Twisting Aqib Talib History
October 20th, 2015
People have awfully short memories of Aqib Talib’s history with the Bucs.
It was almost predictable. Joe was on Twitter Sunday and the moment cabbie-punching, granny-hassling, gun-totin’, helmet-wielding, Adderall-popping Aqib Talib ran back a pick-six on Josh McClown, Joe’s Twitter mentions were filled with how the Bucs screwed up.
Yeah, right. (#Sarcasm)
Folks forget how much of a hassle Talib was with the Bucs, and while in Tampa, he never lived up to his first-round draft stock — but he did prove to be a first-class fool.
Teams will tolerate an imbecile so long as there is production. There wasn’t enough to keep Talib around. The Bucs showed more than enough patience.
Let’s remember:
* Talib got into a fistfight with fellow Bucs rookie Cory Boyd at the NFL Rookie Symposium, which basically is a class to teach young men how to be human beings.
* In a practice altercation with Donald Penn, Talib swung his helmet and missed Penn, instead clocking Torrie Cox in the grill.
* Locked up in a Pinellas County cage after rabbit-punching a cabbie while flying down the highway, Talib endangered the lives of untold numbers of innocents also using that same stretch of roadway.
* Talib got into a hotel lobby hassle with then-coach Raheem Morris in London.
* Who could forget Talib charged a referee in a tunnel after a loss at Baltimore, threatening bodily harm to said referee.
* Talib going all OK Corral in Texas landed him in jail with a felony charge.
* Testing positive for Adderall — we think. That’s what Talib claimed and the NFL does not release results of tests for banned substances. The positive test cost Talib a four-game suspension.
*And who could forget Tampa granny vs. Talib?
As far as his ho-hum on-field results, let’s never forget how Talib and the 2012 Bucs were blowtorched by Eli Manning and the Giants for 510 yards. Joe is pretty sure the branding Victor Cruz did on Talib is still visible to this day.
Why, Talib was so valuable of a commodity in NFL circles, that former Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik could only get a fourth round pick for Talib, and that was after Dominik sweetened the pot with a seventh-round pick.
Sp please, let’s not go the revisionist history route. Talib was an OK player — nothing more — with the Bucs, and he was nowhere near worth all the headaches and distractions he created.
For whatever reason, Talib grew up after being traded to the Patriots and good for him. But don’t try to tell Joe the Bucs threw away a Hall of Fame cornerback like Tampa Bay did two years later.
October 20th, 2015 at 6:15 am
someone else was able to straighten him out. It seemed we were only enabling him.
we failed where someone else succeeded. that easy.
October 20th, 2015 at 6:48 am
He absolutely lived up to his first round draft stock… during the games. I’ll concede he just wasn’t worth the rest of the hassle, but let’s not pretend he wasn’t a very good corner here.
As for that Giants game, don’t forget to mention the repeated and predictable jailhouse blitzes ordered by Schiano. It’s not like we were even getting to Eli! A veteran qb, line, and coach easily picked that apart. Even Revis would’ve given up huge numbers when left on that “island.”
Another of your articles, or maybe another commenter, said Talib needed order during a time we had none. He found that in Foxborough and in Denver.
For the record, I also miss Legarrett Blount. Again, maybe not worth the trouble, especially with Dougie running free.
October 20th, 2015 at 7:18 am
I think the Talib situation is case in point about the value of a strong head coach.
October 20th, 2015 at 7:31 am
This is a great article. Talib is a butt hole and a dingbat. It doesnt matter what hes done since he left. He was a class A turd when he was here and I was happy as ever to see him leave. Missing him is like missing a whorey girlfriend that hits on your friends!! Not worth the energy
October 20th, 2015 at 8:06 am
So he had a pick 6…..so what….we have players who have them…..I still think he plays very inconsistantly.
As for order & change of scenery…..maybe it was Talib himself that decided to change his behavior with a new start……like a new marriage….sometimes the personality change makes the difference.
Quit all this whining about players who used to be here…….
October 20th, 2015 at 8:08 am
Espo – I remember it completely different. Talib wasn’t that good on the field either. I remember the Atlanta receivers smoking him, then taunting him a little bit, getting in his head and he would be pissed off and worthless for the rest of the game. Have any stats to back up what a great player he was here? I could be wrong but I suspect they will show was average.
October 20th, 2015 at 8:43 am
Talib is a China doll. When you need him most he will turn up with an injury! Hip pointer, hamstring, grown pull, strain, sprain, etc. Ice up son!
October 20th, 2015 at 8:55 am
Some extremely talented guys are not worth their baggage. Talib and other bad actors like Greg Hardy fit that bill.
And don’t forget how much better a DB can be with an actual pass rush.
October 20th, 2015 at 9:32 am
DCBucsfan- I see you remember Taiban pretty well. When ever he faced a premere WR, Talibum would get eatten alive a few times- then the phantom Hamstring would appear, and He’d check out of the game
He sucked. Only an idiot would miss that P.O.S. One of Worst draft picks ever, And Chucky was Warned by Talibs College associates/Coaches, That Talib was nothing but immaturity and Trouble- and Chucky( horrible drafter) picked him anyway.
Unbelievable
October 20th, 2015 at 9:37 am
The only possible conclusion is that the Bucs lack a system that
develops players. We see it again and again, player after player,
head coach after head coach. The Glazers have allowed a culture
to develop at one Buc that is not conducive to the development
of young players.
Can someone please make an exhaustive list of ALL the players
who either sucked on the field or had legal problems here in Tampa
but then went to another team and became great players and/or
model citizens.
I’ll start:
Talib
Blount
Barron seems to be playing better
Lets fill out this list…
October 20th, 2015 at 9:44 am
You people are nuts. Talib was given every chance here. He ran out of chances and then some. They had no choice but to get rid of him.
October 20th, 2015 at 9:46 am
sure seems like denver found some other choices genius.
October 20th, 2015 at 10:07 am
Didn’t EJ Biggers get flagged for something on MNF? At least that’s a case of a former Buc not suddenly improving elsewhere. Yay.
October 20th, 2015 at 10:12 am
Most INTs in the league since he was drafted, we were a playoff team in 2010 until he got hurt.
All pro, pro bowler, defensive touchdown scorer (8x). We’ve found a suitable replacement for Michael Bennett, we can’t find anyone to do for us what Talib did and still does.
October 20th, 2015 at 10:59 am
Again I’m waiting for some conjecture. Bill Belichek could be starting Aquib Talib along side of Darrelle Revis yet he decided not to cash in on that golden opportunity. Why?
Why did Belichek let first Talib walk and then Revis?
October 20th, 2015 at 10:59 am
There’s no doubt Talib had to go. I knew he was going to thrive elsewhere, but even I knew he had had too many chances in Tampa, without great production to make it worth it. Quite simply, he just couldn’t be counted on. However, the problem was really on our end. First of all, we knew damn well what kind of person he was well before we drafted him. I’m just a fan and I knew it, so obviously the organization knew it. We picked him anyway. We just weren’t prepared to deal with him, which is a failure on our part. As Shaun King said, he needed structure, and we didn’t provide that. I’m sure even a huge anti-Talib guy like Capt. Tim could see he had an abundance of talent, but for whatever reason we weren’t getting the results consistently (he would have a game where he would completely shut out Steve Smith, then Smith would go for 150 the next game). It’s obvious we just didn’t have the coaching and structure to handle Talib, so we got rid of him. Trust me, they loved him in NE and they REALLY love him in Denver. It’s a shame we weren’t better prepared to deal with him, but we weren’t, so he had to go.
October 20th, 2015 at 11:05 am
@StPeteBucsFan,
The Patriots could never afford both, so that’s just silly talk. Revis had a $20M deal his second year, which no team would ever pay. Talib was a free agent and simply took the best deal. The Patriots are such a great team and organization they don’t need to outbid with other teams. They’ll simply just find another. Not sure if you’ve noticed, but Malcolm Butler has been killing it this year. They have the greatest QB in the history of the NFL and the most dynamic TE to ever play, so that can make up for a lot. Meanwhile, we get rid of guys to have guys like EJ Biggers replace them. See the difference?
October 20th, 2015 at 11:48 am
Before he was cut, as much as over a year before, I said that he needed the reality check of being cut to straighten him out. While here, he felt he was untouchable.
Don’t blame Mark Dominick, blame Raheem Morris. Rah let the kid get away with EVERYTHING.
And don’t pretend he was great in games either. He was constantly getting penalties and his teammates were always holding him back from getting in fights.
He needed to be cut. Frankly, I don’t care that he has done okay since leaving. I’m glad he’s straightened out some things, but he never would have unless he was cut from Tampa. He had to be humbled.
It was the best thing for him.
October 20th, 2015 at 11:56 am
He ran out of chances here, but has certainly gotten his act together since leaving. Sometimes guys need a change of scenery to change their ways. And sometimes, the Bucs just can’t control or develop players…
October 20th, 2015 at 1:04 pm
Cosell, you can make that statement for a lot of players on a lot of teams…they go on to their second team, and now they are 26,27 going on 30 end of contract Its just maturity.
There are tons of players who moved on that didn’t do anything after they left. Plus, and I’ve said this a million times, we need to stop changing coaches every two years. Because a player can be good but then we get a new coach and he doesnt fit that system, so he’s jettisoned…and now he fits someone else system.
Long time fans will remember how all the ex Bucs would go on to Super Bowl status, especially QBs. Williams to Skins, Young to 49ers, Chandler to Falcons (lost SB but still) Dilfer to Ravens, heck most agree if Vinny didn’t go down opening day 1999 he was on his way to Super Bowl with Parcels’ Jets. Different era now though
October 20th, 2015 at 1:23 pm
I get your point Joe, it makes sense. He was a headache.
But this is just another example of a player that has left us and become great – and never looked back. Its no coincidence that our team is poor with talent as it speaks to our ability to develop players. I remember one of the first things he said when he got to NEngland: “I feel like I’ve joined a real football organization.”
October 20th, 2015 at 11:08 pm
The Bucs screwed up.
October 21st, 2015 at 4:50 pm
Your mentioning the exception, every player has off games.
Aside from his then immaturity was his inability to stay healthy, namely his hip.
When he was on the field he showed more than not that he was great. I always said he was going to be elite and well he is.
All that said he was given numerous chances, and blew them. It’s sad to watch how great he is on another team. THAT is tampa history for you.