It’s Time for Marion Barber to Speak
The target of my latest LOWER THE BOOM post is none other than Public Enemy #1 in Chicago this week, Marion Barber III. I think the three I’s are for Incompetent, Inept and and Inadequate. He’s had III costly mistakes in the last two games that have cost his team wins in both games. But my ire is not aimed at his on the field mistakes. Those are obvious and too easy to call out.
The reason it’s time to LOWER THE BOOM on Marion Barber is for his cowardly approach in ditching and ducking the media since last weekend’s folly in Denver. It’s time for Barber to stand up like a man and take it like a man.
ESPN bobble head Steve Young called out Brian Urlacher for his “he[Tebow]’s a good running back” post-game comments. Could Urlacher have tip-toed around the obvious? Sure. But at least he faced the cameras and took his medicine (and his cheap shot) like a man.
Barber’s Bears career hasn’t exactly gone according to plan. First he got injured in the preseason and missed the first few weeks of the regular season. In his first real action, he scored a touchdown, but had an epic backflip failed celebration. Over the last couple of weeks, when his team needed a veteran presence to steady and calm an inexperienced offense, Barber has had the opposite effect.
Barber isn’t a young rookie so he knows how this goes. The league office will send the collection plate Marion’s way if he doesn’t speak to the media this week:
"Barber, who routinely declines interview requests, avoided the media Wednesday but vowed to speak Thursday. If he fails to talk by Friday, he is expected to be assessed a $10,000 fine, according to a source. If Barber maintains his silence during the practice week and doesn’t speak to reporters after Sunday’s matchup with the Seahawks, he would face an additional $20,000 fine."
Like the rest of that horrible Broncos game and the current III game losing streak, it’s time to put all of this behind us. The sooner Barber goes in front of the media and addresses the gorilla in the room, the sooner we can move on the Seahawks and the business of trying to salvage the season.