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Chicago Bears put out their first depth chart yesterday. Former BG star Freddie Barnes wasn't among the top eight wide receivers. Not looking good.

Maybe if the Bears cut him, he'll end up in Cleveland. The Browns can use the help.


- FE
Wickliffe OH
BG '92

The last thing the Browns need is another slow WR that can't get open in the NFL.

I want the best for Freddie, last year was magical, but he's not an NFL caliber athlete at the WR spot. He's a good candidate for a practice squad player for a year or two. I could see him contributing as a possession type slot guy in the future, but for that role he is a bit undersized. That's probably his ceiling though.

Last I heard, the undrafted WR from Michigan was performing better in the practices, and he is taller, lighter and faster. Freddie will need to get an opportunity and do something dazzling in the preseason games if he has any shot at catching on anywhere.

Didn't get to see the game, but the stats showed no sign of Freddie last night.

On a side note, Dan Lefevour's stats were not good. Hopefully they improve. I expected more from him.

Read that he saw some special teams time, but didn't make a tackle, or have a ball thrown to him on offense.

Watched the game online and didn't see Freddie lineup at receiver. Dan didn't look very good out there, floated a couple of balls and got it picked off.

mmisbg wrote:Didn't get to see the game, but the stats showed no sign of Freddie last night.

On a side note, Dan Lefevour's stats were not good. Hopefully they improve. I expected more from him.

He wasn't great, but he was not supposed to play so much but was forced to because of an injury to the other QB.

And the main reason his stats sucked so bad was becasue the UDFA WR from Michigan dropped two easily catch-able balls and the other long-shot to make the team dropped one too. So this can only help Freddie, but he still needs to see some game action to have a shot at not only da Bears but any other team!

hammb wrote:The last thing the Browns need is another slow WR that can't get open in the NFL.

I want the best for Freddie, last year was magical, but he's not an NFL caliber athlete at the WR spot. He's a good candidate for a practice squad player for a year or two. I could see him contributing as a possession type slot guy in the future, but for that role he is a bit undersized. That's probably his ceiling though.

I hear you, hammb, but there are some players who've had good to great NFL careers who weren't big enough, fast enough, etc. Maybe Freddie isn't one of those players, but then again, maybe he is. I just get the feeling that if he got a real shot in the right situation, he'd be the kind of guy who would be a solid role player for a team for 10 years. Maybe that's just wishful thinking.

Anyway, here's hoping Freddie gets that shot and makes the most of it!

1987alum wrote:

hammb wrote:The last thing the Browns need is another slow WR that can't get open in the NFL.

I want the best for Freddie, last year was magical, but he's not an NFL caliber athlete at the WR spot. He's a good candidate for a practice squad player for a year or two. I could see him contributing as a possession type slot guy in the future, but for that role he is a bit undersized. That's probably his ceiling though.

I hear you, hammb, but there are some players who've had good to great NFL careers who weren't big enough, fast enough, etc. Maybe Freddie isn't one of those players, but then again, maybe he is. I just get the feeling that if he got a real shot in the right situation, he'd be the kind of guy who would be a solid role player for a team for 10 years. Maybe that's just wishful thinking.

Anyway, here's hoping Freddie gets that shot and makes the most of it!

Oh I certainly realize that there are plenty of players that have succeeded at the NFL level with less than ideal size/speed measurables. Like you, I even believe that Freddie could be the type to do that...he just had a knack for getting open last year even when everybody on the planet KNEW he was the only worthwhile receiving threat. I've never seen a WR more consistently get open even when facing double and triple coverage and brackets all season. It was uncanny. I could definitely see him contributing as a slot possession guy in the future.

Now that being said, I also know that for every one ultraproductive college player without the elite athleticism that goes on to NFL success there are probably 100 of those guys that never make it off a practice squad at the NFL level. What's more, I also know that the fans of the alma maters of those 100 other guys all say the exact same things we do about Freddie. They all believe that their guy has the work ethic, the drive, and the "it" to make it and set themselves apart. It's just the nature of having watched a kid play for 4 years and watching them do great things for our favorite team.

The bottom line is just that Barnes is an undersized, slow of foot WR in a league that is continually getting bigger faster guys at the position. I hope that he is the one in a hundred that can overcome those odds and still find NFL success. But I'm not counting on it, and he's certainly not the type of player that would fit in Cleveland at all...that team doesn't need more inexperienced, raw WRs...they need true talent.

Also some people have mentioned that Barnes needs more opportunities. It is not unheard of at the NFL level for a team to NOT give the young guys they like the best many opportunities to make plays in preseason. If the Bears have seen enough of Freddie in practice to know he's likely not going to make the 53, but they want him for the practice squad then they likely won't give him many opportunities in the games. They don't want other NFL teams to see him and think about poaching him before they can put him on the practice squad. It's a simple case of the team doing what is best for them even though it is also to the detriment of the player.

mmisbg wrote:On a side note, Dan Lefevour's stats were not good. Hopefully they improve. I expected more from him.

Word is that Dan threw 5 picks in Monday's practice and now the bears are searching for veteran help. Looks like Dan may not make the roster.

Redwingtom wrote:

mmisbg wrote:On a side note, Dan Lefevour's stats were not good. Hopefully they improve. I expected more from him.

Word is that Dan threw 5 picks in Monday's practice and now the bears are searching for veteran help. Looks like Dan may not make the roster.

This doesn't surprise me one bit. I HATED LeFevour as an NFL prospect. The ONLY good thing about taking Colt McCoy is I didn't have to worry about the Browns taking LeFevour. The guy doesn't have an NFL arm PERIOD (not that McCoy does either).

Really this stuff is all further evidence of how low the MAC has fallen. Last year there were a couple intriguing WRs, but really the talent level of the MAC has become crap up and down the league. I don't know what's come of this conference but it wasn't that long ago that we had guys being talked of as first day draft picks every year...now the stars of the league seem to be 6th rounders who have to battle for NFL roster spots.

Another game down. I again didn't get to see it, but Freddie still hasn't posted any stats. Unfortunate.

On a side note, once again, Dan Lefevour's stats were not good in that game either.

mmisbg wrote:Another game down. I again didn't get to see it, but Freddie still hasn't posted any stats. Unfortunate.

On a side note, once again, Dan Lefevour's stats were not good in that game either.

Was in Chicago over the weekend. I had a chance to see most of the game on tv. I could not find Freddie at all even on special teams. It is a shame because it doesn't look like any Bears receivers stood out during the game.

Lefevour played better than he did in the first game. He had 3 drops. Still he needs to hope for the taxi squad.

Freddie is now fourth string on the depth chart.

Arizona game is over, and still no sign of Freddie. I guess he had a tackle, but that won't get him a roster spot.

Looks like Lefevour had a decent night though.