Vikings' Anthony Barr admits it: Sometimes he just didn't try very hard

[purplefaithful]

Barr, entering his fourth NFL season, played a full season for the first time last year, but he didn't produce as much with career-low marks in tackles and sacks. MANKATO – Anthony Barr admitted he can try harder than he did at times last season, which was a down year for the Vikings’ talented linebacker.
Barr, entering his fourth NFL season, played a full season for the first time last year, but he didn’t produce as much with career-low marks in tackles and sacks. He’s a versatile pass defender and a wrecking ball in the Vikings’ blitz schemes at his best. At his worst, he said his effort waned.
“It starts with my effort and picking that up,” Barr said. “That’s a big emphasis for me this offseason and I feel good right now.”
He had taken a step forward in 2015 with seven pass deflections, 3½ sacks, three forced fumbles and an interception. His motor in a 20-10 win at Atlanta, during which Barr forced fumbles on both Tevin Coleman and Matt Ryan, gave a glimpse of his potential.
But those performances weren’t frequent last season, even though the Vikings still ranked as one of the NFL’s best in points and yardage allowed. Barr acknowledged he knows of games and plays when he wasn’t trying as hard, but declined to be specific.

Barr’s comments fall in line with criticism last year from head coach Mike Zimmer, who said the former ninth overall pick had a tendency to “coast” during games.
“We want to see consistency in play and be the impact player that you are,” defensive coordinator George Edwards said of Barr. “One thing you can control is how hard you play.”

http://www.startribune.com/vikings-antho...437296483/

[Guest]

File this under youth? 

File this under, things better not ever said to the press?

Both?

[Guest]

100% effort at all times is bare minimum requirement...

[Guest]

@"BarrNone55" said:
100% effort at all times is bare minimum requirement...

I don't think thats humanely possible, but I get the sentiment. Even EG disappears for stretches imo.

So the kid was more injured than the coaches or AB is saying imo. Big year for Barr. He's gotta prove he's worth a big signing day. 

Frankly, he's the straw that stirs the D drink when he's on...It aint Dirty Harry, Linval or XR. EG and Hunter are the others I guess.

Pretty stacked on D, on paper...

 

[Guest]

Seems that the cast his wrist was in all season was invisible in some markets...

But, yes on paper we are in good shape...with a middle of the pack O...we could be devastating...

[Guest]

@"BarrNone55" said:
Seems that the cast his wrist was in all season was invisible in some markets...

But, yes on paper we are in good shape...with a middle of the pack O...we could be devastating...

10 win minimum without Mash Unit...

I'm getting swept-up in TC optimism. But hell, we gotta be able to improve over 8 wins by more than a game.

[Guest]

I've said since he was drafted...  Get that other guy in Barr's college highlights in purple.  When the Vikings did Barr's "effort" dropped... or was it Kendricks just beat him to plays?  I think Barr reverted back to letting Eric take care of things.  I've heard the elder Kendricks wants out of Philly, I would mind seeing him here, but would that stifle Barr even more?  Don't care... get the best players that give 100% here and then put them on the field.  

I think it was Kendricks who stirred the D last year more than Barr. 

Sounds like Barr is owning up to his lack of effort, which is the first step...   I hope he gets back to being an impact player every week. 

[Guest]

Zulgad: Vikings might be playing it smart in explaining Barr’s poor 2016 performance

MANKATO, Minn. – In a season filled with unpleasant surprises, one of the biggest disappointments for the Vikings last year was the performance of linebacker Anthony Barr.
The Vikings took what appeared to be a gamble by selecting Barr ninth overall in the 2014 draft, but he quickly made general manager Rick Spielman and coach Mike Zimmer look very smart.
Barr had four sacks in 12 games as a rookie and 3.5 in 14 games during his second season.  His impact on the game went beyond those numbers. His ability to line up at different spots meant opposing offensive coordinators had to account for him or risk seeing the potential havoc he had ability to cause.
This was the exact type of player that helped make a Zimmer-led defense tick.
Then came 2016.
Barr played in 16 games for the first time in his career but his sack total dropped to only two, he forced one fumble and stuffed two runs. There were many games where it got to the fourth quarter and you asked this question: Is Barr even playing today?
The first thought was that something was wrong. Despite not missing a game, was Barr playing with an injury that Zimmer would reveal once the season came to an end?
Zimmer decided to answer this question in December, but his response came as a surprise. “Anthony sometimes has a tendency to coast a little bit,” Zimmer said. “I think when he cuts it loose a little bit more, I think that’s when you see him making the explosive plays and kind of the wild plays.”
The reaction to Zimmer’s quote: Wow. Especially the “tendency to coast a little bit,” portion. This might have been how Zimmer felt but usually an admission like this comes in a closed door meeting. The thinking was this didn’t go over very well in the locker room at Winter Park as the Vikings stumbled to a 3-8 finish after a 5-0 start.
The fact Zimmer said this publicly showed his frustration and the expectation was he might attempt to walk it back or explain it away. That’s what makes what has happened the past few days in Mankato so interesting.
To say that Barr isn’t very revealing in group interviews would be a massive understatement. He’s an NFL team’s dream in that if you asked Barr the day of the week or what the weather was like he would attempt to dance around the question in an effort to be as vague as possible.
But Barr provided a surprising response after the Vikings’ first full-squad practice on Thursday as he discussed rebounding from the 2016 season. “I got a long ways to go, it starts with my effort and picking that up, that’s a big emphasis for me this offseason and I feel good right now,” he said.
Asking the natural follow up, our buddy Darren Wolfson of KSTP-TV wondered if Barr could provide examples of where he felt his effort could improve. Barr responded with a “nope.”
The fact Barr appeared to agree with Zimmer came as a surprise considering the majority of athletes have far too much pride to agree that they didn’t give maximum effort, even if that was the case.
The “Barr didn’t give a full effort” storyline continued into Friday when defensive coordinator George Edwards addressed the subject. “The biggest thing, that one thing you can control is how hard you play,” Edwards said in wrapping up a response to a question about Barr...
So everybody seems to be on the same page about Barr’s decline in 2016. He’s going to try harder in 2017. Yep, sounds good. Only I’m not completely buying it. Effort might have been part of the issue but you have to wonder if Barr was utilized as wisely as possible by the coaching staff...


More here;

http://www.1500espn.com/vikings-2/2017/0...rformance/

[Guest]

@Bezerker88 said:
I've said since he was drafted...  Get that other guy in Barr's college highlights in purple.  When the Vikings did Barr's "effort" dropped... or was it Kendricks just beat him to plays?  I think Barr reverted back to letting Eric take care of things.  I've heard the elder Kendricks wants out of Philly, I would mind seeing him here, but would that stifle Barr even more?  Don't care... get the best players that give 100% here and then put them on the field.  

I think it was Kendricks who stirred the D last year more than Barr. 

Sounds like Barr is owning up to his lack of effort, which is the first step...   I hope he gets back to being an impact player every week. 

Yup, Kendricks can be disruptive too...I think Barr's ceiling is higher myself. 

I think Dulgadd hints at something important - it's how the Vikings decide to use Barr. Not sure some of his ineffectiveness last year traced to dropping back and how he was used? 

Is he going to be great in a "typical" lb role? Or does he need to play some kind of hybrid? Would he be best as a rushing OL in a 3/4? I don't know....

[Guest]

Moss 2.0?   I play when I want to play....