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- Jun 3, 2014
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This was my overall assessment of Barksdale... pretty average.IMO....This below article is very good, its hits on many of the things some of us have been saying since late 2014 season.I solidly believe that Snead /Fisher /Demoff /Boudreau have made a very good decision in this UFA Barksdale matter.
http://www.rams-news.com/will-the-st-louis-rams-be-ok-without-joe-barksdale-grisak/
Yes, it would have been nice to bring Barksdale back, but he wasn’t a necessity. Barksdale was a solid part of the offensive line, starting 29 games over the past two seasons, and it is because of this that fans started to see Barksdale as a necessity when in fact he wasn’t.
Some went as far to say he was the number one priority for the Rams in the offseason. The truth is, Barksdale is an average to above average right tackle at best. While he did have a good 2013, last year and the year prior, he did consistently get beat by better competition.
This was most recently proven last season when he was completely dominated by Kansas City’s Justin Houston and Washington’s Ryan Kerrigan. The fact of the matter was, Barksdale is an average right tackle.
He has reached his ceiling, Havenstein on the other hand, we dont know what his ceiling will be, but we do know that he brings the physical play that Barksdale did not.
Many have blamed Davin Joseph and the inexperience at quarterback that gave Barksdale issues, but looking at the stats and performances, that is only partly true. Against the Chargers last year, Joseph ended up with a positive grade at 5.1, meanwhile Barksdale came out exactly even with a 0.0 grade.
Against the Raiders, a weaker competition, Joseph ended up with a -2.5 grade while Barksdale excelled against a team who had one of the worst defensive lines in football putting up an impressive 1.7 grade.
In possibly his worst three game stretch against the Cardinals, 49ers, and Chiefs, Barksdale managed a grade of -4 or worse in those three consecutive games. Meanwhile, Joseph accumulated a grade worse than -1 just once.
The stats are simply inconsistent and dont back up that Joseph was the reason for all of Barksdale’s struggles. Watching the film, while Joseph did cause some issues, Barksdale did get beat one on one on plays in which Joseph held his own plenty of times.
Going back to Barksdale’s good year in 2013, it wasn’t all that impressive as many make it out to be.
Sadly, some of us Rams fans have lowered our expectations for the Oline such that average seems attractive. Long gone are the days of consistent, overpowering Olines for the Rams. It's been far too long.
So, for me, Barksdale leaving is OK... I'm hoping some of these kids they drafted this year can become what we used to see... consistent, effective blockers... both in run and pass protect.
I like building from youth. But there is my undertanding that:
* Sometimes these kids don't work out - the unknown factor
* It's going to take time to see their potential and, during that time, there will be growing pains. Just have to hope no one (like our QB) gets hurt while they're growing up. I do agree with those that believe we should see improvement in run blocking quickly.
Good luck, Mr. Barksdale. You rolled the dice and they came up snake eyes monetarily. Now, you're on the clock to prove your worth in a division that provides formidable competition against you.
