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Barber replaces Wilson at safety for Texans

MojoMan

Hall of Fame
Coach Kubiak said at the end of last season that he thought Barber might be poised to lock down the starting job at FS for the long-term. Well, now he is going to have a chance to show if he is ready to do that.

Barber replaces Wilson at safety for Texans

Dominique Barber will start at free safety for the Texans against the Raiders on Sunday.

Barber is replacing Eugene Wilson, who suffered a hamstring injury in the 27-13 loss to Dallas.

Barber, who is in his third season out of the University of Minnesota, can play both safety positions.

Also on the injury front, wide receiver Andre Johnson says he plans to play but that his sprained right ankle is still sore and on a day-to-day status.
 

Ryan

THIS YEAR
I'm not convinced he'll be any better, but at least Kubiak is putting guys on trial for bad play, so two thumbs up.


I'd rather see Nolan get a shot, but we'll wait and see.
 

drewmar74

disgruntled
Okay....

It's a start. I just remember the Barber experiment last year didn't go that well.

Maybe another year in the system will have helped? Heck, if nothing else, he has two good wheels. That's an instant improvement.

Did he see time against the Cowboys after Wilson tweaked the hammy? If so, how did he look?
 

Rey

Guest
I'd rather see Nolan in there.

I understand that the Texans want to "go about things the right way" and all, but at some point you just gotta say screw it and put the guys on the field that have shown they can make plays...

That goes for anyone...I don't care what your name is or where you were drafted...

Hopefully Barber surprises me. I think he is a good player, but I just think Nolan is better. Nolan seems to be more instinctive and the better athlete...
 

b0ng

Bad Hombre
As bad as Eugene Wilson has been, I don't even know if Barber is as good as that. I have a bad feeling our secondary problems aren't going to go away if we don't have a monster pass rush.
 

MojoMan

Hall of Fame
Coach Kubiak expressed a great deal of confidence in Barber shortly after the end of last season in a press conference. He suggested that Barber might be poised to establish himself as the long-term answer at free safety for the Texans.

Of course, this is just a week-to-week opportunity for Barber. But my point is that Kubiak apparently believes that Barber may well have what it takes to be a starting free safety in the NFL.

Now he will have a chance to prove it, one way or the other.
 

drewmar74

disgruntled
Coach Kubiak expressed a great deal of confidence in Barber shortly after the end of last season in a press conference. He suggested that Barber might be poised to establish himself as the long-term answer at free safety for the Texans.

Of course, this is just a week-to-week opportunity for Barber. But my point is that Kubiak apparently believes that Barber may well have what it takes to be a starting free safety in the NFL.

Now he will have a chance to prove it, one way or the other.
I'm down with trying anything at this point but wouldn't it be great if he was the FS answer? I'm not sold on it because of last year, but hey, I can always be wrong.
 

m5kwatts

Veteran
I'd rather see Nolan in there.

I understand that the Texans want to "go about things the right way" and all, but at some point you just gotta say screw it and put the guys on the field that have shown they can make plays...

That goes for anyone...I don't care what your name is or where you were drafted...

Hopefully Barber surprises me. I think he is a good player, but I just think Nolan is better. Nolan seems to be more instinctive and the better athlete...
I think it might be too soon to make those kind of judgements of Nolan. I also think they prefer to use him closer to the line of scrimmage rather than asking him to cover deep 1/3s and 1/2s. Its just easier on a young player.

Barber struggled mightily at the beginning of last year and thankfully was benched. He was better when he replaced Wilson later in the year but still shaky. I don't think he's good enough to be a starter on a great defense but this defense isn't that right now anyways.

For me, with this latest development, I'm a little upset with Rick Smith. I remember after the draft him saying he felt really good about our safety position. Yes Wilson was a good solution to Barber's bad play last year, but good enough to be the annointed FS heading into camp? I think Rick's a good GM and a good GM should've seen around this corner. We're now playing with smoke and mirrors at free safety. And don't get me started on the defensive end position after Mario and Antonio.
 

Austrian

All Pro
I do remember Barber being able to take back a INT in the opener vs. the Jets last year.

If he can hang on the to the few INT chances we have it's an upgrade.
Busing made that Int but he fumbled. Dominique took that fumble to the house. He made an Int vs. the Rams when he intercepted an awful throw by Keith Null.
 

Rey

Guest
I think it might be too soon to make those kind of judgements of Nolan.
I didn't make any judgment about Nolan other than stating that I thought he was better than Barber. I did say that he has shown he can make plays...That's not a judgment, that's a fact...


I also think they prefer to use him closer to the line of scrimmage rather than asking him to cover deep 1/3s and 1/2s. Its just easier on a young player
I don't. Makes no sense to constantly play your FS close to the LOS in passing situations. What makes you think they prefer to do that when there is no evidence of that?
 

badboy

Hall of Fame
If I remember correctly Dominique Barber was raved on by the coaches as a 6th round pick we got in the trade down for Duane Brown also getting Slaton. Barber was to be the prototype swing safety to be used either side. He should really try to make good use of this last chance. Hopefully, he is 100% healthy.
 

NitroGSXR

Super Sic #58
Coach Kubiak expressed a great deal of confidence in Barber shortly after the end of last season in a press conference. He suggested that Barber might be poised to establish himself as the long-term answer at free safety for the Texans.

Of course, this is just a week-to-week opportunity for Barber. But my point is that Kubiak apparently believes that Barber may well have what it takes to be a starting free safety in the NFL.

Now he will have a chance to prove it, one way or the other.
It's not like he has much of a choice but to believe.
 

MojoMan

Hall of Fame
It's not like he has much of a choice but to believe.
Sure he does. He does not have to go out in a press conference at the end of a season and tap some guy as a potential long-term starter at a position. But he did do that with Barber. Once again, it is clear that Kubiak is not making any commitment to a long term starter's role for Barber based on the decision to start him against Oakland. But if Barber plays well, maybe he will hold onto the job. We will see.
 

fiasco west

All Pro
Can't be much worse than Wilson can he?

Seems like a weekly thing that Wilson drops a INT he puts two hands on, if Barber can catch those he'll already be making a huge difference.
 

m5kwatts

Veteran
I didn't make any judgment about Nolan other than stating that I thought he was better than Barber. I did say that he has shown he can make plays...That's not a judgment, that's a fact...




I don't. Makes no sense to constantly play your FS close to the LOS in passing situations. What makes you think they prefer to do that when there is no evidence of that?
I think there's some confusion here. What I said or was trying to say is that I think they would prefer to play Nolan closer to the line of scrimmage as a strong safety because thats what he had success doing in preseason. He's a hitter who lacks deep speed. Not to mention he's never played a down of real NFL football. I don't think the staff would be comfortable asking him to cover deep 1/3s and 1/2s right now given those factors.
 

Ole Miss Texan

Hall of Fame
Let's hope we see some improvement the rest of the season, and it better start at Oakland.

I'm with a lot of people here that I'd love to see what Troy Nolan brings to the table. I think he's go a ton of potential... I just don't know about starting him at this point. We don't get to see mistakes they make in practice or how he reads game film and makes play calls.

I hope we jump to an early early big lead against the Raiders. I'd love to see Nolan gets some reps with the Defense and I'd like to see Leinart get some snaps as well.
 

Rey

Guest
I think there's some confusion here. What I said or was trying to say is that I think they would prefer to play Nolan closer to the line of scrimmage as a strong safety because thats what he had success doing in preseason. He's a hitter who lacks deep speed. Not to mention he's never played a down of real NFL football. I don't think the staff would be comfortable asking him to cover deep 1/3s and 1/2s right now given those factors.

Nolan played FS in pre-season. I know that he made some plays on intermediate passes, but they did not mainly play him close to the LOS like a SS. He covered deep plenty.

And I've never thought of Nolan as a hitter as opposed to a coverage guy...That is indeed a first...
 

m5kwatts

Veteran
Nolan played FS in pre-season. I know that he made some plays on intermediate passes, but they did not mainly play him close to the LOS like a SS. He covered deep plenty.

And I've never thought of Nolan as a hitter as opposed to a coverage guy...That is indeed a first...
I'm not saying Nolan can't be a coverage guy eventually just right now the staff probably isn't comfortable relying on him to be our last line of defense against the pass. If he blows an assignment (which young players do frequently) closer to the line of scrimmage you have a chance to not give up the home run. He played deep in preseason yes but clearly wasn't good enough at it or he'd be the guy in right now over Barber.
 

jaayteetx

All Pro
All for it, I'm like alot of posters who would rather see Nolan but Barber has to be an upgrade over Wilson here lately.
 

Rey

Guest
I'm not saying Nolan can't be a coverage guy eventually just right now the staff probably isn't comfortable relying on him to be our last line of defense against the pass. If he blows an assignment (which young players do frequently) closer to the line of scrimmage you have a chance to not give up the home run. He played deep in preseason yes but clearly wasn't good enough at it or he'd be the guy in right now over Barber.
I understand what you're saying, but I just disagree.

If they didn't think he was good enough to play the FS position then he wouldn't have made the team. And I think Barber is getting the nod over Nolan simply because he has seniority and Kubiak has pegged him as a guy he likes...that's just how Kubiak rolls...If you go back to my first post that you quoted me on I explained this.

I said:

I understand that the Texans want to "go about things the right way" and all, but at some point you just gotta say screw it and put the guys on the field that have shown they can make plays...
Texans have, in many instances, failed to play a back-up that has shown more flashes of being good than the starter.

IMO, they have mostly gone with the player that has been around longer or the player they specifically pegged as their guy rather than throwing a guy in who has shown flashes of being good.

Even when it was obvious that Slaton would out perform Ahman Green that year, they still went with Green until he got injured. The same thing with Foster last year. Jaques Reeves even started over Quinn until it was apparent he sucked.

My point is that just because the Texans peg a guy as a starter says nothing about the talent of the guy behind them.
 

m5kwatts

Veteran
I understand what you're saying, but I just disagree.

If they didn't think he was good enough to play the FS position then he wouldn't have made the team. And I think Barber is getting the nod over Nolan simply because he has seniority and Kubiak has pegged him as a guy he likes...that's just how Kubiak rolls...If you go back to my first post that you quoted me on I explained this.

I said:



Texans have, in many instances, failed to play a back-up that has shown more flashes of being good than the starter.

IMO, they have mostly gone with the player that has been around longer or the player they specifically pegged as their guy rather than throwing a guy in who has shown flashes of being good.

Even when it was obvious that Slaton would out perform Ahman Green that year, they still went with Green until he got injured. The same thing with Foster last year. Jaques Reeves even started over Quinn until it was apparent he sucked.

My point is that just because the Texans peg a guy as a starter says nothing about the talent of the guy behind them.
Didn't Duane Brown replace Salaam the second after he signed his contract? Didn't Cushing get thrown into the fire from day 1? Kareem Jackson? Okoye, Demeco, Mario, Winston? The staff plugged all these guys in from day 1, can you address these?

I know you're not gonna like hearing this because fans don't think running backs having to block is important but Green knew the protections, Slaton didn't. Quinn replaced Reeves before even mid-season, a 4th round rookie thrown into the starting lineup. Foster found his way into the starting lineup eventually and actually threw it away for a game when he fumbled in St. Louis.

I think you need to look deeper into each of these cases rather writing off the staff as evil coaches holding back great 2nd and 3rd stringers because they're too dumb to realize what they have.
 

Rey

Guest
Didn't Duane Brown replace Salaam the second after he signed his contract? Didn't Cushing get thrown into the fire from day 1? Kareem Jackson? Okoye, Demeco, Mario, Winston? The staff plugged all these guys in from day 1, can you address these?
What part don't you understand about what I wrote? Serious question, because all of those guys (except the ones you are completely wrong about) would fall under what I said:

IMO, they have mostly gone with the player that has been around longer or the player they specifically pegged as their guy rather than throwing a guy in who has shown flashes of being good.
The guys you are wrong about are in bold. Demeco was not pegged a starter from day one. He eventually earned it by the time the first game came around. Demeco wasn't even a MLB when he initially came to us. They had him playing outside until they found out that he was pretty good in the middle.

Duane Brown was pegged the starter, but ended up splitting time with with Salaam.

And I'm not really sure what you are talking about with Winston. He was not pegged a starter from day one. Not even close.


And the Texans have had a philosophy of starting 1st rounders from day one...AKA these are people who would fall under the category of "their guys"....?????

I think you need to look deeper into each of these cases rather writing off the staff as evil coaches holding back great 2nd and 3rd stringers because they're too dumb to realize what they have.
Nah...I think you need to look a bit deeper...

The Texan have not been an organization that will pull out someone whom they deem reliable in lieu of someone that has shown flashes..Not in the middle of a season....The player has to either royally suck, or get injured...

I'm not really sure how you can even debate that...There are numerous examples all over the place...

I know you're not gonna like hearing this because fans don't think running backs having to block is important but Green knew the protections, Slaton didn't. Quinn replaced Reeves before even mid-season, a 4th round rookie thrown into the starting lineup. Foster found his way into the starting lineup eventually and actually threw it away for a game when he fumbled in St. Louis.
Please spare me on discussing the 'finer points of football'....I am far from a novice when it comes to knowing what happens and what is supposed to happen on a football field. I am very well aware that a RB has to block. Thank you for that info though.

And this little bit you posted kind of proves my point. All of those guys that were on the bench came in and outperformed the starters they replaced. Oass blocking or not, Slaton was a better RB than Ahman Green the year he replaced him..

The vets only loss their spot due to being so bad or getting hurt...Not because the guys behind them had shown that they would potentially be better anyways.
 
Figured. This will be Barber's last hurrah if he isn't the answer right away. Whatever you want to say about either Barber or Nolan's game, they are generally in the same spot. Recent late round picks, questions about position, 2nd string, not much experience. Difference is Barber's game time hasn't been all that flattering, even if he was kinda just thrown into a fire. I really wonder when S is going to matter in the draft, even a 2nd or 3rd round guy would be a decent amount of attention but it's like a revolving door of young guys that aren't quite enough or old journeyman guys that...aren't quite enough. Getting Pollard was blind luck.
 

m5kwatts

Veteran
What part don't you understand about what I wrote? Serious question, because all of those guys (except the ones you are completely wrong about) would fall under what I said:



The guys you are wrong about are in bold. Demeco was not pegged a starter from day one. He eventually earned it by the time the first game came around. Demeco wasn't even a MLB when he initially came to us. They had him playing outside until they found out that he was pretty good in the middle.

Duane Brown was pegged the starter, but ended up splitting time with with Salaam.

And I'm not really sure what you are talking about with Winston. He was not pegged a starter from day one. Not even close.


And the Texans have had a philosophy of starting 1st rounders from day one...AKA these are people who would fall under the category of "their guys"....?????



Nah...I think you need to look a bit deeper...

The Texan have not been an organization that will pull out someone whom they deem reliable in lieu of someone that has shown flashes..Not in the middle of a season....The player has to either royally suck, or get injured...

I'm not really sure how you can even debate that...There are numerous examples all over the place...



Please spare me on discussing the 'finer points of football'....I am far from a novice when it comes to knowing what happens and what is supposed to happen on a football field. I am very well aware that a RB has to block. Thank you for that info though.

And this little bit you posted kind of proves my point. All of those guys that were on the bench came in and outperformed the starters they replaced. Oass blocking or not, Slaton was a better RB than Ahman Green the year he replaced him..

The vets only loss their spot due to being so bad or getting hurt...Not because the guys behind them had shown that they would potentially be better anyways.
You're right. You know the team better than the staff does. Even though they have umpteenth more resources than you do to support the decisions they make.

I'm not gonna change your mind obviously, all I'll say is the staff makes their decisions with ample research. Just because every decision they make isn't the right one (and no organization in football is perfect) doesn't mean they're going about things the wrong way. They wouldn't be making progress every year like they have if that was the case.
 

Rey

Guest
You're right. You know the team better than the staff does. Even though they have umpteenth more resources than you do to support the decisions they make.

I'm not gonna change your mind obviously, all I'll say is the staff makes their decisions with ample research. Just because every decision they make isn't the right one (and no organization in football is perfect) doesn't mean they're going about things the wrong way. They wouldn't be making progress every year like they have if that was the case.
I hope you got a good stretch with that reach.

Heck I got a good yawn out of reading it...
 

thunderkyss

Just win baby!!!
Staff member
Contributor's Club
Okay....

It's a start. I just remember the Barber experiment last year didn't go that well.

Maybe another year in the system will have helped? Heck, if nothing else, he has two good wheels. That's an instant improvement.

Did he see time against the Cowboys after Wilson tweaked the hammy? If so, how did he look?
It's hard to say how he did when he got into the Cowboy game. By then, the damage was done, & they were on cruise control.

But when Barber was looking bad last year, he was at SS/FS (which with Pollard in the game, he'll play more FS). Everyone on that defense at that time (the first three games) looked bad. They all missed plays & were out of position from time to time. Cushing, Demeco, Antonio, Bullman, Mario.... everyone.

That brain fart leaving CJ unmanned... that was pretty stupid.

He came in at the end of the year, again when Wilson got hurt. He wasn't bad... almost invisible. That's good, in that most likely it meant everyone was doing their job, and people weren't getting to that level. It's bad, because he isn't the play-maker that makes you notice him.

We need play-makers in the secondary. Right now, the only one we have is Pollard. Quin is solid, but not a play-maker. KJ is a rookie. McCain is limited.

We need a play-maker in the secondary.
 

Hardcore Texan

Magnet Man
I'm not convinced he'll be any better, but at least Kubiak is putting guys on trial for bad play, so two thumbs up.


I'd rather see Nolan get a shot, but we'll wait and see.
I'd rather see Nolan in there.

I understand that the Texans want to "go about things the right way" and all, but at some point you just gotta say screw it and put the guys on the field that have shown they can make plays...

That goes for anyone...I don't care what your name is or where you were drafted...

Hopefully Barber surprises me. I think he is a good player, but I just think Nolan is better. Nolan seems to be more instinctive and the better athlete...
Yep.
 

thunderkyss

Just win baby!!!
Staff member
Contributor's Club
I think it might be too soon to make those kind of judgements of Nolan. I also think they prefer to use him closer to the line of scrimmage rather than asking him to cover deep 1/3s and 1/2s. Its just easier on a young player.

Barber struggled mightily at the beginning of last year and thankfully was benched. He was better when he replaced Wilson later in the year but still shaky. I don't think he's good enough to be a starter on a great defense but this defense isn't that right now anyways.

For me, with this latest development, I'm a little upset with Rick Smith. I remember after the draft him saying he felt really good about our safety position. Yes Wilson was a good solution to Barber's bad play last year, but good enough to be the annointed FS heading into camp? I think Rick's a good GM and a good GM should've seen around this corner. We're now playing with smoke and mirrors at free safety. And don't get me started on the defensive end position after Mario and Antonio.
What if the thing with Nolan is his professionalism? Like Jacoby & Arian? I know we believe he is the play-maker we are looking for because of what we've seen in the preseason. & he may be. But if he isn't putting in the time, if he isn't being a pro, maybe he hasn't earned anything yet.
 

thunderkyss

Just win baby!!!
Staff member
Contributor's Club
Hey, did anyone see Barber watch his brother run through the line for that touchdown against us?

There was a huge hole, Barber could have knifed through the hole & attacked Barber in the backfield. At the very least, he could have bought the other guys enough time to finish MBIII off.

But nooooooo... he watched.
 

Rey

Guest
Hey, did anyone see Barber watch his brother run through the line for that touchdown against us?

There was a huge hole, Barber could have knifed through the hole & attacked Barber in the backfield. At the very least, he could have bought the other guys enough time to finish MBIII off.

But nooooooo... he watched.
I cannot figure out why the Texans do certain things...

I would not bring Barber in on goal line packages anyways...
 

thunderkyss

Just win baby!!!
Staff member
Contributor's Club
I'm not saying Nolan can't be a coverage guy eventually just right now the staff probably isn't comfortable relying on him to be our last line of defense against the pass. If he blows an assignment (which young players do frequently) closer to the line of scrimmage you have a chance to not give up the home run. He played deep in preseason yes but clearly wasn't good enough at it or he'd be the guy in right now over Barber.
Or.. maybe Kubiak is "playing it safe" again. He's got KJ out there, don't mind him getting burned. McCain was out there, play after play after play. Eugene Wilson getting burned a few times didn't get him off the field either.


Besides. He rotates the RG. Why rotate the RG, & not the FS?
 

m5kwatts

Veteran
What if the thing with Nolan is his professionalism? Like Jacoby & Arian? I know we believe he is the play-maker we are looking for because of what we've seen in the preseason. & he may be. But if he isn't putting in the time, if he isn't being a pro, maybe he hasn't earned anything yet.
Are you trying to say Jacoby & Arian didn't have immaturity issues that needed fixing? Because both of those players would be the first to admit that they did.

Or.. maybe Kubiak is "playing it safe" again. He's got KJ out there, don't mind him getting burned. McCain was out there, play after play after play. Eugene Wilson getting burned a few times didn't get him off the field either.


Besides. He rotates the RG. Why rotate the RG, & not the FS?
So who would you have replaced KJ and McCain with Sunday? Jamar Wall? I don't get your point here. And Wilson is being replaced? What's the gripe here?

And if they thought FS needed to be rotated I'm sure they'd do it.
 

thunderkyss

Just win baby!!!
Staff member
Contributor's Club
Are you trying to say Jacoby & Arian didn't have immaturity issues that needed fixing? Because both of those players would be the first to admit that they did.
Not at all. I'm throwing that out as a legit reason for not throwing Nolan in.
So who would you have replaced KJ and McCain with Sunday? Jamar Wall? I don't get your point here. And Wilson is being replaced? What's the gripe here?

And if they thought FS needed to be rotated I'm sure they'd do it.
I personally feel KJ did as well as expected. He's going to hit a bump every now and then. McCain, I'm glad he got more playing time. There's only one way to learn in this league.

My point, is that Wilson hasn't been much a safety blanket this year.
 

Wolf6151

All Pro
Barber is a bad backup SS what makes Kubiak think he can be a starter at FS. Nolan should be the pick, this is another bad decision by Kubiak.
 

Maddict5

Hall of Fame
ive been a huge nolan supporter since we drafted him but im excited to see barber too. he played v well with pollard at the end of last yr-specifically the fins game iirc. plus hes obviously still doing well to get a chance before nolan who kubiak seems to like too
 

HTown2ATX

TexansMetalhead
Does anyone know why the heck Kubes refuses to start Nolan????

Barber is better at least I hope....

Note to Barber on how to keep your role after this week...if an easy ass pick 6 comes your way CATCH THE EFFING BALL!! :facepalm:
 

GP

Go Texans!
Hey, did anyone see Barber watch his brother run through the line for that touchdown against us?

There was a huge hole, Barber could have knifed through the hole & attacked Barber in the backfield. At the very least, he could have bought the other guys enough time to finish MBIII off.

But nooooooo... he watched.
That might be one of THE most infuriating things ever.

You are stone cold serious that you saw that? For real?

Wow. That's just awful.
 

JB

Innocent Bystander
Contributor's Club
Hey, did anyone see Barber watch his brother run through the line for that touchdown against us?

There was a huge hole, Barber could have knifed through the hole & attacked Barber in the backfield. At the very least, he could have bought the other guys enough time to finish MBIII off.

But nooooooo... he watched.
That might be one of THE most infuriating things ever.

You are stone cold serious that you saw that? For real?

Wow. That's just awful.
No, thats crap. I just watched the play again. When Witten motions into the backfield, Barber follows and then moves back when Witten stops. As soon as the ball is snapped, Barber attacks the hole, and is the first one to hit MBIII.
 
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