Ageless Ronde Barber
November 8th, 2012
The way the Bucs ended last season and hiring a new, untested coach from the college ranks, Joe wasn’t so sure Ronde Barber wouldn’tblow the whistle on an incredible career.
But with a little cajoling over dinner with Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik and new Bucs coach Greg Schiano, Barber not only decided to return, but to move to safety, which seems to be a common move for aging cornerbacks starting with Ronnie Lott and continuing with Rod Woodson and Charles Woodson.
The move, and playing with young studs like Mark Barron, Mason Foster and Lavonte David, seems to have reborn Barber.
The numbers geeks at ProFootballFocus have noticed this too and are exalting in their reviews of Old Man Ronde.
Reports of his demise…
Last season Ronde Barber looked for all the world like a player that needed to retire. He was missing tackles for fun, and looking badly out of his depth at corner against the league’s best receivers. This season the move to safety seems to have revived him, and his +3.2 grade represents a season best. Barber was thrown at four times [against Oakland], broke up two passes and allowed just 19 yards on three catches.
Now Joe has gone on record disputing ProFootballFocus’s statistics on missed tackles. Joe sure as hell didn’t see so many from Barber.
But Joe does agree it seems like Barber is totally energized. That’s a good thing. And yes, Barber someday deserves to be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
November 8th, 2012 at 9:22 am
Ronde is an outstanding player, one of the better corners to ever play the game, but because hes so small Ronde tends to lunge at legs and wiff often. Thats a missed tackle. Their numbers are accurate.
November 8th, 2012 at 9:28 am
The real question is will he return next year to be a part of a playoff team with a dangerous offense and an improved, more experienced defense?
November 8th, 2012 at 10:12 am
I am not looking forward to the Sunday that Ronde Barber does not march out of the tunnel.
November 8th, 2012 at 10:30 am
Joe
I sure hope Rhonde is good for one more year with this team, he deserves his second ring, plus he can tell Warren, Darryl, and Johnny that he has one more than them at the induction.
I sure hope that the Glazers put all four of them in the Ring of Honor at the same time, they were a team.
November 8th, 2012 at 10:33 am
I find it amazing that Barber’s been able to make so many splash plays this year at his age, HOF
November 8th, 2012 at 10:38 am
Were already talking super bowl rings huh??? What an inspiration this guy is. He has been getting lots of attention lately and I think this year locked him in for Canton.
November 8th, 2012 at 11:05 am
It’s not everyday that a guy can switch positions and still play at an elite level. Someday HOF voters are going to look at this season and say “Remember when a new regime came in, installed a new system, moved Ronde to a new position and he still played like the best safety in the NFL?”
If he wasn’t guaranteed the HOF before, he is pretty much undeniable now.
November 8th, 2012 at 11:34 am
“Barber was thrown at four times [against Oakland], broke up two passes and allowed just 19 yards on three catches.”
Math fail…
Thrown at 4 times, broke up 2, allowed 3 catches…
4-2=3?
November 8th, 2012 at 11:37 am
Ronde is a class act. One of my all-time favorite players who I hope makes it into the Hall of Fame, because his resume is impeccable. Let’s not forget that he was named to the NFL’s All-Decade 2nd team for the 2000’s. He’s also our last link to the amazing Super Bowl team. I watch the Super Bowl DVD once or twice a year and it’s so cool to see Ronde pick off the McNabb pass in Philly (that never gets old) and remember that he’s still an active and productive player who so far has played every season of his HOF-worthy career with the Bucs.
It’ll be a sad day when he retires, so I’m pulling for Ronde to experience one more postseason trip with the Bucs, and if the team play continues to improve each week, I think we’ll get to see that happen.
November 8th, 2012 at 1:02 pm
Compared to the other likely Hall of Famers from the Buccaneers defensive dynasty, #20 is the one that I’m the most proud of. While #55 and #97 had tons of athletic ability and instinct, and #99 had a chip on his shoulder that propelled him to greatness, and #47 had the desire to get a running start and crush people, Ronde has merely pedestrian measurables, yet his work ethic has allowed him to remain in the NFL longer than all of those categorically great players, and by a wide margin. He started his career in an inauspicious way, (remember how bad he played early on?) and still, here he is, 16 seasons later, working hard and staying humble while still playing at a high level, even after a position change. His maturity and continuous desire to get better every single day should be an inspiration to us all.
November 8th, 2012 at 1:14 pm
This article is further proof why Ronde moving back to CB in a pinch would be a poor decission.
November 8th, 2012 at 1:20 pm
@piratic
Couldn’t of said it better
November 8th, 2012 at 1:42 pm
He has overtaken both Selmon and Brooks as the greatest Buc ever given his entire body of work IMHO.
November 8th, 2012 at 3:46 pm
From watching our secondary the past few years I have came up with a conclusion. We need to cut EJ Biggers immediately. Too many times does he get flat out beat. Watching the way Leonard Johnson came in and at least was competitive on each and every route. Johnson was running stride for stride with his receiver the whole play. Biggers will get beat so badly off the line that he relies on his speed to catch back up with the receivers, but with the speed of receivers now a days he is just getting point blank beat. There will be occasional plays during each game where he defends a route or two well. But far too many times does his man clearly create a few yards of separation. Add to the fact that he can’t cover, he can’t tackle what so ever. So what good is he to this team? I would rather try out Lewis and Gaitor to see what we have. We know what we have in Biggers, a guy who flat out can’t cover.
What 3 players were happiest about the Aqib Talib trade? Drew Brees, Matt Ryan, and Cam Newton, because now they can just throw it to which ever receiver has #31 trying to guard them. Watch Drew Brees play the Bucs, watch any good QB play the Bucs, they all pick on Biggers.