Vikings' Barr aims to make his coach happy

By Chris Tomasson
St. Paul Pioneer Press
MINNEAPOLIS - Nobody wants to see Mike Zimmer mad. Vikings rookie linebacker Anthony Barr cites that as one reason he wants to improve.
Barr, taken No. 9 overall in the May NFL Draft, has been solid in his first three games. He wants to be a lot better than that.
“There’s a lot of stuff I need to correct,” Barr said. “I’ve just got to continue to get better. ... If I’m not going to do them right, coach gets mad, the team gets mad. So let’s just make everybody happy and do it the right way.”
It might take a lot for Barr to really make Zimmer happy. The first-year Vikings coach has been outspoken about how good he believes the 6-foot-5, 255-pound Barr can be.
“It’s always been pretty high,” Zimmer said Thursday about expectations for Barr. “He’s a heck of an athlete. He’s like a lot of young guys. You’ve got to continually work on the technique. He’s improved tremendously in the pass coverage, and actually we’ve got to work him better in the pass rush.”
Barr did have the first sack of his career last Sunday at New Orleans. But he didn’t think it was anything special, even if the victim was future hall of famer Drew Brees.
“It was inside pressure, and a great outside rush from (defensive end Brian Robison) made Brees step up, and he stepped up right into me,” Barr said. “So I’ll take it, and it was kind of a gimme-sack. But they all count, so it’s cool.”
Even more might be needed out of Barr on Sunday at TCF Bank Stadium. There’s a good chance the Vikings will be without their other starting outside linebacker, Chad Greenway, when they play host to Atlanta in a 3:30 p.m. kickoff. Greenway hasn’t practiced all week because of a broken left hand and broken rib.
Greenway declined to comment on his chances of playing, and Zimmer said he will see if he’s able to practice Friday before making a determination.
If Greenway can’t go, he likely will be replaced by second-year man Gerald Hodges, who has been working with the first team. Hodges vows he’s up for the task.
“I just know when my number is called, I’ve got to be ready to go,” he said.
At least two other Minnesota defenders were able to return to practice Thursday after sitting out Wednesday. Zimmer said he has no concerns about defensive tackle Linval Joseph (shoulder) and cornerback Josh Robinson (hamstring) being ready to go Sunday.
If Greenway can’t play, Barr will wear a communications headset and take over some of the play calling. He handled that role in the fourth quarter of the 20-9 loss at New Orleans, when Greenway was taken out of the game, and defensive coordinator George Edwards said it went “smoothly.”
The Vikings are asking a lot from Barr as a rookie. Equally important, Edwards said, is what Barr asks of himself.
“He is (a perfectionist),” Edwards said. “I think he knows there’s a lot of things coming in and out of games that he can get better at, and it’s going to come with experience. ... It’s a good trait to have. He’s in here working every day to correct those mistakes from the game and just to keep working on his craft and his toolbox of different things we’re asking him to do.”
According to Pro Football Focus, Barr is ranked as tied for the NFL’s sixth-best outside linebacker out of 29 in a 4-3 scheme. If he keeps moving up the list, that might be enough to make Zimmer happy.
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