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Connor Barwin?

Yeah, he's in witness protection right now..I haven't noticed him at all this year. I've never liked the Barwin pick though so some may call me biased..i don't think he's anything special as a passrusher. He is athletic as hell, but i don't think he's a guy that teams will really fear coming off the Edge. I kinda predicted he'd struggle a bit this year when teams started to focus on him more. I think he got a role in this defense, but i think he could be replaced....

Our schedule last year was easier, we played lots of bad qbs & he padded his sack #'s by racking up 4 against the great Blaine Gabbert....or as some jag fans call him Plaine Garbage.

My guy has always been Reed b/c he's explosive & it's just a matter of time before he finally "gets it". Can say that i've noticed Mercilus too mcuh though..
 
badboy said:
One of many does not get him a one of a kind contract. He needs sackos to get pesos.
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And I agree, I just felt like he's been on the verge of getting sacks in games - Jackonville, most notably - where it literally came down to being beat by Watt. Hell, one of the sacks was a three-way tie between Barwin, Smith, and Watt.

I think it's just a matter of time until he has a game that breaks him out of this sackless dearth. :kitten:
 
The OLB's in general haven't been as good this year, with Barwin moving into the witness protection program. Let's give them a few more games though before we start to draw any real conclusions.
 
I think the problem is more scheme related. It seems like we're lining up in a 4-3 front more often than we did last season, not sure why we continue to do this, but you see Barwin on the line quite often this season. Maybe someone can pick a random game from last season and look to see how often he lined up with his hand in the dirt compared to recent weeks.....
 
amazing80 said:
I think the problem is more scheme related. It seems like we're lining up in a 4-3 front more often than we did last season, not sure why we continue to do this, but you see Barwin on the line quite often this season. Maybe someone can pick a random game from last season and look to see how often he lined up with his hand in the dirt compared to recent weeks.....
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Sounds like a job for 76Texan
 
ProfootballFocus has him rated as the 28th out of 29 best OLB in 3-4 this year. He was god awful in the last game. Out of all the defensive starters on the Texans he has the worst rating by far.

Last year he was ranked 19/29 OLB. The worst part wasn't his rank, it was the fact he had only had 3 good pass rushing games. The guy has potential, but plays like a rotational player.
 
amazing80 said:
I think the problem is more scheme related. It seems like we're lining up in a 4-3 front more often than we did last season, not sure why we continue to do this, but you see Barwin on the line quite often this season. Maybe someone can pick a random game from last season and look to see how often he lined up with his hand in the dirt compared to recent weeks.....
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We got off to pretty good starts in our last two games. Opening ~ 20 pt leads make the other team one dimensional. On obvious passing situations, we'll most likely be in the 4-3
 
bhsman said:
And I agree, I just felt like he's been on the verge of getting sacks in games - Jackonville, most notably - where it literally came down to being beat by Watt. Hell, one of the sacks was a three-way tie between Barwin, Smith, and Watt.

I think it's just a matter of time until he has a game that breaks him out of this sackless dearth. :kitten:
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My concern is Wade has set up his defense for OLB to get sacks from Mario thru Barwin last season. Why would it change this season? Watt is getting his despite his position based on skills. Seems like with Watt's productivity especially his blocks, OLBs would be doing even better this season but they are not, so far.
 
Alright, so I had taken a pretty long look at Barwin (even though not as extensive as I'd like), I think he's done at least OK.

Kubiak said he's been playing well; I don't agree with that whole-heartedly, but I do think that he's been doing his job, even though there wasnt' much to write home about.

In the run game, now that Cushing is playing more at WILB and the opponent does not prefer to run to his side, Barwin doesn't see as much action since he plays mostly WOLB.

In the passing game, even though he didn't show much on the stats sheet, Barwin did apply adequate pressure to make a contribution in the pass rush.
There are several contributing factors:

- Long (Dolphins) and Clady (Broncos) are good LTs
- The 3 teams we faced mostly go with a quick passing game such that the DE or OLB doesn't quite have the time to get there as their path to the QB is farther.
- Wade chooses to play soft when we have a big lead in the fourth quarter (and we did in all 3 games). He came with a straight 4-man rush against the Jags and especially the Broncos (not even a zone dog) that is quite predictable.

Against the Broncos, we were trading time for a chance to get off the field.
Forget about the miscues that gave Stokley an easy TD.
In the next drive, everything went right for the Broncos but it still took them over 5 mins to score.

McCain dropped an INT.
He then committed holding on 4th and 16.
Watt missed a tackle in the backfield on third and one.
A bogus PI call on Jackson.
An oh-well pass play that ended wtih Dreessen making the TD catch on third and 6.

In the straight 4-man pass rush, Barwin was rather ineffective for the reasons mentioned above. That and Manning's ability to get the ball out quickly unless he got jumped quickly up the middle.
 
As far as the 4-man front is concerned, there's not really any change, except that we went to it straight off the bat in the fourth quarter against the Broncos.

We see the 4-man front (including fronts with an edge guy taking his hand off the dirt) when the Texans go to a nickle or a dime package.

The occasions may include:

- When the offense is in a 3-WR set.

- On second and very long.

- On third or fourth and long.

- In prevent defense or soft defense at the end of the half or in the fourth quarter.

- When we show a 46 look, but drop back into a regular 4-man front.

Basically, we anticipate a pass.
 
Connor's a goner.

Did he even make the stat sheet today? I think he's checked out, tbh.
 
What's weird isn't his lack of production. I think he's better on the strong side anyway....what's weird is how despite having what seems like a good 3 man rotation, Wade doesn't rotate Reed and Barwin or Mercilus with either at any point. Or Braman. Like nearly everywhere else we see a rotation, even Watt goes out occasionally.
 
To be honest, I've always felt like guys who have 1 great game have not proven anything. I know he probably had other good games, but his 4 sack game last year reminds me of Mario Williams, having a killer game once a year and disappearing the rest of the time (as far as sacks go that is).

I wouldn't swear that Barwin isn't going to turn it on again at some point, but, based on what I'm seeing, I'd bet money against him before I'd bet it on him.

Having said that, JJ Watt is getting all of the LB's sacks right now. You can't get LB sacks if your 3-4 DE is getting to the QB faster than the speed of light. :d:
 
i'm going to rewatch the game to focus solely on barwin, but my first reaction through 4 games ... invisible.
 
wolf123 said:
Come on saying a player has checked out?? He's playing hard out there just struggling in his pass rush.
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He had a chance to sign a Texans-friendly contract extension this summer.

He passed on that opportunity. Numerous Houston sports media are on record as saying that the Texans wanted to target Duane Brown and Connor Barwin for an early extension before this season began...and Connor didn't get one completed, but Duane Brown did.

Now tell me this: Do you think Connor and his agent turned down an offer from the Texans? The reports point toward the answer being "Yes, he did." Otherwise, he's under a new contract like Duane Brown is.

Which means he and his agent, and this is speculating (but probably pretty fair to count as being 99% true), they wanted more than what the Texans valued Barwin at.

So tell me, if you're Connor Barwin...and you've just watched Eric Winston get cut (for cap reasons). DeMeco traded (for salary reasons), and the Texans not keeping Brisiel and Dreessen, matched up with how the Texans have been knocking draft days out of the park with Wade Phillips at the controls...don't you think it's at least SOMEWHAT plausible or possible that Connor might be sort of gearing down a bit? How could he not? He's as human as Dunta Robinson and others who knew they were headed elsewhere.

I am not just trying to bag on the guy. He's done nothing that I think is despicable or whatever. I'm just saying that, to me, he doesn't look like a guy whose amped up and getting his business handled out there. He looks way too out-of-the-picture.

I'm wanting Wade to pull two guys out of the starting lineup: Bradie James and Connor Barwin. They're not sinking our team, by any means, but we've got two guys in Dobbins and either Braman or Mercilus who I think give us more on the field of play. I'll hand it to this Texans team, however, coaches are loyal and Barwin and James are going to be out there until they ring the bell or get hurt.

So I'm not just trying to say Barwin us garbage or anything. But he sure doesn't seem to be in the middle of the action very much through 4 games.

Two guys who got cute with their diets, Barwin and Foster, need to stop trying to be the smartest guys in the room and just go back to doing what made them good last year. That's why I like Cushing and Reed and Braman...those guys are just freakish machines who don't care about being seen with the coolest tweets (Foster), the coolest hair styles (Barwin), etc. Football 24-7-365.
 
GP said:
So tell me, if you're Connor Barwin...and you've just watched Eric Winston get cut (for cap reasons). DeMeco traded (for salary reasons), and the Texans not keeping Brisiel and Dreessen, matched up with how the Texans have been knocking draft days out of the park with Wade Phillips at the controls...don't you think it's at least SOMEWHAT plausible or possible that Connor might be sort of gearing down a bit? How could he not?
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What doesn't add up about that theory is that typically when a player is in a contract year, you see that player stepping up his game to improve his value---not coasting.
 
TexansFanatic said:
What doesn't add up about that theory is that typically when a player is in a contract year, you see that player stepping up his game to improve his value---not coasting.
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I don't think that's a 100% given.

Dunta got paid like CRAZY with a huge franchise tag year here, and he put the brakes on the whole year. He wasn't going to do anything risky since he knew he was headed elsewhere for yet (drum roll, please) another contract.

Look at Brisiel! Just by virtue of him being a guy on an o-line that blocked for the Texans QB, RB, and WRs and TEs, he ends up getting a really nice paycheck from the Raiders. Barwin, likewise, is going to net a nice payday from some other team next year after we end up being in the Super Bowl and THEN...yeah, Barwin might wake up and smell the ink on the hundred dollar bills.

He knows he doesn't have a contract, he knows the Texans are NOT going to pay him a lot to retain him, so why wouldn't he be a little less than 100% out there, mentally speaking? This defense doesn't need him. It didn't need Mario. It's a multiple-headed beast and the main head is JJ Watt. Then you got Reed, Cushing, Smith, JJo, Manning, this franchise is not going to give Barwin what Barwin "wants" and he knows that. It's patently obvious, IMO.

Factor in his weight gain, and he's sort of behind the 8-ball now. I hate it for him, because he CAN be a better LB than he is right now. Some weak defense out there in the NFL is going to want Barwin, I guarantee it. I just think he knows he's done here. It is what it is.
 
HJam72 said:
Having said that, JJ Watt is getting all of the LB's sacks right now. You can't get LB sacks if your 3-4 DE is getting to the QB faster than the speed of light. :d:
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Watt isn't sacking the qb everytime they drop back.

He'll, even when he does sack the qb at least show up a second late. He hasn't been doing that much.

I want to see what Braman can do rushing from the weakside some. The little I saw from him today he looks like the most explosive edge rusher we have.

If we had a speedy edge rusher to pair with watt this pass rush would be redunkulous.

I'm going to keep my eyes open for edge rushers in this upcoming draft. Reed is actually playing the strongside well. But that weakside explosiveness is lacking a bit.
 
GP said:
I don't think that's a 100% given.
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It's not out of the question that his muddled future is somehow preying on him and causing him to be tentative.

But it's counterintuitive to consciously coast when a future payday is at stake.

If Kubiak winds up giving him fewer snaps (or worse --- benches him) then he's really screwed.
 
TexansFanatic said:
It's not out of the question that his muddled future is somehow preying on him and causing him to be tentative.

But it's counterintuitive to consciously coast when a future payday is at stake.

If Kubiak winds up giving him fewer snaps (or worse --- benches him) then he's really screwed.
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See, and I think that this team's coaches WON'T ever dare give him fewer snaps. Why? To make him go out there and get over it. Get over his attitude, get with the program, be a team player. This team didn't bench or remove snaps from Dunta Robinson, either.

Plus, I don't want a guy like Barwin--a genuinely good guy, IMO--being able to lose a chance at a good contract because he gets snaps taken away. I also don't snaps taken away so that he can't leave here and claim he was cheated out of the snaps needed to prove himself in a contract year.

You have to admit, based on all things we're discussing here, Connor Barwin has got a lot of things going on and it's definitely a pressure-cooker situation for the guy. He's probably down on himself, no doubt. He's a great football player. He's not going to be happy when he sees his stats through four games. He shouldn't. He won't.

But then again, this defense has allowed even Kareem Jackson to have shining moments...Connor is just out of sync for whatever reasons, and I think he's a goner here. Unless he just decides to take whatever the Texans might offer him after this season is over. I doubt he gets what he thought he was worth, though, if that happens.
 
can anyone confirm barwin putting on weight this offseason? if true, i lay 90% of his ineffectiveness there, with the other 10% to teams taking him a whole lot more seriously. weight gain is almost never a good idea. beefing up a 20 year old offensive lineman? yeah sure. adding bulk to a 26 year old OLB coming off his best season as a pass rusher? EHHH WRONG! it's almost always the same, the extra weight is a burden they have to adjust to and makes players sluggish.

if anything barwin and reed should be trimming as much as they can get away with without hurting their strength. this is a beat your man 1v1 defense - not one where you stand up the blocker. if barwin's putting on weight to stand up his man in run support, he went backwards.
 
Watching the replays and Barwin is showing no spin moves just bull rush and trying speed rush around edge and just gets pushed out of the play. He used to be quicker and had a spin move. Look at play at 8:40 of 2nd quarter. He just looks slow and a little clumsy. I think it is the added weight or he has some type of injury. I agree they need to rotate him and get some playing time to others, especially when game is under control.
 
TheIronDuke said:
Nobody in their right mind tanks a season in their contract year, c'mon GP.
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You're putting words in my mouth, plain and simple.

I never once say he is tanking it. He has a lot going on, and that can affect his focus and his desire and his performance too.

We've all been there. Everyone around us is hitting home runs and we can't even hit a single to save our lives. You sort of begin wondering about yourself.

Not saying he is tanking. I don't think that accusation is fair to me. I've gone out of my way to say that my criticism is not geared to make him look like a loser. He's not. But his performance looks like he is lost in many ways.

Dunta, IMO, yeah...that guy was tanking it. Not Barwin though. I think he's just genuinely battling some issues about how he fits into this monster defense we have right now.
 
Sometimes we need to stop being so blindly loyal to ANY of our players that we cannot stop and ask questions about their impact on the game.

To scrutinize is not a bad thing. Hell, I bet he is being VERY self-scrutinizing right now. I hope it clicks for him, because he needs to maximize this season.
 
GP said:
Dunta, IMO, yeah...that guy was tanking it.
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Even with the lack of respect I have for Dunta, I can't agree that he was tanking it his final season here.

If you look at his stats from year to year, he actually had a better final season in Houston in terms of tackles than he has yet to have in Atlanta and, aside from his rookie season, he was never really an interception guy.

He had that horrific injury in 2007 and made a remarkable comeback but still hasn't been the same player he was his first 3.5 seasons.

The fact that Atlanta gave him so much money is as confounding now as it was then. Just one of those strange quirks of free agency where a player gets a huge payday for no apparent reason.
 
gafftop said:
Watching the replays and Barwin is showing no spin moves just bull rush and trying speed rush around edge and just gets pushed out of the play. He used to be quicker and had a spin move. Look at play at 8:40 of 2nd quarter. He just looks slow and a little clumsy. I think it is the added weight or he has some type of injury. I agree they need to rotate him and get some playing time to others, especially when game is under control.
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I just watched the game again, and I agree with this assessment. I never really paid much attention to Barwin, so I can't say what he used to do; but he is using a ton of speed rushes and little else. Also, I noticed he wasn't taking on blocks in the run game either. Barwin appears to want to dodge the blocker and in doing so, dodges his way out of the play.

Barwin usually isn't being double teamed, or even chipped by the RB or TE; he's being blocked one on one by the tackles.

Does anybody know if he changed sides? I noticed he seemed to go against left tackles alot, which are usually better than right tackles. (just an idea)
 
I'm wondering if they are calling less blitzes and stunts. It seems last year Wade would devise all sorts of thing to let linebackers get a free run at the qb but this year you don't really need to do that when you can rush 4 and have Watt and Smith disrupt things the way they are doing.
 
Dude's just not that good & he never was imo....he always looked clumsy to me rushing the passer. Honestly this is good news for us in a way. if he doesn't have as productive a season as he did last year, perhaps most teams won't offer him much more than we offered him & he'll be apt to stay................

of course you've always got teams like the raiders who'll offer stupid money based on little to nothing.
 
Mr teX said:
Dude's just not that good & he never was imo....
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I think you're overplaying that a little, but I also think the sack total from last year got people to over-hyping Barwin. I think Barwin is a nice player, but I have never considered him in the class of guys that get 11.5 sacks every year from the OLB position.
 
Mr teX said:
Dude's just not that good & he never was imo....he always looked clumsy to me rushing the passer. Honestly this is good news for us in a way. if he doesn't have as productive a season as he did last year, perhaps most teams won't offer him much more than we offered him & he'll be apt to stay................

of course you've always got teams like the raiders who'll offer stupid money based on little to nothing.
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Why would we want to keep him if he's not good?
 
Rey said:
Connor barwin is not getting the job done. Period.

He needs to play better.
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Agreed...the guy has no moves. Just a bull rush..which is not working. I would like to see mercilus now and see what he can offer over connor.
 
stingray said:
Agreed...the guy has no moves. Just a bull rush..which is not working. I would like to see mercilus now and see what he can offer over connor.
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Jmo, but merciless would be even worse.

I've said this a million times, but I'm not a fan of the rush olb's on this team. I think barwin would play better on the strongside, but I think reed is playing that position really well.

We need a good wolb, and I personally don't think merciless is that guy. I'd honestly like to see what Braman can do.
 
Rey said:
Jmo, but merciless would be even worse.

I've said this a million times, but I'm not a fan of the rush olb's on this team. I think barwin would play better on the strongside, but I think reed is playing that position really well.

We need a good wolb, and I personally don't think merciless is that guy. I'd honestly like to see what Braman can do.
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Maybe so... but we have to see it with on our own eyes what the first round pick can do.
 
5 games in and still zero sacks for Barwin and 2.5 for reed. I only saw Barwin have one quality rush during the game. Our pass rush has been poor outside of JJ Watt.
 
Barwin can't even play the position he's supposed to play so I wouldn't be moving him to another position to find he can't play that one either.
 
what's with the ugly stutter step that i keep seeing from barwin? he's spending too much time watching the play and dancing and trying to set his guy up - barwin needs to start attacking.
 
Rey said:
Jmo, but merciless would be even worse.

I've said this a million times, but I'm not a fan of the rush olb's on this team. I think barwin would play better on the strongside, but I think reed is playing that position really well.

We need a good wolb, and I personally don't think merciless is that guy. I'd honestly like to see what Braman can do.
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I agree with your take on Merci. As a rookie, Barwin was in the QB's face & making the most of his pass rushing specialist role. I'm not even seeing Merci & imo, for him to earn that spot, he needs to show up when he's on the field. Barwin playing so poorly & Merci not doing any better..... pretty disheartening if you ask me.

Still, Barwin isn't filling the bill, that is a dynamic position on this defense & something has to happen. Merci hadn't earned the position, but neither has anyone else on the team. But it's time for a change.

Brooks is playing well. Last two games especially. I'd hate to take him off the field, but I'd rather do that, than bench Barwin.

Of course, there's no need to bench Barwin, we could up Whitney's reps at WOLB, or throw Braman in there with the first group more often.

We gotta do something. Jj can't keep this up, playing all by himself.
 
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