New Rams Safety Mark Barron: “It’s on to new things”

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RamDino

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After listening to this guy... my guess if Fisher will have him playing FS. He's played it a lot, he's good with it, he wants to be aggressive, and get involved early. We're gonna have some real thumpers back there. If he is successful... this secondary might be special!!! Go Rams!
 

Alan

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I've never been a fan of Lovie's Cover 2 D. I think his success with it had much more to do with the players he had than with the scheme he used. Of course that could be said, to one degree or another, about every scheme but for me, the Cover 2 relies too much on the offense making a mistake and with the new rules favoring the O so much that just doesn't happen often enough for it to be as effective as it used to be.

But, what do I know. :coffee:
 

mr.stlouis

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Well, if he loves being in the box then he will have his shot. Lots off opportunities for him to lay the wood on RB's slipping through the cracks.
 

RamBill

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  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #5
Mark Barron excited for fresh start
By Nick Wagoner

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/13171/mark-barron-excited-for-fresh-start

EARTH CITY, Mo. -- New St. Louis Rams safety Mark Barron missed the telephone call informing him he'd been traded on Tuesday afternoon, leaving him to get the news via media reports.

Of course, nobody can blame Barron for missing a call that he never expected in the first place.

"I was definitely in shock," Barron said. "I had no idea that any of it was going on. I was most definitely shocked but I am excited about the situation [in St. Louis]. I had no idea I was even available for a trade."

As it turned out, Barron was indeed available for trade, even if the team trading for him was also surprised to learn that Barron could be had. According to Rams coach Jeff Fisher, the deal came together in the moments leading up to the deadline because the Rams never suspected that 2012's seventh overall pick was even an option for a trade.


Mark Barron
#26 S
St. Louis Rams

2014 STATS

Tot49
Solo35
Ast14
FF0
Sack0.0
Int0

“We obviously liked Mark coming into the league," Fisher said. "He was an outstanding college player. We thought he had a lot of ability and whatever the reasons are down there, we had an opportunity to take advantage of getting a good football player."

After finding out that he'd been dealt and then making his way to St. Louis, Barron arrived at Rams Park on Wednesday afternoon as the Rams were about halfway through their walk-through. He emerged from the locker room in his white No. 26 practice jersey, shook hands with special teams coach John Fassel and then set about getting familiar with his new surroundings.

At that point, Barron and Fisher had only spoken briefly after the Rams acquired him and Barron still hadn't been told what his role could be not only this week but moving forward. Barron has long been regarded as more of a "box" safety, who is at his best wreaking havoc near the line of scrimmage. That would seem to overlap with the skills of current Rams safety T.J. McDonald but Fisher said the Rams have plans for Barron but don't want to discuss them yet.

"We’ll find a way to fit him into our system at some point," Fisher said. "I don’t know whether that’s a week for six weeks or next year. But we need depth at the position and we’re banged up a little bit. It was an opportunity that we couldn’t pass up.

“I’m not going to speculate the moves and things like that. We got a good player. I’m going to spend some time with him and talk about where and how he fits at some other point.”

For his part, Barron's excitement to be in St. Louis stems largely from the chance to fit into a scheme that better suits him. While Barron stopped short of saying that he didn't fit in Lovie Smith's scheme in Tampa Bay, he did make it clear that he felt he could've done more and been used better.

"Did I think we could have been doing more, using me more? Yeah, I do," Barron said. "But I wouldn’t say it played against my strengths. It was just the way the system was ran.

"[Tampa's system] is passive. That’s kind of the only thing I didn’t like about it. A lot of times I had to sit back and I couldn’t really be as aggressive as I wanted to in that system."

Fisher acknowledged the possibility that Barron could even play this Sunday against San Francisco as Rodney McLeod (knee) and Cody Davis (concussion) recover from injury. What his role will be remains to be seen but it wouldn't surprise to see he and McDonald on the field together and the Rams turning to three safety sub-packages which put Barron on the field with McLeod and McDonald instead of another of the team's linebackers in third-down situations.

As for the characterization of him as a box safety, Barron said he is capable of playing in coverage on the back end and that it's something he did a lot of before arriving in the NFL. With that said, he also made it clear he prefers to be near the line of scrimmage.

"I feel like I’m an athletic guy and I can do whatever I’m asked to do," Barron said. "I just like to get involved so it’s easier to get involved when you’re in the box. It’s easier to get involved earlier in the game."
 

LesBaker

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I've never been a fan of Lovie's Cover 2 D. I think his success with it had much more to do with the players he had than with the scheme he used. Of course that could be said, to one degree or another, about every scheme but for me, the Cover 2 relies too much on the offense making a mistake and with the new rules favoring the O so much that just doesn't happen often enough for it to be as effective as it used to be.

But, what do I know. :coffee:

I agree and in fact you'd be hard pressed to find a defense that was any better up the middle than the Bucs were back then, and not just up front, LB and S too. The middle of the field was not a place you were going to make a living against that team.
 

LesBaker

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Well, if he loves being in the box then he will have his shot. Lots off opportunities for him to lay the wood on RB's slipping through the cracks.

Hopefully he can help get to the QB also.......the Rams really need that.
 

Jorgeh0605

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I agree and in fact you'd be hard pressed to find a defense that was any better up the middle than the Bucs were back then, and not just up front, LB and S too. The middle of the field was not a place you were going to make a living against that team.

Little bit confusing, did you actually mean Bucs or Bears? Both teams used the Tampa 2, but I'm not so sure Lovie should get credit for the Bucs team.
 

Jorgeh0605

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I've never been a fan of Lovie's Cover 2 D. I think his success with it had much more to do with the players he had than with the scheme he used. Of course that could be said, to one degree or another, about every scheme but for me, the Cover 2 relies too much on the offense making a mistake and with the new rules favoring the O so much that just doesn't happen often enough for it to be as effective as it used to be.

But, what do I know. :coffee:

I think our current defense relies more on mistakes than the tampa 2. That SS role is definitely diminished by the new rules though.
 

Alan

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Jorgeh0605 thinking we're not proactive:
I think our current defense relies more on mistakes than the tampa 2. That SS role is definitely diminished by the new rules though.
It's probably just my lack of expertise but I can't figure out what kind of defense we have. Whatever it is , it isn't very impressive is it?
 

Dodgersrf

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It's probably just my lack of expertise but I can't figure out what kind of defense we have. Whatever it is , it isn't very impressive is it?
It's called the "blitz 11", Alan.....everybody knows that.
 

Dodgersrf

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Little bit confusing, did you actually mean Bucs or Bears? Both teams used the Tampa 2, but I'm not so sure Lovie should get credit for the Bucs team.
Yeah, I think he was the LB's coach in TB before coming here as DC.
 

Ballhawk

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It's probably just my lack of expertise but I can't figure out what kind of defense we have. Whatever it is , it isn't very impressive is it?

I think that the term that you're looking for is "soft".
 

Dieter the Brock

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Just curious who Barron will blame if he's not a success with the Rams

I mean, why not be a pro and give a canned response like "I'm ready for my next opportunity" - it's just f'ing pointless.

It begs the question - how can he not perform for either of his two pro football coaches?

Maybe I'm reading too much into it but he sounds like a "me" guy

A good craftsman doesn't blame his tools and great players just f'ing perform regardless
 

Mojo Ram

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Just curious who Barron will blame if he's not a success with the Rams

I mean, why not be a pro and give a canned response like "I'm ready for my next opportunity" - it's just f'ing pointless.

It begs the question - how can he not perform for either of his two pro football coaches?

Maybe I'm reading too much into it but he sounds like a "me" guy

A good craftsman doesn't blame his tools and great players just f'ing perform regardless
Ehh, after watching the video in the OP i don't think he came across as unprofessional at all. He was repeatedly getting baited into slamming Lovie's D...and basically kept it about himself and how he prefers to play aggressively.