Raheem Pondering Ronde Barber At Safety
September 29th, 2010
Raheem Morris has said multiple times that rookie free safety Cody Grimm played well Sunday except for his ugly miscue that led to the Steelers’ first touchdown Sunday.
Confidence in Grimm aside, the Bucs defensive mastermind/head coach said he is wrestling with moving Ronde Barber into the free safety position.
Speaking on The Raheem Morris Show on WDAE-AM 620 Monday, Morris said Barber, after 13+ seasons at cornerback, is a great fit at free safety but his great play this season at CB is a major hindrance to making the move.
“There’s not doubt in my mind, as Ronde plays out the twilight of his career here, that he can definitely move into safety and do some of those things for us that we get from our athletic safeties. We definitely think about it all the time,” Morris said. “Myself and Ronde have these discussions numerous amount of times.
“What was lost in the shuffle [Sunday] was Ronde’s game. It was lost in the confusion. How fast, how hard and how he played [Sunday] was unbelievable. He had eight tackles, one assist, two tackles for loss, and his effort on every single play was unbelievable.
“It’s so hard to move a guy that’s playing that high of a level at that position you do have him in. Because potentially you open up two problems. Now you’ve got a new safety and you got a new corner in, rather than having one new position. That’s always the fight I have with myself.”
Now, to give credit where it’s due, those who read former Bucs defensive end Steve White’s blog know that he’s been lobbying for Barber to move to safety since the day Tanard Jackson was suspended, so kudos to coach White.
Joe can’t argue with Raheem’s logic. Barber’s having a strong season. Don’t mess with what’s working. Not yet.
September 29th, 2010 at 12:27 pm
Until the issues at Free prove consistent, there’s no reason to mess with what Barber is doing.
I’d rather see Lewis get cross trained to see what if he might be the future there.
September 29th, 2010 at 12:29 pm
Minus the ‘what.’ Had a Raheem moment there.
September 29th, 2010 at 12:32 pm
We better do something before Tampa faces Cincy! Carson Palmer is not Charlie Batch, and will light us up. If our offense does not control the game vs Cincy, we are going to be exposed again. Hybrid Tampa 2 or not, any Tampa 2 is dependent on a pass rush. Give any QB even Charlie Batch enough time, and they will burn us. Especially Carson Palmer and the Cincy receivers. Tampa will be in trouble w/o a pass rush up there.
September 29th, 2010 at 12:34 pm
Rah is right on this one. The cure could be worse than the illness.
Didn’t Cini beat the Steelers twice last year?
September 29th, 2010 at 12:53 pm
Music to my ears – I’ve loved Steve Whites suggestion ever since he mentioned it. Talib on one side, Biggers on the other, Ronde at FS, Mack as the nickel DB. I think it would be a great move…and we all know Ronde is a ball hawk.
You can’t give me one logical reason to think it would be a bad one. Not with Ronde’s experience in our system and years of service.
Do it.
September 29th, 2010 at 1:15 pm
@joe
if u listen to the station it was me who said it, not saying that steve white didnt but he said kudos to ali, me the lone buc fan from los angeles california. I just wanted to be mentioned in this buccaneer article, it would of been great for me
September 29th, 2010 at 1:35 pm
agree with apple 100%
September 29th, 2010 at 1:45 pm
what about biggers at safety?
September 29th, 2010 at 1:46 pm
White did say kudos to ali. I heard that broadcast too.
September 29th, 2010 at 1:56 pm
Rhonde is better suited to play safety this year. He’s a little slower. Free safeties are not the fastest in the backfield. Rhonde hits hard all the time. He would be a great run stuffer. The Bucs aren’t going to get better after one game.
Make the change.
September 29th, 2010 at 2:20 pm
P.s. This isn’t the Carson Palmer pre-knee destruction, he’s been terrible lately.
September 29th, 2010 at 2:46 pm
CAN I GET SOME LOVE HERE?!?!?!?!? just kidding.
I stated from day one of TJax leaving that Ronde would, before the end of the season, be at Safety.
It would prolong his career and, at this point, is probably better suited for it. He plays the nickel (slot guy) anyway and he could still do that from Safety.
Plus, the team is deeper at CB. Biggers would start and Lewies and Mack would be backups.
Sabby would be gone!
I have several posts at this site and another – pr – about this exact thing happening.
I expect before the season is half over, Barber is a safety….UNLESS Grimm or Lynch stand WAAAY out.
September 29th, 2010 at 3:31 pm
I personally think Grimm will get progressively better with each live snap and solidfy the FS Starter for the rest of this season.
I’m currently good with the current way forward at the safety position.
That, however, is subject to change.
September 29th, 2010 at 3:47 pm
You may not be a Rocket Surgeon, but you just may be a Brain Scientist!
September 29th, 2010 at 6:26 pm
Tampa2ali told me immediately after the game that Rhonde should be moved to free saftey. And also we need to give Sabby another shot at the strong. My little niece hits harder than sean jones. I saw sabby stop brandon jacobs last year in the goaline. He can hit. Maybe since we aren’t running that jim bates bs anymore sabby can do what we drafted him to do.
September 29th, 2010 at 7:14 pm
I agree with the Sturgeon, I mean Surgeon. Leave Barber alone for now. As far as Sabby, trade him or cut him. Grimm hits hard and has a nose for the game. A little seasoning and all will be well. Might just end up another Lynch.
September 29th, 2010 at 7:34 pm
Grimm’s a rookie
Gimme a break
September 29th, 2010 at 8:50 pm
I did suggest Barber heads to safety… for the facts that 1. it will prolong his career and 2. They are deeper at CB because Biggers looks ready to start and Barber would still play the nickel slot…
That said, I am not opposed at all with keeping Grimm there for a few more games and seeing how he progresses, because like some have said, he is a rookie after all.
By no means should Sabby be back there though. He has no clue on angles. That is not something that can be taught. Either you have it or don’t. It is an instinct. Yes he can hit, but if he doesn’t get there, what good is it.
Kind of like Ruud. He can make tackles, but if your MLB can’t stuff a runner at the line to save his life… what good is he?
September 29th, 2010 at 9:41 pm
Sure, move barber to safety, leave Grimm in too. Keep Sabby on the bench. Genius’s all! Then maybe we will get rid of the Clown Coach that much faster. I’m for that!
September 29th, 2010 at 11:07 pm
Ronde is currently doing great at CB so I don’t think we need to take any risks here. Why so sure he could be good at safety? Just leave him at corner where he belongs.
As for Cody Grimm, he is not ready to start yet. This is the area of the defense that killed us the most against against the Charlie Batch led Steelers on Sunday (yes, Charlie Batch). Seriously, what has the guy done so far that has people so confident in him? Not saying he’ll never be good, but he’s a rookie who was a freaking 7th round pick five months ago! And he’s starting right now? Be realistic. If he just turned out to be a decent backup, the pick would be considered a success. I don’t really see him being a long term solution. Hopefully I’m wrong. Maybe he will.
We need to develop Grimm over time, not throw him into the fire when he’s obviously not ready so he can lose games for us. Yes I know about “growing pains” and everything along those lines but this is the NFL and like Herm Edwards says “You play to win the game.” It’s real frustrating, because during the first 2 games our defense was looking great. After that we receive the bad news that T Jack was suspended and then we surrender 31 points to the Steelers (not including the pick 6). The thing that obviously comes to mind is the Jackson suspension. This could make a huge difference in the outcome of our season and whether our defense is just ok, or one that people are afraid of. If we can just get the safety situation taken care of, this defense can do some damage and be a top 10 unit once again. I don’t want this one thing to ruin a promising season.
What about Corey Lynch? He had a very strong performance in the preseason. If we’re going to stick with just Sabby, Grimm, and Lynch, I would say that Lynch is the best option right now. Though, I also think that bringing Philips back would be a good option too, as he could likely still play solid football. Even if he has glass arms, he’s still a hundred times better than Sabby.
September 30th, 2010 at 5:48 am
Tampa 2- you are a penis. I think Grimm will be ok, give him a little time. Let’s leave Ronde alone, for now. If Grimm does struggle to the point of being a target, then we move Ronde!
September 30th, 2010 at 10:44 am
So here is a coach that has won 4 of his last 6 games without much talent, a lot of rookies and second year players, no real vet experiance, and a guy every single player has come and said the would run through walls for, yet you think he is a “clown” and should be fired?
Him and Mark D were given a rebuilding project and after some mistakes last year, seem to be headed in the right direction yet you would rather have him fired?
You would rather bring in a new coach so the rebuilding process could be set back another 2 years?
So Freeman’s grwoth could be set back because that would most likely mean a new offensive coordinator and any one with a brain knows that a lot of OC changes with a young QB is a career killer.
You fans calling for Raheem’s head need to get a f***ing clue.
September 30th, 2010 at 11:47 am
Get this done “Quickly”! There are many advantages to this, most have been already named. But the most important is ball hawking, I would bet my house that Rodney is good for one interception per game (on average), and would almost never get beat deep! Even Payton Manning would be jsut a little hesitant to throw to his side of the field at FS.. Man Rah, stop talking about it, get it done.