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Packers: Barnett tackles talk of switch
JASON WILDE
608-252-6176
jwilde@madison.com
GREEN BAY - Nick Barnett wanted to get something off his chest Tuesday afternoon.
The Green Bay Packers middle linebacker - for now, anyway - does not want to move to another position. Period.
Not that Barnett has anything against rookie Abdul Hodge, whose play during the first two weeks of training camp has been eye-opening. In fact, Barnett is all for the Abdul-a-palooza that camp has become over the past week, as the youngster has stood out to coaches, teammates, reporters and fans alike during practice and Saturday night's intrasquad scrimmage.
But Barnett, the team's 2003 first-round draft pick and leading tackler each of the past three seasons, doesn't just dislike the idea of moving outside from mike (middle) to the less glamorous sam (strong-side) spot, he hates it.
So when approached by a reporter after practice Tuesday, Barnett didn't even wait until the question was asked.
"I really get offended sometimes when you guys ask me about moving. Why would I move?" said Barnett, who set a franchise record with 194 tackles last season. "I'm the vet in this defense. I've been playing the middle linebacker position for three years. I haven't (played poorly). I've been balling ever since I've been here. Let's be honest.
"There's been some plays here or there where I've made mistakes. I'll give you that. But that happens to all players. After playing three straight years, it starts to irk me, talking about this. It's not going to happen. I ain't playing sam."
Uh, Nick - don't be so sure about that.
Asked after practice whether he thought Barnett was capable of moving outside to sam, coach Mike McCarthy said, "I have no reason to think that he's not (able to play sam). ... I think it's been obvious that there is a comfort level (Hodge) does have so far at the mike linebacker. So that's something we may explore."
See, here's the crux of the problem: Hodge played mike linebacker at Iowa, and was terrific in that role. But because he's not as adept in pass coverage and there are questions about his lower-body strength against the run, there are those - Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz being one of them - who think he can only play in the middle in the NFL.
Meanwhile, the coaches have vowed to play their three best linebackers, and if Hodge is one of them and joins Barnett and fellow rookie A.J. Hawk, the No. 5 overall pick, someone has to play at sam.
Throughout camp, Hawk has worked outside at the will (weak-side) linebacker spot, Barnett at his customary mike spot and free-agent pickup Ben Taylor at sam - though Hodge did take a few snaps there during Tuesday's practice.
And, as Barnett admitted Tuesday, the Packers aren't going to move the high-profile Hawk to the lowest-profile linebacker position.
"They need A.J. at will. When you draft somebody that high, you want to put him at the mike or the will so they'll have productive numbers," Barnett said. "And I understand the reasoning of wanting to move me to the sam, because I can cover and I'm a smart player, but I think Abdul's smart enough to play that position, too.
"I don't think they're giving him enough credit. I think he can play sam. It's not that hard of a position. But what's wrong with Ben (Taylor)? Ben's been excellent at sam. Why are we even talking about this?"
Barnett said neither McCarthy nor defensive coordinator Bob Sanders has broached the subject of moving him to sam, even though the preseason opener is Saturday at San Diego and the regular-season opener is a month away, Sept. 10 against Chicago.
"Right now, we're trying to keep all scenarios open, but we haven't played a preseason game yet," Sanders said. "There's a lot of practice time left."
The other thing that bothers Barnett is that, although he's playing for his fourth coordinator in four years, Sanders at least kept the same scheme as Jim Bates. Moving to a new position would mean whatever year-to-year continuity Barnett had coming into this season would be out the window.
On top of that, Barnett says moving to sam would hurt him at the free-agent bargaining table, since his contract expires after the 2007 season and his numbers would nosedive from the 490 tackles, six sacks, five interceptions and five forced fumbles he's had the past three years.
"Look, I can play it. I can play any linebacker position we've got," Barnett said. "But you start to think about other things as well, as far as your future. My free-agent year is coming up. You move me to sam, (and it's) really an unproductive position, doesn't get a lot of opportunities to make tackles.
"They talk to me about being a leader, and that's what I'm trying to do. You move me to sam, I go to being a quiet player in the back of the huddle, just by nature of the position. I don't see it happening, honestly."
JASON WILDE
608-252-6176
jwilde@madison.com
GREEN BAY - Nick Barnett wanted to get something off his chest Tuesday afternoon.
The Green Bay Packers middle linebacker - for now, anyway - does not want to move to another position. Period.
Not that Barnett has anything against rookie Abdul Hodge, whose play during the first two weeks of training camp has been eye-opening. In fact, Barnett is all for the Abdul-a-palooza that camp has become over the past week, as the youngster has stood out to coaches, teammates, reporters and fans alike during practice and Saturday night's intrasquad scrimmage.
But Barnett, the team's 2003 first-round draft pick and leading tackler each of the past three seasons, doesn't just dislike the idea of moving outside from mike (middle) to the less glamorous sam (strong-side) spot, he hates it.
So when approached by a reporter after practice Tuesday, Barnett didn't even wait until the question was asked.
"I really get offended sometimes when you guys ask me about moving. Why would I move?" said Barnett, who set a franchise record with 194 tackles last season. "I'm the vet in this defense. I've been playing the middle linebacker position for three years. I haven't (played poorly). I've been balling ever since I've been here. Let's be honest.
"There's been some plays here or there where I've made mistakes. I'll give you that. But that happens to all players. After playing three straight years, it starts to irk me, talking about this. It's not going to happen. I ain't playing sam."
Uh, Nick - don't be so sure about that.
Asked after practice whether he thought Barnett was capable of moving outside to sam, coach Mike McCarthy said, "I have no reason to think that he's not (able to play sam). ... I think it's been obvious that there is a comfort level (Hodge) does have so far at the mike linebacker. So that's something we may explore."
See, here's the crux of the problem: Hodge played mike linebacker at Iowa, and was terrific in that role. But because he's not as adept in pass coverage and there are questions about his lower-body strength against the run, there are those - Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz being one of them - who think he can only play in the middle in the NFL.
Meanwhile, the coaches have vowed to play their three best linebackers, and if Hodge is one of them and joins Barnett and fellow rookie A.J. Hawk, the No. 5 overall pick, someone has to play at sam.
Throughout camp, Hawk has worked outside at the will (weak-side) linebacker spot, Barnett at his customary mike spot and free-agent pickup Ben Taylor at sam - though Hodge did take a few snaps there during Tuesday's practice.
And, as Barnett admitted Tuesday, the Packers aren't going to move the high-profile Hawk to the lowest-profile linebacker position.
"They need A.J. at will. When you draft somebody that high, you want to put him at the mike or the will so they'll have productive numbers," Barnett said. "And I understand the reasoning of wanting to move me to the sam, because I can cover and I'm a smart player, but I think Abdul's smart enough to play that position, too.
"I don't think they're giving him enough credit. I think he can play sam. It's not that hard of a position. But what's wrong with Ben (Taylor)? Ben's been excellent at sam. Why are we even talking about this?"
Barnett said neither McCarthy nor defensive coordinator Bob Sanders has broached the subject of moving him to sam, even though the preseason opener is Saturday at San Diego and the regular-season opener is a month away, Sept. 10 against Chicago.
"Right now, we're trying to keep all scenarios open, but we haven't played a preseason game yet," Sanders said. "There's a lot of practice time left."
The other thing that bothers Barnett is that, although he's playing for his fourth coordinator in four years, Sanders at least kept the same scheme as Jim Bates. Moving to a new position would mean whatever year-to-year continuity Barnett had coming into this season would be out the window.
On top of that, Barnett says moving to sam would hurt him at the free-agent bargaining table, since his contract expires after the 2007 season and his numbers would nosedive from the 490 tackles, six sacks, five interceptions and five forced fumbles he's had the past three years.
"Look, I can play it. I can play any linebacker position we've got," Barnett said. "But you start to think about other things as well, as far as your future. My free-agent year is coming up. You move me to sam, (and it's) really an unproductive position, doesn't get a lot of opportunities to make tackles.
"They talk to me about being a leader, and that's what I'm trying to do. You move me to sam, I go to being a quiet player in the back of the huddle, just by nature of the position. I don't see it happening, honestly."
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