Ahmad Black Must Make Smarter Choices
November 7th, 2012
When safety Ahmad Black was coming out of the University of Florida, he thought he had the talent to be a first-day draft pick. He was not. Black slipped to the Bucs in the fifth round, largely because many teams believed he was a step too slow and perhaps not big enough to succeed in the NFL.
Black still harbors bitterness about this. Just days ago, Black took to Twitter to mock those who didn’t draft him earlier.
@ahmadblack35: Too small and too slow to play in the NFL right? Lol yea ok
Not to sound arrogant — and Black is not, he’s a good guy who Joe has gotten to know since he was drafted — Black also posted the following on Twitter.
@ahmadblack35: Blessed and thankful for everything….never forget to thank the man above for all your blessings!!
Interestingly, per a police report obtained by Stephen Holder of the Tampa Bay Times, the aforementioned Twitter postings by Black occurred after Black was pulled over for weaving in the small hours of the morning of Oct. 30 and confessed to police he had been smoking pot.
Now Black seems to be a smart guy from his dealings with Joe and, as Black likes to point out, sometimes a football player’s best assets cannot be determined at a glorified indoor track practice in Indianapolis in the dead of winter. There is a thing called “football smarts,” which often mean the difference between making an NFL team and bartending.
But given the date Black was pulled over and allegedly confessed to police he smoked pot, Black had to know about recent Bucs history concerning controlled substances from Tanard Jackson (who threw away millions of dollars if not a career because he couldn’t put the bong down) to the Adderall troubles of Aqib Talib and Eric Wright.
Black also had to know his team is woefully thin at cornerback, so thin that it’s a potential option that Black himself could start at safety if Ronde Barber is moved back to corner.
Look, Ahmad, you have the rest of your life to ingest whatever you want with no ramifications other than those in your personal life. However, you have a whole locker room of teammates that need you right now, need you dependable and on the field of play.
Black has now landed in the crosshairs of NFL warden commissioner Roger Goodell who may or may not fine or suspend him. In football vernacular, Black is now a target.
Joe thinks it is great that Black is using his bitterness over not behind drafted higher to motivate himself to be a productive NFL player. Sadly, he can’t be counted on if he is going to be getting smoked up enough to be a road hazard and get pulled over by the long arm of the law.
In Joe’s eyes, Black just has to be smarter than this. Look, Joe doesn’t care what one does on his or her own time so long as it does not encroach on Joe’s liberties or finances. More importantly, when a player does something off the field that could jeopardize his team’s on-field play, that’s when Joe gets angry.
This just depresses Joe. Black is smarter than this. Or so Joe thought.
November 7th, 2012 at 8:49 am
Pot is legal in two states now. It has begun.
Wonder if the NFL will still have it as a banned substance in 10 years when it is as legal as tobacco all across the country. It’s not like it’s a performance enhancer.
November 7th, 2012 at 8:49 am
Wow! New coach is so tough that it’s driving all the players to do drugs.lol really this has been a problem in Tampa for lots of years and it’s got to stop. See you at Walmart ahmad.
November 7th, 2012 at 9:01 am
Cut him!! Don’t even want him on the team.
November 7th, 2012 at 9:20 am
This is FL people! Weed and Coke capital. Can’t say I approve, but I can say he is an idiot for getting caught. Visine…and don’t carry around the sticky icky. you can smell it from a block away. and damn sure don’t “admit” it hoping the cops will be nice.
November 7th, 2012 at 9:32 am
I have to assume that Mark D has very little patience with this having just gone through it with TJax. This one will be very interesting to watch.
November 7th, 2012 at 9:39 am
Oh please. Given the popularity of this “drug” and likely widespread use of it in the NFL lets not jump to conclusions, that this guy is a degenerate who does not deserve a spot on this team.
Yes he messed up, but what team is not dealing with at least one player getting introuble for weed? Sorry guys, Ronde aint gonna be around forever! You have a guy here who has talent been playing with a chip on his shoulder and coming through when he needs to. If he should be cut for any reason it should be because he went to UF. Legalize and tax weed so this silliness
November 7th, 2012 at 9:40 am
Initiatives passed in Washington and Colorado that makes the recreational use of weed legal. One has to wonder if a Bronco or Seahawk player test positive and is fined or suspended, will it hold up in court? Other states will likely follow. Will the NFL eventually adjusts it’s posture on including this as a banned substance?
November 7th, 2012 at 9:41 am
Can’t be a better time than to clean house right now. The secondary is so bad, it will go un-noticed.
Cut all dope heads and start over. Send the message before these animals ruin a play off run.
November 7th, 2012 at 9:41 am
Oh please. Given the popularity of this “drug” and likely widespread use of it in the NFL lets not jump to conclusions, that this guy is a degenerate who does not deserve a spot on this team.
Yes he messed up, but what team is not dealing with at least one player getting introuble for weed? Sorry guys, Ronde aint gonna be around forever! And its not like this guy was trying to fenagle the system into using a PRESCRIPTION DRUG. You have a guy here who has talent and been playing with a chip on his shoulder and coming through when he needs to. If he should be cut for any reason it should be because he went to UF. Legalize and tax weed so this silliness comes to a close.
November 7th, 2012 at 9:51 am
Having a “criminal” record for a bag of weed is absurd. Sort of ironic that the people that condemn him are the same people walking around incoherent and shi-faced from booze at football games. Then they most likely get in their car and drive home…
November 7th, 2012 at 9:53 am
Well Tampa 2, the fact is that booze is legal and pot is not. That simple. So…dont smoke pot but drink what you want. Simple rule and Im not sure why these guys cant wait 15 years to smoke all they want. When teh rules change, by all means…
November 7th, 2012 at 9:54 am
Maybe he isn’t too slow or too small but he is definitely too stupid. This isn’t a question about whether weed should be legal or not. Legalize it please. However, it is illegal and black knows it. This makes him a colossal dumbass considering he hasn’t made any money yet on this level.
November 7th, 2012 at 9:56 am
Yeah what an “animal.” lol..funny stuff. Guy has a little pot and he’s an animal. Holy Fu-ck. Some of you should just look yourselves in the mirror, ball your fist up and start punching yourself right now
November 7th, 2012 at 10:02 am
DallasBuc, and Mikeck – I don’t disagree. That’s fair. I just don’t think this warrants harsh discipline. A warning and fine should suffice. He does it again, then suspend him for stupidity..
November 7th, 2012 at 10:02 am
We keep seeing this but it is not new in the NFL or to this franchise. I dont condone this foolishness but the truth is you cannot have a team full of choir boys. This is an unfriendly reminder of that truth.
Ahmad Black, you should pray that you remain employed after this season with all these DBs coming in the draft. You are sir are now officially a dunce. I am not judging because no one is perfect but risk management and critical thinking skills are painfully glaring as your flaw, not your speed or measurables.
November 7th, 2012 at 10:03 am
“Legalize and tax weed so this silliness comes to a close.”
Should they legalize driving after you’ve smokied the “legal” marijuana? He’s driving around smoked up! Alcohol is legal, but it ain’t legal to drive after drinking a bunch of it.
No matter your OPINION, it’s illegal – so abide by the law. Making the kind of money they make, it should be enough of a deterrent one would think. But most of these guys aren’t exactly rocket scientists.
November 7th, 2012 at 10:05 am
@J-VilleBucs84
Cut Black? hmmmm. Not going to happen anytime soon. He might get a one game suspension for getting arrested, but unless he tested positive he shouldn’t be subjected to the enhancement policy.
@Buc Fan #238
Clean house mid-season? He will be missed. Safety is the strong point in our secondary. If he was a cornerback then it wouldn’t of been noticed.
There are more pot heads in the NFL than you think. Most of them just hasn’t been caught “yet”. I used to smoke with a few during the off season. I do not condone smoking pot if your job require you not to. My job do not test for it, but I do not smoke since I quit like 6 years ago.
November 7th, 2012 at 10:10 am
hey guys this is fla weed is a crime , one year in jail possible, this is just lame if he is that dumb, then we dont need him or the others. lets get MEN who want to win not just get paid to get high
November 7th, 2012 at 10:36 am
Legal or illegal (depending on the state you’re in), it’s still a banned substance in the NFL and many other businesses. This is why companies do drug testing before hiring and often during employment. Just because it’s legal doesn’t mean companies have to allow you to do it and keep you employed. Just as I wouldn’t want any of my employees coming to work drunk, I don’t want them high either. The NFL is a dangerous sport, I work construction and we work with saws and other dangerous equipment. Any of my employees is injured while drinking or on drugs, they could lose fingers or worse and Worker’s Comp insurance will not pay benefits to them. Black is an idiot.
November 7th, 2012 at 10:37 am
I have to admit i too didnt really believe in Black when he was drafted. But i have eat crow in that he looked good. Still not there yet, but he looked promising.
November 7th, 2012 at 10:50 am
This just in….Ahmad Black has asked for a trade to either the Seahawks or Broncos.
November 7th, 2012 at 11:51 am
And it wasn’t even Friday…. shake my head
November 7th, 2012 at 11:55 am
Everyone who minimizes this pot charge, appears to not understand discipline. The rules of the NFL are pretty easy to understand, but some players are to stupid to adhere to simple rules of behavior.
If the bucs can’t count on this individuals ability to remain disciplined for 19 games, then cut him now, and find someone who can be counted on, he is not bigger than the team.
November 7th, 2012 at 1:26 pm
Sneedy
Yes I know they won’t cut him, but I’d definitly move him down the roster behind Cody Grimm. Grimm isn’t bad and has been a starter, so backing up Barber should be fine. Mabey deactivated him for a couple of games also.
It would just be a good message to send seeing as we’ve let go of some players already for off the field issues might as well are Defense isn’t going to get any worse and I’d rather not waste reps or game time play to a player who’s going to have off the field issues were who knows if it’s going to happen again. Time for someone to step up. I mean we let go of Hayes,Price,Jackson,Jones and trade Talib and noone can say are defense was better with any of those players. Someone can always replace you.
November 7th, 2012 at 1:48 pm
SMH I would have made the same mistakes at his age. It is hard to be young and responsible. The two almost don’t go together at all.
November 7th, 2012 at 3:56 pm
Cut him. Period.
I like Ahmad Black as a player…but the Bucs have a problem here. First Talib, then Wright, then Black…all drug-related issues.
The only way to stop this issue is to bring the hammer down hard. Real hard.
Now, Talib is gone. Wright is under contract and has cap ramifications. Ahmad Black is an inexpensive example to the young guys hoping to make it here.
The only exception would be if he was not guilty. From what I’ve heard, the officer did not see anything…he just smelled it. Ahmad Black admitted to smoking dope earlier in the day.
Aside from Black being an idiot for even saying such a thing, with that confession it pretty much shows he is guilty.
Injuries costing us players is bad enough. To have them do STUPID stuff like this is worse. I really don’t get where these guys’ heads are. Stay clean, play well…that’s all they have to do to make millions…and yet they can’t seem to do it.
November 7th, 2012 at 3:59 pm
Have A Nice Day Says:
November 7th, 2012 at 1:48 pm
SMH I would have made the same mistakes at his age. It is hard to be young and responsible. The two almost don’t go together at all.
.
When you were young, we you offered millions to do your job and did you see so many examples in your field of what happened if you screwed up? I was young once as well…and made plenty of mistakes. But if I was paid even $50K per year back then, I would have been a saint (scratch that…an “angel”; don’t ever want to be an aint).
November 7th, 2012 at 4:00 pm
Another thought…with three players drawing the attention, will this increase the number of tests given to Bucs players?
November 7th, 2012 at 4:06 pm
J-villeBucs Says:
…Yes I know they won’t cut him, but I’d definitely move him down the roster behind Cody Grimm. Grimm isn’t bad and has been a starter, so backing up Barber should be fine. Maybe deactivate him for a couple of games also…
.
I could live with that for a first time issue. Plus…Grimm has had time to heal up and learn the system. I wouldn’t mind a few looks at him to see if he has developed into something better. This would seem to be the perfect opportunity to do it.
We obviously need some sort of mentor associated with the team as well…a Dungy-type that can work with the African-American players, because clearly there is an issue amongst them. (and I do not say that as a form of judgement…merely pointing out that is where the issues are arising).