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PFF graded him with the highest Run Stop Percentage for ILBs at around the halfway point of the season. Here's their blurb:
"1. MARK BARRON, LOS ANGELES RAMS
PFF Grade: 83.7
Run Stop Percentage: 11.5 percent
In his first full season at the 3-4 inside linebacker position, the former safety-turned-linebacker is proving to be an integral part of Wade Phillips’ defense in 2017. Through seven games of the season, Barron has played a total of 165 snaps against the run and has produced 27 tackles and 19 stops. Barron moved to linebacker full-time in 2016, and he has produced 52 total run stops since, the fourth-most among off-ball linebackers in that span."
Pro-nfl-week-7-inside-linebacker-spotlight
That, and the high words of praise that Wade had for Barron last year leads me to believe that they like the job Barron is doing.[/i]
My opinion now is the same as it was during the season. Barron and AO both contributed to the bad run D. Barron mostly by getting caught on blocks and occasionally out of position. AO had some of that but he also nearly leads the league in missed tackles. But overall with the run stops, Barron was the better LB IMO.
I also feel that, after reviewing the season and the cause of the bad run D, the Rams essentially agreed by keeping Barron and trading AO. IMO, they moved out the worst offenders that they felt were the cause of that 4.7 yards average.
And the comparison to AO is useless because he's gone, it's not an either, or. In this case it's whether Barron can be good at the position or mediocre, killing is in key times because he lacks instincts to play the run. Again this is about the base defense. He can cover, but he cannot stack and shed a block very well. If he's unblocked he can on occasion knife in and make a play, but when he was out of the traffic in 2015, he was a very good WILL backer.
But it's more than that, we have only one starting OLBer in Ebukan. No Mike and an iffy Mo in Barron. since we don't have a 1st or nd rounder it's going to be tough to fill those positions...
PFF is very good about collecting objective data. You've cited to them many times to support a position so now you can't suddenly say "oh they're dubious!"
They watch every play, they grade every play, and they have a consistent definition of whatever they are calling run stops. That definition may be different than another scouting services definition but that doesn't matter because of the consistency of their metric. If Barron is 4th best in the league at whatever run defense metric they are measuring that can only be a great thing.
So I'm not buying one iota the dubious claim in THIS instance. If it involves objective data, that is their strength. I believe I recall you telling me that once. Stay consistent.
Let's just say we disagree on Barron. You say he lacks instincts against the run, I say he doesn't.
Interestingly enough his instincts as a LB is EXACTLY what Wade praised him for. It's his instincts that allow him to be 4th in run stops over the last several years.
We both agree that he has issues with stacking and shedding. We may disagree on how effective Suh will be but IF Suh is effective, it should free Barron up where he is unblocked much, much more. Opposing OL's are gonna have all they can handle with Donald, Suh, and Brockers. LBs should be running free.
My view is Ebukam and Barron are fine for two of the positions.
I think they intend to have Ramik Wilson at the MIKE. I've mentioned this a dozen times already but historically, Wade doesn't spend a lot of resources - draft picks or money - at the ILB positions. A short term, inexpensive acquisition like Wilson fits the profile of what he's done over the last 20 years. From what I can gather from KC fans, he's limited but adequate as a run defender.
At the last starting OLB spot, I think Longacre will be decent. Believe it or not, he had more sacks per snap over the entire year than Quinn did. I realize that Quinn came on strong at the end of the year as a pass rusher but for the first 11 weeks, he provided little. Despite that, the Rams were ranked 3rd/4th in sacks and sack percentage and that ranking was fairly consistent over the entire season. As a run defender, Longacre was superior to Quinn. It's my opinion that Longacre's presence is what made them feel comfortable trading Quinn.
That said, they could definitely use an upgrade on Longacre. I don't know about you but I wasn't thrilled with the edge defender 1st round options anyway. The value is much better in the 3rd round and I don't believe there is much drop off. I'm expecting, or maybe more hoping, that #87 is used for a OLB.
Overall, because of the strength of the DL, I think the LB's will be fine. It's not a team strength but I don't see it as any worse than last year. Last year's starters had issues and the backups were just as good, sometimes better (Ebukam and Longacre?) than the starters. In the meantime, the DL and the secondary have both been significantly upgraded. Pressure and coverage sacks should increase, the NT hole has been plugged with a guy that will command double teams regardless of individual effectiveness.
Consequently, the LB's, as they are, will be more fine than they were last year. That's my stance.
