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Hayes: Turns out, Barbre is a good player

AS DOUG Pederson's new coaching staff set into evaluating the Eagles roster, offensive-line coach Jeff Stoutland, the most important holdover from Chip Kelly's staff, harped on one point in particular:

AS DOUG Pederson's new coaching staff set into evaluating the Eagles roster, offensive-line coach Jeff Stoutland, the most important holdover from Chip Kelly's staff, harped on one point in particular:

There was no need to replace left guard Allen Barbre.

"I know we got Peters and Lane and Kelce, but this guy's a good football player. This guy's a good football player," Stoutland said.

Tackles Jason Peters and Lane Johnson and center Jason Kelce were the foundation of the line, but the guard positions were unsettled. As the Birds considered free-agent upgrades and graded college players for the draft, Stoutland, in his gut-punch staccato, re-emphasized: "I'm just telling you: Don't underestimate this guy. This guy's a good football player."

The Eagles added Brandon Brooks in free agency to play right guard, then very clearly set about to replace Barbre. They signed veteran Stefen Wisniewski for about $1.5 million. They drafted Isaac Seumalo in the third round. They took Halapoulivaati Vaitai in the fifth round.

Why not? Barbre had been adequate as a fallback starter after Kelly cut Pro Bowl left guard Evan Mathis in the offseason but before 2015 he had started just eight games in his seven previous seasons, spent with four different teams. He had missed the 2012 season after serving a four-game suspension for testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs while with the Seahawks. He would be 32 in 2016, making $1.75 million but with minimal salary-cap repercussions if he was cut - really, as unremarkable as they come.

The unremarkable has become an irreplaceable.

Johnson will begin serving a 10-game suspension as a repeat PED offender Sunday. The original plan was for Barbre to move to right tackle, with Wisniewski moving into left guard. Instead, Vaitai will start at right tackle.

The problem: Barbre is just playing too well to be moved. How do we know this? Because Vaitai has yet to play an NFL game. His coaches say he has improved in practice, but why put rookie quarterback Carson Wentz in peril? It would make more sense to stick with the original plan, move Barbre to right tackle, where he has started eight NFL games . . . unless, of course, Barbre was too precious on the left side.

The Eagles rank third in points per game. They have allowed seven sacks, tied for second-fewest in the league. They cannot afford to tinker too much.

Not a bad endorsement for a guy whose job seemed to be in peril.

"It has always been his job," said offensive coordinator Frank Reich, who understands why onlookers considered Barbre's position in peril. "It might have been a perception out there, but in here you'd hear 'Stout' talk about him as a player. It was glowing remarks. Sure, you're always looking to get better at every position and add depth. He's proving to me what I heard when we got here."

There has been plenty of proof in the past two games.

Against the Steelers, Barbre blocked two different pass rushers on Brent Celek's 22-yard catch; destroyed safety Sean Davis with an open-field block on Darren Sproles' 40-yard catch-and-run; stood up Stephon Tuitt on Celek's 15-yard catch early in the second quarter; then foiled Tuitt's stunt on a 73-yard catch-and-run by Sproles. He pulled and sprung Smallwood for two big gains on consecutive plays midway through the third quarter, then pulled again and escorted Wendell Smallwood into the end zone for a knockout TD.

Barbre was just as good Sunday at Detroit. He cleared out Miles Killebrew on Sproles' 15-yard run and opened the hole on Sproles' 10-yard run, the two key plays on the Eagles' first touchdown drive. His pancake block of Armonty Bryant early in the fourth quarter freed Sproles for the 10 yards that got the Eagles into range for the go-ahead field goal.

Barbre might not be going to the Pro Bowl, but it ain't broke.

Certainly, Barbre saw all the new blood.

"I wasn't sure what would happen," he said. "I knew I could play football. I started 16 games last year, and I don't think I played that badly last year."

Last year he was a part of an offense that, because of Kelly's oversimplified scheme, became painfully predictable.

"We got into some bad situations in that offense," Barbre said. "If you get into bad situations early in the series or early in the down, or when you're backed up all the time and teams know you're passing 40 times a game out of no-huddle, that's tough sledding. That's sledding uphill, really."

Pederson and Reich have made the sledding much easier this season.

"He's played great," Reich said. "He's known as a good pass blocker but we've found that he has good vision as a pulling guard. He has a knack, good instincts, toughness."

And humility.

"I've learned: Don't try to do too much. Don't try to do other people's jobs," Barbre said.

"It's like playing golf: With him, you don't get bad misses," Reich said. "He might not shoot 8-under-par, but he's going to shoot par every time. And he's going to make a few birdies, as you've seen."

The young guns might keep coming, but Barbre knows that steady play and big shots here and there keep lots of old pros on the tour.

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