Anthony Barr Is Back.

  |  
Oct 9, 2021

For the first time in over one year, Minnesota Vikings strongside linebacker Anthony Barr has no injury designation attached to his name.

And that means, barring an unforeseen twist, Barr will be back on the playing field this Sunday versus the Detroit Lions. Barr has missed 18 consecutive regular season games.

Our Sean Borman tweeted about Barr’s availability:

The Vikings desperately need a catalyst to return their defense to pre-2020 form. Many onlookers of the team feel that might just be Barr. Minnesota’s defense didn’t play well in 1.5 games with Barr in 2020, but it was also sans Danielle Hunter and Michael Pierce. Sunday should be a decent indication of how important Barr is (or was) to head coach Mike Zimmer’s defense.

Here is the receipt from the Week 5 injury report:

Barr’s name is not on there, encouraging news for a franchise seeking to stop opponents from gashing them on the ground and exposing them through the air. So far in 2021, Minnesota’s defense has somehow kept the points to a relative minimum, ranking 11th-best in the NFL for points scored allowed. Yet, it doesn’t feel like it — not one iota. The weirdest part? The Vikings are outscoring opponents cumulatively over four games while showcasing a losing record. Figure that one out.

With the Vikings few turnovers on offense, outscoring opponents on the whole, and their markedly improved special teams — oddities are aplenty as to why they have a losing record. But that’s what missing a chip shot field goal to win a game versus the best team in football will do to an organization.

Specifically on the numbers, Zimmer’s low points-scored-allowed is great — but the yards allowed are a hefty concern. The Vikings are allowing the fifth-most yards to opposing offenses through four games. That fifth-worst figure translates to yards per play as well. Minnesota ranks 28th in that metric, too.

The only defensive items clicking for the Vikings right now are sacks and 3rd Down conversion percentage. They have the fourth-most sacks in the NFL, boasting the seventh-best defensive 3rd Down conversion percentage to accompany the quarterback pressure. These metrics are keeping the Vikings competitive in games — the rest is dastardly.

That’s where Barr should help. The man does not stuff a statsheet — leading some fans to believe he’s overpaid — but he is a captain akin to a ring general in wrestling. Too, Barr has been a member of the Vikings since the dawn of the Zimmer era. He was drafted in 2014 out of the 1st Round — Zimmer’s maiden voyage.

The possibility exists that too much hope is attributed to Barr’s ability in aiding a turnaround of the Vikings ailing defense. After all, he’s only one man. However, something is missing. Zimmer plays two gargantuan men on the middle of his defensive line — Michael Pierce and Dalvin Tomlinson — but the run defense stinks. Pierce and Tomlinson are performing well respectively, so an unknown disorder is evident. Teams are running to the outside versus the Vikings, carving them up on the ground with little impediment.

Fans will find out Sunday against the Lions a) Barr’s game-readiness after the injury recovery b) How much he means to Zimmer’s defensive formula.

Minnesota has defeated Detroit seven straight times.

Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sally from Minneapolis. His Viking fandom dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ and The Doors (the band).

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