Anthony Barr; Hand in the Dirt

[purplefaithful]

With handle on linebacker drills, Vikings' Anthony Barr gets in the mix with defensive linemen
Anthony Barr said Wednesday he’s done “all I can do to prove my worth” as he enters his contract season with the Vikings. Still, the fifth-year linebacker is trying to do more.
Barr, 26, has been spending a portion of every practice this spring with the Vikings defensive linemen. He’s refining his pass-­rushing maneuvers and the many nuances involved with beating an offensive lineman to get to the quarterback.
“I hadn’t really worked on it my first four years here,” said Barr, who has 10.5 sacks in four NFL seasons. “Now having the time to work on it, it’s beneficial. I’ve still got a long way to go. It’s not as easy as it looks watching Everson [Griffen] do it.”
On Wednesday, Barr joined the Vikings defensive ends for a drill focused on bending around the edge. He later hopped in with linemen for a session focused on hand fighting. Barr did so while linebackers walked through coverages and assignments that have become second nature to him.
“There are certain things I feel like I understand now, being here five years,” Barr said. “Stuff I’ve done a thousand times now, where I feel they trust me to go do some other stuff. Being with the D-line for five to 10 minutes a day may not seem like a lot, but it adds up.” The Vikings could get more out of Barr as a pass rusher, possibly even moving him around the defense to create matchup problems.
“Learning how to rush the passer from the end spot is going to help him when he’s coming from depth,” defensive end Brian Robison said. “I think it just adds another element to our defense that we can keep building on.”


http://www.startribune.com/with-handle-o...5422181/#1

[Guest]

Sounds like Zim is cooking up some more secret sauce.  Love having a coach that innovates rather than reacts.

[Guest]

Good for him. Keep working and stay hungry.

[Guest]

There are a lot of possible things this could mean, some of which are:

• Barr wants more stats (sacks) for contract leverage.
• Coaches don't feel that any of the "toss a dart" late-round DEs (Weatherly, Odenigbo, Bower, Aruna) are showing enough to provide rotational relief for Griffen and Hunter.
• Vikings are going to be in dime a lot more and need to keep Barr on the field.

Or...it's just a minicamp experiment.

[Guest]

@Jor-El said:
There are a lot of possible things this could mean, some of which are:

• Barr wants more stats (sacks) for contract leverage.
• Coaches don't feel that any of the "toss a dart" late-round DEs (Weatherly, Odenigbo, Bower, Aruna) are showing enough to provide rotational relief for Griffen and Hunter.
• Vikings are going to be in dime a lot more and need to keep Barr on the field.

Or...it's just a minicamp experiment.

Or they are cooking up a contract for him and want to. 
1) make him earn it.
2) create more splash plays that justify it.
3) see how he looks before making that choice.

[Guest]

@suncoastvike said:

@Jor-El said:
There are a lot of possible things this could mean, some of which are:

• Barr wants more stats (sacks) for contract leverage.
• Coaches don't feel that any of the "toss a dart" late-round DEs (Weatherly, Odenigbo, Bower, Aruna) are showing enough to provide rotational relief for Griffen and Hunter.
• Vikings are going to be in dime a lot more and need to keep Barr on the field.

Or...it's just a minicamp experiment.

Or they are cooking up a contract for him and want to. 
1) make him earn it.
2) create more splash plays that justify it.
3) see how he looks before making that choice.

4) Zimmer likes making offensive coordinators piss themselves.

[Guest]

It worked for Doleman.  Based on his measurables it seems worth a shot.

[Guest]

is Barr really more dangerous starting with his hand in the dirt... or standing up and being able to see the play and use his athleticism to break it up or make the tackle?   He is a freak at LB... at DE I have to think he is less of a threat unless he is stronger and more skilled that I give him credit for.  hes got the frame,  but I dont know about his hand work to get off blocks vs just being able to blow right by a guy with a running start.

[Guest]

@JimmyinSD said:
is Barr really more dangerous starting with his hand in the dirt... or standing up and being able to see the play and use his athleticism to break it up or make the tackle?   He is a freak at LB... at DE I have to think he is less of a threat unless he is stronger and more skilled that I give him credit for.  hes got the frame,  but I dont know about his hand work to get off blocks vs just being able to blow right by a guy with a running start.

He's a lot faster than you think. Look back at how UCLA used him, he wasn't a refined pass rusher but he won purely on speed/length. You won't win long-term like that in the NFL. But if you get lined up at the LOS once and awhile its a skill-set I always believed could be utilized more. 

You'd end up with a lot of potential as well. You could hypothetically go across the D-line with Hunter - Richardson - Griffen - Barr with Kendricks/Gedeon in the gaps with Harrison also playing a factor near the LOS. Good luck blocking that. 

[Guest]

doesnt this strengthen his claim that he’s a 3-4 LB and increase his contract demands?