If Connor Barwin never improved a bit the rest of his career, he’d still be one of the best in the NFL.
If he rested on his laurels, there’d no doubt be many more productive seasons, many more Pro Bowls, many more big plays.
He also would be unable to live with himself. Because the notion of merely staying the same is offensive to Barwin.
No matter what he accomplishes, no matter how much he’s praised, no matter how many honors he piles up, Barwin retains the mentality of an undrafted rookie just trying to make the team.
And he vows that will never change.
“That’s what Connor’s all about,” outside linebackers coach Bill McGovern said. “He’s never satisfied with what he’s done or where he is right now. He’s one of these guys that comes in the meeting room, he’s taking great notes, he’s looking for one little thing to get better at all the time.
“'How can I give myself a little bit more of an edge? I can see what that tackle is doing.’ Or, ‘This is what that offense tends to do in this situation.’ He just has a thirst for knowledge and really thrives on experiences. He’s not happy just sitting there for a second.
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“He’s always looking for a way to become a better football player. There’s always something for him, and I think that’s what drives him and makes him such a great football player.”
Barwin is entering his seventh year in the NFL, his third year with the Eagles. He blossomed last fall with a career year, leading the NFC with 14½ sacks along with an interception, two forced fumbles, five pass knockdowns and countless plays that the stat sheet doesn’t see — pressuring the quarterback, covering backs and tight ends, setting the edge.
He set a franchise record for sacks by a linebacker and became the Eagles’ first linebacker to make a Pro Bowl since Jeremiah Trotter in 2005, the first outside backer so honored since William Thomas in 1996.
But rest on his laurels? Not Barwin.
“I try to evaluate my play very honestly, and there was some good play last year, but I know there’s plenty of room to improve,” he said. “So for me, that’s what it’s about. Doing whatever it takes to keep getting better, and trying to help the younger guys get better, that helps me get better.
“I just think there’s so much more to improve on, I’ve never really thought about that.”
Barwin is one of only four current Eagles to start all 33 games Chip Kelly has coached — Jason Peters, Cedric Thornton and Fletcher Cox are the others.
If you want to talk to Barwin after practice, you’re going to have to wait. While most of his teammates start filtering into the locker room soon after practice ends, there’s Barwin doing extra work with Marcus Smith or one of the other young linebackers.
Not just once in a while. Every day. He’s not just about himself getting better. He’s about everybody getting better.
“Connor’s not satisfied with anything,” defensive coordinator Bill Davis said. “Ever. It’s just how he’s made and how he’s built.
“He’s one of those guys that no matter what success they ever achieve it’ll never be enough, they’ll always keep working. They’ll always have a white-belt mentality. What I mean by that is it’s not like you’re a black belt and you’ve made it to the top. You’re a white belt and you’re thinking, ‘I can always get better, and it’s important to get better.’”
McGovern said Barwin’s constant drive to improve and his equally constant hunger for his teammates to improve really makes him special among the Pro Bowl-caliber athletes he’s been around.
“It’s what separates him,” McGovern said. “There are so many guys that have talent in this league. So you ask, ‘Why is that guy so good?’ They’re all talented. It’s those little things, the mentality that separates you, and that’s what separates him.
“Somebody is going to be a little bit taller than you, somebody’s going to be a little bit stronger, somebody’s going to be a little bit more explosive than you. He’s got all of that, but what separates him is his attention to detail. His manaical approach. The person that he is.
“That’s the big thing that separates the good players from the great ones. Everybody’s in the pack. Everybody on this level is big and strong and can run. There’s so many good guys out there and all of a sudden, what makes one guy come out of the pack? It’s that attention to detail. Attention to the little things. That hunger.
“He’s really special. It goes back to the kind of person that he is. He’s unselfish but he appreciates everything that he has. Think it comes from his family. Pretty special family, and he’s a pretty special person.”
Barwin disagrees.
He doesn’t seem himself as anything special. Just another hard-working guy in a locker room full of them.
Ask him about the sacks or the Pro Bowl, and he credits his coaches and teammates. Ask him about all of his accomplishments last year, and he says he’s just fortunate to be surrounded by guys like Vinny Curry, Bennie Logan, Cox and Thornton. Ask him about his never-ending desire to be the best possible player he can be, and he says he’s no different than anybody else.
“I just want to be on a Super Bowl team, I want to win a Super Bowl, that’s the biggest driving factor,” he said. “I want to be on a great defense and part of a great linebacking corps that’s looked at around the league with a lot of respect as far setting the edge, dropping into cover, rushing the passer.
“I don’t think I’m that much different than anybody else here. It’s an overused word, but it’s true — it’s part of the culture here. We’re all trying to get better. I don’t think I’m any different than anybody else in the locker room.”