GREAT Antonio Pierce article in the Post
 

[URL=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A21598-2004Sep14.html]http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A21598-2004Sep14.html[/URL]

Mike Barrow better watch his back.

Yeah. Amazing to hear how well he's picked up the system. If you look back at last sunday's game, he really was all over the defense calling plays before the snap. Very impressive for someone just picking up middle LB!

he got that key INT too, i love this man. i was in staunch support of barrow, but now id really like to have pierce play more than him

I remember Pierce having a few starts at LB in his rookie season and looking OK everytime he played on D since. He always seemed to be one of the more dedicated special teams players too. Just got to like what's happening with him now.

Where are the guys yelling about how amazing Barrow is and how he's starting no matter what? There were plenty when I said Pierce may be taking his job a few weeks ago in preseason.

I'm still here and I'll stick with my view that Barrow is still the starter once healthy.

That being said Pierce is still going to see plenty of playing time with the way Williams rotates players and packages, so being the 'starter' might be nothing more than a title.

Pierce gives us the luxury of letting Barrow get as close to 100% as possible.

[QUOTE=Mattyk72]I'm still here and I'll stick with my view that Barrow is still the starter once healthy.

That being said Pierce is still going to see plenty of playing time with the way Williams rotates players and packages, so being the 'starter' might be nothing more than a title.

Pierce gives us the luxury of letting Barrow get as close to 100% as possible.[/QUOTE]

i dunno, Pierce has seemed like such a natural at this challenging position and the coaches all rave about how he should be on the field. short of going 3-4, i think maybe we should take advantage of this unearthed gem and groom Pierce into being the NEXT Mike Barrow by letting him play.

Mike Barrow is 34, how many years did we expect from him? his age and wear and tear has already stopped him this year with this absolute crawling recovery (wasn't he suppposed to play in the 2nd preseason game? thats gonna be five games ago). im starting to think its not tendonitis, but arthritis.

if Pierce steps up again this week like he's been doing every game thus far, and hunts down Tiki and stops the screen, then i think that should be the last step to number one. he'd have earned it and its better for us in the long run. and you know Gibbs doesn't care about big names or contracts, only brains, heart and results. so far Pierce has been serving up all three.

I'm not saying Barrow is going to start and Pierce goes back to the bench. I expect both guys will see plenty of playing time.

Barrow had a bit of a setback a few weeks ago when he tried to practice and he tweaked the knee again. Otherwise he'd probably be back by now. Now I think the staff is determined to take things slow.

what are Pierce's strengths and weaknesses vs. Barrow's?

I always thought Pierce was an outside linbacker while Kevin Mitchell was the inside linebacker?

[QUOTE=illdefined]what are Pierce's strengths and weaknesses vs. Barrow's?[/QUOTE]
Pierce
Strengths: student of the game, great worth ethic, leadership, youth, above average LB skills
Weaknesses: a bit undersized for the middle, relatively inexperienced

Barrow
Strengths: student of the game, great work ethic, leadership, experience, still has enough skills to get the job done even at 34, knows Williams' system inside and out
Weaknesses: Not exactly a spring chicken, at the age where his skills could diminish quickly, needs more recovery time from injuries

[QUOTE=Duffman003]I always thought Pierce was an outside linbacker while Kevin Mitchell was the inside linebacker?[/QUOTE]Pierce was an OLB but he's also now able to play the mike

looks like Pierce is only 5lbs lighter and 1" shorter than Barrow but NINE years younger! hope Barrow can impart alot of that experience to this hungry young buck.

coverage, pass rushing, run stopping, has there been a consensus at who's better at what?

The great part is that Pierce and Barrow will just make each other better. Once Barrow gets back, both of them will be able to play at 110% until they get tired and have the other guy fresh coming off the bench. I can't wait for Barrow to get back!

I had tendonitis in both knees the year before I stopped playing and it actually took 2 months to fully clear up. Of course I didn't have the benefit of top class physio's looking aftr me...

Basically I see it as another win-win situation. We have 2 starter quality MLB's. And Barrow being rested for a couple of early games will only help us towards the end of the season.