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10 May 2010

Bobby Carpenter Dealt For Alex Barron

The week-long rumors ended up being true: The Cowboys have dealt linebacker Bobby Carpenter to the Rams for tackle Alex Barron.

Barron slots in as an option at left tackle if the Doug Free experiment doesn't work, while Carpenter will compete for a spot in a thin group of St. Louis linebackers, with the fallback being special teams work.

Posted by: Bill Barnwell on 10 May 2010

21 comments, Last at 13 May 2010, 10:20am by Spielman

Comments

1
by The Ninjalectual :: Mon, 05/10/2010 - 7:27pm

I sure hope we get to see Barron start some games at LT this year for the 'boys! Yeeehawww!!!!

"Just look at that pumpkin."
-John Madden, looking at the moon.

2
by Karl Cuba :: Mon, 05/10/2010 - 8:05pm

Meh, two very ordinary players that were over drafted because they were the right shape.

5
by tuluse :: Mon, 05/10/2010 - 11:50pm

I would say both players are way below ordinary.

11
by Jimmy :: Tue, 05/11/2010 - 9:26am

But they are both exactly the right shape.

13
by Karl Cuba :: Tue, 05/11/2010 - 10:08am

I was trying to be nice.

3
by Doug Farrar :: Mon, 05/10/2010 - 8:44pm

The good news is that Dallas won't have to adjust its penalty numbers in the wake of Flozell Adams' release.

4
by Niner Ian (not verified) :: Mon, 05/10/2010 - 11:06pm

I don't know much about these players, but just looking at games started, the cowboys seem to be getting a LOT more out of this trade than the rams...

A starting tackle for a linebacker with 3 starts in the last 4 years?? 15 tackles/year??

Somebody explain this to me.

6
by MilkmanDanimal :: Tue, 05/11/2010 - 12:00am

He started for the Rams. It's not like it actually counts.

7
by jimbohead :: Tue, 05/11/2010 - 12:12am

The rams felt they had to unload him, having Justin Smith penciled in at LT, and whathisname-drafted-in-2nd-rd pencilled in at RT. Barron's not that bad, I'd say about league average LT, and can play RT as well, but was being paid too much to be a swing tackle. I guess they figured this is the best value they could get for him, and it's better than releasing him and being on the hook for whatever salary was still garaunteed.

But yeah, the cowboys got a pretty stinking good deal.

8
by TheSlinger :: Tue, 05/11/2010 - 12:59am

No, Barron is terrible.

9
by Shalimar (not verified) :: Tue, 05/11/2010 - 4:30am

Barron was pretty bad or he would have fetched more in a trade than Carpenter. An average LT has tremendous value to the many teams that don't even have that much. That said, he does still seem to have some upside and might be better than Free so it's probably a good deal for Dallas.

10
by Dean :: Tue, 05/11/2010 - 8:49am

The talent is there with Barron. His head, on the other hand...

78 snaps a game, he will dominate the man across the line from him. 2 snaps a game, he will do something stupid. False start, hold, etc.

The real question on Barron isn't the physical tools, but the desire. The feeling in St. Louis is that he's the more talented player, but if a guy doesn't have the desire to be great, Spags doesn't want him around.

They're hoping that somehow, Carpenter will magically solve their problems at WILL. Not too many teams have a guy who's 250 lbs and can roam sideline to sideline like the WILL needs to do in that system. Maybe he has that range, but if he did, I have a hard time imagining him being such a failure in the 3-4.

This smells like one of those deals where neither team really wins.

15
by Brendan Scolari :: Tue, 05/11/2010 - 4:54pm

"Barron's not that bad, I'd say about league average LT, and can play RT as well"

You can't be serious, I'm not sure there's a worse starting left tackle in the league than Barron, there's no way he's league average. As a right tackle he's passable, but he doesn't have the skill to play the left side.

Also, Justin Smith is the Niners crazy good defensive end, you're thinking of Jason Smith.

16
by jimbohead :: Tue, 05/11/2010 - 5:36pm

Ah, my fault. I should have stuck with the convention "J. Smith".

As for Barron, I'll readily admit I'm not the most informed person on him, but I'd make the argument that he wasn't awful, and has good upside. Certainly more than Carpenter, and that's my main point really. Perhaps a new coach and environment will help Barron get his head on straight, and his skills in order. Being on a team with Romo at QB and Witten/Austin catching balls will probably make him look a lot better.

17
by chemical burn :: Wed, 05/12/2010 - 12:19am

Yeah, I'm really hoping that the Cowboys don't get an equivalent level of production from Barron to what they got from Leonard Davis - another "unfulfilled upside" guy before he got to Dallas. It seems like they must be thinking along those lines. Whereas I can't imagine the Rams are thinking anything beyond "Well, we are one of the worst teams in the league, we might as well acquire one of the worst LB's..."

18
by Mr Shush :: Wed, 05/12/2010 - 12:48am

Nah. Davis washed out at tackle because his feet weren't good enough in pass protection. He was always a devastating run blocker. Barron just flat out sucks. He's physically only suited to playing tackle and better in pass protection than blocking for running plays, but his total lack of focus makes him a liability in that capacity too. Davis was a top 5 disappointment. Barron is a mid-first round bust. World of difference.

19
by chemical burn :: Wed, 05/12/2010 - 11:21am

I agree there's a world of difference, I just mean I hope they don't get a comparable level of production out of Barron to they did got of Davis - an important part of the comparison being that the ceiling for Davis was always higher to begin with, but also that they're completely different types of players (i.e. I hope that they don't get good swing tackle play and above average pass protection out of Barron, in the way they have gotten great run blocking and elite-level starting guard production out of Davis)

21
by Spielman :: Thu, 05/13/2010 - 10:20am

Maybe. Or maybe he's just a ****.

As a Rams fan, I'm just glad he's gone.

12
by Sophandros :: Tue, 05/11/2010 - 9:36am

Are you still a Bobby Carpenter believer?

-------------
Sports talk radio and sports message boards are the killing fields of intellectual discourse.

14
by chemical burn :: Tue, 05/11/2010 - 3:35pm

Cuing Barnwell's snide response in 5-4-3-2-1...

20
by Temo :: Wed, 05/12/2010 - 3:22pm

*snicker*

It's unfair though, a throwaway line in some Free Agency (or a draft?) chat done over a year ago.

But it's Bill.

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