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It's been a long time since the Green Bay Packers have had an intimidator on defense - maybe as far back as the late Wayne Simmons - but they seem to have one now in Nick Barnett.
The past few years, the Packers' defense could be described as milquetoast at best, devoid of a Ray Lewis, Rodney Harrison, John Lynch-type presence. But as the New York Giants game last Sunday showed, this group has a different idea of how to play the game, and a lot of it starts with the attitude of Barnett, the undersized but frenetic middle linebacker.
"I just play," Barnett said. "That's just the attitude we're taking on. I try to lead by example. Go out there and just play. That's where you have to go out and be mean, you have to be a mean defense if you want to be one of the best.
"Look at all the defenses that were great. They were mean. That's the way we're trying to play."
It certainly looked that way against the Giants when the defense was called for two personal fouls and three illegal contacts. Barnett was at the forefront of the action, walking a tightrope between what is legal and what the officials might view as over the top.
There was the shot he gave running back Derrick Ward on the first series of the game. Quarterback Eli Manning's pass was well overthrown to the sideline but Barnett plowed into Ward and knocked him out of bounds. The fans wanted a penalty.
"Did they call it?" Packers linebackers coach Winston Moss said when asked if Barnett was taking too much of a chance on the play.
Then there was the play in which Barnett slammed his hands into prone wide receiver Plaxico Burress after he caught a 6-yard pass. Giants fans didn't take too kindly to Barnett pushing Burress and knocking the ball out of his hands after it looked like the play was dead.
"Did they call a penalty on that play?" Moss said. "I didn't see anything."
And finally, there was Barnett pushing receiver Amani Toomer in the back somewhere near the 5-yard bump zone and knocking him to the ground. Toomer got up and tried to cut Barnett at the knees and Barnett responded by pinning Toomer on the ground with his legs while raising his arms as though he wasn't doing anything.
"Did they call a penalty on him for that?" Moss asked.
Barnett may be treading on the center line between fair and foul play, but at this point the Packers aren't asking him to tone it down because he's not hurting the team. Barnett said if his actions were drawing penalties he wouldn't be doing them.
"I'm not going to play dirty, but if it's in the game, it's in the game," Barnett said. "That's how it is. That's how I played in college. I played aggressive, over the top, to the edge. I let the referees sort it out, and I'm going to just play football. That's my job."
Ever since breaking his right hand last year and being forced to play the final five games of the season with a club cast, Barnett said, he has been playing with an edge to him. But even before that he didn't look at football as a friendly game and insists he doesn't care what other players think about him.
"I'm not going to play soft," Barnett said. "A lot of guys are going to be out there talking among each other like it's a big fraternity, but when you have a different jersey on, there's no friendship, there's none of it.
"If you don't like me, you don't like me. I don't need your vote for the Pro Bowl, I don't need all that (expletive). I'm here to win games and play football. So don't expect us to be friends when the game is over. Afterwards, we can talk, but during the game we're not going to be friends."
The results on the field have been pretty good so far for Barnett and the defense. During the Packers' six-game winning streak dating to last season, the defense has allowed an average of 149.5 passing yards and 11.3 points per game, held teams to a 16.7 red-zone touchdown efficiency rate and limited opposing quarterbacks to a passer rating of 43.5.
Opponents have thrown for four touchdowns and been intercepted 12 times during that span.
Barnett, of course, isn't responsible alone for those numbers. But he leads the team in tackles with 24, ranks third among all NFL linebackers with two passes defensed and played a big role in the Packers holding Philadelphia running back Brian Westbrook scoreless in the season opener.
"Smart football is important, but to me the most important aspect of our football team as we move forward is we have to continue to be aggressive," Packers coach Mike McCarthy said this week. "And I think we've accomplished that the first two weeks."
Moss would have a hard time lecturing Barnett about the thin line he may be walking given that he played the game the same way during his 11 years as an NFL linebacker, five of them with the Oakland Raiders. Naturally, he sees nothing wrong with Barnett playing with an attitude.
Moss is unsure if Barnett's play has rubbed off on his teammates, but given the way linebacker Brady Poppinga went after Burress after his blind-side hit on A.J. Hawk and the way Cullen Jenkins defended himself after getting hit after the whistle by offensive linemen Shaun O'Hara and David Diehl it appears the Packers are showing some spark on defense.
"Go play your game, but obviously if guys are going to mess with our guys, cheap shot our guys, we're not going to let that go unnoticed," said Poppinga, who received a 15-yard penalty for his confrontation with Burress. "We're going to address it and basically let those guys know they're not going to get away with it. We're not going to just roll over and let them do that."
There may be a question whether Barnett's on-field demeanor carries over to his personal life given the fact that he was arrested in June for an altercation with a woman in an Appleton bar. Two misdemeanor counts of disorderly conduct are expected to be filed and Barnett and his attorney intend to fight them vigorously.
Barnett has a very public presence in the city after trying to make a go of it as a nightclub owner. He ran into resistance from the city council, which stripped the FiveSix Ultra Lounge of its liquor license because it claimed there were too many police calls, leading to its closing.
He said his football persona turns on only when he puts on his helmet.
"I'm not a nasty person at all off the field," Barnett said. "You can talk to all these guys and whoever. I may have an incident which we still have to go to court before I say anything about that. But you can ask any of these reporters who have seen me outside this facility and out and about.
"Ask this community. I've never been a nasty person to people.
"I'm not going to let anybody push me or be mean to me, but I'm not an outright (expletive)."
The past few years, the Packers' defense could be described as milquetoast at best, devoid of a Ray Lewis, Rodney Harrison, John Lynch-type presence. But as the New York Giants game last Sunday showed, this group has a different idea of how to play the game, and a lot of it starts with the attitude of Barnett, the undersized but frenetic middle linebacker.
"I just play," Barnett said. "That's just the attitude we're taking on. I try to lead by example. Go out there and just play. That's where you have to go out and be mean, you have to be a mean defense if you want to be one of the best.
"Look at all the defenses that were great. They were mean. That's the way we're trying to play."
It certainly looked that way against the Giants when the defense was called for two personal fouls and three illegal contacts. Barnett was at the forefront of the action, walking a tightrope between what is legal and what the officials might view as over the top.
There was the shot he gave running back Derrick Ward on the first series of the game. Quarterback Eli Manning's pass was well overthrown to the sideline but Barnett plowed into Ward and knocked him out of bounds. The fans wanted a penalty.
"Did they call it?" Packers linebackers coach Winston Moss said when asked if Barnett was taking too much of a chance on the play.
Then there was the play in which Barnett slammed his hands into prone wide receiver Plaxico Burress after he caught a 6-yard pass. Giants fans didn't take too kindly to Barnett pushing Burress and knocking the ball out of his hands after it looked like the play was dead.
"Did they call a penalty on that play?" Moss said. "I didn't see anything."
And finally, there was Barnett pushing receiver Amani Toomer in the back somewhere near the 5-yard bump zone and knocking him to the ground. Toomer got up and tried to cut Barnett at the knees and Barnett responded by pinning Toomer on the ground with his legs while raising his arms as though he wasn't doing anything.
"Did they call a penalty on him for that?" Moss asked.
Barnett may be treading on the center line between fair and foul play, but at this point the Packers aren't asking him to tone it down because he's not hurting the team. Barnett said if his actions were drawing penalties he wouldn't be doing them.
"I'm not going to play dirty, but if it's in the game, it's in the game," Barnett said. "That's how it is. That's how I played in college. I played aggressive, over the top, to the edge. I let the referees sort it out, and I'm going to just play football. That's my job."
Ever since breaking his right hand last year and being forced to play the final five games of the season with a club cast, Barnett said, he has been playing with an edge to him. But even before that he didn't look at football as a friendly game and insists he doesn't care what other players think about him.
"I'm not going to play soft," Barnett said. "A lot of guys are going to be out there talking among each other like it's a big fraternity, but when you have a different jersey on, there's no friendship, there's none of it.
"If you don't like me, you don't like me. I don't need your vote for the Pro Bowl, I don't need all that (expletive). I'm here to win games and play football. So don't expect us to be friends when the game is over. Afterwards, we can talk, but during the game we're not going to be friends."
The results on the field have been pretty good so far for Barnett and the defense. During the Packers' six-game winning streak dating to last season, the defense has allowed an average of 149.5 passing yards and 11.3 points per game, held teams to a 16.7 red-zone touchdown efficiency rate and limited opposing quarterbacks to a passer rating of 43.5.
Opponents have thrown for four touchdowns and been intercepted 12 times during that span.
Barnett, of course, isn't responsible alone for those numbers. But he leads the team in tackles with 24, ranks third among all NFL linebackers with two passes defensed and played a big role in the Packers holding Philadelphia running back Brian Westbrook scoreless in the season opener.
"Smart football is important, but to me the most important aspect of our football team as we move forward is we have to continue to be aggressive," Packers coach Mike McCarthy said this week. "And I think we've accomplished that the first two weeks."
Moss would have a hard time lecturing Barnett about the thin line he may be walking given that he played the game the same way during his 11 years as an NFL linebacker, five of them with the Oakland Raiders. Naturally, he sees nothing wrong with Barnett playing with an attitude.
Moss is unsure if Barnett's play has rubbed off on his teammates, but given the way linebacker Brady Poppinga went after Burress after his blind-side hit on A.J. Hawk and the way Cullen Jenkins defended himself after getting hit after the whistle by offensive linemen Shaun O'Hara and David Diehl it appears the Packers are showing some spark on defense.
"Go play your game, but obviously if guys are going to mess with our guys, cheap shot our guys, we're not going to let that go unnoticed," said Poppinga, who received a 15-yard penalty for his confrontation with Burress. "We're going to address it and basically let those guys know they're not going to get away with it. We're not going to just roll over and let them do that."
There may be a question whether Barnett's on-field demeanor carries over to his personal life given the fact that he was arrested in June for an altercation with a woman in an Appleton bar. Two misdemeanor counts of disorderly conduct are expected to be filed and Barnett and his attorney intend to fight them vigorously.
Barnett has a very public presence in the city after trying to make a go of it as a nightclub owner. He ran into resistance from the city council, which stripped the FiveSix Ultra Lounge of its liquor license because it claimed there were too many police calls, leading to its closing.
He said his football persona turns on only when he puts on his helmet.
"I'm not a nasty person at all off the field," Barnett said. "You can talk to all these guys and whoever. I may have an incident which we still have to go to court before I say anything about that. But you can ask any of these reporters who have seen me outside this facility and out and about.
"Ask this community. I've never been a nasty person to people.
"I'm not going to let anybody push me or be mean to me, but I'm not an outright (expletive)."
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