[39thebeast]

this was posted by galaxy on the **edited** on another message board.

He has some good points on Barron and goes with the numbers. He also has some very confusing stuff that I had no clue what he was talking about. In all it makes allot of sense.

One of the continuing disagreements on the forum is Alex Barron. I've read posts ranging from “Just cut the bum” to “He is solid” (all from respectable posters, not the loons).

So I set about looking at the numbers, at least as much as we can for a lineman.

The following table are the RT listed in the depth chart on the Washington Post. I use the post because it has lineman stats. I know some of the stats for given players were generated on other teams last year, and even at other positions, such is the limitation of time. Two players show 2006 numbers as they were injured, but have a strong amount of history.

• Langston Walker Bills GS 16 Sacks: 2.25 Yards 17.75 Pen 3 Yards: 30 Pick: 53
  Willie Anderson (2006) Bengals GS 16 Sacks: 3 Yards 15 Pen 4 Yards: 25 Pick: 10
  Alex Barron Rams GS 16 Sacks: 3.5 Yards 28.5 Pen 13 Yards: 81 Pick: 19 Eric Winston Texans GS 16 Sacks: 3.5 Yards 24.5 Pen 7 Yards: 35 Pick: 66
  Sean Locklear Seahawks GS 16 Sacks: 4 Yards 16 Pen 2 Yards: 15 Pick: 84
  Marc Colombo Cowboys GS 16 Sacks: 4 Yards 19 Pen 10 Yards: 50 Pick: 29
  Kevin Shaffer Browns GS 16 Sacks: 4 Yards 16 Pen 4 Yards: 25 Pick: 245
  Kareem McKenzie Giants GS 16 Sacks: 4 Yards 29 Pen 2 Yards: 15 Pick: 79
  Jon Stinchcomb Saints GS 16 Sacks: 5 Yards 39 Pen 4 Yards: 20 Pick: 37
  Jon Runyan Eagles GS 16 Sacks: 5.5 Yards 13.5 Pen 0 Yards: 0 Pick: 109
  Mark Tauscher Packers GS 16 Sacks: 6 Yards 31.5 Pen 5 Yards: 40 Pick: 224
  Erik Pears Broncos GS 16 Sacks: 6.5 Yards 39 Pen 5 Yards: 35 Pick: N/A
  Ryan Cook Vikings GS 16 Sacks: 7 Yards 37 Pen 5 Yards: 38 Pick: 51
  Jeremy Trueblood Buccs GS 16 Sacks: 7.5 Yards 55.5 Pen 8 Yards: 55 Pick: 59
  Joe Staley ***** GS 16 Sacks: 9 Yards 55 Pen 4 Yards: 25 Pick: 28
  Willie Colon Steelers GS 16 Sacks: 12.25 Yards 86.75 Pen 7 Yards: 45 Pick: 131
  Jon Jansen (2006) Redskins GS 15 Sacks: 4 Yards 23 Pen 8 Yards: 50 Pick: 38
  David Stewart Titans GS 15 Sacks: 5 Yards 34.5 Pen 2 Yards: 20 Pick: 113
  Nick Kaczur Patriots GS 15 Sacks: 6.5 Yards 31.5 Pen 2 Yards: 10 Pick: 100
  Tony Pashos Jaguars GS 15 Sacks: 7.5 Yards 37 Pen 6 Yards: 42 Pick: 173
  Marshal Yanda Ravens GS 12 Sacks: 4 Yards 31 Pen 5 Yards: 35 Pick: 86
  Levi Brown Cardinals GS 11 Sacks: 8 Yards 46.5 Pen 5 Yards: 25 Pick: 5
  Ryan Diem Colts GS 10 Sacks: 2 Yards 8 Pen 7 Yards: 45 Pick: 118
  Jeremy Bridges Panthers GS 10 Sacks: 4 Yards 24 Pen 3 Yards: 15 Pick: 185
  Cornell Green Raiders GS 10 Sacks: 7 Yards 41 Pen 8 Yards: 40 Pick: N/A
  Damien Woody Jets GS 8 Sacks: 1 Yards 12 Pen 5 Yards: 25 Pick: 17
  Todd Weiner Falcons GS 7 Sacks: 2.5 Yards 8.5 Pen 5 Yards: 35 Pick: 49
  Jeromey Clary Chargers GS 6 Sacks: 2 Yards 1 Pen 5 Yards: 35 Pick: 187
  John St. Clair Bears GS 5 Sacks: 1 Yards 10 Pen 3 Yards: 15 Pick: 96
  Will Svitek Chiefs GS 4 Sacks: 7 Yards 43 Pen 3 Yards: 15 Pick: 187
  Jonathan Scott Lions GS 2 Sacks: 2 Yards 12 Pen 2 Yards: 15 Pick: 141
  Julius Wilson Dolphins GS 0 Sacks: 0 Yards 0 Pen 0 Yards: 0 Pick: N/A

Sorry for the display.. Never can get this site to use the code I know (which isn't much). Ok, the initial list is sorted by starts and then sacks allowed.

Clearly, Barron did a pretty good job of not surrendering sacks last year. But one of his biggest knocks is penalties. There is truth there. Barron was the most penalized of the players on the list, for the most yards (and it wasn't even close). Pace averages 1 penalty every other game for his career, Barron averages 1 every single game.

So how do you equate sacks to penalties? If you combine sack yards & penalty yards, Barron is 3rd worst on the list, having been responsible for 109.5 yards in negative progress last year.

But it is also true a penalty is not as bad as a sack, as there is no loss of down, no hit on the QB, and no chance of a fumble. So I redid the list giving sack yardage double weight (sacks yards x 2 + penalty yards)*.66 to get a weighted yards, then divided that by games started to get a "negative yards per game" for each player. I then snipped it at 10 starts or more to avoid some funky anamolies:

• Jon Runyan Eagles 1.1
  Sean Locklear Seahawks 1.9
  Willie Anderson (2006) Bengals 2.3
  Kevin Shaffer Browns 2.4
  Langston Walker Bills 2.7
  Kareem McKenzie Giants 3.0
  Nick Kaczur Patriots 3.2
  Eric Winston Texans 3.5
  Marc Colombo Cowboys 3.6
  David Stewart Titans 3.9
  Ryan Diem Colts 4.0
  Jon Stinchcomb Saints 4.0
  Jeremy Bridges Panthers 4.2
  Jon Jansen (2006) Redskins 4.2
  Mark Tauscher Packers 4.2
  Ryan Cook Vikings 4.6
  Erik Pears Broncos 4.7
  Tony Pashos Jaguars 5.1
  Marshal Yanda Ravens 5.3
  Joe Staley ***** 5.6
  Alex Barron Rams 5.7
  Jeremy Trueblood Buccs 6.8
  Levi Brown Cardinals 7.1
  Cornell Green Raiders 8.1
  Willie Colon Steelers 9.0

21st of 25 guys.. Not too inspiring

How about a different spin.. A sack or a penalty can be a drive killer. So this time the total sacks + penalties divided by games started:

• Langston Walker Bills 0.33
  Jon Runyan Eagles 0.34
  Sean Locklear Seahawks 0.38
  Kareem McKenzie Giants 0.38
  Willie Anderson (2006) Bengals 0.44
  David Stewart Titans 0.47
  Kevin Shaffer Browns 0.5
  Jon Stinchcomb Saints 0.56
  Nick Kaczur Patriots 0.57
  Eric Winston Texans 0.66
  Mark Tauscher Packers 0.69
  Jeremy Bridges Panthers 0.7
  Erik Pears Broncos 0.72
  Ryan Cook Vikings 0.75
  Marshal Yanda Ravens 0.75
  Jon Jansen (2006) Redskins 0.8
  Joe Staley ***** 0.81
  Marc Colombo Cowboys 0.88
  Ryan Diem Colts 0.9
  Tony Pashos Jaguars 0.9
  Jeremy Trueblood Buccs 0.97
  Alex Barron Rams 1.03
  Levi Brown Cardinals 1.18
  Willie Colon Steelers 1.2
  Cornell Green Raiders 1.5

21st again out of 25.

Interesting note: Pace who many consider a HOF candidate for his career comes out at 5.5 negative yards per game (vs Barrons 5.7) and .89 total sacks+penalties per game (vs Barrons 1.03)

Up until now this has been all pass & penalty, but how about rushing? The best we can do is look at yards per carry by direction, while understanding cutbacks occur, and an OT isn't the sole blocker.

In 2007, Barron played almost entirely at LT. Jackson's YPC? Left Sideline 2.2, Left 2.7, Middle 4.3, Right 6.6, Right Sidline 4.1

In 2006 Barron was a RT all year. Jackson's YPC? Left Sideline 2.5, Left 4.4, Middle 5.5, Right 3.4, Right Sidline 4.8

Looking at the two years, the difference in YPC when Barron played on the given side:
Left Sideline -0.3 , Left -1.7, Right -3.2, Right Sidline +0.7

That's a bit too much coincidence to be coincidence.

I've been a fan of Barron (more of the he is a solid RT), but given the numbers I might need to do more thinking.