Sunday Special: Barton hoping to catch on with Lions
By Todd Porter
CantonRep.com staff writer
Posted Aug 01, 2009
When the Detroit Lions opened training camp, the league?s worst team in the NFL last season began where the other 31 teams did. If the Lions can put last season?s streak of 16 losses in a row behind them and dream big, Kirk Barton can, too.
The Perry High School graduate and former Ohio State offensive lineman has a chance to make Detroit?s team under new Head Coach Jim Schwartz. But Barton is a realist, too. It?s only the beginning of August.
?The easiest time to be on an NFL team is at the start of training camp,? Barton said. ?Everyone has about 80 players on their roster.?
Before the beginning of the regular season, 864 players in NFL camps will be cut. That?s so many dreams dashed. Barton, in just his second NFL season, has been here before.
The Bears took Barton in the seventh round of the 2008 draft. Seventh-round picks don?t have much more of a guaranteed roster spot than undrafted free agents. But Barton earned one of the final spots on Chicago?s roster and did so despite a knee injury that cost him valuable time in minicamps.
After being released by the Bears, Barton signed with San Francisco, Miami and Cincinnati. When the Bengals waived him, the Lions were one of four teams to put a waiver claim in on the former Buckeye captain.
Now he?s one of 14 offensive linemen in Detroit?s camp competing for about nine roster spots.
Gosder Cherilus, Jon Jansen and Ephraim Salaam, all veteran tackles, likely will make the roster. Stephen Peterman, Dominic Raiola, Damion Cook and Jeff Backus probably are assured roster spots.
That leaves maybe two more spots. Barton is part of a mix that includes rookie seventh-round pick Lydon Murtha, Manny Ramirez ? not the baseball Manny ? and Tonio Fonoti.
Barton believes Detroit will work him at guard and tackle to see if he can play both positions. Linemen who can slide inside and outside have a higher likelihood of making the team.
?It?s going to be real competitive,? Barton said Friday evening, the night before the Lions opened training camp. ?That?s what I want. I think it?ll be a physical camp, and you need that for competition.?
The Lions set an NFL record ? not the kind any franchise wants ? for losing all 16 games in 2008, a perfectly imperfect season. Barton said you wouldn?t know it by being around the team.
?It?s not really mentioned,? he said. ?There are so many new people and a whole new coaching staff. I?m estimating here, but I bet half the roster has been turned over since last season. There?s a lot of new faces.?
Chicago had its line set before training camp last year. Barton joined Miami in the middle of the season, and he never really had an opportunity to play in Cincinnati because it was at the end of the year.
This year? It?s open competition for a franchise looking for a fresh start.
?The funny thing about the NFL is any spot can be taken,? Barton said. ?If there?s a better player and he?s younger and cheaper, he can take a spot. It all comes down to how well you can perform.
?For me, realistically, I want to make the team. It?s one of those things where you?ve got to crawl before you can run. They?ve got guys who were starters last year. From making the team, you want to earn a role and work into the rotation.?
Barton isn?t being pessimistic. He?s a realist.
?I?m a one-year journeyman,? he said.
He also knows this is an opportunity, and NFL opportunities end quickly.
?Once so many teams say you?re not good enough, how many are left?? Barton said. ?When I got cut, four teams put a waiver claim in on me. It wasn?t like there were 31 others fighting it out. For me, this might be now or never. I hate to say that, but I want to make this team more than anything.?
BIG-MONEY PRESSURE
If Barton gets into the rotation with the second-unit offensive line, he?s going to have some pressure. Remember, Detroit drafted quarterback Matthew Stafford with the first overall pick. Stafford signed a six-year, $72 million contract with nearly $42 million guaranteed. It wouldn?t be a good time to blow a pass protection and watch the gross domestic product of Guam get sacked.
?There?s always pressure,? Barton said. ?But, no, that wouldn?t be good.?
TOUGH BUSINESS
Despite spending time on the practice squad and the active roster last season, Barton was paid by all the teams a full rookie salary. That?s nice, but this is his fifth team.
?I?d love to be able to settle down,? Barton said. ?But you never know. Every day could be your last. Look at the transaction line (Friday). Todd Boeckman got cut, and he never practiced with Jacksonville. My buddy in Chicago, Joey LaRocque, was on the practice squad last year, activated in Week 3 and played every game on special teams. Today, they cut him.?
BIG DIFFERENCE
Shifting from tackle to guard isn?t easy. At tackle, Barton has to be able to block 250-pound defensive ends that run like wide receivers. At guard, he has to be able to move Chevy Novas.
?When you?re at guard, the defensive tackles weigh between 320 and 340, and the good ones are explosive,? he said.
?But I don?t care what position I play. I can play either.?
UNDER ARMOR LOVE
Barton signed an endorsement deal with Under Armor last year, and the apparel- and shoe-maker gives him merchandise in exchange for him wearing their products.
During the offseason, Barton attended the Ultimate Fighting Championship 100 and was invited to a sparring session by Frank Mir. After meeting the fighter, Barton gave him an Under Armor ?Recharge? suit, which is about a $200 workout suit that helps remove the lactic acid from muscles.
Mir liked the suit so much he wore it to the weigh-in and then into the ring the next night. It was free advertising for Under Armor in a sport it hasn?t really filtered to ... yet. Under Armor was pleased with Barton?s marketing coup.
