Unsourced Claims Of Talib’s Demise
April 24th, 2011
Bucs beat writer Rick Sroud, of the St. Pete Times, makes a pile of bold, unsourced statements today in a piece about the Bucs organization planning to dump Aqib Talib.
Joe is a bit skeptical — only because Stroud offers no source, not even an anonymous one. Here’s just one of Stroud’s statements that say the Bucs have written off Talib.
As far as the Bucs are concerned, the outcome of the case won’t matter. They know Talib at the least faces a long league suspension.
The Bucs have reached a point where they believe Talib’s talent no longer justifies the trouble he generates. They believe it’s only a matter of time before he runs afoul of the rules again.
That’s why general manager Mark Dominik made it clear last week that the Bucs have altered their draft plans to include selecting a cornerback.
Joe suggests you click through above to the whole story and read all of Stroud’s assertions.
First, Joe’s not seeing where Dominik made it clear publicly that the Bucs “altered” their draft plans to grab a cornerback. Joe’s heard Dominik say the exact oppostite.
And if Talib gets off without admitting to using a gun, an outcome that seems quite plausible, why would Roger Goodell give Talib a long suspension, as Stroud claims?
What punishment is Talib really going to get if the only thing certain is that he ran to the aid of his sister and attacked her alleged abuser without using a gun?
Joe’s just not buying Stroud’s claims yet.
Talib’s Dallas attorney Frank Perez told JoeBucsFan.com that he “expects to take the case to the grand jury and have it resolved there,” meaning Talib would not be indicted. “We’ve interviewed 17 or 19 witnesses and none of them say Aqib Talib had a gun. He wasn’t handling a gun,” Perez said.
Joe believes the Bucs will wait on the outcome of the case and Goodell’s subsequent decision before making their own call on Talib. Mark Dominik and Raheem seem to take pride in being patient and calculating.
April 24th, 2011 at 10:50 am
I thought Dom was already on record saying how these “transgressions” would not change the way the Bucs drafted?
April 24th, 2011 at 11:00 am
Just another case of Stroud taking off on someone he doesn’t care for. I suppose now that Gruden is gone so he can’t tear him apart and he doesn’t have Rich McKay’s ass to kiss anymore he’s decided to go after one of the players with unsubstantiated allegations.
April 24th, 2011 at 11:25 am
The Azz Clown will never play another down for the Bucs !
April 24th, 2011 at 11:41 am
Good thing Talib hangs out with mostly Buc fans.
April 24th, 2011 at 11:49 am
I’ve had enough of this Talib speculation and I’m not going to give credence to another word until I hear those words from Mark Dominik’s mouth! Dominik is a business man, and no way is he going to get rid of Talib out of anger. Talib has serious trade value – the Eagles would call in Father Dungy to mentor this guy and have a pair of wings on him as soon as he’s cleared to play.
April 24th, 2011 at 12:05 pm
Joe, that’s not how the Grand Jury works. Perez doesn’t take ANYTHING to the Grand Jury. It’s only the Prosecutor and the Grand Jurors. If Perez thinks he can, then Talib needs a new lawyer.
April 24th, 2011 at 12:18 pm
Joe, I agree with you now. I read PFT and Stroud’s report. I didn’t get that from what Dom said either. I still feel Talib is a bad egg overall, but if he does get off without indictment, it is hard to fire him or suspend him. I don’t know that I still want him on the team, but it’s one thing for us fans to bash or condemn Talib here, and another for someone like Stroud to do it in print, without naming a source. Still, I have to say that many things Stroud reports are true and come to fruition. I would be more inclined to believe Bucs’ reports after the Draft than right now during the Spin and Deception Period.
April 24th, 2011 at 12:25 pm
A fifth round pick is “serious trade value?”
If Dominik could get anything for him, Talib won’t be cut.
April 24th, 2011 at 3:52 pm
My question is this: If it is proven Talib never handled a gun (and that’s a big “if”), how can he be suspended at all? If all he did was come to his sister’s aid, and used no weapons, what exactly did he do wrong? Are you not able to protect your family? And even if he does get suspended, surely it couldn’t be for more than a couple games. If it’s for more than that, I would sue the NFL if I was Talib. I understand that because of his past actions he loses the benefit of the doubt, but I’m still waiting for evidence (other than that of Billings) to say he did have a weapon. If it is determined he is completely innocent (long shot I know), does everyone still want him cut? If so, it sounds to me like his fate was predetermined by the fans, and they are just waiting for an excuse to get rid of him.
April 24th, 2011 at 3:59 pm
I have to say…I thought before I read Stroud’s article that he was doing an editorial, offering up opinion.
But he literally said “the Buccaneers have decided”.
You know what this looks like to me? It looks like Stroud is trying to break a story before anyone else and taking a gamble that it will come true.
It’s not good reporting…it’s making the news. And you know what? He’s only hurting himself.
Every national news source, including espn and nfl network, is going to report that Rick Stroud is reporting that….
And when it does not happen? He’s going to look like what he is…a hack.
April 24th, 2011 at 4:17 pm
I hope Mr. Stroud has valid and respectable Buc sources, because his story has gone viral. Every major sports website I’ve visited is reporting his story this morning. The Bucs are going to be forced to come out and address this. It is going to amaze me if the Bucs officially released this story this way. This is going to be very interesting!
April 24th, 2011 at 4:25 pm
I have to sometimes wonder if Stroud and Dominick are golf buddies or something. It isn’t the first time Stroud has a dropped a bomb first. I would not be surprised if this information did come directly from the horse’s mouth. It just seems odd that Stroud would be so irresponsible, but who knows, he could be. But as Joe says, trading Talib makes so much more sense, and fits Dom’s M.O. much better. At least if you trade him, you can keep him out of our division, and even conference. San Diego would be a perfect fit for him.
April 24th, 2011 at 7:53 pm
Trade him to the jets so we can play against him in superbowl !!!!!!!!!!!!
April 24th, 2011 at 7:54 pm
in the superbowl
April 25th, 2011 at 1:16 am
Who cares about this crap anymore. The draft is here and I don’t care about a spoiled fart that wants to act a fool in Jerry’s back yard. Get rid of arse and let the trouble Cows sign him so he can be one with his kind of fellow dirt bag players. joe this is getting old.
April 27th, 2011 at 7:52 pm
Trade him to the Falcons so we can play him twice a year!