Mark Barron = John Lynch?
August 5th, 2014
Lovie Smith suggested S Mark Barron could be the modern Bucs version of John Lynch.
When the Bucs defense was at its boastful, brash, rib-cracking height, there were five players that fans embraced the way Joe would if Rachel Watson fell in his arms.
The Fab Five would have been Warren Sapp, Derrick Brooks, John Lynch, Ronde Barber and Simeon Rice. Two of those five are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Two others should be someday. The fifth (Rice) would be a long-shot, likely by the Pro Football Hall of Fame Senior Committee.
With the current Bucs having studs like Gerald McCoy and Lavonte David, it is easy to see how fans want that duo to be Sapp and Brooks, and they may someday be their equal.
However, what about the modern day Lynch? Bucs coach Lovie Smith dared to suggest the Bucs have the potential modern version of Lynch on the roster. His name is Mark Barron and Lovie believes his defense is perfect for Barron to shine.
“Does the system play to his strength? Absolutely,” Lovie said. “I’ve heard [the media] talk a lot about Lavonte David and Gerald McCoy being compared to two Hall of Famers. But we had another great safety here in John Lynch also. Mark Barron – he looks the part. Very pleased with him. I really like what he did at Alabama when he came out. He had a good season last year. But it’s ahead of him. What we need: we need a big, strong safety. He’ll be down into the box. He went three days and had interceptions on three days. He has good hands for a big guy. I could talk about Mark for quite a while, as you can see, but we like the direction he’s going.”
Joe has written several times before that Barron, while a decent player, has yet to live up to his billing of the seventh overall pick in the 2012 draft. If someone is selected in the top-10 of a draft, then he should be an impact player.
Barron is not a bad player. He is decent. He’s not an impact player (yet).
Perhaps, that will change under Lovie?As far as the next Lynch? Well, let’s not get carried away too quickly.
August 5th, 2014 at 4:25 pm
Joe, I love your site. It’s my primary source for Bucs news, but I haven’t been able to read it on my iPhone (safari browser). I can’t get through one article without being redirected multiple times. Any help there would be appreciated.
August 5th, 2014 at 4:28 pm
It’s also worth noting that it took Lynch a few years before becoming an impact player. I don’t believe he was a starter in his first few years, and they nearly moved him to linebacker.
August 5th, 2014 at 4:29 pm
Geno:
Hit the home button and then the Safari icon. Problem solved!
August 5th, 2014 at 4:33 pm
Hopefully he becomes an impact player at the safety position, but he’ll never live up to that draft slot. Maybe we shouldn’t hold it against him, but the guy who drafted him.
August 5th, 2014 at 4:46 pm
perhaps not an impact player because of the previous scheme, coaching, and a weak and oft injured defensive line.
August 5th, 2014 at 4:52 pm
Yeah, you don’t hold his draft position against him – he had nothing todo with it. The guy’s a good player. Most teams in the league would be very happy to have him. We should be too.
August 5th, 2014 at 4:52 pm
Go to ur internet settings and turn off accept cookies.
August 5th, 2014 at 5:03 pm
Barron hasn’t shown any Lynch-like qualities yet but the jury is still out on him, needs to really step up this year as he’ll be needed.
August 5th, 2014 at 5:10 pm
Orca, I remember the Lynch interview where he made those same comments about his development time. Barron is going to break out here with the system and coaching in place.
Biffer’s bold prediction. Tandy is going to be an emerge into a very good player later this season. I believe the Hawk is more prone to injury given those big hits take a toll on players eventually.
August 5th, 2014 at 5:10 pm
I hope Love is right but last year he definitely was no John Lynch and I watched every game Lynch played!
August 5th, 2014 at 5:17 pm
Don’t let Goodell know. He might have Barron arrested before he has a chance to “Lynch” anyone.
August 5th, 2014 at 5:20 pm
“The fifth (Rice) would be a long-shot, likely by the Pro Football Hall of Fame Senior Committee.” Sapp said it best, Rice should’ve been in the hall long before Strahan. The very possibility that Simeon Rice would have to be elected by the senior committee is a slap and spit in the face of every sack he put up.
August 5th, 2014 at 5:40 pm
@geno714 & Joe
I have an iPhone and don’t have those problems. I browse with Mercury.
https://mercury-browser.com/
Good Luck!
August 5th, 2014 at 5:51 pm
Lynch didn’t begin to show “Lynch” quailties until his 3rd year ….
1st year Floyd Peters had him bulk up to 230 something…..
August 5th, 2014 at 6:52 pm
I think Barron will do well under Lovie. I’ve said this in a few other posts but I think poor coaching was half this teams problems over the past few years. Barron is a direct result. I think both he and Goldson will excel in this system with these coaches. Lovie is on it.
As for browser problems, Joe will block me from saying these easy fix so I recommend researching securing your browser through your privacy and content settings. I recommend securing your browser through addins to prevent malicious pages.
I browse Joe’s site very fast on the desktop and note 3 but I’ve taken the above mentioned precautions to do so.
Good luck!
August 5th, 2014 at 7:21 pm
It’s not Barron’s fault he played in a lousy defensive scheme the last few years. I predict he will play better than Lynch this year.
August 5th, 2014 at 7:22 pm
barron wasn’t asked by schiano to do the things lynch did in tampa. it won’t be fair to evaluate his potential to be the next john lynch until we see how he executes for lovie. i think he has the physical skills and mental makeup, i’d love to see it happen
August 5th, 2014 at 7:27 pm
I would like to point out that I have been saying Barron was a reach with the 7th overall pick since Roger Goodell said, “With the 7th overall pick…”
I’ve said it over and over again… if Barron doesn’t become Ronnie Lott, he’s a bust. His stats and abilities could have been duplicated in the 3rd round or with a semi-above-average free agent.
August 5th, 2014 at 7:44 pm
I still remember when we drafted Barron hearing Mike Mayock say basically his floor is a Pro Bowl player. Then Greg Schiano happened. I think this guy is going to be an All-Pro player this year under Lovie (barring injury).
August 5th, 2014 at 8:07 pm
With Schiano gone who will you guys blame if every one of these players predicted to play like pro bowlers now that Lovie is coaching them don’t play any better (or maybe even play worse) than last year? Schiano had his share of short comings at the NFL level, but this ficticious perception of not getting players ‘coached up’ was not one of them. It’s not a knock on Lovie, I think he’s a good coach with a lot of experience at the NFL level, but I think any better play will be from how well players fit the new system rather than some new coaching techniques.
August 5th, 2014 at 8:17 pm
@ToesOnTheLine,
Read the last sentence of what you just wrote. Ding ding ding!!!!!! Hello, a good coach has players that fit his system! Hell, Schiano drafted Barron, so it’s not like he inherited guys that didn’t fit! Schiano refused to budge in any of his coaching techniques, system, or overall coaching attitude. That’s why he’s sitting on his couch right now hoping to get the Louisiana-Lafayette job if it opens up.
It’s kind of funny that you are wondering what we are going to say if these players don’t play better with Schiano gone, but then you turn around and ALREADY make up an excuse for if they do play better. Bit of a contradiction, don’t you think? It’s cute that you’ve already got your boy’s back in case that is is even further shown that he is incompetent as an NFL coach. I mean, if you haven’t come to that realization yet, you probably never will.
August 5th, 2014 at 8:31 pm
Ronde is the best slot corner in the history of the game. Should def be in the HOF. Will he? I’m not so sure.
Lynch? Doubtful. I’d put quite a few safety’s that aren’t in the hall currently ahead of him, including Steve Atwater, Carnell Lake, and LeRoy Butler
August 5th, 2014 at 8:39 pm
We can only hope that Barron can come close to Lynch’s career success. Barron has often been invisible on the field. Yes, he was drafted too high. No safety should go that high, especially with Luke Keuchley (sp) still on the board. However, had Dumonic & Shhhhhiano taken Luke K., then they probably would not have taken the superior LB David in the following round.
August 5th, 2014 at 9:03 pm
Kuechly would have been a nice pick. It’s impossible to argue that with a straight face. However, I think Mason Foster is a pretty damn good MLB, so it wasn’t really a position of need. Kuechly is a really good player, but he is also the beneficiary of having an absolutely tremendous defensive line in front of him. He gets to ball carriers untouched, because the offensive linemen aren’t able to get to his level because of the d-line. Kuechly wouldn’t be anywhere near as good on our team the last few years with our d-line. That point is also impossible to argue. So while looking back I would have probably taken the better overall player in Kuechly, I don’t think Barron was a bad pick. More importantly, the book has not been closed on either of their careers. Long way to go.
August 5th, 2014 at 9:29 pm
@ Hawaiian
We can rehash this pissing match like we have in the past but to keep blaming Schiano brought for all things horrible in the Bucs universe is, to put it politely, misguided. Last year was a train wreck from the MRSA to the back to back Freeman delay of game penalties and only got worse with every close game lost where Lindell missed at least one FG…unless you blame Schiano for that as well? Good players played well, it was a season of epic bad luck (happens even to the good teams with experienced coaches…see the Falcons)
August 5th, 2014 at 9:59 pm
I’m not blaming Schiano for ALL things, but a HUGE majority. Guess what, when you are the coach and have had no real success throughout your career, that’s what happens. They don’t make millions of dollars for nothing.
And you can make all the excuses you want, but the fact of the matter is, most of those losses were a result of him being a little b!tch when it came to crunch time. Running the ball just to punt, just to trust his crappy-schemed defense. So you can blame bad luck all you want, but the fact of the matter is that his sorry arse is out of coaching, and we are much better off as a result. Seems like you are more of a Schiano fan than a Bucs fan anyway. Good luck with that.
Nice job not addressing your weak excuses for the probable success of unsuccessful players under your idol.
August 5th, 2014 at 10:07 pm
Under Schiano, we had one of the worst pass defenses in the history of the NFL. But that’s not his fault. We got rid of several players that went on to have huge success on other (playoff) teams. But that’s not his fault. We had the worst offense in the league last year. But that’s not his fault. We were the embarrassment of the NFL with the whole bum rush the kneel down play. It was finally stopped in his second year due to the fact that the players refused to do it anymore. But that’s not his fault. We had to overpay all free agents to be on this team and play for the General. But that’s not his fault. He was more interested in bringing in Rutgers players that would obey him than bringing in good players. But that’s not his fault. He screamed and hollered like a lunatic on the sidelines so much that it became laughable to his players, as well as the media. But that’s not his fault. His teams were the leaders in personal foul penalties, and he pronounced that he didn’t want to stop them from being aggressive??? But that’s not his fault. We were, however, the very best team in the league at putting our toes on the line. That’s obviously very important, and translated sooooo well on Sundays, now didn’t it?
August 5th, 2014 at 10:49 pm
This debate
could go on for a while.
August 5th, 2014 at 10:59 pm
My thoughts on this:
1) John Lynch wasn’t a probowler until his 5th year. Barron is going into his 5th.
2) John Lynch played in a different time period that was more friendly for what he did. Some people don’t think he could play in the league today’s rules. I disagree. That being said, no one knows how his altered game play would have changed the level of his success and effectiveness.
3) Both players are different, but that doesn’t mean they can’t both be great in their own manner.
4) Barron to me seems more athletic, but doesn’t deliver the bone crushing hits as consistently as Lynch did. But that, again, could also be influenced by today’s rules.
5) Lynch’s first four years (Tackles: 118 tackles, 6 interceptions)
Barron’s first Four years (Tackles: 237 tackles, 12 Interceptions)
How are we going to measure the success of a safety? Number of Goat angles taken? Number of Interceptions? Number of Tackles?
Tackles don’t mean a whole lot if they are deep in the secondary. I honestly, think that with the way Lovie is emphasizing the takeovers that this defense could be better suited for Barron’s skill set.
WR’s feared going over the middle with Lynch because they knew they were gonna get creamed. Maybe Barron can make QB’s start to think twice about going over the middle because of the interceptions being pulled down?
Barron has had a pretty stellar training camp. I won’t say he is going to be a probowler because it is a not live football, but it certainly has me excited to see how this year will play out for him.
August 5th, 2014 at 11:54 pm
What a beautiful rant.
August 5th, 2014 at 11:56 pm
Well said Deputy
August 6th, 2014 at 3:25 am
Deputy,
I think you have Barron confused with someone else. First of all, Barron has only played 2 seasons – 30 games total. So he’s going into his third year, not his fifth. Barron has 141 tackles and 3 career picks. If he had the numbers you posted, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. I do agree with much of what you wrote,but the facts are badly off.
August 6th, 2014 at 7:27 am
Hawaiian,
You are completely correct. Went back to the site I checked and it included some college stats. (I really need to stop staying up late to post after long days in the heat).
That being said, His first two years are ahead of lynch’s still. Lynch had 26 tackles and zero interceptions his first two years.
John Lynch obviously wasn’t starting at that point. But that is also where Barron may have a leg up once he does get to years four and five.
My whole point of the post was that they are two different types of players. I see Barron as being more athletic than Lynch and probably better suited to play for Lovie in today’s rules.
Let’s all think about the two years the Buccaneers had while Barron was here….
August 6th, 2014 at 7:52 am
Yeah if Barren had twelve picks by now nobody would say he wasn’t worth his draft slot that’s for sure.
August 6th, 2014 at 9:01 am
Is it possible he was taken slightly too high? Maybe.
He at the very least has been a serviceable starter and a huge improvement over what we had at the time.
We all know we can spend stats however we want. Ultimately it comes down to the right fit for each player and playing within the scheme.
We all hated Ruud, but he did exactly what he was asked in the scheme he was in.
Watching Barron in practice, he seems to be more focused. I was able to attend training camp last year but he looks significantly improved over his rookie season.
I’m really looking forward to watching him and Hawk playing for a second year together with their linebackers to see how the chemistry is in the new system.
Only time will tell.
August 6th, 2014 at 10:04 am
Schiano was just awful? I’m not completely buying that he was the cause of all the Bucs problems. I liked his hiring and was’nt too happy about his firing. I think the team is better now, but I don’t entirely blame Schiano for the mess left in his wake. He was just the scapegoat for all the anger of disgruntled fans.
August 6th, 2014 at 10:15 am
Damn Hawaiian keeping up with you in an Internet rant could cause Carpal Tunnel Syndrome 🙂 I’m assuming you are one if those people who will argue for the sake of hearing your own voice (or reading in this case) and will never stop unless you’ve gotten the last word in? Good for you, obviously you are firmly intrenched in the idea Schiano was a bad coach who will never coach in the NFL, I think you’re wrong. We drifted far off topic, so let’s look towards moving on to newer topics and future back and forth banter I’m sure.
August 6th, 2014 at 2:41 pm
nobody outside tampa knew john lynch’s name going into his 3rd season. he could probably have walked through the old Tampa Bay Center (now site of One Buc Palace) without a soul recognizing him during the offseason before his 3rd year