motoring along, got injuried on Thanksgiving and then even when he played after that he never seemed right. It seemed like his injuries just lingered on and on.

Then this year you take him and he runs pretty darn well against Tampa and is having a darn fine game against the Giants before he injuried his quad late in the Giants game. Once again every since that injury he's never seemed the same this year either.

I don't know if its because he's forcing himself back too early, and not letting the injuries heal so he can be 100%, and thus it's causing them to linger all year or what but those things seem to just ruin him. He started off well both seasons and then had injuries really hobble and slow him.

I'd like to see what he could do by reducing his work load a bit through out games, and him staying closer to 100% all year long, to find out what he could really bring. I think it would be a lot more like what he brought before, in his closer and short yardage role.

 

[MrMom]

Hopefully you guys are right about this. I just thought that by now, especially after the 10-day Thanksgiving break, he'd be pretty much okay by now.

Whatever it is, I think he may be our third best back right now. I think one of the other two, especially Felix, would've scored on the goal line play where Barber got so close. Because it's not all about running over people; it's just as much about finding the soft spot in the line and getting to and through it.

Tell me about it. Sometimes you just have to get small, fall sideways, get an extra yard or two. I would've liked to have seen Felix get a shot at the goal line.

 

[VThokie7]

Felix and Choice wouldn't have gotten as close as Barber did.

I agree that Felix probably would not have, but I don't think you can say so confidently that Choice wouldn't have.

Whether Marion is still hurt remains to be seen, but in his present state he doesn't have 50% of the passion that made him great.