Barksdale hopes to have future with Rams

Barksdale hopes to have future with Rams

By Jim Thomas

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/football/professional/barksdale-hopes-to-have-future-with-rams/article_6d1ed8a4-75ad-5237-8b2c-ddca5c2d6fa5.html

Durable, and consistent, Joe Barksdale has quietly entrenched himself at right tackle on the Rams’ offensive line.

With emphasis on the quietly. He wasn’t a high-priced free agent such as left tackle Jake Long or center Scott Wells — or guard Rodger Saffold this past offseason. Nor was he a marquee draft pick such as the team’s current starting left tackle, No. 2 overall pick Greg Robinson.

In fact, he was a waiver wire pickup — a street free agent, as it’s called in the NFL.

Since joining the Rams in 2012, and moving into the starting lineup early in the 2013 season, Barksdale has quietly gotten the job done. To a large degree, offensive linemen don’t get noticed until they get beaten for a sack or get called for a penalty.

Those kinds of things don’t happen very often to Barksdale. As offensive line coach Paul Boudreau said near the end of training camp this summer, “Joe was probably the most consistent pass-blocker I had last year.”

With the notable exception of the Kansas City game, in which Chiefs linebacker Justin Houston got him for three sacks, you can probably say the same thing about Barksdale this year.

With rare exception, he has been a rock at right tackle, and obviously has enjoyed his time in St. Louis.

“It’s been great,” Barksdale said. “I say it all the time. This staff gave me a second chance. I was a guy coming off the street, and honestly, I still feel like that guy today. You know, just as far as being motivated and work ethic.”

Barksdale plays with that chip on his shoulder because of being cut by Oakland, and he brings that attitude with him to Rams Park every day.

“Of course, it gives you motivation, makes you always want to get better,” Barksdale said.

And makes you want to maintain that consistency.

“Hard work,” Barksdale said. “The Kansas City game was horrible for me. Everybody has a bad game — that’s what Coach told me.

“But as far as everything else, even in my locker I’ve got a list of things to work on every week. It changes every week, but a lot of the stuff stays consistent.”

It’s a handwritten note posted in Barksdale’s locker stall at Rams Park, reminding him of what he needs to work on for the season and for the upcoming game.

“For example,” Barksdale said, “Run-game footwork. I don’t have any arches in my feet, and when I step flat-footed I don’t have as much power in my stance.”

So that note constantly reminds him to stay on his toes. The to-do list, Barksdale continued, can be about something as relatively innocuous as working on non-verbal communication, which can help in a noisy road stadium.

“As a football player in the NFL and as an offensive lineman, there’s always things you could do better,” Barksdale said. “And I remind myself of that all the time.”

So the hard work has paid off, and the change of scenery has worked wonders.

“Joe took advantage of this opportunity,” coach Jeff Fisher said at the start of this regular season. “The timing was perfect for us. We needed the help. We got him in here. He learned.”

And got better and better.

Barksdale was taken in the third round of the 2011 draft, No. 92 overall by Oakland out of Louisiana State. But following the 2011 season, the Raiders — as they are wont to do — changed coaching staffs.

The rumor was that either the new regime didn’t like Barksdale, or he had trouble working with them. Or maybe a mixture of both. In any event, Barksdale was cut in late September by the Dennis Allen coaching staff.

What went wrong?

“I honestly don’t know,” Barksdale said. “And that’s a question I’ve actually stopped asking myself. For whatever reason, it felt like I didn’t fit in, and so that’s how I ended up on the waiver wire.

“And then the Rams claimed me. I was very fortunate. I’m thankful for it.”

As his third season in St. Louis starts to wind down, Barksdale is one of a small group of Rams regulars eligible for unrestricted free agency after this season.

He’s obviously someone the Rams would like to have back, and there has been communication between the team and Barksdale’s agent, although nothing resembling serious dialogue about a contract offer.

Barksdale wants to return but is leaving that up to his agent at this point.

“Right now, I’m just focused on getting better every day, and trying to do whatever I can to help the team,” he said. “I’ve got a wedding coming (in March). So between that and the season, there’s a lot going on.”

Barksdale has known his fiancee, Brionna Blackwell, since the third grade in Detroit. (They waited a little longer than third grade before they started dating.)

In fact, Barksdale is personally providing some of the entertainment at his own wedding. At the suggestion of Fisher at the end of the 2013 season, Barksdale took up the guitar last February.

As was the case with his play at right tackle, Barksdale has gotten better and better. He even keeps his “travel guitar” in his locker stall — on the opposite side of where his “things to work on list” is hanging.

A couple of weeks ago, he played a little something for his teammates in the locker room, and Barksdale says the reviews were good.

“Someone said that they thought they were listening to the radio,” Barksdale said.

He’s got a couple of special songs planned for the bride to be at their wedding reception.

“I’m gonna play “Foxy Lady” by Jimi Hendrix,” Barksdale said.

OK, not exactly a traditional wedding ballad. But romance, like right tackles, can come in many forms.