Derrick Barnes calls it ‘the weight room,’ that moment when a running back and a linebacker collide at the line of scrimmage. They’re both going downhill. One of them is going down. Barnes loves the weight room, where the pads pop like barbells. It’s the ultimate test of strength.
“I just love making big plays,” Barnes said this week in a conversation with Fox 2’s Dan Miller. "And that’s been my game, being a come-downhill linebacker.”
The Lions were leading the Vikings in the fourth quarter last Sunday when Minnesota went for two to tie the game. It was brawn on brawn two yards from the end zone. Barnes knew the Vikings wanted to run it. And as soon as the fullback stepped to his right to plow a path for Alexander Mattison, Barnes knew where the play was headed.
“I was like, OK, this is the time. And then when (Mattison) came, it’s me and him. It’s man versus man right there in the hole. Who’s the strongest? I call it the weight room. Let’s see who’s been in the gym working hard.”
The first time these two came face to face this season, Mattison left Barnes on his hands and knees. The rookie lunged and got nothing but air. That was way back in Week 5. This time, they crashed into each other like battering rams. Barnes had the leverage. He stopped Mattison dead in his tracks and then drove him backward to preserve Detroit’s lead.
“I owed him one,” Barnes said. “He’s a great running back. The first game he kind of made me look crazy on film. I missed that tackle. So I was like, I owe him one. I’m glad I got that back.”
Reflecting on the play Thursday, Barnes said “you have to expect the ball to come your way.”
“One thing people don’t notice, when you’re in the game in critical situations like that, guys sometimes pray that the play doesn’t come their way,” he said. “To put yourself on the big stage, for me, I was like, OK, if the ball comes my way, I have to make the play.”
For Barnes, it was the highlight of a game in which he played a career-high 35 snaps and helped the Lions win their first game of the season. He's not yet the three-down linebacker the team expects him to become. He has work to do in coverage.
But Detroit traded up to draft Barnes in the fourth round, and we’re starting to see why.
“The game is slowing down,” he said. “Even though I have a lot to learn, the speed of the game is definitely slowing down for me. I can see things better and I can play more comfortably. I can play like I played in college – downhill, sideline to sideline – and make big plays in critical situations.”
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