SB Nation - Darian Barnes

Cory Redding Placed on the IR; Langston Moore Re-Signed

Sean Yuille — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 18:19:55 -0000

Dave Birkett is reporting that the Lions have placed defensive tackle Cory Redding on the injured reserve. Redding has had knee issues this season and missed practice all this week. Because of that, the Lions decided to end his season.

To fill Redding's spot on the roster, the Lions re-signed defensive tackle Langston Moore. Moore was on the team until the end of October, which is when the Lions released him to sign fullback Darian Barnes, who only stayed in Detroit for a couple weeks.

Wednesday Notes: Lions Re-Sign Cason, Release Middleton

Sean Yuille — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 16:14:22 -0000

The Lions released wide receiver Brandon Middleton and re-signed Aveion Cason on Tuesday. Wide receiver John Standeford was also re-signed after fullback Darian Barnes was released. Barnes was on the roster for depth purposes while Jerome Felton was injured. Now that Felton is healthy again, Barnes was no longer needed.
Apparently the Jaguars were making jokes about the Lions during Sunday's game. Kevin Smith tried to defend his team by saying that Jacksonville also sucks, but the Jaguars simply came back by saying, "Well, not as bad as (you)." Smith then agreed with whoever said that since no one sucks as bad as the Lions.
Some Lions players aren't acting like they are on an 0-9 team.
Rod Marinelli shared an interesting metaphor at his press conference earlier this week.

“You’re in this dark tunnel and you’ve got no way out,” he said. “You’re waiting for light, and you see that light, what do you do? What do you do? You start digging and getting out. … I’ve always believed you stay in the tunnel and you keep digging when you expect no light.

“You have the same faith when you expect no light. You have the same belief in what you’re doing when you expect no light. … It’s dark and I’m going to dig through. My shovel is sharp and my pick is sharp and my will is outstanding.”
I was following what Rod was saying initially, but why would you dig your way out of a tunnel? If it's dark and you suddenly see a light, wouldn't you go to it? And if there was something to dig out of, how was the light showing through in the first place? I'm so confused.
Pro Football Talk has the details on how Daunte Culpepper can get his $1 million incentive. He has to participate in 5% of the Lions' offensive plays before anything else, and then he can become eligible to make the incentive.
Speaking of Culpepper, he reportedly weighed 280 pounds at his physical with the Lions.
How desperate were the injury-riddled Denver Broncos for a healthy running back? Well, they signed Tatum Bell on Wednesday. I never thought Bell would play in the NFL again after allegedly stealing Rudi Johnson's bags, but then again, Denver is where he played before he was traded to the Lions in 2007.
The Steelers signed former Lions cornerback Fernando Bryant on Monday.
I was a guest on the Pigskin Podcast last Friday. You can listen to my interview here.

Thursday Notes: Stanton to Get Playing Time Soon?

Sean Yuille — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 14:16:18 -0000

Tom Kowalski suggests that Drew Stanton may get some playing time in the near future regardless of whether or not he actually starts. The speculation is that the Lions could get a look at Stanton without throwing him out there as the starter. If he plays well, then he could get more playing time. On the flip side, if he plays poorly and looks unready, then someone like Daunte Culpepper could be signed, allowing Stanton to continue to develop.
Dan Orlovsky played dumb when he was asked about Daunte Culpepper's visit with the Lions.
The Lions worked out five veteran safeties earlier this week. Since Dwight Smith may miss another game due to an injury, there may be a need to sign another safety for depth reasons.
Rod Marinelli thinks Cliff Avril is a "special player."
You need talented players to make the Tampa 2 work, which explains why the Lions haven't had any success with it.
It seems as though a change of scenery did quite a bit for Shaun Rogers.
Fullback Darian Barnes, who was just signed earlier this week, is a former Tampa Bay Buccaneer.

Wednesday Notes: Are the Lions Not Paying Matt Millen?

Sean Yuille — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 04:59:22 -0000

According to Chris Mortenson, the Lions haven't paid Matt Millen anything since he was fired. Millen still is supposed to get around $6 to $10 million, but the Lions don't want to give him that much. The reason they aren't paying him is so a settlement can be negotiated, which hopefully would result in the Lions paying less than they are actually supposed to.

If how he performed as a general manager was taken into consideration, Millen wouldn't be owed anything. Problem is the Lions were dumb enough to give him so much money in the first place, so he is entitled to it. He probably doesn't need anything more considering he's made so much money in the past off the Lions, but my guess is that he will get almost all of what he is owed.
Peter King stated in his Monday Morning QB column that Matt Millen basically threw Lions defensive coordinator Joe Barry under the bus and blamed him for the whole Brett Favre phone call story.

Millen told Favre last week that Detroit defensive coordinator Joe Barry was the source for the story that Favre discussed Packer offensive stuff with Millen. Barry has declined to comment on the story. I have tried to reach Millen, without success.
I highly doubt Joe Barry would do something like that, especially since the Lions' defense played so poorly against Green Bay. He had no need reason to tell Jay Glazer about the phone call, so it seems like Millen is just trying to save his own ass with Favre.
According to John Clayton, Daunte Culpepper "will stay in contact" with the Lions, even though a contract wasn't signed on Tuesday.
The Lions cut defensive tackle Langston Moore and signed fullback Darian Barnes. This move comes after fullback Jerome Felton left the Redskins game due to a high ankle sprain. He is going to be out at least one game, so the Lions had a need at fullback. Moore probably got cut because the Lions have so much depth at defensive tackle.

Bills/Raiders Film Review: Bills Offense

Brian Galliford — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 10:45:04 -0000

It wasn't the prettiest game to re-watch, but the Buffalo Bills' victory over the Oakland Raiders wasn't as ugly as it appeared watching it live at Ralph Wilson Stadium, either. Here's what we noticed on a second run-through of the game tape offensively.

I seem to do these breakdowns a bit differently each week, and today is no different. Rather than hit on general topics with the offense as I've done in the past, I'll discuss some observations about several players. On to what caught my eye...

Trent Edwards: Many of you have made this comment, but it's important to re-iterate - Edwards has struggled with accuracy and rhythm early in Buffalo's two home games this year, and Oakland was no different. He missed a wide open Roscoe Parrish on an early third down with a wide throw, and generally looked out of sync with his well-covered receivers. He did, however, show excellent pocket awareness in the face of a fierce Raiders pass rush, as evidence by his scrambles and his two "scramble throws" to Darian Barnes and Marshawn Lynch. He played well, and his fourth quarter play speaks for itself.

Marshawn Lynch: Combined, Lynch and Fred Jackson carried the ball 28 times on Sunday. The two runners were met by Oakland defenders at or behind the line of scrimmage 15 times. More on that here. The fact that Buffalo averaged 3.8 yards per carry is a testament to the abilities of our two backs. As many of you correctly alluded to yesterday, Lynch had a monster game. 27 touches, 114 yards and two scores were big enough, but Lynch kept Buffalo's 96-yard drive alive with third down conversions three times. The Bills don't win without his production, and his four tough runs to set up the Rian Lindell game-winner were large as well.

Jason Peters: Buffalo's starting left tackle took some heat after this performance. It seemed justified, as Peters was directly responsible for two sacks, a lost fumble and a handful of big hits on Edwards. I watched the film, and particularly in the early parts of the third quarter, Peters' footwork seemed tentative. Then I received word that Peters played the second half on a "bad ankle sprain" - he flat-out refused to leave the game, instead choosing to tape up his ankle at the half (this is why Kirk Chambers made a brief appearance at the end of the first half; Peters was never benched). Peters was dominant in the fourth quarter, and Dick Jauron alluded to that fact in a press conference today. Please think twice before calling out our left tackle - considering the facts, he performed admirably.

Josh Reed: Perhaps the most important adjustment the Bills made as they prepared for their fourth-quarter surge was to line Reed up in the slot. Buffalo's receivers were having trouble separating from Oakland's two excellent cornerbacks, so in the second half, the Bills began splitting tight ends, running backs and James Hardy out wide to free up Reed and Roscoe Parrish on the inside (and thus on Raiders linebackers and safeties). The results were excellent - Reed caught 5 of his 6 passes (for 66 of 72 yards) in the fourth quarter, and all of those receptions went for first downs. Once this happened, coupled with a more aggressive offensive approach, the offense started to roll.

Langston Walker: Playing right tackle full-time for the first time this season, Walker struggled with Raiders speed rusher Derrick Burgess. Oakland's best defensive lineman repeatedly came fast, got under Walker's pad level and drove the 366-pound tackle backwards towards Edwards. Walker held his own on those plays, but the Bills play some talented defensive ends (and 3-4 speed rushers) in their remaining plate of games, so it's something to keep an eye on.

Darian Barnes: You had to laugh at Barnes' big plays in the first half - he was quite literally the entirety of Buffalo's passing attack for a period. When Barnes left with his foot injury, Derek Schouman filled in as the lead blocker, and let's just say the drop-off was minimal.

Defense and special teams to come later on today. Stay tuned, Rumblers.

Bills overcome mistakes, Raiders for third straight W

Brian Galliford — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 23:23:29 -0000

Late Lindell FG lifts Bills past Raiders (Associated Press)

The turnovers piled up and the mistakes piled higher, but a frantic fourth quarter comeback allowed the Buffalo Bills to defeat the Oakland Raiders at Ralph Wilson Stadium by a final score of 24-23.

Make no mistake about it: the Bills had absolutely no business winning this game.

The Bills nearly beat themselves with three turnovers, penalties, poor decisions (especially when it came to field position) and untimely errors. But the team rallied behind quarterback Trent Edwards, whose second straight week of fourth quarter heroics have the Bills at 3-0 for the first time since 1992. Ed. note: I was seven.

Raiders force the action for 3 quarters
In this day and age in the NFL, no week is an easy week - and the Oakland Raiders proved that. The Raiders imposed their will on the Bills for the first three quarters and part of the fourth, displaying a smash-mouth offensive style and, even more importantly, a fast, physical defense that had Buffalo's offense reeling. Edwards was sacked three times on the day, and Raiders rushers gave Buffalo's offensive line fits throughout the day - again, until the end of the fourth quarter.

The Bills kept themselves in this game, however, mostly due to an excellent effort from the run defense. We knew coming into the game that if the Bills held up against Oakland's formidable rushing duo of Darren McFadden and Michael Bush, quarterback JaMarcus Russell would have to beat the Bills. He nearly did - the Bills held McFadden and Bush to a combined 97 rushing yards, yet a Russell throw late in the fourth quarter found Johnnie Lee Higgins for an 84-yard score that extended Oakland's lead to 23-14.

Clearly, the game wasn't over at that point.

Edwards, offense come alive in fourth quarter
When it counted most - just as he did last week, and just as he's done a handful of times in his 12 career starts - Trent Edwards rallied his offensive troops. Buffalo put up 17 points in the fourth quarter, and clearly, they needed every one of them.

Edwards finished the day 24 of 39 for 279 yards with a score - a beautiful toss to Roscoe Parrish to cut the Raiders lead to 23-21 - and a controversial interception. Though he struggled to deal with a tough Raiders scheme for three quarters, he made big throws in clutch situations and had a QB rating of 81. What's more, he was responsible for keeping his teammates' heads in the game after Russell's big touchdown throw; he could be seen pacing the sideline, clapping his hands and pumping folks up. Kid's a leader. He grew up a bit more today.

I said it at the top, and I'll say it again now: the Bills had absolutely no business winning this game. But unlike years past, when the Bills would have folded and lost a close game, they overcome all of their errors and put up a win. It's encouraging, but it also gives Buffalo's young (and in some cases, immature) team some perspective. As the saying goes, "a win is a win is a win".

More stats for you: Marshawn Lynch scored twice and picked up 83 yards on 23 carries; five Bills receivers caught at least three passes, with the biggest ones being made by Parrish in the fourth quarter; Buffalo was once again big on third and fourth down, converting 6 of 13 opportunities; fullback Darian Barnes caught two passes for 34 yards in the first half; Marcus Stroud and Paul Posluszny tied for the team lead with six tackles each.

Game Balls
Rian Lindell: Missed a field goal early that looked like it would loom large, but redeemed himself with the game-winner as time expired.

Trent Edwards: Every week, our kid quarterback becomes a better leader on the field. We don't win this game last year, and we don't win it without Trent Edwards.

Paul Posluszny: Was active against the run and steady in coverage. He hasn't been talked about much, but for a young linebacker making his sixth career NFL start today, his play has been outstanding at middle linebacker.

Roll Call
Props to the 38 folks who stopped by for an excellent day in our Game Thread; bigger props to Kurupt not only for his work as moderator while I was at The Ralph, but for his day-high 192 comments. Big ups to the 38 names below:

RabidBuffalo, StuckInNJ, NJBillsfan, Kurupt, Cinga, the Skycap, JoeGoal, Memphisbillsfan, patamunzo, WABillsfan, taskersd, BuffCrunch, tlowe52, Ron From NM, silverstreak3k, TheK-GunNeedsReloaded, TheSharp, MarshawnMania, SPD, karovda, geno227, SebastianPruiti, Red Reign, BILLS, GhostDogg47, Hassanali181, BearsNecessity, Jay Elway, Joe P., Hopefulcynic, Amoc, billsstein, Krenn, chaosthepitbull, jdol1568, rexob, norcaliangelsfan, killascript

Bills/Jaguars Film Review: Bills special teams

Brian Galliford — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 21:30:04 -0000

The Buffalo Bills are coming off of their second straight win to open the 2008 NFL season, and since it's Tuesday, it's time for another Buffalo Rumblings Film Session to get into the finer details of Sunday's game. Their performance wasn't as high-impact as it was in the season opener, but Buffalo's league-leading special teams played well for a second straight week.

Punt returns? Check, and it's becoming business as usual to excel for Roscoe Parrish. Coverage units? Check. Great performance. Kick returns, on the other hand...

Underwhelming kick returns
For a second straight week (and for the record, they only got one legitimate chance in Week 1), Buffalo's kick return units weren't the outstanding unit we've come to expect. Terrence McGee in particular was bad; on the opening kick of the game, he chose to run out of bounds on the short sideline rather than cut toward the middle of the field, where he had a bit more blocking. That was unexpected, and something I haven't seen from him in a while. Leodis McKelvin didn't fare much better on his returns; the Bills barely scraped possession at their 20-yard line each time they touched the ball.

Give some credit where credit is due - Jacksonville's special teams units are emerging as some of the league's best, and that was evident in their kick coverage (and you can bet they're working on punt coverage this week). However, to me, the problem lies in the wedge - thanks to how Dick Jauron chooses his inactives, we've had some changing of personnel in this unit. Sunday's wedge consisted of Fred Jackson, Darian Barnes and Kyle Williams, and their play wasn't great. This is just one area (the other is kick coverage) where we'll see some growing pains as Bobby April adjusts to new special teams personnel.

Simpson, Scott, Neill excelling in kick/punt coverage
Three guys showed up on tape as having excellent days covering kicks: Ko Simpson, Bryan Scott and long snapper Ryan Neill. Simpson in particular has been making some big hits on kick returns early in the year - and against a couple of good kick returners in Brian Witherspoon and Josh Wilson. Scott's contributions aren't surprising; we've known for a while that he's a good hitter, and he's one of a few defenders who tackle consistently on first contact. Neill's the most fun to watch - play in and play out, he's gangbusters down the field and is often the first cover man to reach a punt returner. He just needs to work on keeping his snaps up for his holder.

Overall, there's room to improve in both kick and punt coverage units, but plays are being made. The Bills have some of the best pure athletes on special teams, and each of them is going 100% every play. As I said above, they're playing well right now; it's hard to imagine them not getting better as they play together more.

Roscoe outstanding once again
Here's a question that I'll put out there for y'all to ponder: is there a more exciting play in the NFL than a Roscoe Parrish punt return? I'm going with "no", and I wish more football fans league-wide realized it. He's sensational. It helps, of course, that his blockers routinely give him tons of room to operate (and let me tell you, they block hard - it's common to see two or three bone-crunching hits on a Parrish return).

Buffalo's offense will likely experience some inconsistency in coming weeks - they are still, after all, very young at key positions - so it would be beneficial if you could just keep on keepin' on, Roscoe. Take notice, football fans - the NFL's best punt returner is NOT named Hester. It's Roscoe Parrish.

Bills/Jaguars Film Review: Bills offense

Brian Galliford — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 10:30:07 -0000

The Buffalo Bills are coming off of their second straight win to open the 2008 NFL season, and since it's Tuesday, it's time for another Buffalo Rumblings Film Session to get into the finer details of Sunday's game. We'll start with the offense - the unit that carried the team to victory on Sunday.

Buffalo's offense made some serious strides in Sunday's win over Jacksonville. For the first time in a long time (thank you, Steve Fairchild-Mularkey), the Bills were aggressive and highly efficient in victory - a big reason that punter Brian Moorman was only called to duty three times.

Poor run blocking for second straight week
However, the Bills didn't come out of Jacksonville with a perfect resume offensively. Averaging just 2.9 yards per rush didn't help quarterback Trent Edwards out (though he ultimately didn't need it), and the fact that the Bills are only averaging 3.45 yards per carry on the season is cause for concern moving forward - though, admittedly, the team has played two stingy run defenses in Seattle and Jacksonville.

I have a theory regarding Buffalo's inability to run block, and I haven't heard it discussed much - height. Buffalo has an unusually tall offensive line, specifically at guard - Derrick Dockery (6'6") and Brad Butler (6'7") are tall compared to average guards in the NFL. Don't forget, either, that Langston Walker (6'8") and tight end Robert Royal (6'6") - two more valuable run blockers - are tall dudes as well. These are all excellent athletes, but their height sacrifices some leverage in the run game - and that's why shorter defensive tackles like Seattle's Craig Terrill (6'2") and Jacksonville's Rob Meier (6'4") are so effective stuffing the run - they're playing lower and faster. It doesn't help, either, that the Jaguars and Seahawks were playing a lot of defenders close to the line of scrimmage.

The quick fix (though it's a band-aid): keep up the misdirection, and whip fullback Darian Barnes into shape. Barnes, as many of you have noticed, is terribly inconsistent as a run blocker. He doesn't seem to have much chemistry with the line or his backs yet. This has potential to improve, but there's a long way to go.

Dynamic running back duo
Despite the rushing woes, you've got to hand it to Buffalo's dynamic running back duo of Marshawn Lynch and Fred Jackson - these guys are the heartbeat of the entire offensive attack. Lynch ran for 59 yards, and a good 45 of them came of his own accord. Jackson was Edwards' best possession receiver on Sunday; he's truly excellent after the catch. I'm not speaking specifically about his long gainers, either - I'm talking about the fact that of his seven catches, five went for first downs. The guy runs routes like a receiver and runs after the catch like a running back; he's quickly becoming one of Buffalo's most valuable offensive threats. These guys complement each other perfectly, and they're an absolute joy to watch. As a duo, they rank among the top five in the league in 1-2 punches.

In particular, I like the balance of these two runners. No defender has been able to take either Lynch or Jackson down on first contact this year; Jackson in particular is very adept at making the first guy miss. They're chain-movers, and they're very good at their craft.

The value of spreading the ball around
Yes, over a third of Edwards' completions went to Jackson (7 of 20), but Edwards proved again Sunday that he's a master of spreading the ball around. Lee Evans and Josh Reed both caught four balls for over 10 yards per reception. James Hardy had the first two catches of his professional career, including the deciding touchdown (a highlight that I could watch on repeat possibly for the rest of my life).

It's even more impressive over the two-game stretch. Completing 71% of his passes, Edwards has hit Evans eight times (for a whopping 22.4 yards per catch), Jackson and Reed seven times, Royal six times, and Lynch and Roscoe Parrish four times each. That's 36 of his 39 completions right there. It's evident on tape that the balance in the passing game is what is keeping the offense unpredictable and moving the chains. I'd still like to see the team take some shots downfield earlier in the game, however, particularly to loosen up the box to help out the rushing attack. It's not perfect, but it's effective. There's room for growth, but this offense has gotten off to a good start in 2008.