 Marion Barber during a 2007 regular season game |
|
| No. 24 Chicago Bears | |
| Running back | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Date of birth: June 10, 1983 | |
| Place of birth: Plymouth, Minnesota | |
| Height: 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | Weight: 220 lb (100 kg) |
| Career information | |
| College: Minnesota | |
| NFL Draft: 2005 / Round: 4 / Pick: 109 | |
| Debuted in 2005 for the Dallas Cowboys | |
| Career history | |
|
|
| Roster status: Active | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
|
|
| Career NFL statistics as of Week 15, 2011 | |
| Rushing yards | 4,780 |
| Rushing average | 4.1 |
| Rushing TDs | 53 |
| Stats at NFL.com | |
Marion Sylvester Barber III (born June 10, 1983) is an American football running back for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the fourth round of the 2005 NFL Draft. He played college football at Minnesota.
Barber was selected to the Pro Bowl in 2007. He is the older brother of Houston Texans safety Dominique Barber and the son of former New York Jets running back Marion Barber, Jr..
|
Contents
|
Early years
Barber attended Wayzata High School located in Plymouth, Minnesota and was a standout in football, baseball and track. In football, he was a SuperPrep and PrepStar All-Midwest and consensus All-State honoree as a senior running back and as a defensive back. During his last season with the Trojans, he amassed 1,778 rushing yards with 18 touchdowns and led his team with 10 interceptions (3 of which came against Gatorade National Player of the Year and future Minnesota Twins catcher Joe Mauer).[1] In baseball, he was an Honorable Mention All-Conference center fielder. In his first and only track season, Barber qualified for the 2001 Minnesota State Class AA Championships in the 100 meters. He finished the season with a 100m time of 10.9 seconds.[2]
College career
Like his father, he played college football at the University of Minnesota, finishing second on the school's all-time list for rushing touchdowns with 35, one better than his father, Marion Barber Jr.. He also teamed up with other star Minnesota running back Laurence Maroney in his final year at college to form one of the best duo backs in the nation.
Professional career
Dallas Cowboys
2005
After forgoing his senior season, he was selected in the fourth round (109th overall) of the 2005 NFL Draft by the Dallas Cowboys. A toe infection that required surgery and some preseason fumbles left him at the bottom of the depth chart. An injury to Julius Jones and the ineffectiveness of Anthony Thomas allowed Barber to emerge, and he responded with 95 yards rushing against Seattle and 127 yards against Arizona. Along with his pass-blocking and special teams abilities, this solidified his position as the backup running back for the Cowboys.
2006
Barber found a niche as a third-down rusher and emerged as an excellent red-zone rusher. He led the NFC with 14 rushing touchdowns in 2006. Barber finally established his role and ability as a power back.
2007
Entering the 2007 NFL regular season, many Dallas fans called for Cowboys coach Wade Phillips to name Barber the starting tailback. However, Phillips continued to utilize the "running back by committee," sharing the load with Cowboys starting running back Julius Jones. This approach was instituted by former coach Bill Parcells.
Jim Johnson, the Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator, called Barber the hardest running back in the NFL to bring down.
During the 2007 season, Barber's power running back style earned him the nickname Marion the Barbarian and he was the league leader in breaking tackles, reflecting his personal mantra of "hit or get hit." Barber rushed for 975 yards on 204 carries and 10 rushing touchdowns with a 4.8 yards-per-carry rushing average. He caught 44 passes for 282 yards and two touchdowns.
On December 18, 2007, he was named to his first Pro Bowl despite officially being a backup.[3] Barber received the start in the divisional playoff loss to the New York Giants.[4]
2008
Dallas offered Barber, now as an unquestionable starter to the team, the highest tender as a restricted free agent. On May 20, 2008, he signed a seven-year deal, $45 million with the Cowboys with $16 million guaranteed.
2009
The emergence of Tashard Choice and Felix Jones, and injury problems limited his success during the 2009 season. However, he played in 15 games despite a torn quadriceps muscle.[5]
2010
Barber had a disappointing 2010 season as the entire Cowboys team struggled from game one. In 13 games Barber rushed for 374 yards on 113 carries for a 3.3 yard per carry average, the lowest of his career. His 4 rushing touchdowns were also the lowest of his career.
Chicago Bears
2011
Barber was released by Dallas on July 28, 2011.[6] On July 30, 2011, the Bears signed Barber to a two-year, $5 million contract.[7] Barber beat out Chester Taylor (as Chester Taylor got cut) for the Chicago Bears' 2nd string Running Back position after Matt Forte.
On August 27 in the third pre-season game, Barber hurt his calf muscle and missed the first three games of the regular season due to the injury.
In the 2011 season Barber had 422 yards on 114 carries.
Career statistics
| Season | Team | GP–GS | Rushing | Receiving | Fumbles | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Att | Yards | Avg. | Long | TD | Rec | Yards | Avg | Long | TD | FUM | Lost | |||
| 2005 | Dallas Cowboys | 13–2 | 138 | 538 | 3.9 | 28 | 5 | 18 | 115 | 6.4 | 21 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 2006 | 16–1 | 135 | 654 | 4.8 | 25 | 14 | 23 | 196 | 8.5 | 26 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2007 | 16–0 | 204 | 975 | 4.8 | 54 | 10 | 44 | 282 | 6.4 | 29 | 2 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2008 | 15–13 | 238 | 885 | 3.7 | 35 | 7 | 52 | 417 | 8.0 | 70 | 2 | 7 | 3 | |
| 2009 | 15-15 | 214 | 932 | 4.4 | 35 | 7 | 26 | 221 | 8.5 | 42 | 0 | 2 | 2 | |
| 2010 | 13-10 | 113 | 374 | 3.3 | 25 | 4 | 11 | 49 | 4.5 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 929 | 3,984 | 4.3 | 54 | 43 | 163 | 1,231 | 7.6 | 70 | 6 | 15 | 5 | ||
References
- ^ "Marion Barber, TB, Minnesota". USA Today. May 18, 2005. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/2005draft/Barber,Marion-TB-Minnesota.htm.
- ^ Mshsl Boys' Class Aa Championships
- ^ 2008 Pro Bowl rosters
- ^ ESPN - Dallas' Barber to start at running back against Giants - NFL
- ^ Barber Suffered Torn Quad in Week 2
- ^ Rosenthal, Gregg. "Release Tracker". Pro Football Talk. http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/07/28/release-tracker/. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
- ^ McClure, Vaughn. "Bears add former Cowboys RB Barber". Chicago Tribune. http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/breaking/chi-110731-chicago-bears-marion-barber,0,6401012.story. Retrieved 30 July 2011.[dead link]
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Marion Barber III |
|
||||||||
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
