Four Ex-Bucs & A Costly Draft Miss On Display In The AFC-NFC Championship Games
January 20th, 2019
And people wonder why Joe has chronic indigestion, sleep disorders and 24 broken TV remote control devices in 11 years.
Meaningful January football continues today with the AFC and NFC Championship games. Bucs fans, as they’ve done for more than a generation, will watch and try to remember what it’s like to see their team in those games.
Four former Buccaneers will play today: 2007 first-round pick Aqib Talib, 2011 first-round pick DE Adrian Clayborn (Patriots), 2012 first-round pick Mark Barron (Rams) and former Tampa Bay special teams captain Josh Robinson (Saints).
When Joe thinks of Clayborn, Joe thinks of the defensive end selected just four picks after him, the guy with the Hall-of-Fame-track career, Cameron Jordan.
Jordan has never missed a game and he recorded his fourth double-digit sacks season this year — and his fourth Pro Bowl appearance. After a strong rookie season, Clayborn dealt with many injuries and has become an NFL journeyman.
In 2014, Barron was traded to the Rams for a fourth- and sixth-round picks because Lovie Smith didn’t like him. He was transformed into a linebacker by former Rams coach Jeff Fisher and has had a successful and lucrative run there. This has been Barron’s least productive season with Los Angeles/St. Louis, after missing the first four games with an ankle injury.
Aqib Talib, well, the Bucs unloaded him on the Patriots at the 2012 trade deadline and Talib’s career took off. It was hard to blame the Bucs after all of Talib’s shenanigans, but bad organizations like the Bucs typically can’t handle challenging players. Talib will be a Hall of Fame semifinalist one day.
Robinson has played in 11 games this season, plus last week’s playoff game, in the same role he had with the Bucs: special teams ace/rarely used defensive back.
At the least Bucs fans don’t have to watch former Tampa Bay quarterbacks in conference championship games any longer. At one point, there were four in 14 years: Doug Williams, Steve Young, Vinny Testaverde and Trent Dilfer.
January 20th, 2019 at 8:34 am
Jason Licht …….the Glazers could have done a better job picking names each round from players in mock drafts predicted as Bucs picks
January 20th, 2019 at 8:42 am
That’s what happens when you draft players that don’t fit coaches scheme and coaches refuse to adjust their scheme to fit the strengths of their players.
bad coaching bad coaching bad coaching
Hopefully BA and Todd Bowels will fix all that
January 20th, 2019 at 8:48 am
Barron was so bad at Safety he had to change positions to be on a roster, proving Dominik was awful
January 20th, 2019 at 8:51 am
@ Loyal – Agreed. Mark Dominik was worthless as GM…
January 20th, 2019 at 9:10 am
Drafting Barron is on Dominick…..NOT seeing salvage potential in Barron is on Lovie’s arrogance
January 20th, 2019 at 9:11 am
oh the irony Mark Barron was drafted to cover TE in the division, but never excelled in coverage.
January 20th, 2019 at 9:12 am
Well the front office in Tampa has no idea how to evaluate talent and the coaches don’t know how to use talent so this is not a surprise. Clayborn was always pretty good and Mark BARRON is one of the top zone coverage LBs in the league.
January 20th, 2019 at 9:13 am
What about Talib.?
January 20th, 2019 at 9:14 am
Since Barron left college his body had grown into the LB role. He’s bigger than Lavonte David. He just got too big for the prototypical SS. It’s not really Dominik’s fault that Smith couldn’t see to change his position. Coming out of Alabama Barron was revered as an NFL ready safety. But in Lovies defense at the time we were pretty set at LB already so there really was no choice but to trade him. It’s a shame we let certain players go early sometimes before they’ve had time to develop or find their best position. Some players thrive best in 4/3 and some thrive better in a 3/4. Unfortunately that is the nature of the beast and hopefully a respected criteria for drafting players to your specific defense.
January 20th, 2019 at 9:16 am
Bucs current gm has a worse record and still here …ugh!!
January 20th, 2019 at 9:19 am
Granny hassling and cabbie slugging Aquib?
January 20th, 2019 at 9:21 am
Yup
Forgot about talib
January 20th, 2019 at 9:26 am
I recall being so happy that while on he clock for the 7th pick, Luke Kuechly was still on the board! WTH!
January 20th, 2019 at 9:26 am
The hole that talk show dominik and incompetent loser lovie placed this franchise in are the main reason this franchise is the garbage of the league for the last decade!!!!!!!!!!!!! What a train wreck of those two hires that destroyed all hope of this team!!!!!!!!!!! Thank goodness that it was so obviously awful that most fans with any intelligence could see what a dumpster fire it was and stayed away and did not waste their hard earned money!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
GO Bucs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
January 20th, 2019 at 9:43 am
Yeah, Talib. More important to the result of todays games than Barron, AC, and Robinson combined. Talib, the future HALL OF FAMER, the best CB of his era — while Revis and Sherman ate up all the hype, Talib has outlasted and outproduced both.
Talib, who’s 10 Pick 6 touchdowns put him FIRST ALL TIME among CBs. More than Deion. More than #20. Most in the history of the National Football League
We traded a hall of famer for Will Gholston. This is why we suck. Well, that and moves like picking AC over Jordan, like trading Blount for Demps.
January 20th, 2019 at 9:50 am
Cam Jordan
Michael Bennett
Luke Kechley
Mark Barron
Aqib Talib.
This is the core of the next great Buc Defense that never was. Instead we prioritized giving away over $150 mil to Gerald McCoy, Revis, Fatty Baker, Eric Wrong, Dashon Golston, Brent Grimes, and other indifferent bank robbers without ski masks to replace the All-Pro/HOF talent we jettisoned in search for “Buccaneer Men”
And that’s without considering the DJ Swearingers, Bradley McDougalds, Rashaan Melvins, amoung others who we picked up for nothing and had no time for.
January 20th, 2019 at 9:51 am
Maybe awatalib will be kind enough to ley you losers KISS HIS RINGS…. bucs have never been able to manage talent from dungy the clown wasting whyche’s defenders to djax circus bucs have always been a laughingstock unable to manage talent.
Bucd can handle the career losing crying clowns like cancer93 that lose quietly and demonstrate they have zero desire to be great.
January 20th, 2019 at 9:52 am
Been saying it
I’d rather have a badass gm and average coach then the other way around
January 20th, 2019 at 9:55 am
We could have had Luke K, Micheal Bennett, Cam jordon. Talib, 93,
I am the biggest tide fan ever but when we took mark over Luke…
I fell out of my chair.
We had Bennett and could have signed him for nothing
#frontofficeblues
January 20th, 2019 at 9:58 am
Licht is far from a “football genius” but he had to come in and clean up Mark Dominik’s disgusting mess of a team… I would still rather have Licht than Dominik any dam day…
January 20th, 2019 at 9:59 am
Everyone knows that Dominek was so in over his head and incompetent as a GM yet Joe yes the very same Joe that we all still come to his blog for Bucs info and entertainment has lifted him up as a know all and be all of football knowledge. Now I ask you WHO is the stupid one!
January 20th, 2019 at 10:02 am
Given Kechley and Barron wouldn’t have been part of the same defense.
We could have been working with this front 7 circa 2013-14….
Bennett, Mccoy, NT, Cam Jordan…
David, Kechley, SLB
With a HOF playmaking #1 CB (Talib) behind them, and pieces like McDougald and Swearinger filling the safety spots. With an extra 1st and 4th round pick in your pocket because you never traded for Revis.
January 20th, 2019 at 10:04 am
@ Buc believer – Joe is not stupid. Mark Dominik has been kind to Joe so Joe tries to be kind to Dominik. No sense burning any NFL bridges when your trying to get info and scoops… I don’t blame Joe.
January 20th, 2019 at 10:11 am
All time pick 6 list
#1 Rod Woodson had 12 in 17 years, playing a lot of safety – which makes a pick 6 more likely.
#2 Darren Sharper had 11 in 14 years playing safety.
#3 Charles Woodson had 11 in 18 years playing CB/S.
#4 Aqib Talib has 10 in 10 years, playing exclusively CB.
#5 Deion Sanders had 9 in 16 years, playing exclusively CB.
Two other players have 9 pick 6s. Each played 14 years to accumulate those pick 6s, both are HOFers.
#8 Ronde Barber had 8 regular season pick 6s in 16 years, although the most memorable one in philly in the playoffs makes 9.
Point being? Talib. HOF. Mark it down.
January 20th, 2019 at 10:15 am
And Aaron Donald taken after Mike Evans.
January 20th, 2019 at 10:37 am
Lol Talib is no hall of famer, the guy has always been over-rated.
January 20th, 2019 at 10:37 am
Ronde could not carry Talib’s jock strap. Talib’s pinky finger had more talent than barber. Longevity is why you fools think barber is great not talent.
January 20th, 2019 at 10:40 am
Wesely
Cancer93 is overrated not talib who is proven winner… while cancer93 was preparing for doll battles talib was winning rings….
January 20th, 2019 at 10:47 am
Thanks @ Joe….for reminding me just how poorly we draft in Buccaneerland. A.Clayborn had a birth defect and we still took him over C.Jordan. I guess we thought that a guy with one good arm was better than a guy with two good ones. Now that’s a Bucs life for your ass. Go Bucs.
January 20th, 2019 at 10:53 am
Yes we sure have a talent for running off talent here. Also some more star level players like Penn and Bennett.
January 20th, 2019 at 10:55 am
You can’t complain about Mike Evans over Aaron Donald.
You can complain about Clayborn over Jordan (2011 1st rd)
Or DaQuan over Justin Houston (2011 2nd rd)
Or Mason Foster over KJ wright (2011 3rd rd)
Or using 2 4th round picks to get Luke Stocker (2011)
Or undersized pothead Ahmad Black over Richard Sherman (2011 5th rd)
Or RB Allen Bradford a few picks before Jason Kelce (2011 6th rd)
Or Barron over Kuechly (2012 rd 1)
Or trading up to draft Doug Martin in the 1st round when Blount is/was/always has been a better runner (2012 rd 1)
Or trading the 1st and 4th in 2013 for the right to pay a washed Revis $16 mil for a 1 year rental.
You can even complain about Geno Atkins going in the 3rd round in 2009 when we picked McCoy at 3, and having a substantially better career for a fraction of the price.
But you can’t complain about Mike Evans. Period.
That’s all.
January 20th, 2019 at 10:56 am
Maybe next year is the year we finally stop being a farm team for other franchises.
Maybe…
January 20th, 2019 at 10:57 am
@Gerald McRudd
Dummynick’s track record just looks better and better with age, doesn’t it? LOL.
January 20th, 2019 at 11:02 am
Everyone always plays the hindsight game. That is so wrong on many levels. Who the heck knew at the time that Kuechly would out perform Barron? The people who peddle in the hindsight game are just full of crap and are dishonest IMO. Barron was rated higher on most draft boards over Luke at the time.
January 20th, 2019 at 11:05 am
To be accurate, McCoy/Atkins was 2010 draft, and Atkins was pick #120 in the 4th round while Geraldini was of course #3 overall.
McCoy has 54.5 sacks. $110 million for 54.5 sacks.
Atkins has 71 sacks. $72 million earnings.
We’re a franchise that struggles to find value. Pretty sure one of our big splash FA moves wrapped around those epic 2011-12 drafts was to make Koenen the highest paid punter in the league. Brilliant!
January 20th, 2019 at 11:06 am
tmax likes the naughty boys…… interesting.
January 20th, 2019 at 11:13 am
Fire Jason Licht
January 20th, 2019 at 11:22 am
But yeah, Talib is the storyline headed into the NFC championship game today, 32 year old Talib. He’s the Rams ace in the hole to stop Thomas who torched em for 200 yards earlier this year. He’s not great? He’s an old man and he’s the best corner on a Super Bowl caliber team.
Here’s a fun comparison.
Revis and Taliib.
Revis is 33, retired, 2007 draft.
29 INT. 3 TD. $124 million career salary.
7x Pro Bowler (most recent in 2015)
Talib is 32, a #1 CB in the 2018 NFC championship game. 2008 draft
35 INT. 10 TD. Most all time for a CB. $64 million career salary.
5x Pro Bowler (5 in a row 2013-17) – every year since he left Tampa. And he was a Pro Bowl Caliber player when in Tampa who didn’t get the votes because…he was in Tampa.
Oh and he’s collecting rings. Then there’s that.
Who’s overrated?
January 20th, 2019 at 11:29 am
Barron seems to be the biggest mistake to me. He simply needed a coach who could find his proper position. That is a total coaching mistake.
Talib doesn’t bother me at all. IF we messed up so did the two best franchises in the league…New England and Denver also dumped him after short stays. Either his personality is toxic or his talent is overrated by JBF posters.
BTW when the other two teams dumped him he had improved his off the field behavior…so go figure. When we dumped him he was sucker punching cabbies and getting in gunfights with his mother. When we cut him he was a total scumbag…now it appears he has improved his personality but then why did the Pats and Broncos take a pass?
January 20th, 2019 at 11:44 am
BA, time to throw out the trash & bring in some new blood. And believe me there is a lot of trash to get rid of.
January 20th, 2019 at 12:01 pm
Let’s not criticize Jason Licht completely, the man is very good at bringing in camp meat and role players.
January 20th, 2019 at 12:08 pm
@Bucs Fan #7423 … “That’s what happens when you draft players that don’t fit coaches scheme and coaches refuse to adjust their scheme to fit the strengths of their players.” There are two other ways to look at it.
1 – Changing coaches every 2 (max 3) years always leaves the new coach with players who don’t match his scheme.
2 – We’re selecting the wrong coaches to develop & coach the players who’ve been drafted and/or picked up in FA.
Guess what; BOTH of those fall on ownership & management making the wrong decisions. Lovie was the classic example. Glazers hire him from the cellar of his Chicago home to resurrect the Bucs. His first action is to hire Jason … then proceed to gut the Bucs roster & bring in some real jewels like Collins & Johnson. First year under his ‘resurrection strategy’ Bucs go from 4-12 to 2-14 (somehow the leap of faith didn’t exactly work out right). But we ‘won the season’ by coming in dead last, picking #1, and getting a 20-year-old ‘savior’ with 2 years of college QB experience. Enter Dr Phil: ‘And how’d that work out for you?’
But that’s OK, the next year (2015) Bucs triple our wins & go 6-10. Lovie’s reward? He’s fired (actually should never had been hired … but I digress). Enter Dirk Koetter. Never been a head coach before, so we reward him by making him Head Coach AND Offensive Coordinator, and hitch his star to now 21-year-old Jameis. Dirk finds early success in 2016 (thanks to his DEFENSE getting it together for 5 whole games at the end of the season), but then falters to TWO 5-11 seasons. Dirk’s reward? He’s fired (actually should never have been hired as HC … but I digress again). Enter Coach Arians to save the day … PLEASE!
January 20th, 2019 at 12:47 pm
DooshLaRue Says:
January 20th, 2019 at 11:06 am
tmax likes the naughty boys…… interesting.
tmax likes winners… simple as that!
January 20th, 2019 at 1:01 pm
Joe, there’s CBD for your pains man….and a good offseason will help too 🙂
January 20th, 2019 at 1:32 pm
Now just about all of you can get off the Talib garbage. He was constantly in trouble here and just about everyone posting here and the site had enough and wanted him gone. It took other people and himself to realize if he did not streighten up he would be out of the NFL and probably in prison. So don’t try to rewrite history on him.
January 20th, 2019 at 1:43 pm
Perfect example of bad or inexperienced coaching. This is why I wanted Arians. I
January 20th, 2019 at 6:28 pm
Michael Thomas came up a little bit short of 200 today, eh?
4 catches 36 yards.
Talib now the #1 CB for 3 different Super Bowl defenses?
The resume grows. Every year it seems.
January 20th, 2019 at 8:33 pm
We made a mistake with Barron, but no one could have kept Talib around based on his “extracurriculars.” The guy was a human turd here. He had to go!
January 20th, 2019 at 8:36 pm
I hated the whole Talib situation here because even though he was acting like a turd and it was clear he couldn’t stay with that behaviour… in the back of our minds we all knew elite talent was walking out the door