Barber brings playoff expierience to the Texans defense.
Texans linebacker Shawn Barber sat down with the voice of the Texans, Marc Vandermeer, Thursday to answer fan questions. Following are Barber's remarks. Fans can visit Texans TV to view the interview in its entirety.
Vandermeer: We pulled you right off the field and here you are getting ready for the Memorial Day weekend.
Barber: That's how we do it. We show a lot of love for our fans. I just now batted down a pass and here I am answering your questions.
Vandermeer: Who threw that ball?
Barber: (Matt) Schaub. I told him to throw to the other side that I'm not covering, but he threw it anyway.
Vandermeer: You know it's funny during OTA's, it's a lot of 'one's' vs, 'one's', but during the season you don't do that in the NFL so at least that makes practice ultra-competitive.
Barber: Definetely, definitely. The whole atmosphere here that coach Kubiak is trying to set up is for competition. We want to compete in all positions. That's the only way to raise the level of this team.
Vandermeer: You liking it here so far? You liking the city so far?
Barber: Houston is a great area, a great place to live. The team here, the ownership, the (general manager), everybody here has brought a new air of confidence to this organization. It's real fun to be here.
Vandermeer: Fans have e-mailed in questions for Shawn Barber and we'll ask him some of them now:
Josue V: What are your impressions of our young linebackers? (ie. (Zach) Diles, (Jon) Abbate, and even (DeMeco) Ryans.)
Barber: Actually, except for myself, the whole core of linebackers is pretty young. DeMeco is definitely a rising star. He's a special player on the field. He's able to do anything on the field, play all the positions, covers the run, covers the pass, has great hands and has great instincts as a linebacker.
Then you have some young guys coming in. Zach, a young guy out of K-State, he's coming along well. Right now we haven't had a chance to put the pads on yet so it's more of knowing your assignment and being able to run and showing your instincts for being around the ball.
I'll tell you this group of linebackers has some great instincts
Dave McGhee: I have been a fan of yours for a while. What can you bring to the Texans linebacking core?
Barber: Like I said, it's a young group. There's a lot of things that go on before the ball is even snapped. Being aware of down and distance, being aware of offensive lineman, picking up different keys, all that allows you to get to the ball faster.
Jeffrey Willis: Can you compare these facilities with others you have been involved in?
Barber: The Chiefs, they have an older tradition and stadium, everything is done in a practice facility that's about 15 to 20 years old so it's probably a little more old school there. The Eagles have a brand new place so theirs is pretty much up to date like the Texans then looking at Washington, those facilities are a little bit in-between.
The Texans are definitely one of the newer and nicer facilities, it's pretty much state of the art.
Luis Nunez: Can you start for the Texans or are you okay with a reserve role?
Barber: I can start for any of the 32 teams out there to tell the truth. I bring whatever I bring to the table. Whatever capacity I'm playing on this team, if someone is playing in front of me, they're going to be playing at a high level because I'm going to push them. If I have a chance to spell someone, give them a break, bring me in on passing situations, I do play the pass very well, I'm going to embrace that. I have no problem being a role player, I have no problem being a starter, I have no problem with being a Pro Bowler, team captain, coach, (general manager) , whatever.
{QUOTE}Eric Anderson: How would you compare the Texans (talent wise) to the other teams you've played with? Be truthful now.
Barber: If you go down the roster, (the Texans) are just as talented as any team I've been with. The only difference is the history. They don't have a history of winning yet. Until they get that, they won't have that heir of confidence in them going into every week, every season.
When I was with the Eagles I think they went to the playoffs in six out of eight years and five of those years they won the division so you go into every offseason with the expectation of excellence there. That's just something that has to be built over time. You can't fabricate that, it's done over the years.
Devin Larkins: What do you think about third-round draft pick Jacoby Jones?
Barber: Honestly, being new here, I've been face down in my own playbook so I haven't had a chance to really analyze the offensive players too much. I do know Ahman Green from playing against him for years…
Vandermeer: How does he look to you?
Barber: He looks fabulous. He looks like he is year two or three of his career, fresh legs, great moves, great vision so I expect some big things out of him.
Vandermeer: Now you said you batted down one of his passes earlier, but how does Matt
Schaub look to you? What does he bring to the table?
Barber: He looks good. He's a fellow Virginia guy so we go back. For a quarterback it's about swagger and he has that. He comes in with an heir of being able to take control of the huddle. He's able to process the play call and know how the play is going to unfold because he knows the defense and he has that ability about him.
Paul Miller: How do you feel the addition of Amobi Okoye will help the linebackers?
Barber: Already I had felt the defense was already a young defense. There was a lot of young guys that could run to the ball, but if you get a defensive tackle that demands a double team, a guy that can move with the agility that he can and that explosion in his hips. He changes the line of scrimmage. He dictates to the offense as to what they can and cannot do and I think he's going to be a great addition to this defense.
Vandermeer: Alright Shawn, thanks, have a great holiday weekend.
