Anthony Barr among 2018’s most disappointing players

so far In the early portion of the 2018 NFL season Linval Joseph Jersey , whenever something has gone wrong for the Minnesota Vikings, it seems as though linebacker Anthony Barr is connected to it in some way. Whether it’s through any fault of his own or not. . .such as being stuck in coverage against a wide receiver, for example. . .it just seems like we haven’t been getting the Anthony Barr we’ve become accustomed to throughout much of his NFL career.Bill Barnwell of ESPN has taken notice of this, and in his column recapping the first quarter of the 2018 NFL season named Barr as his “Most Disappointing Player.” Here’s what Barnwell had to say about #55:I’m not going to speculate on why Barr hasn’t had the rough start he has in 2018 thus far, and as both Barnwell and I stated here, not everything bad that has happened to him so far this year has been his fault. I don’t know if Barr’s lack of impact. . .positive impact, in any case. . .is connected to his contract or anything like that, or if this is simply a matter of how he’s being used.After all, we heard this offseason that the Vikings wanted to use Barr more frequently as an edge rusher. I’m not sure if I’ve just missed it or whatever the case might be, but I don’t know if I’ve actually seen Barr line up with his hand in the dirt at any point this season. You would think that in the absence of Everson Griffen that the Vikings might be doing more things along those lines to generate more pass rush, but as I said. . .unless I’ve just flat out missed it, I haven’t seen anything like that so far this year.If the Vikings are going to turn around their defensive slide from the first quarter of this season, getting Barr back to making positive plays in both the run and the pass game would be a pretty solid start. Hopefully we’ll see some of that going forward, starting this Sunday in Philadelphia.2018 Season, Week 1: 49’ers News and Notes This week Kirk Cousins Jersey , our beloved Minnesota Vikings kick off their 2018 campaign this Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium, in Minneapolis.This is the real deal, kids.We’re finally past all the preseason hype, and Mike Zimmer and Company finally get to put rubber to the road.With that, let’s take a look at this weeks opponent:The Kyle Shanahan-led San Francisco 49’ers.San Francisco made some late-season noise in 2017 after acquiring quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo (no relation) from the New England Patriots.There has been a ton of talk over the offseason of the Niners challenging for a Wild-Card spot out of the NFC West.Coming off a 6-10 season, finishing dead last, that seems like a tall task, even with Jimmy G at the helm.The 49’ers on OffenseThe team was so impressed with Garoppolo that he was signed to a $137.5 million contract, including a $48.7 million signing bonus.And they wasted little time getting him some help, drafting Notre Dame Offensive Tackle Mike McGlinchey with the ninth overall pick in the 2018 draft.They also signed former Vikings Running Back Jerick McKinnon during the free-agency period and intended to plug him in as the feature back.In preseason, the team was impressed with McKinnon, but unfortunately he tore his ACL last week, ending his season before it even started.It sucks to see that happen to McKinnon.Injuries are a part of life in the NFL, and McKinnon seems to be taking the setback well, telling the Sacramento Bee:Here’s hoping that Jet makes a full recovery.The 49’ers haven’t been gun-shy about spending money on the offensive side of the ball.According to Spotrac Adrian Peterson Jersey , San Francisco is second in the NFL in cap allocation on the offense, committing a whopping $99 million.Yes, they signed Garoppolo and his contract is a big part of that, but the Vikings - who rank 14th at just under $78 million - signed a couple of guys named Cousins and Diggs to pretty hefty contracts, as well. What does the extra $21 million get them?Well, $4.45 million of it goes to fullback and Harvard-Alum Kyle Juszczyk.Juszczyk (ironically, pronounced YOOZ-CHECK), is the eleventh highest-paid player on the 49’ers roster.Keep that number in your head for a moment, $4.45 million.Now, think about this statistic:14 carries for 56 yards and a touchdown.That is Juszczyk’s career rushing total.Career!Who says going to Harvard doesn’t pay?Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo in entering his fifth season in the league, part of the same draft class as Teddy Bridgewater and Blake Bortles.He spent the first three and a half years as understudy to Tom Brady.At least one publication thinks Garoppolo is ready to take Brady’s place among the greats.The Sporting News’ Nicholas McGee states:Maybe it’s just me, but I’d like to see Garoppolo do it over a period of more than seven starts before crowning him the next Tom Brady.But throwing a football apparently isn’t the only “game” that ol’ Jimmy G has!He created a stir recently by taking *ahem* Actress Kiara Mia on a dinner date in Beverly Hills!No worries of Deflategate by the looks of things. (and, yes鈥?the link to her Twitter is most definitely NSFW)Sports Gossip website Terez Owens took a thinly-veiled shot at Garoppolo and Mia, while invoking the now-infamous Nike ad featuring former Niners QB Colin Kaepernick.It wouldn’t be right to end the Niners offensive wrap-up with a story like that, so I’ll leave it with this story instead:The 49’ers signed offensive lineman Zack Golditch to their practice squad late last week John Randle Jersey , after he spent training camp with the Los Angeles Chargers.Golditch is a 23 year-old undrafted rookie guard out of Colorado State University.Ordinarily, this would hardly be newsworthy.But Golditch’s story is a little different - he is a survivor of the horrific 2012 Aurora theater shooting.Golditch was shot through the neck, just below his ear.Thankfully, it missed his spine and any major arteries.There are a few pretty good stories about what happened to him that night, if you’re willing to do a quick search of the interwebz.The 49’ers on DefenseWhile San Francisco spends money on offense like it grows on trees, the same can’t be said about the defense.Only six teams spend less than the $58.5 million the 49’ers will spend this season.By comparison, the Vikings will spend nearly $92 million on the defensive side of the ball this season, good for second-most in the league.This is due partly to the fact that the 49’ers have recently invested heavily through the draft on the defensive side of the ball, and many of their best defensive players are still playing under their rookie deals.One player who is definitely not playing on his rookie deal is veteran cornerback - and longtime Seattle Seahawk Richard Sherman.Sherman was signed this offseason after rupturing his Achilles tendon in 2017.Sherman is part of the Players’ Association Executive Committee, and believes that another lockout is inevitable, when the current collective bargaining agreement expires after the 2020 season.Sherman told Joe Stiglich of the Associated Press:Kyle Juszczyk gets paid four-plus million dollars, and the owners don’t like that?REALLY!?C’mon!Hard to believe.As to this weekend’s game, Niners Linebacker and all-around special person Reuben Foster won’t be suiting up for the game, due to being suspended by the league because of his arrest on drug and weapons charges.He apologized for the incident and promised never to do it again.At least we won’t have to see him do this:Or thisRidiculous Quote of the WeekWonder if he’d want to bet 14 and a half years worth of sandwiches on that?