Oakland Raiders head coach Dennis Allen is paying no mind to the criticism surrounding Alex Barron. Not only is his talent as a member of the offensive line being put into the question, but also his overall character has come under fire. After a former general manager bashed the tackle as greedy, Allen is sticking up for his player and praising his on-the-field effort.
The former general manager of the St. Louis Rams, Billy Devaney, only had a brief interaction with Barron, but it was apparently enough to leave a bad taste in his mouth. According to Devaney, the former-first round pick is simply greedy, not caring about football and only caring about money. Barron's made $10 million in his NFL career.
Allen has no clue where these comments are coming from. He has seen nothing but positive things out of Barron.
"I only have my perspective on Alex Barron since the time he got here," Allen said, via Scott Bair of CSNBayArea.com. "I haven't seen that at all from him. I've seen a guy who has to continue to improve and continue to work to get better. I've seen a guy that's out here, working hard for this team each and every day."
Allen may be sticking up for Barron, but there has to be some lingering questions surrounding the tackle that led to the team signing Tony Hills yesterday to add depth to the struggling offensive line. In Barron's first start for the Raiders, he assisted in Matt Flynn getting sacked five times for 28 yards. That is not going to help the Raiders at all.
Barron is supposed to be the replacement of injured starting tackle Jared Veldheer who underwent surgery to repair a torn bicep. With rookie Menelik Watson also suffering for a calf injury, Barron was set to take on a heavy load. However, things have yet to go as planned and the team opted to grab someone from free agency as a backup plan.
Hills has only played in 10 games over five seasons while spending time on four different teams before signing on with Oakland. Ideally, Watson would possibly replace Veldheer, but he is a rookie and might not be ready. Allen has remained complimentary of Barron after having a strong offseason. The head coach is counting on offensive line coach Tony Sparano to shape Barron into a valuable replacement for the time being.
Allen's words on Barron are certainly a nice confidence boost for the tackle. He could certainly use it right now after the team's performance against the New Orleans Saints.
