Green Bay — There's swag in Sam Barrington's stride, a gleam in his glare as he turns a corner on Adams St. The Green Bay Packers inside linebacker takes a seat inside Liberty Café, rests his bulging arms on the table and clasps his fingers together.
He knows what went down across the Fox River in February. Brad Jones was cut first and then A.J. Hawk. Now, this could be his defense.
That word — could— curls Barrington's eyebrows into a scowl.
"I'm not approaching it that it 'could' be," Barrington said. "I'm approaching like it is. When you take out all the pleasing everybody's emotions, I'm the veteran inside linebacker. It's my defense. What's mine right now is mine to lose. So I approach it with a serious mentality."
So is his head coach. At the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis, Mike McCarthy labeled this a position of need.
After nine seasons, Hawk finally ran out of gas. Yes, the Packers may draft a linebacker in the first round. Sure, Clay Matthews may stay inside certain packages. But this defense still needs a new mastermind. In 2015 and beyond, Barrington views himself as the leader of the Packers' defense. One with punch, attitude. The team wouldn't have let three inside linebackers leave if it didn't believe in him.
And Barrington believes — knows he's best suited for the job.
JSOnline wrote: