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Replacing Barr may prove difficult for Vikings
#1
During Zimmer and Barr’s tenure together, the Vikings’ head coach has used the former UCLA star as an all-around linebacker rather than a pure edge rusher, which he was initially projected to be. While Barr made it clear he preferred to rush the passer rather than drop back in coverage, the 6-foot-5, 250-pound LB made the Pro Bowl four times under Zimmer and acted as a linchpin to defenses that ranked 11th, 5th, 6th, 1st and 9th in points allowed.
Barr was never an elite cover linebacker by Pro Football Focus grading standards, but one area of coverage in which he stood out was against opposing running backs. When the Vikings ranked No. 1 in yards and points in 2017, they allowed the fewest yards per game through the air to opposing running backs according to Football Outsiders. That number slipped last year, but the Vikings still gave up the 11th fewest receptions to RBs per game.
Barr’s sideline-to-sideline speed for his size made it difficult for running backs to evade him. PFF ranked Barr 13th in tackling out of 57 linebackers with at least 550 snaps in 2018
His worst grades were in coverage, but Zimmer corrected scheme issues that led to the Los Angeles Rams creating extreme mismatches in Week 4. Over the final 12 games of the season, he gave up just 88 yards into his coverage.
So during Barr’s five years as a Viking, he was mostly solid in most areas of his game. But where Barr truly made an impact on opponents was third down.
Zimmer’s defenses haven’t just been good on third down, they have been magnificent. Over the past three seasons, the Vikings have given up first downs on just 31.5 percent of third downs. The next best team, Baltimore, trails by 4.1 percent.
Barr’s ability to rush the passer is elite among all-around linebackers. Last season he created 23 pressures on just 103 pass rush snaps. He ranked fifth among linebackers in total pressures and seventh in PFF’s pass rush grade. Many of those snaps came on third downs.
Zimmer said he moved away from double A-gap blitzes which sent Barr up the middle and changed to zone or overload blitzes on third downs, which routinely involved Barr.
“As the season’s gone on we’ve changed a few up,” he said. “There were a couple, maybe four or five (versus the Dolphins) that we haven’t really shown much of. It’s part of the game plan thing, just seeing what we feel like what we can do and how we can attack certain players. Sometimes its just we’re going to do this blitz so that we can throw some of these chips off the defensive ends.”
The continued effectiveness despite the change speaks to Zimmer’s original point: Barr’s football IQ mixed with physical ability has given the defensive-minded head coach an ability to use him as a chess piece.
https://www.skornorth.com/vikings-2/2019...r-vikings/
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#2
Im one of his biggest detractors, but Im aware Barr did make Zimmers job alot easier and was a positive piece.  Barrs has impact player upside if he was in the right system, but it likely requires one in which he has alot of freedom.  Z’s d is all about everyone doing their job, with maybe Harrison Smith the only occasional exception
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#3
The defense has been excellent on 3rd downs.  Except for in the one game we really needed them to be more so than ever.
They let the Bears without Robinson go 8 for 14 on 3rd downs in the most important game of the year.
The story of the Vikings defense the last two years is that they play really well when it does not mean much.
But when it is money time they fold.
In that last game of the year vs the Bears, the offense was predictably pitiful.  That should not have been a surprise considering Hicks, Goldman, and Mack were killing the offensive line.  But they got it to 13-10 with a little over a minute left in the 3rd quarter.
The vaunted defense then allowed the Bears go to on a 16 play 75 yard drive, score a TD, and get a 2 pt conversion to ice the game.  I forgot to mention that it took over 9 minutes too.

Not sure it is a good idea to think about replacing.
They need to think about how to get these high paid players to step up in the crunch.
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#4
I'm not sure that Zimmer used Barr to his full potential.  For a guy who was heralded as a pass-rusher, it seems (my memory ain't great, so I could be wrong) that he was used for alot of other things (besides the occasional blitz).  I think Wilson could replace Barr for some of the things that he was asked to do.  I wonder if a big nickel (like Iloka?) could replace Barr?  (Yes, I know that- first we'd have to re-sign Iloka).  Then again, Barr never left the field... so maybe we'll have to replace Barr with a committee (which will not be able to disguise the coverage as easily).
I think we'll be fine.
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#5
This might be a reset year for the Vikings. Another season of marginal to no upgrade of O-line on the 2nd year of a gigantic guaranteed contract of Cousins. The team might be pissing away his 3 year contract. Not saying that will happen but it could. I think they gambled that the O-line could at least be average, which it is not.
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#6
Quote: @MarkSP18 said:
The defense has been excellent on 3rd downs.  Except for in the one game we really needed them to be more so than ever.
They let the Bears without Robinson go 8 for 14 on 3rd downs in the most important game of the year.
The story of the Vikings defense the last two years is that they play really well when it does not mean much.
But when it is money time they fold.
In that last game of the year vs the Bears, the offense was predictably pitiful.  That should not have been a surprise considering Hicks, Goldman, and Mack were killing the offensive line.  But they got it to 13-10 with a little over a minute left in the 3rd quarter.
The vaunted defense then allowed the Bears go to on a 16 play 75 yard drive, score a TD, and get a 2 pt conversion to ice the game.  I forgot to mention that it took over 9 minutes too.

Not sure it is a good idea to think about replacing.
They need to think about how to get these high paid players to step up in the crunch.
The collapse against the Bears was epic and embarrassing. All they had to do was win @ home. They deserved to watch the playoffs from their couches. 


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#7
Quote: @purplefaithful said:
@MarkSP18 said:
The defense has been excellent on 3rd downs.  Except for in the one game we really needed them to be more so than ever.
They let the Bears without Robinson go 8 for 14 on 3rd downs in the most important game of the year.
The story of the Vikings defense the last two years is that they play really well when it does not mean much.
But when it is money time they fold.
In that last game of the year vs the Bears, the offense was predictably pitiful.  That should not have been a surprise considering Hicks, Goldman, and Mack were killing the offensive line.  But they got it to 13-10 with a little over a minute left in the 3rd quarter.
The vaunted defense then allowed the Bears go to on a 16 play 75 yard drive, score a TD, and get a 2 pt conversion to ice the game.  I forgot to mention that it took over 9 minutes too.

Not sure it is a good idea to think about replacing.
They need to think about how to get these high paid players to step up in the crunch.
The collapse against the Bears was epic and embarrassing. All they had to do was win @ home. They deserved to watch the playoffs from their couches. 


And it is that reason among numerous other times last season that I am not sad to see some overpaid players leave.
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#8
They need someone who can cover RBs. Both Barr and Kendricks fell off a cliff in that facet last year which is part of why Big Nickel was used so much.

There's a kid from Bama that should be available in the 2nd with strong cover skills.
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#9
Zimmer did use Barr as a chess piece, but too often as a sacrificial pawn. It's going to be really hard to gauge the effect of this loss. I'm really interested to see the length of Barr's deal; all I have heard is $14-$15M per year.
I understand how difficult it might have been to keep Barr, but I'm really sorry to see him leave. He reminded me of Matt Blair, in his size, athleticism, calm demeanor, and in being able to generate a big play (though not as often as we would like).
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#10
Quote: @FSUVike said:
They need someone who can cover RBs. 
How much Kendricks was exposed last year was unsettling. 
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