manxman2601
PatsFans.com Retired Jersey Club
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manx, since you're so high on Barron, I took the opportunity to watch some YouTube film to refresh my memory of him.
Here's what I saw:
- great tackler, strong hands
- very decisive
- great anticipation of the play
- big and physical, looks like a LB even standing next to Hightower
- will line up on the slot receiver or TE
- will line up as a linebacker against the run
- does not have great recovery speed
- does not look like a cover corner, even on the slot tends to drop the guy after 5 yards... this may be the scheme not an indication of his ability
- strong in the box, but can get burned in the open field
In interviews, his early years he's pretty uncomfortable answering questions. Seems like a quiet guy. More recent interviews, he's more confident speaking to media. But honestly, he's not a great interview. Has good substance in his answers. Seems thoughtful.
I'm sold. Put him on the roster. BB will figure out how to place the talent around him. He would be the anchor to the secondary. But I stick by my claim that he's a true SS. He's not nearly as good in man coverage as he is roaming the field.
I remember a play where Rodney Harrison was playing deep safety against the Colts, playoff game. 3rd down. At the snap, Rodney let the TE run right down the seam, wide open, and hit the slant route where the ball was going to Reggie Wayne. It was an incredible instinctive play. He knew where the play was going, I assume based on down and distance and formation and tendencies. He covered an incredible amount of field to get to the spot before the ball got there. Huge gamble, because if Peyton pumps and throws to the TE instead, it's a TD. But it was exactly the play that was needed and somehow he knew. I must have watched that play a dozen times, trying to figure out what Rodney saw that tipped him off. I never did figure it out, only that he read the play and moved IMMEDIATELY on the snap.
I could see Barron making that play.
Glad you are a convert. Nice post.
When I project someone to the Patriots I do it, not by going by who I like, but by who's a fit for the Patriots. We know that the Patriots assign value on a number of criteria, not least on determining who on the roster that player is going to replace. That's why I jumperd on Barron so early:
1.He'd be filling the biggest hole on the Patriots roster (big jump in his value)
2. By all accounts, in 2010 he was, as you described, solely an in the box safety. Last year he really upped his game on pass defense. That suggests that he's very coachable, another trait the Patriots value in assigning a draft grade.
3. That coaching, Alabama defense, looks to be about the best coaching there is. That whole defense plays assignment controlled football, very much like the Pats.
4. Nick Saban was BB's defensive back coach at Cleveland I believe which might have some influence.
5. He's apparently a dedicated film watcher which is something else I think BB will value.
For those reasons, I just saw Barron's value to the Patriots being much higher than a number of those other prospects around him and once I accepted that he was a probable Patriot target, I started to like the other aspect which I was looking for, namely the ability to make plays on defense which I think we need and which I think Barron supplies, either in the run game or to a lesser degree, in the pass game.
But you were probably right in your initial post. I think we'll be very lucky if he falls to us. PFW has him as their 5th ranked prospect in the draft. I figure to be disappointed on the night.
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