Another Report That Aqib Talib Is Safe
July 17th, 2011
Much hand-wringing and kvetching and gnashing of teeth has taken place since troubled Bucs cornerback Aqib Talib was pinched for allegedly pistol whipping and firing a gun at a fleeing man earlier this spring in Texas.
After initial reports that Talib was a goner from the Bucs, information has trickled out little by little that the exact opposite is the case.
The latest report that Talib is safe comes from Jason La Canfora of NFL.com, who says his sources tell him that not only will Talib be on the Bucs roster through 2011, the case against him is shaky.
Soon after Talib’s arrest, reports emerged that the Bucs would release him. But according to sources, team hasn’t made a decision on the cornerback’s future and hasn’t set a timetable to do so. There’s every expectation that he’ll be with the team whenever the 2011 league year begins.
The Bucs haven’t made any recent public statements about Talib, instead deciding to wait on decisions by the courts and the NFL before making any determination about whether or not to cut ties with the No. 20 overall pick in the 2008 NFL Draft. Talib’s trial isn’t scheduled until March 2012, and sources with knowledge of the case said the level of evidence and nature of the testimony against the 25-year-old might work in his favor.
It sure helps Talib that his case won’t be heard until next season. Hard to run a guy right now when it is possible his charges could be lessened or perhaps dropped.
Does this make Talib an angel? Of course not. He still has to face the court of Roger Goodell, who is not bound by Texas law. But it’s difficult to issue Talib a football version of a felony sentence when his criminal charge could be a misdemeanor.
July 17th, 2011 at 12:44 pm
The only person he’s not safe from, is himself. That’s always been the case! He won’t quit screwing up. I hope he does, grows up, and moves past what must have been a hortible past!
But we can’t count on that, can we. Sign an intelligent CB( Nnamdi!!), then when Talib screw up again, it won’t hurt the team! And if he doesn’t( Unlikely, but we can hope), we have a great CB( Nnamdi) and 4 very good CBs( barber, Talib, Biggers, Lewis). Atlanta and New Orleans always use 3 Wrs, and frequently use 4! And we’ll be ready! With or without the self destructing Aqib Talib!
July 17th, 2011 at 12:46 pm
LaCanfora lost all of his credibility with me when three drafts ago he guaranteed the Chiefs were selecting Aaron Curry with the third overall pick he had sources inside the war room blah blah blah… Seconds after his announcement on tv the Chiefs selected Tyson Jackson and LaCanfora was made to look retarded
July 17th, 2011 at 1:52 pm
#25 is the man..Go Bucs 11-5 or 10-6 lets do this..lockout is over this next week..i could care less about this..just pick the ball off dude
July 17th, 2011 at 1:57 pm
I guess we have lost the America of my youth, remember the country where you are inoccent until proven guilty, and that you defended family first then worried about any concequences after. And never worried about the corporate goons bringing ANY wrath until the jury had It’s say…
I sure do miss those liberties.
July 17th, 2011 at 2:04 pm
Aqib Talib
When keeping it real goes wrong
July 17th, 2011 at 2:14 pm
No player benefited from the lockout more than Aqib Talib….I firmly believe that had there not been a lockout the Bucs front office would have felt the pressure from the holy rollers to cut Talib before he had his day in court.
The lockout offered a cooling off period and for Talib to tell his side of the story….along with the details about the other scumbag involved in this incident to come out. I’m not saying he’s a good guy……and I’m not saying he’s not……I’m saying it’s not right to cut a guy and permanently tar his image before you know all the facts.
For the sake of what’s right I hope the new CBA takes Judge/Jury/Executioner roles out of the hands of Roger Goodell and into some sort of panel that includes ex-players.
July 17th, 2011 at 2:40 pm
I’ve read that Goodell’s authority is one of the few remaining issues needing to be ironed out on Monday. NFLPA is trying to reduce Goodell’s sole decision making authority when punishing players. They also want to bar Goodell from punishing any player for incidents that occurred during the lockout. I’m thinking that Goodell won’t punish Talib until the court process plays out. Imagine Goodell suspending Talib now, just to have the charges against him dropped in a few months. Could turn into a big mess for him.
July 17th, 2011 at 4:02 pm
Decisions like that should go to a board. A jury of his peers, so to speak.
July 17th, 2011 at 5:25 pm
Capt. Tim,
I pretty much always disagree with you when it has anything to do with Talib, but I agree with pretty much everything you said. Signing Nnamdi just seems like a pretty smart thing to do regardless, but with Talib’s situation (and possible future situations), it seems even smarter. That being said, I’m not real confident we would outbid another team for him, since our secondary is still a relatively strong part of our defense. If we do sign him, I’m going to race every Buccaneer fan to get my Nnamdi jersey!!!
July 17th, 2011 at 5:36 pm
i think you mean alledgedly ATTEMPTING to pistol whip, i dont think he was ever accused of actually landing a hit…
July 17th, 2011 at 6:12 pm
Hall pass it seems….under the old rules….league will let this fly…unless a DA presses…last chance to act like a man…hope he gets it….the getting away with shhit card he has played so far in life….
July 17th, 2011 at 6:32 pm
If the Talib issue had never come up, would we be calling for the Bucs to sign Nnamdi? I think not. Now that we are pretty much sure Talib will be back, do you think Nnamdi remains a high priority? I think not. I don’t think the Bucs were ever worried about CB. They didn’t draft one until the 7th round. Didn’t seem like they were sweating bullets to me. They didn’t know about any cash salary floor, or whether Talib would be back, and certainly had no assurance then and still don’t now that they could even sign Nnamdi. I think Dominik is on plan and it’s not the Dan Snyder or Jerry Jones plan. If, and I mean if, the Bucs make a splash (top 5 signee) in FA, it will be on offense – more weapons for Josh Freeman. The defense did not win 10 games last year!
July 17th, 2011 at 6:51 pm
@Macabee, we weren’t playing the Green Bay, Indy, Texan and Cowboy offenses last year. If we want 10 wins again the defense HAS to be a lot better.
The fact is, behind Talib and Ronde we are very raw and unproven.
July 17th, 2011 at 6:58 pm
I’ve said it since day one. He walks,case is weak.
July 17th, 2011 at 8:39 pm
The best quarterbacks are in our conference, even Carolina loaded up at that position. Nnamdi is a shut down corner and we will have to start spending on payroll. The new salary cap floor will be the best thing to happen to our team in a long time.
The only thing better would be to sign Ruud, only to trade him to the Steelers for Harrison who has pissed off too many people.
July 17th, 2011 at 9:25 pm
K2, You’re right, the schedule got tougher, but in the words of Jamie Fox, “don’t be scurred”. Our defense is going to be much better this year. After Talib, we need another shoe to drop and that’s T-Jack – he needs to come back clean and in shape. Read NFP on rookies expected to make an impact in 2011, Ahmad Black and Anthony Gaitor are going to see the field this year. Biggers and Lewis are coming into their own. As for the competition, we’re playing 5 teams with new coaches and/or new QBs. Green Bay will be a handful, but they’re the same team, personnel wise, that we beat in 2009 – maybe lightning strikes the outhouse twice! Peyton Manning has had 2 neck surgeries and ReggieWayne is unhappy with his contract. The Texans are going to a 3-4 defense without the ideal manpower and they have major secondary problems. The Cowboys are yesterdays news, the jury is out on Romo, and they too have major secondary problems. That is why Nnamdi is going to get so much attention in FA, The Cowboys, Texans, Redskins, Eagles, And Lions are going to be in an all out bidding war for him. The Bucs do not need to be in that feeding frenzy!
July 17th, 2011 at 9:54 pm
@Macabee
Do you really see Gaitor seeing playing time behind Talib, Ronde, Biggers, and Lewis? Unless one gets injured – I’d like to see Black in the lineup at some point but I sure don’t want Gaitor in there unless the team us under duress to do so.
I agree with everything else though. I am not on the Asmuga (I’m not even going to attempt to spell it right) train. Our front office has added quality depth in FA recently without breaking the bank, I see no reason to change.
July 17th, 2011 at 10:12 pm
Your comment is awaiting moderation…. ?? What for Joe?
July 17th, 2011 at 10:28 pm
@Jrock, I don’t see Black or Gaitor taking any starters job, I’m basically repeating other opinions like National Footboll Post that believe high potential rookies like Ahmad Black will make an impact this year. If it is reasonable to believe that Gaitor could replace Elbert Mack, then it’s reasonable to expect to see him play on occasion as did Mack.
July 17th, 2011 at 10:35 pm
Surprising that 2.2 hasn’t commented, letting everyone know how he’s better informed as to how Talib’s case will play out than any of the sources close to the situation. It’s funny how people disappear when all their past statements of “fact” turn out to be nothing but hot air.
July 17th, 2011 at 11:35 pm
RustyRhinos:
Whenever someone makes a first comment or makes a first comment from a new IP address (different computer/smartphone), this site for security is automatically set up to wait for Joe to confirm this isn’t spam.
July 18th, 2011 at 12:29 am
I’ve been behind Talib since day one. Can’t wait to watch him own roddy white again this year.
July 18th, 2011 at 1:51 am
There’s no way that the Bucs will sign Asomugha. Why would they sign him for 14 mil. when they have a top 10 DB for under 2 mil.?
July 18th, 2011 at 2:01 am
FingHostile:
Bingo! More bang for the buck.
July 18th, 2011 at 6:21 am
FingHostile- if you are referring to Ronde- while he is , IMO, a hall of gamer- he is also 38. Sooner or later( sadly) he’s gonna start to show his age.
If you are referring to Talib, then one can only surmise that you haven’t been watching his career up til now, NPR have you been following the post all summer long here at JoeBucs.while Talib has some talent- he is nowhere close to Nnamdi(6’2″, 210#, 4.3-40). plus Talib has had two incidents of violence a year since he’s been here. Not curfew violations, not Drinking or pot, Violence! And each incident is more serious than the last. It started with his very first NFL activity( fight with Cory Byrd at Rookie symposium), and has continued to escalate. No intelligent person would have faith in him, considering this team is ready to start driving in the playoffs. If you want to give him more chances- go ahead, he has damaged his value so badly, he’d be cheap! But don’t risk the teams sucres by counting on him. He’s proven that he doesn’t care, and will let the team down at any moment, when he needs to play “ghetto Gangsta”. Nnamdi locks that spot down with intelligence, maturity, and great play for the next 5-6 years. That’s the guy you want to take to the playoffs with you!
July 18th, 2011 at 6:25 am
By the way- all the “protecting his family” stuff is B.S.! The child molester he was fighting with IS HIS FAMILY! . It’s his sister’s common law husband! They have a long history of violence. This , sadly, is where the poor guy comes from. I feel bad for him, but not enough to trust him not to screw up Freeman’s hard work!!
July 18th, 2011 at 6:43 am
Capt. Tim,
You are dead wrong about Billings being HIS family (implying that he isn’t protecting his sister because Billings is married to her). I don’t know if you have any siblings, but if you do you should know how false that statement truly is. I don’t care if my sister and her husband have 12 kids together and have been married for 30 years, if he ever lays a hand on her, I’m whooping his arse. Yeah he’s family, but it’s not the same, never will be, and never could be.
I’m with you that Talib is a huge risk to have more issues, and that Nnamdi would be an unbelievable addition (although I don’t think it’s actually going to happen-hope I’m wrong), but I disagree with your assessment of this particular situation. Of all his previous issues, this one bothers me the least (once I learned the facts). It all comes down to who you believe. I refuse to believe the very weak case of someone like Billings, who makes Talib look like Tim Tebow. If facts come out differently, I will admit I was wrong. However, from what I have read, I don’t see that as a very strong possibility.
July 18th, 2011 at 7:46 am
For what it will cost to sign Nmandi(sp?) we can pretty much get J. Joseph and one of the top FA safeties(Roman harper, Eric weddle) or another corner like Carlos Rogers…that would give us crazy DB depth in league where having 4-5 very good corners an cover safeties is key to winning….that would be a better investment. I know he’s amazing but Asomugha can only cover one guy…
July 18th, 2011 at 10:14 am
drop the loser.he had too many breaks
July 18th, 2011 at 2:03 pm
capt tims sources have told him that we are cutting talib and getting nnamdi, everything from him on this situation is the truth, because he has feelers deep in to one buc place, and they are giving him all the info. Tim i am still waiting for those magical sources, who are they and when can i expect talib to be cut.
July 18th, 2011 at 3:37 pm
Talib deserves a hefty contract extension. Best defender we have.
July 19th, 2011 at 7:08 am
Jarrett and Flyboy- just keep playing “Grand theft Auto”, and continue with the” gangsta” worship. Us adults are trying to talk. 12 year old chat time is later
July 19th, 2011 at 7:43 am
Answer my question tim
Dont act like your connected with sources then shy away from it when someone asks you about it. I can go back and and pull it up, your magical sources told you talib will be cut and we will get asomugha, so almighty tim tell me when will he be cut, who are your sources.
July 19th, 2011 at 7:09 pm
Captain Kangaroo: first, to my knowledge Talib has never been part of a gang much less been convicted of any gang-related crimes. Your wording reveals an undercurrent of racism. Second, I don’t play video games as I’m too busy running my own business followed by my social life in my off hours. You’re accusing others of immaturity for taking a particular stance that disagrees with your own, but isn’t it more childish to sling mud at others simply because you can’t handle differing opinions? Let me answer that for you: yes, it is.
July 19th, 2011 at 7:15 pm
“First Mate Timmy” would actually be a more appropriate handle.