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Barron flourishing in safety/linebacker hybrid role for Rams
• By Jim Thomas
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_b26669fa-1b92-5b5d-b43d-71a4654c5615.html
Mark Barron was a first-round draft pick in 2012 out of Alabama, and started 37 games in nearly 2½ seasons with Tampa Bay before last year’s late October trade sent him to the Rams.
Barron has had to adjust to role-player status in St. Louis. The hard-hitting safety has participated in 33 percent of the Rams’ defensive plays through three games this season, with 21 snaps apiece against Washington and Seattle, and 29 this past Sunday versus Pittsburgh.
But he has made his presence felt; just ask Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. A third-quarter sack by the 6-2, 213-pound Barron knocked Roethlisberger out of the game and is expected to sideline him for four to six weeks with a knee injury.
Because the contact was low, some wondered if it was a legal hit. But replays clearly show that Barron stumbled on a blitz near Pittsburgh’s left edge and lost his balance on his approach.
Barron’s momentum carried him to Roethlisberger, with his hand clipping Roethlisberger’s left foot. The Pittsburgh quarterback’s left knee buckled on contact as he was trying to escape by stepping up in the pocket.
“It’s the appropriate way to make contact with the quarterback when you’re going to the ground,” Rams coach Jeff Fisher said. “That’s what the league wants to see. They don’t want to see helmet contact to the lower body, or shoulder contact to the lower body.
“When you’re going by, the appropriate way is to use your arm and try to trip the quarterback up and that’s what he did. That was something that was discussed years ago with the committee.”
Fisher is on the NFL’s competition committee, which discusses and at times proposes rules changes on player safety.
“People are gonna choose what they want to say about it, but it wasn’t illegal,” said Barron, who was not penalized on the play. “It just happened how it happened. I’m not really worried about it.”
Although he felt bad that Roethlisberger was injured, Barron doesn’t mind having the reputation of ‘Look out for Barron: He’s gonna hit you.’
“You always want to be seen as a guy that — you want to be feared,” Barron said. “I never want to injure a guy to the point where they can’t play the game. But I want to be felt when I play.”
Barron has done that during his time in St. Louis, as a blitzer and a run defender. He had 23 tackles, three sacks, and one pass breakup in nine games here last season following the Oct. 28 trade deadline deal that sent Tampa Bay a 2015 fourth- and sixth-round pick. This season, he has 14 tackles and one sack.
The majority of his playing time has come near the line of scrimmage, where he basically lines up in the linebacker position in one of defensive coordinator Gregg Williams’ many packages.
“Not only can he play the safety position, he can play the linebacker position,” Williams said recently. “We call it a fancy term, but he basically plays like a linebacker because he has the size and the strength and the burst to do that, too.
“And then he does a lot of the things that a nickel (back) and a safety does. ... I’m challenged each and every week to make sure I give him enough reps.”
Williams has been a defensive coordinator or head coach for six NFL teams, and at each of those stops he says he has had a similar package involving a safety/linebacker hybrid.
“But I’ve never had anybody with (Barron’s) skill set,” Williams said.
The closest might be the late Sean Taylor, whom Williams coached in Washington, although Taylor did some things better in the back end.
“I’ve had guys that I’ve had to adapt that package to ... to fit them — because we still want to do that three- and four-safety package at times,” Williams said. “But with (Barron), it’s almost like playing with another linebacker in there. But he still does all the DB things you want him to do.”
After being a starter in Tampa Bay at the beginning of his NFL career, Barron has adjusted coming off the bench for the Rams. Sure, he’d like to play more — what player wouldn’t? — but he’s not the type to complain about it.
“I wouldn’t do that,” Barron said. “I don’t want to cause that type of distraction on the team. So when my number’s called, I just try to make sure I go out and be effective and have some kind of impact on the game.”
Barron likes playing up in the box and enjoys blitzing. “Any defensive player would like to blitz,” he said.
He was used in a similar fashion in 2013, his second season in the league, under then Buccaneers coach Greg Schiano. He did it a lot in college, too.
“When you’re down that close (to the line of scrimmage), you always have a chance to get to the ball,” Barron said. “So I most definitely like doing it.”
This Sunday in University of Phoenix Stadium, Arizona quarterback Carson Palmer probably wants to see very little of Barron. That last time the Rams visited Arizona, on Nov. 9, 2014, Barron blitzed a lot, and once too often for Palmer. His sack early in the fourth quarter resulted in a season-ending knee injury for Palmer.
However, that play was even more innocent than the one that sidelined Roethlisberger. Barron came in untouched on Palmer’s right. As Palmer tried to step up in the pocket to elude him, Barron grabbed Palmer’s jersey near the back of the right shoulder and Palmer’s knee buckled trying to escape.
“I don’t want to speak on that,” Barron said. “But that also happened.”
• By Jim Thomas
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_b26669fa-1b92-5b5d-b43d-71a4654c5615.html
Mark Barron was a first-round draft pick in 2012 out of Alabama, and started 37 games in nearly 2½ seasons with Tampa Bay before last year’s late October trade sent him to the Rams.
Barron has had to adjust to role-player status in St. Louis. The hard-hitting safety has participated in 33 percent of the Rams’ defensive plays through three games this season, with 21 snaps apiece against Washington and Seattle, and 29 this past Sunday versus Pittsburgh.
But he has made his presence felt; just ask Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. A third-quarter sack by the 6-2, 213-pound Barron knocked Roethlisberger out of the game and is expected to sideline him for four to six weeks with a knee injury.
Because the contact was low, some wondered if it was a legal hit. But replays clearly show that Barron stumbled on a blitz near Pittsburgh’s left edge and lost his balance on his approach.
Barron’s momentum carried him to Roethlisberger, with his hand clipping Roethlisberger’s left foot. The Pittsburgh quarterback’s left knee buckled on contact as he was trying to escape by stepping up in the pocket.
“It’s the appropriate way to make contact with the quarterback when you’re going to the ground,” Rams coach Jeff Fisher said. “That’s what the league wants to see. They don’t want to see helmet contact to the lower body, or shoulder contact to the lower body.
“When you’re going by, the appropriate way is to use your arm and try to trip the quarterback up and that’s what he did. That was something that was discussed years ago with the committee.”
Fisher is on the NFL’s competition committee, which discusses and at times proposes rules changes on player safety.
“People are gonna choose what they want to say about it, but it wasn’t illegal,” said Barron, who was not penalized on the play. “It just happened how it happened. I’m not really worried about it.”
Although he felt bad that Roethlisberger was injured, Barron doesn’t mind having the reputation of ‘Look out for Barron: He’s gonna hit you.’
“You always want to be seen as a guy that — you want to be feared,” Barron said. “I never want to injure a guy to the point where they can’t play the game. But I want to be felt when I play.”
Barron has done that during his time in St. Louis, as a blitzer and a run defender. He had 23 tackles, three sacks, and one pass breakup in nine games here last season following the Oct. 28 trade deadline deal that sent Tampa Bay a 2015 fourth- and sixth-round pick. This season, he has 14 tackles and one sack.
The majority of his playing time has come near the line of scrimmage, where he basically lines up in the linebacker position in one of defensive coordinator Gregg Williams’ many packages.
“Not only can he play the safety position, he can play the linebacker position,” Williams said recently. “We call it a fancy term, but he basically plays like a linebacker because he has the size and the strength and the burst to do that, too.
“And then he does a lot of the things that a nickel (back) and a safety does. ... I’m challenged each and every week to make sure I give him enough reps.”
Williams has been a defensive coordinator or head coach for six NFL teams, and at each of those stops he says he has had a similar package involving a safety/linebacker hybrid.
“But I’ve never had anybody with (Barron’s) skill set,” Williams said.
The closest might be the late Sean Taylor, whom Williams coached in Washington, although Taylor did some things better in the back end.
“I’ve had guys that I’ve had to adapt that package to ... to fit them — because we still want to do that three- and four-safety package at times,” Williams said. “But with (Barron), it’s almost like playing with another linebacker in there. But he still does all the DB things you want him to do.”
After being a starter in Tampa Bay at the beginning of his NFL career, Barron has adjusted coming off the bench for the Rams. Sure, he’d like to play more — what player wouldn’t? — but he’s not the type to complain about it.
“I wouldn’t do that,” Barron said. “I don’t want to cause that type of distraction on the team. So when my number’s called, I just try to make sure I go out and be effective and have some kind of impact on the game.”
Barron likes playing up in the box and enjoys blitzing. “Any defensive player would like to blitz,” he said.
He was used in a similar fashion in 2013, his second season in the league, under then Buccaneers coach Greg Schiano. He did it a lot in college, too.
“When you’re down that close (to the line of scrimmage), you always have a chance to get to the ball,” Barron said. “So I most definitely like doing it.”
This Sunday in University of Phoenix Stadium, Arizona quarterback Carson Palmer probably wants to see very little of Barron. That last time the Rams visited Arizona, on Nov. 9, 2014, Barron blitzed a lot, and once too often for Palmer. His sack early in the fourth quarter resulted in a season-ending knee injury for Palmer.
However, that play was even more innocent than the one that sidelined Roethlisberger. Barron came in untouched on Palmer’s right. As Palmer tried to step up in the pocket to elude him, Barron grabbed Palmer’s jersey near the back of the right shoulder and Palmer’s knee buckled trying to escape.
“I don’t want to speak on that,” Barron said. “But that also happened.”
