Allen Barbre

[Patler]

Just reading the following description of Barbre:


Strengths: According to Pro Football Weekly scouting reports: Shows the ability to pull and play in space. Can drive defenders off the ball and finish blocks. Great work ethic. Is country-strong and solidly built. Takes game seriously and has passion. Flashes violence in his play.

"pull and play in space" = abilities suited to ZBS?
"drive defenders off the ball"
"country strong" - the same was said of Clifton and Tauscher as young players.
"Takes game seriously" "passion" "violence in his play" = made for the NFL?


Might be an interesting player to watch in TC!

[RashanGary]

I hear he's dumb as a box of rocks too. I'm not so sure how that translates to the the OL, which is usually a pretty smart crew.

[Patler]

I hear he's dumb as a box of rocks too. I'm not so sure how that translates to the the OL, which is usually a pretty smart crew.

I've heard him described as naive, a "country bumpkin" sort, but not dumb. I also understand he finished a degree in criminal justice, so he wasn't a basket-weaving major or one of the others athletes often are.

There were questions about Kevin Barry's intelligence too, but he seemed to do OK.

[RashanGary]

I'm pretty sure he scored low on his wonderlic. I think he's a hell of an athlete and I kind of look forward to seeing him on ST's. He has the sort of size/speed/stregth combo that can be damn right scary when running full speed into a wall of blockers. I'm excited about his ST's and very weary of his ability to adapt to the line, which is traditionally filled with pretty bright guys.

[Patler]

I don't necessarily put a lot of weight on the Wonderlic. After all, this is only football! Kevin Barry had acknowledged learning difficulties, and he has done OK.

The following from CBS Sportsline looks pretty positive, all things considered. The "Positives" look very good and the "Negatives" don't look too bad, in my opinion. Mostly it looks like he needs good coaching and consistency in his play. Playing at DII, he could probably get by with being a bit sloppy in his technique at times. What I find encouraging is they clearly say he can do it and does it, just not all the time. (Pad level, for example.) If he is wiling to put in extra film time and time with the coaches, I'm not worried.


Positives: Has a developing frame with room to add at least another 15 pounds of bulk with no loss in his impressive quickness … Has a thick upper body, with broad shoulders, thick calves, solid midsection, long arms, large hands, big bubble and natural strength … Comes out of his stance with outstanding explosion to shock a lethargic defender … Has the loose hips to change direction and plays … Generates good force behind his hand punch to deliver pop on contact … Hard worker who might need several extra reps to retain plays, but spends extra hours in the film room watching tapes and in the weight room improving his overall strength … Can get to the second level quickly to cut or wall off, but needs to break down better and play under control … When he gets his hands into an opponent, he has the raw power to pull, jerk, lock on and drag down … Rolls his hips well to put more force behind his blocks working in-line … Is quick to react to movement and does a good job of shuffling his feet to mirror … Takes the defensive lineman where he wants to go and uses that momentum to wash out his opponent (needs to stop waist bending, though) … Plays with a strong base and solid effort, showing good foot movement in his pass set … Does a better job landing when pulling or on screens, but needs to play with better control working in the second level … When he slides his feet in pass protection, he plays with a wide base, but must be more conscious of keeping his pads down (gets too high in his stance at times) … Showed much better hand placement in 2006, sustaining his blocks longer once he learned to keep his hands inside the frame … Can beat a defender off the edge with his explosive initial step … Generally takes good angles on the short pull and has the lateral mobility to work down the line … Does a nice job of communicating with his guard on double teams.

Negatives: Has good field vision, but is just a marginal student and needs more than several reps to retain plays … Fires off the ball with good urgency, but will get out of control and start taking wild whiffs when he shoots his hands outside the frame … Can simply flatten opponents when he keeps his pads down, but he will get too tall in his stance and bend at the waist (has good knee bend, but doesn't do it consistently) … When he fails to open his hips properly, he will fall off some blocks in space … Needs to get better fits on the ground game (bad pad level), for despite his upper body power, he will revert to positioning and turning the defender rather than driving through … Must play with better control in the second level, as he fails to break down plays quickly … Has the natural slide agility, but will get pushed back by a strong bull rush when he gets too tall in his stance … When he over-sets with his hands, he struggles to recover (will also cross over with his feet at the Xs).

[Fritz]

I am quite concerned about his inability to consistently open his hips properly.

Those closed-hip guys have a hard time in the NF :lol: L.

[Tarlam!]

Guy has "F U T U R E S TU D" written all over him. Good call Patler!

[RashanGary]

Simiar to the Moll project. Will we be lucky enough to hit on two raw guys? I don't know. Moll had some things in his reports that he was a very quick learner and although he was very raw at OL, he adapted quickly.

As soon as he got on the Packers, that observation proved to be true. He was a quick learner. He got overpowered in the NFL but he learned the game very quickly and played good, solid football with the exception of his physical weakness.

Barbre on the other hand seems to have more power coming out but is equally raw. The problem I see here is that he is a slow learner. I doubt, HIGHLY doubt, that he will be a good rookie or even as good as our worste rookie OLman last year. I'm not at all counting on him being good ever although it certainly is possible.

I think this guy is more Mike Hawkins than Tony Moll. Moll, Hawkins and Barbre are all great athletes, but Moll seems to be the only one of the three, based on rookie reports, who can adapt to and quickly learn a football position.

[Partial]

I think the guy will be fine in a back-up roll for a year or two. He will be plenty intelligent enough and will fill in nicely in spot duty. I expect them to play him at LG and move Colledge to tackle in a year or so.

This guy played 4 years of college ball. He'll be fine.

[Patler]

I think this guy is more Mike Hawkins than Tony Moll. Moll, Hawkins and Barbre are all great athletes, but Moll seems to be the only one of the three, based on rookie reports, who can adapt to and quickly learn a football position.

More Mike Hawkins than Tony Moll?

Hawkins- never really played college ball, except for a couple games. Tried to play professionally before the NFL, but didn't do much there. Out of football off and on for four years before being drafted. Extremely athletic, but considered unschooled in football and not physical.

Allen Barbre - played 4 years in college, 3 1/2 seasons as a starter at left tackle. Division II consensus First Team All-American. One of only five DII players invited to the NFL Scouting Combine. Passionate about football, athletic, strong, never injured and a bit nasty on the football field.

I fail to see ANY similarity between Hawkins and Barbre.

[HarveyWallbangers]

I fail to see ANY similarity between Hawkins and Barbre.

Agreed. Dude dominated small college ball for 4 years. Hawkins played in a total of 7 college games. Just because a guy played small college ball doesn't mean he's raw. Jerry Rice, Rashean Mathis, Adam Timmerman, Phil Hansen, etc. ring a bell? A guy that's only played 7 college games = raw.

[ND72]

Simiar to the Moll project.


Not even close. Barbre was considered by many sources the BEST zone blocking lineman in the draft. When he went to college, he was 240 pounds, his freshman year he put on 30 pounds, and his bench went up 50 pounds, and started his RS Frosh year on. 4 year starter, I don't care at what level, comes in prepared. Tony Moll was a TE in college, who moved to Tackle his senior year....and was considered a "chance free agent" according to 2 draft magazines last year. Some draft magazines had Barbre listed as a possible 2nd round pick. He'll push Jason Spitz for the RG position. Of which is needed. Spitz is decent, but he really lacked a lot of stuff from about week 9 on last year. Missouri Southern State's zone system is pretty much exactly the same as what we ran here...(their OL coach was a coaching assistant in Denver at one time)....This kid will be good. Yes, he is a project in terms of D2 to NFL, but nothing more.

[RashanGary]

Well, we'll see. Physically; he's got it. I hope he makes it but I just doubt he'll be good at this point. Just being physical isn't going to cut it in the NFL like it did in DII college.

[Joemailman]

Simiar to the Moll project.


Not even close. Barbre was considered by many sources the BEST zone blocking lineman in the draft. When he went to college, he was 240 pounds, his freshman year he put on 30 pounds, and his bench went up 50 pounds, and started his RS Frosh year on. 4 year starter, I don't care at what level, comes in prepared. Tony Moll was a TE in college, who moved to Tackle his senior year....and was considered a "chance free agent" according to 2 draft magazines last year. Some draft magazines had Barbre listed as a possible 2nd round pick. He'll push Jason Spitz for the RG position. Of which is needed. Spitz is decent, but he really lacked a lot of stuff from about week 9 on last year. Missouri Southern State's zone system is pretty much exactly the same as what we ran here...(their OL coach was a coaching assistant in Denver at one time)....This kid will be good. Yes, he is a project in terms of D2 to NFL, but nothing more.

It's probably not a coincidence that Spitz' struggles pretty much coincided with Tauscher being knocked out of the lineup with an injury. The combination of Spitz and Moll on the right side just wasn't strong enough. RG should be one of the major battlegrounds of training camp. Spitz, Barbre and an improved Coston all have a legitimate shot at that job.

[rbaloha1]

Sounds like another Adam Timmerman.

May eventually move to Colledge's spot. Colledge then replaces Clifton and plays his more natural left tackle position.

[Patler]

Well, we'll see. Physically; he's got it. I hope he makes it but I just doubt he'll be good at this point. Just being physical isn't going to cut it in the NFL like it did in DII college.

I have no idea if he will succeed ultimately or not. I'm not expecting great contributions from him in 2008. Rivera didn't play much until his third season, Wahle took several years to really latch on to a position, Timmerman didn't play until his second year, and then it was out of necessity that he got the chance when he did. I expect Barbre to struggle at times if he does play as a rookie.

BUT, whereas Hawkins was viewed as a long shot from all respects other than athletically, the scouting reports on Barbre are as promising as any you will find for any lineman other than the elite first rounders. The report identifies many things about his actual PLAY that are outstanding, unusual or at least commendable. The negatives are simply consistency and perhaps requiring more reps to catch on. But he is said to be a hard working and willing to do extra fim work.

Normally, lower round linemen are described to have significant flaws (size, speed, strength, quickness, flexibility, significant injury history, etc.). Things they just can't do or can't become. Barbre's is unusual in that even when the report states a negative, it is qualified by "sometimes" or with outright statements that he can do it, but didn't always.

Barbre has as good a shot as anyone, certainly he is no guarantee.
Hawkins was and remains a longshot at best.

[packinpatland]

I hear he's dumb as a box of rocks too. I'm not so sure how that translates to the the OL, which is usually a pretty smart crew.

He's made it this far hasn't he.

[NewsBruin]

I wonder why all the drafting reports talk about someone's tail as his "bubble." It's like, "Dude, I don't want to sound gay and all, but he's got a pretty good butt."

[Joemailman]

The negatives about Barbre seem to be things that can be corrected through good coaching, provided he is a willing student. His ability to move in open space, on the other hand, can't be taught. He has a chance to be another solid mid-round pick for the Packers.

[the_idle_threat]

The rest of it can't be taught either if he's really, really stupid. :P :P :P

I don't actually think he's that stupid ... I'm just sayin'. :D

[Rastak]

For what it's worth, I haven't heard much negative about the guy and have heard some positives. Sounds like a decent enough prospect.

[the_idle_threat]

Yeah ... In all honesty, I think he sounds like a great prospect for the ZBS. There should be no reason for him to see the field as a rookie---with all the guys we drafted last year plus the holdovers---so I'm not worried about a slow learning curve. As long as he's up to speed in a year or two, I think it's a good 4th round pick.