Barwin a conqueror of obstacles

For the ultimate Texans coverage, visit ultimatetexans.com and the new chron.com.
Also, see the best photos of the Texans at our special section on the Chronicle iPad app.
KEYS TO SUCCESS FOR CONNOR BARWIN
JOHN
MCCLAIN
AVOID INJURIES. Barwin suffered a severe
ankle injury that required major reconstructive
surgery in the 2010 season opener against
Indianapolis, costing him all of what would
have been his second season, but he came
back stronger than ever last year, starting every
game at outside linebacker in Wade Phillips’
new 3-4 defense.
On the Texans
MAINTAIN HIS INTENSITY. Watch the Texans
practice and you’ll see Barwin going full speed,
even when he’s only moving from one drill to the
next. His 268 pounds are all muscle – he packs a
serious wallop when he makes a tackle – and, as
a former basketball player, he’s unusually quick
and agile for a man his size. He plays both fast
and smart.
STAY PATIENT. Opponents are increasingly wary
of challenging Barwin, so his number of big-play
opportunities in a game have begun to diminish as
offenses try to probe elsewhere. Although his stats
may suffer because of it, he’s having the desired
effect. He’ll get his chances because the Texans
don’t have any glaring weaknesses. Teams must
come his way at some point.
PLAYER SPOTLIGHT
Barwin a conqueror of obstacles
HOUSTON CHRONICLE
Fourth of 10
Texans
win first
South title
FROM JUNE 30, 2009
Connor Barwin had no idea
what his mother was doing when
she had him face the wall before
she walked away. The talkative
18-month-old simply stood there
waiting.
Just a few feet behind him, his
mother started calling his name.
Connor didn’t flinch. No matter
how loud she spoke, Connor just
stared at the wall. His parents,
Margaret Bailey and Tom
Barwin, were shocked. Their
youngest of four sons was deaf.
Doctors told them Connor’s
right ear was easily correctable
with minor surgery and tubes.
His left ear was a different story.
He had a benign tumor wrapped
like a vine around the inside
of his ear. It would have to be
removed piece by piece over
the course of several surgeries,
and they would need to put in a
prosthesis.
“It was pretty advanced,” his
mother said of the tumor. “The
doctor was a Mayo Clinic doctor
who saw him at first and said
he must have been born with it,
because it’s actually something
that elderly people have because it
takes a lifetime to grow. Connor’s
had grown in a year. (The doctor)
had never even seen that before.”
Twenty years and several
surgeries later, Connor Barwin
is a month away from beginning
his first NFL training camp as
a rookie defensive end for the
Texans. He is far more concerned
with learning the playbook and
improving his technique than he
is with his hearing.
Surgery eventually restored
the hearing in his right ear
and left him with just 30 to 40
percent hearing loss in his left
ear. The scars remain. His left
ear has a large canal, which was
reconstructed with skin grafts
from his arm.
MOST
IMPORTANT
MOMENTS Date: Dec. 11, 2011
Site: Cincinnati
Score: Texans 20,
Bengals 19
Karen Warren / Houston Chronicle
Houston Texans outside linebacker Connor Barwin (98) leaps up to try to get a hand on a field goal
attempt by Cincinnati during the second quarter of an AFC wildcard playoff football game at Reliant.
The discovery happened by
accident. Barwin’s mother had
taken him to an ear, nose and
throat specialist who was seeing
one of her other sons. Before
they left, the doctor offered to
look at her little one as well. The
discovery shook the family.
“He had taught himself to talk
by reading lips, which was why
no one knew until the doctor
checked him at 18 months,”
Barwin’s mother said. “The
doctors say that occasionally can
happen. He was loud, and he
would talk right into your face,
and that’s a sure sign of how he
was teaching himself to talk.
“He has always been quite
determined.”
Barwin’s easygoing attitude
helped ease his parents’
anxieties. The one-hour
surgeries, which inevitably
would drag on for three or four
hours, were the most nerve-
wrecking for his mom and dad.
His surgeries were spread across
more than a decade, but Barwin
carried on between them as if
nothing were wrong.
By middle school, the doctors
had removed the final pieces
of the tumor, and Barwin was
deemed tumor-free.
For a while as a teenager, he
was self-conscious of how his
left ear looked. He grew his hair
a little longer to cover it. But that
phase passed, and Barwin rarely
thought of his hearing problem.
He never sat in the front of
classes like he was supposed
to. He sat where he wanted,
and if necessary, he read lips,
becoming adept at the skill.
He also continued excelling at
sports.
“Once he got the all clear, he
went on to be a normal kid,”
Tom Barwin said. “I do think his
coordination might have been a
little enhanced. His vision has
been very sharp. His hand-eye
coordination has been sharp. I
don’t know if any of that made a
tiny, incremental difference.
“But he’s always been
ferociously competitive. He never
complained about a thing. He got
over that just like everything he
has confronted.”
Barwin’s parents look forward
to seeing what’s in store.
“You never know ahead of
time when something happens
how it will be a good thing in the
end,” his mother said.
“Maybe his little hearing
issue when he was born kind
of instilled more determination
in him. Maybe that’s where that
came from.”
“Now we just trust that
whatever has happened and
whatever will happen is probably
the right thing, even if you don’t
see it right away.”
Rookie quarterback T. J.
Yates directed an 80-play
drive with no timeouts
remaining, hitting Kevin
Walter with a six-yard
touchdown pass two
seconds before time
expired as the Texans
clinched their first AFC
South title and a playoff
berth.
The Texans, who
committed four turnovers,
including three lost
fumbles, trailed 16-3 after
two quarters, having
allowed Cedric Benson
to run for 92 yards. But
Benson gained minus-one
yards in the second half
and the Bengals managed
just 81 total yards.
Yates found tight end
Joel Dresseen for a sixyard touchdown after
linebacker Brooks Reed
launched the Texans’
turnaround, recovering
a Dalton fumble deep in
Bengals territory early
in the third quarter. But
Houston still trailed 19-10
with 15 minutes left.
A 33-yard Neal Rackers
field goal preceded the
13-play Yates-led march
to the tying touchdown,
followed by Rackers’
decisive PAT, as the
Texans won for the 10th
time in 13 games.
CONNOR BARWIN’S 10 BEST GAMES WITH THE TEXANS
Nov. 27, 2011
Vs. Jacksonville
Barwin delivered
a monster game
on the road,
sacking Blaine
Gabbert four
times, hitting
him six times
and making
seven unassisted
tackles – five for
losses – in a 2013 victory over
the Jaguars.
Dec. 11, 2011
Vs. Cincinnati
The Texans
clinched their first
AFC South championship with a
20-19 victory as
Barwin made
four unassisted
tackles, assisted
on another and
forced an Andy
Dalton fumble on
a sack early in the
third quarter.
Oct 2, 2011
Vs. Pittsburgh
In a game that
revealed the
Texans’ defensive potential,
Barwin made
three tackles,
assisted on
another, sacked
Ben Roethlisberger and deflected a crucial
fourth-down
pass as Houston
held on to a 1710 victory.
Nov. 6, 2011
Vs. Cleveland
Barwin made
three unassisted
tackles – one
for a loss – and
sacked Colt
McCoy to help
spearhead a
thoroughly
dominating
performance
by the Texans,
who routed the
Browns 30-12.
Jan. 1, 2010
Vs. New England
The Texans still
had a shot at the
playoffs on the
final weekend of
Barwin’s rookie
season with the
Patriots in town,
and he came up
big with three
unassisted tackles and a sack
of Tom Brady as
the Texans won
34-27.
Nov. 13, 2011
Vs. Tampa Bay
With Matt
Schaub limping
on one good foot
in the second
half – he’d find
out the next day
that his season
was over – the
defense suffocated the Bucs
as Barwin was in
on three tackles
and a pair of
sacks in a 37-9
rout.
Sept. 9, 2012
Vs. Miami
The Texans
launched their
Super Bowl
campaign with a
convincing 30-10
victory over the
Dolphins with
Barwin contributing three
tackles, one for
a loss.
Oct. 18, 2009
Vs. Cincinnati
Barwin recorded
his first NFL sack
at the expense of
Carson Palmer,
forcing a threeand-out with
the nine-yard
loss, and added
a tackle as the
Texans won 2817 in Cincinnati.
Sept. 18, 2011
Vs. Miami
Barwin recorded
the first of his
team-leading
11½ sacks – tied
for third most in
the AFC – and
knocked down a
pass at the line
of scrimmage
as the Texans
went to 2-0 with
a 23-13 victory in
Miami.
Dec. 20, 2009
Vs. St. Louis
Barwin’s sack
for an 11-yard
loss on fourth
down ended
a Rams drive
and secured the
Texans’ 16-13 victory in St. Louis,
keeping what
would become
a four-game,
season-ending
winning streak
alive.