NastyBoy Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 I heard an interesting segment on Sirius NFL Radio the other day where Khalif Barnes from the Jacksonville Jaguars was interviewed. He was incredibly impressive during the interview, so I did some research as a result, and the guy is pretty darn solid. He's also a 4 yr vet and since quality, starting left OT's are so rare on the FA market, I wondered what most here would say about the possibility of looking at the guy. The Jags averaged over 6 yards per rush off LT this season, which is pretty darn good, but some have questioned his pass blocking. Garrard was the most sacked QB, but in all honesty I have no idea how many of those sacks can be attributed to Barnes. Not sure if that critisism is warranted, but with Samuels aging and our line issues, I'd be for bringing in a high character guy like this if the price weren't too astronomical, and it shouldn't be. He made $548,000 last year and there are those out there who say a change of scenery will have him playing like he did his first three years in the league. He's 26 and has incredible durability, playing all 16 games last year and in 57 of his last 60 games as a starter. He's also versatile, having started at both left and right tackle positions. Thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheeks Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 sounds nice id have to see more on him tho, but ur right if his price tag is anywhere near that id say he's worth picking up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terpskins10 Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 I wouldn't mind Khalif, but he's SLIGHTLY less than "solid". I think he has good upside and athleticism, but I'm not sure he'd provide much more in pass pro than Jansen/Heyer at this point. Definitely has the upside though and if we could get him cheap, I'd do it even if only for depth purposes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terpskins10 Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 Plus, while I don't think he'd be a problem child, I wouldn't call him a high character guy: "On November 9, 2006 Barnes was arrested for speeding (101mph) down J. Turner Butler Boulevard, and driving under the influence of alcohol. The license plate on the Barnes' 2007 silver Mercedes had also expired. He spent several hours in the Duval County jail before being released on $500 bond. Barnes was benched for the next game against the Houston Texans. Barnes called the white officer who pulled him over a racist and said the officer was a "KKK devil who hates all colored people". [1] Barnes later apologized in a letter to the officer blaming his statement on stress. On July 11th Barnes was sentenced to six months probation, pay $650 in fines and court costs, perform 50 hours of community service, attend a drunken driving class and have his driver's license suspended for six months." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khalif_Barnes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NastyBoy Posted February 19, 2009 Author Share Posted February 19, 2009 I wouldn't mind Khalif, but he's SLIGHTLY less than "solid". I think he has good upside and athleticism, but I'm not sure he'd provide much more in pass pro than Jansen/Heyer at this point.Definitely has the upside though and if we could get him cheap, I'd do it even if only for depth purposes. Agreed. I'm certainly not suggesting he'd be an automatic starter, but the up-side at the price tag seems to out-weigh the negatives. The depth angle is exactly where I was going with this. At least we have a body of work at the NFL level to use as a yardstick to measure his potential. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktball74 Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 There are a few solid, but not bank busting OL free agents on the market this year. I am sure we will pick up one, maybe two. I am still wondering how Heyer would be if we slid him inside as a guard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NastyBoy Posted February 19, 2009 Author Share Posted February 19, 2009 Plus, while I don't think he'd be a problem child, I wouldn't call him a high character guy:"On November 9, 2006 Barnes was arrested for speeding (101mph) down J. Turner Butler Boulevard, and driving under the influence of alcohol. The license plate on the Barnes' 2007 silver Mercedes had also expired. He spent several hours in the Duval County jail before being released on $500 bond. Barnes was benched for the next game against the Houston Texans. Barnes called the white officer who pulled him over a racist and said the officer was a "KKK devil who hates all colored people". [1] Barnes later apologized in a letter to the officer blaming his statement on stress. On July 11th Barnes was sentenced to six months probation, pay $650 in fines and court costs, perform 50 hours of community service, attend a drunken driving class and have his driver's license suspended for six months." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khalif_Barnes Lol, terpskins.........I saw that, too..........but the guy has been pretty well behaved since then and actually addressed this incident in a later interview. I'm not going to make excuses for the guy. That was a definite party foul, but I'm willing to say it looks like it was an isolated incident by a very young and foolish kid. As I said, his price tag seems to be cheap, and if that incident helps keep the $ down.......better still. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terpskins10 Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 Lol, terpskins.........I saw that, too..........but the guy has been pretty well behaved since then and actually addressed this incident in a later interview. I'm not going to make excuses for the guy. That was a definite party foul, but I'm willing to say it looks like it was an isolated incident by a very young and foolish kid. As I said, his price tag seems to be cheap, and if that incident helps keep the $ down.......better still. Yeah, I honestly laughed when I saw that too. Like I said, I doubt he'd be a problem child with recurring incidents like this. Just something to chew on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pyro281 Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 If he's willing to come here for relatively cheap without a promise of a starting role, the hell yeah! But that's a lot of conditions to put on a guy. Still, if the price is right, I'm sure he'd be willing to fight for a starting spot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMalcolmConnection Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 He also gave up the most sacks of any OL in the league last year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattFancy Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 if the price is right, why not? we need young o-line depth and at worst that's what he could be Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IbleedBnG83 Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 I've read several reports that make me warey of Barnes. The Jaguars OL is as bad as it gets, and if they are willing to let him go, then that says something to me... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scskin Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 If we have to get a tackle in FA we should look at Vernon Carey from Miami. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JetSkins Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 enough with the FA gambling. build through draft! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scskin Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 enough with the FA gambling. build through draft! We have too many needs to fill with just the draft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
[[ghost]] Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 He was awful this past season. They're gonna let him go. I wouldn't mind him at all, but for the right cost. I'd much rather draft Oher or someone so that we could have a potentially Elite Tackle Tandem, but if we wanted to get a pass rusher this draft, we could sign Barnes and have at least a serviceable RT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinsMaster88 Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 enough with the FA gambling. build through draft! That's what we did last year. We're still waiting on the results. We need to make the best of opportunities in both FA and the draft. I'm not counting on any big-name signings, but I'd be happy with a few upgrades at our positions of need in FA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Da Champ Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 We have too many needs to fill with just the draft. false! we can build through the draft by trading our 1st rounder for a 2nd and 3 and then trading the 2nd for two fourth rounders and trading the 3rd for a fifth and seventh rounder and then we can trade the two fourth rounders for four six rounders and then trade our fifth rounder for two sixth rounders and then we'd have 6 more picks than we started out with! but seriously we need to make some smart moves in free agency. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terpskins10 Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 We have too many needs to fill with just the draft. That's why it's going to take a few years, and we as fans need to be okay with that. We do have too many needs to fill through the draft. We also need to be committed to the idea of building through the draft, and to do so, we're going to need to endure a few poor seasons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yeen80 Posted February 20, 2009 Share Posted February 20, 2009 We should have never let Derrick Dockery get away as a free agent after the 2006 season. He's still 28 years old and could have been the anchor for our offensive line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AKM311 Posted February 20, 2009 Share Posted February 20, 2009 I don't want to guy who still needs some developing switching from LT to RT, esp since he wasn't great at LT to begin with. Unless it is a two year deal or less or very little guarentueed $$, I would pass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eljeasel Posted February 20, 2009 Share Posted February 20, 2009 We should have never let Derrick Dockery get away as a free agent after the 2006 season.He's still 28 years old and could have been the anchor for our offensive line. Im not sold on that. He got Mega money, more than he was worth. Plus, I read somewhere that he let up more sacks than any other LG in the league last year. Now, what I will say is we should have extended his deal when we had the chance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Always A Commander Never A Captain Posted February 20, 2009 Share Posted February 20, 2009 He also gave up the most sacks of any OL in the league last year. Not quite, he gave up 7.5, which is pretty bad. But I know that John St. Clair on the Bears gave up 9.75, which I think was 2nd or 3rd worst. But it's clear Barnes is a below-average LT. Why are we even discussing a LT anyways? We've got Samuels. If the man can bull-doze guys on the right side then maybe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NastyBoy Posted February 20, 2009 Author Share Posted February 20, 2009 ];6141559']He was awful this past season. They're gonna let him go.I wouldn't mind him at all' date=' but for the right cost. I'd much rather draft Oher or someone so that we could have a potentially Elite Tackle Tandem, but if we wanted to get a pass rusher this draft, we could sign Barnes and have at least a serviceable RT.[/quote'] He had a sub-par year, but to say it was horrible would be a bit of an exaggeration. He explained some of what was happening during the year in the interview I referenced in my original post, which does explain some of the behind the scenes happenings in the locker room most wouldn't know about. What he said certainly doesn't get him a get out of jail free card as it relates to his play, but if you were aware of the whole story, you might understand where the guy is coming from. At a price of less than 600k annually, he's certainly worth a look even if it's to create depth at a position where we've been historically thin. I'm sorry if I didn't convey this in my original post. He's a 4th year player with good fundamental skills. Who's to say with the right line coach he couldn't become a more effective pass blocker? We already know he's a capable run blocker. If he's cheap, he's worth a try IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NastyBoy Posted February 20, 2009 Author Share Posted February 20, 2009 Not quite, he gave up 7.5, which is pretty bad. But I know that John St. Clair on the Bears gave up 9.75, which I think was 2nd or 3rd worst.But it's clear Barnes is a below-average LT. Why are we even discussing a LT anyways? We've got Samuels. If the man can bull-doze guys on the right side then maybe. Why are we discussing LT? Seriously? Have you not seen Samuels pass block the past 2 seasons? He looks more like a matador than a LT anymore. I'm sorry, but the man was once great, no doubt, but he's been anything but for a while now. He's aging, and injury prone and you're saying we shouldn't take a proactive look at the position? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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