Major Indirect Slap At Mark Barron?
November 26th, 2014
Bucs defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier believes Mark Barron’s successor at safety is a big reason why the defense has improved.
Bucs defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier sure seemed more upbeat than usual today in his weekly press briefing. Maybe it is because of the looming Thanksgiving holiday, which he termed “great” with emphasis.
Or, it could be his defense is no longer wretched.
Joe is of the belief that the defense of the Bucs turned the corner in the loss to the Vikings. Whenever you hold an NFL team to 13 points in four quarters, you are doing a good job.
At the time, Joe asked several defenders if the Bucs had turned a corner. None agreed. But now, Frazier is confident that, yes, the Bucs defense has turned for the better.
Frazier was show statistics this morning, a snapshot of which Frazier discussed. He “believed” the Bucs were No. 2 in the NFL in the past five weeks in both total yards allowed and third down percentage.
It seemed, if one was to listen closely, that personnel changes have helped drive improvement.
“We are definitely playing better,” Frazier said. “I think some changes” such as Jacquies Smith at left defensive end and a healthy Gerald McCoy have made a difference.
Then, Frazier cited a safety.
“Seeing our secondary improve, I think Major Wright has definitely given us a shot in the arm,” Frazier said. “We are playing better on the back end.”
Well, now. You mean to say a first round (bust) like passive Mark Barron wasn’t getting the job done? A guy off the streets who is a backup is making a bigger splash and impact than a passive first round pick?
You don’t say?
November 26th, 2014 at 4:12 pm
I’m still waiting for Mark Barron to tear up the league now – now that he has real coaching. His greatest claim to fame as of yet is that he tore up someone’s knee – even though he whiffed on the tackle and didn’t lay a hand on the guy. He’s barely seeing the field for a team with a couple banged up safeties – but I’m sure it’s just a matter of time, right?
Lovie & Co. have had several mistakes, but getting rid of Barron was not one of them. Barron was and is a bad NFL football player, and I don’t think it’s a coincidence that our defense has looked better since he’s been gone.
November 26th, 2014 at 4:14 pm
i had said long before they fired him, that barron was terrible. he never covered a passing lane, instead he let receivers catch the ball past the first down marker and then tackle.(he can tackle very well) he would bite HARD on play action. although he could tackle, he never completely understood his position for the run fits either, was just a solid tackler IF he happened to be in the right place at the right time. probably the worst safety fit for what a cover 2 is designed to be.
November 26th, 2014 at 4:15 pm
I wanna post that Washington Post article again here, because all you’ll see if wide open Redskins receivers. RGIII should have thrown for 400 yards against us. Contrary to what we think, the defense hasn’t made vast improvements, they’ve simply run into poorer competition. When Aaron Rodgers comes to town, it could get really, really ugly.
November 26th, 2014 at 4:20 pm
still can’t believe the talent we passed up to draft the dude. even putting kuechly’s availability aside, we had so many needs that year yet we drafted a guy at a non-essential position with an antiquated skill set in a division where 2 of the best pass-catching safeties in football resided at the time.
November 26th, 2014 at 4:21 pm
Rodgers will torch the Bucs for sure, the other QB’s left to face will likely do the same, including Newton.
November 26th, 2014 at 4:23 pm
@bucrightoff, i couldn’t agree more. we are basing our “improvement” on facing stumbling, deeply flawed teams with bad O-lines and struggling QBs. we have drew brees and aaron rodgers coming to town, those guys will not miss the open guy. Matt Stafford and Andy Dalton are not elite by any stretch but compared to Teddy Bridgewater and RG 3-yards-per-attempt they are Hall of Famers and will find their elite targets with regularity.
November 26th, 2014 at 4:24 pm
Dominick was one of the worse gms of all time!
November 26th, 2014 at 4:32 pm
@bucrightoff,
I’ve read that, but I’ve also read a couple other (namely from Steve White), which said otherwise. While I tend to believe Cooley’s take a little more, there are some holes in some of what he said (namely the pick on the first play of the game).
If Washington was the only game we played well on, I would lean towards agreeing with you. However, our defense has been pretty good (at least statistically) the last 5 games. We allowed only 200 yards to Chicago on Sunday. That should win games for you every week, had not McCown went turnover happy in the third quarter.
Are we a great defense – hell no. I think we are more along the lines of average to maybe even a little below average. However, if you take into consideration how we made Derek Anderson and Austin Davis look (not to mention Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco), we have come a long way. While it’s not good enough, it’s certainly better. There’s no way you could argue that. As for Aaron Rodgers, I’m sure you are right, but he’s making every defense look horrible this season.
November 26th, 2014 at 5:19 pm
if hard to argue with the guy, the defense has had hit another gear and mark barron isn’t on the roster so it has nothing to do with him. but slow down mr frazier, i’d say your defense has improved because you told your corners to stop giving 20 yard cushion to opposing receivers
November 26th, 2014 at 5:28 pm
you lost me at Leslie Fraser……
November 26th, 2014 at 5:55 pm
what will everyone say if the defense holds every QB to 200 or less total yards for the last 5 games but the Bucs still lose? Will the defense still be considered avg to below avg? Is a DE what the Bucs should be looking for in the first three rounds of the draft? Should Marinelli replace Frazier as defensive coordinator next season?
November 26th, 2014 at 5:58 pm
they play three games against lousy teams and now it’s a trend. I’ll reserve judgment until they play Cinci, Detroit and GB.
November 26th, 2014 at 5:58 pm
A major reason RGIII is on the bench now is because of how “good” he made the Bucs defense look.
I like Teddy Bridgewater and he may have a future in the ‘league” but he’s still a rookie!!! The Bucs turned a corner alright. They finally found a way to at least slow a rookie QB better than two prior attempts.
The Bucs simply floated too many prayers skyward before this season, We’ve talked about the QB position all season long, not a good move by L&L
But they were also hoping a horribly injured All Pro guard would return and at least play. What did they base that assesssment upon? Did anyone ever see Carl Nicks as having a shot at playing this year?
Then you toss in Barron who simply couldnt do the job and a mediocre team had to contend with poor play from several positions they couldn’t afford to waste…OL and QB. Barron was just salt in the wound.
November 26th, 2014 at 5:59 pm
Anyone that can’t see the defensive improvement the last 5 games since the bye week – compared to the 1st 6 games has no idea what they are looking at. I don’t think we will be seeing anymore shredding of our defense like the 1st Atlanta and Baltimore games – even when we do face some better teams and QBs. There’s no doubt that the DL is playing better as a unit – and the secondary is starting to come around a bit as well.
The SS position can still use an upgrade – but Major Wright is playing much better than Barron did and I’m glad we traded Barron while we could still get something for him.
November 26th, 2014 at 7:21 pm
We will still need to pick up another safety in the draft at some point. We will probably get rid of The Non-Hawk too. This team makes me sick year after year. One more descent draft and maybe we can be an 8-8 team.
November 26th, 2014 at 7:36 pm
we will need to re-stock with better safeties this offseason through the draft or FA, but thankfully the days of viewing safety as a premiere impact position (i’d say a SS picked #7 overall and a FS getting about $8 mil is evidence of that thinking) while ignoring more critical holes ought to be a thing of the past
November 26th, 2014 at 8:12 pm
Wright has 0 ints and got run over by Morris and Forte. Barron has never been run over by anyone ever. Not even going to entertain this tomfoolery. Leslie is the biggest joke in the NFL.
November 26th, 2014 at 9:30 pm
Barron ain’t doin’ snot in StL! Had 1 tackle last week.
November 26th, 2014 at 9:45 pm
DB55 – there is no tomfoolery to the premise that Major Wright is doing a better job in this defense than Barron was. The eyeball test alone tells you that and if you don’t see it – then you don’t know what to look for. Coach Frazier just spoke about this yesterday in fact.
Perhaps your comments would be of some merit if you spent more time providing constructive criticism (which has been well deserved in so many ways this year so far) along with the occasional concession of praise or acknowledgement when appropriate – as opposed to just being such a broken record with your constant and ongoing diatribe – “Lovie Sucks – Fire Lovie – coaches are a joke – our best Dlineman is a joke – Team is a joke – Fire everyone”.
November 26th, 2014 at 10:07 pm
LVD
Banks
Ja smith
Lansanna
MG8
Vjax
Russell Shepard
I’m a fan of all of the above. Nothing but positive comments for all of the above. I won’t endorse bums, not gonna do it Ooo no.
You do realize this is a 2-9 team right? Which means if you agree with what they’re doing you are part of the problem. Seriously though wright > barron that’s laughable.
November 26th, 2014 at 10:09 pm
Frazier won how many games last year? The def got better 2-3 weeks ago bc “Lovie got more involved” according to JBF. So happy tg and good day sir.
November 26th, 2014 at 10:12 pm
Pick
I’ll brb w some specific plays so you can see what I look at.
November 26th, 2014 at 10:18 pm
@DB55,
Barron has never been run over? LMAO!!! Are you serious? Stephen Jackson not only ran over him in Atlanta, he gave him a 5 yard bus ride. He got run over by Khiry Robinson (who???) against New Orleans to end the fricking game!!! You’re either a troll, or a complete idiot for the comments you make.
And yes, Wright is better than Barron. That’s not saying much, but it is absolutely true. You can deny it all you want, because it’s quite obvious since the day he got traded that you are a little hot in the pants for Barron anyway.
November 26th, 2014 at 10:23 pm
Funny how you mentioned Wright has zero interceptions this year, when Barron has the same. Put their career stats side by side and it’s not even close. Wright has the same amount of pick 6’s than Barron has picks! But go ahead, keep trying.
November 26th, 2014 at 10:28 pm
Ahh Hawaii.
I am thankful for Hawaii too he makes my JBF experience fun. You are right about the saints game he did get run over I was hoping no one caught that but you gots to get up pretty early in the morning to fool ol’ Hawaii here.
I disagree about jackson but I’ll go back and look. If memory serve correctly he had a free shot on barron and he got pushed back but since it’s 285lb jackson I can garunteed you wright would not have made that same tackle.
I’m a fan, what can I say. And yes it absolutely irks me when people claim that wright > barron. It’s just craziness. But then again I spent the last 6 months listening to you say that mclown is better than glennon, how’s that working out for you?
November 26th, 2014 at 10:35 pm
It’s not like I think Major Wright is the answer long term at SS. He is a very solid back up and somewhat capable starter who has been doing fairly well since stepping in to replace the departed Barron. Barron was not playing well in this defense at all and Wright is more familiar and has simply done a better job so far than Barron was. No more – no less.
We will see what happens with Barron over the next 2-3 years – but his entire career with the Bucs was an absolute bust considering Dom spent a #7 overall pick on him (with Kuechly on the board no less) which come to think of it may have been Mark Barron’s greatest sin in Tampa. Had he been a 4th round pick his play might have looked a bit better to Bucs fans and eyes – LOL
November 26th, 2014 at 10:46 pm
@DB55,
I didn’t say Wright never got ran over or couldn’t get run over. That’s like saying a basketball player never got dunked on. They all get run over, and they all get dunked on. It was just funny, because those 2 plays immediately jumped in my head, and I can think of several more,I just can’t remember the specific plays.
As for Barron being better, why? Barron is barely seeing the field on a team with banged up safeties. What does that tell you? When is he going to start tearing it up? He’s got great players around him. What’s the excuse? When is he going to set the league on fire?
Wright is much better in pass coverage. That fact cannot be denied by even Barron’s mother. Overall, Wright is a more consistent tackler, although Barron is a harder hitter. Barron misses considerably more tackles. I heard Sabby Piscitelli was even complaining about Barron’s tackling ability.
November 26th, 2014 at 10:51 pm
As for Glennon and McCown, I’ve flip flopped on those two more than a politician. I still think McCown gives us a better chance to win, although I could very well be wrong on that. They both suck, I just thought McCown was a little more dynamic. I completely acknowledge that I may be a complete idiot for feeling that way.
November 26th, 2014 at 11:05 pm
idk gents I’m obviously too dense to see your points. I’ll just continue my protests every time I hear this malarkey.
(Fingertips in my ears) nah nah nah na nah. La la la la la la la.
November 26th, 2014 at 11:22 pm
Bucs are still 2-9 but at least the D is not giving up 56 now like it did when Barron was on board….. On another thread a poster blasted the Bucs for letting Barron go for a bag of chips; well could be true if the 4th round and 6th round picks obtained do not improve the clkub but how is this clkube better with Barron than without??? The lambs actually overspent by sending Tampa a 4th rounder; that can be a starter next season on roster or be used to move up in the first 2 days of the draft to get a much needed OT, QB or DL…. Just my $0.02
November 26th, 2014 at 11:33 pm
Overpaid? Blasphemy!!
November 27th, 2014 at 8:53 am
losing Mark Barron also paves the way for Macdougal to get more playing. time. I am interested in watching his progress.As for Barron, one play I am still trying to figure out, not sure what game it was. He was in position to stop a big run and he tackled air and never got his hands on the running back.Almost looked like he had gator arms.
November 27th, 2014 at 9:29 am
So many players to be had…and we committed the unforgivable sin of taking a safety in the top 10. The other sins? Taking a RB top 5 (though tons of fans that year were promising their first born for Trent Richardson), no offensive guards in the top 20, and no punters or kickers in round 1.
As for Joe begging us to lay off the WE SHOULD’VE HAD KUECHLY mantra, we didn’t know we were going to get David in round 2 and Kuechly was CLEARLY better than Barron as a prospect to many of us. Nobody KNOWS what they’re getting the following round. As a matter of fact, when David was picked, Mychal Kendricks, Bobby Wagner, and Zach Brown had just come off the board, if any of the selecting teams had wanted, they would’ve had David.