“He Loves Him”
April 28th, 2011
Continuing to pound the drum today that his insider sources tell him the Bucs will cut Aqib Talib soon, Bucs beat writer Rick Stroud also sounded the alarm to Bucs fans that Barrett Ruud will be part of the Bucs’ future.
Speaking during an interview on The Fabulous Sports Babe Show on 1040 AM, Stroud said the Bucs head coach is in love with Ruud, his starting middle linebacker who’s now a free agent. “He loves him,” Stroud said.
Stroud went on to explain how “people don’t understand” how valuable Ruud is.
Joe has mixed feelings on Ruud. But that said, how much will the Bucs break the bank to keep him? Surely, if Ruud is so valuable, another team might have the same love for him in a draft year that’s poor for middle linebackers.
April 28th, 2011 at 2:49 pm
OMG, here we go again.
April 28th, 2011 at 3:15 pm
Do they drug test Raheem during the off season? After stating his love for Rudd it has become apparent to me that he’s high. Rudd sucks, tackles like a pre-teen girl, and needs to go to another team. I hope he stays in the South so we can run wild on him twice a year. Barrett is a BUM!
April 28th, 2011 at 3:28 pm
I like it! He’s much better than anything we currently have. Replace QBlack as starter.
I wonder if Rah’s ‘love’ is like Chucky ‘love’? Cuz once Gru started to ‘love’ someone, that player would be gone in less than a season.
Is Ruud the best MLB in the league? Nope
Is he thes best LBer on the Bucs? Yes
We need to draft DE, OT, CB, LB.
April 28th, 2011 at 3:47 pm
Easy guys. This is another Stroud spewing of his beliefs with no named sources or Raheem quotes. Don’t let the fish wrap writers steer you down their ill conceived paths that they want you to follow. Contraversy sells fish wraps, even if you develop the contraversy as the writer.
April 28th, 2011 at 3:53 pm
If he learned to tackle I’d love him too
April 28th, 2011 at 4:12 pm
Praying that this is subterfuge and Dom is targeting Greg Jones in rd 2
April 28th, 2011 at 4:13 pm
Espo, he’s an awesome tackler, nobody in the league has as many tackles after a 5+ yard gain than Ruud. He has perfected the jump on the back and hold on until somebody else helps out technique. Give him some credit. He has all but eliminated the annoying habit of meeting a running back at the point of attack thereby eliminating the posibility of the 15yd helmet to helmet hit.
April 28th, 2011 at 4:16 pm
Raheem on Ruud(2009): “No disrespect to Derrick, I just talked to him this morning, but Barrett has been the leader ever since he took over the snaps. He has been calling it. He has been checking us out of defenses. He does it all. He is amazing. He is really the quarterback on defense. He has been that way for the last couple of years. That is why you miss him so much in OTA days. He is a great player. He is going to be a great player. I hate to throw around ‘Great player’ too much, but he has the ability to be that type of guy. He knows it. He leads that way. If he has a bad game, then the whole defense has a bad game. That is how he works. His defense and his leadership role have come out already. We just didn’t know it. You guys just didn’t know. I have seen it from the defensive backs. I used to tell my safeties all the time, ‘When you don’t know, just listen to Barrett. He will get you right.’ If Barrett is wrong, then we are all going to be wrong together. At the end of the day we are going to be right.”
Sounds like a little love to me? Maybe, Stroud is right? I don’t think his opinion of his “defensive quarterback” has changed in one year?
April 28th, 2011 at 4:17 pm
I will not be happy if Talib is let go before the criminal investigation concludes.
April 28th, 2011 at 4:30 pm
If we dump Talib but keep Ruud I will not renew season tickets for four
April 28th, 2011 at 4:42 pm
Cool thing about the draft being before FA… is there will be no question of our needs post draft… and this should drive free agency harder than ever before. We will have no choice but to go after positions we didn’t fill in the draft… and it is good to know this info before FA.
April 28th, 2011 at 4:46 pm
Really you guys need to check yourselves. Maybe do a little research into the draft. Keeping Barrett Ruud is the smart thing to do. NO ONE the Bucs could draft this year at MLB is going to come in and do what the Bucs really need in pass coverage from their MLB except maybe a Quan Sturdivant. But guess what- Sturdivant is just as soft in the run game as Barrett. The MLB’s who hit a little harder like Nate Irving, Kelvin Sheppard and Martez Wilson aren’t ready to step in and start for the Bucs from that standpoint. They would need time to develop their coverage skills behind Ruud. Im not against the Bucs drafting his replacement but there is no reason to let him walk until said replacement is up to speed. Ill say it again. For the 1 millionth time. Most 4-3 linebackers these days are drag down tacklers not thumpers. The ones that are thumpers tend to be subpar in pass coverage. Could drafting Kelvin Sheppard to play MLB help improve the bucs run defense? Sure it could. And then we could watch him get burned by tight ends for big plays all year long too. The Bucs are better off with having a coverage adept linebacker in the middle. Let the defensive ends we hope they draft come in and be the thumpers in the run game.
April 28th, 2011 at 4:49 pm
Oar,
Two phrases in that paragraph really concern me! #1 He is “GOING” to be great (which means he isn’t yet) #2 He has the “ABILITY” to be that type of guy (also means could be, but isn’t) Last year was Ruud’s contract year so that was by far the best he has to offer. Anyone who thought he was soft last year hasn’t seen anything yet. Wait until he signs that cushy new multi-million contract he’ll be looking to sign as a free agent. The biggest problem I have with the guy is the label TEAM LEADER! That’s like asking lady Gaga to run the military.
April 28th, 2011 at 4:51 pm
If you guys really want a thumper the Bucs are looking hard at Georgia MLB Akeem Dent for the later rounds. He is the nasty run stuffers all you Ruud haters are craving. But guess what…He is a definite liability in pass coverage. Even if the Bucs draft a thumper like him the best case scenario for is for the guy to play special teams for a few years and eventually develop some coverage ability at the hands of an NFL position coach. The middle linebacker all you guys want just isn’t there this year. He came out last year. His name was Rolando McClain.
April 28th, 2011 at 4:58 pm
gitarlvr,
No Offense, but Ruud only had 4 passes defensed the entire YEAR. That’s one for every four games he played! Pee Wee Herman on his little bike could have gotten lucky and knocked down four passes. Since Ruud is really a safety and not what a tradional MLB’s job normally is. This is what everyone is saying anyway. Which one is it? Is he good against the run and stuffing runners at the line of scrimmage? NOPE……Or is he a safety/floater who spends most of his time in coverage? NOPE…..like I said four passes defensed. Does he excel at rushing the passer……NO, but I’ll agree that he never was or will be that type of play. So in conclusion: Poor against the run! No longer can cover as he once could! and can’t rush the QB. If his best attribute is coaching then take a seat next to Raheem on the sideline.
April 28th, 2011 at 4:59 pm
If Ruud would just stop missing tackles I’d re-sign him
Is Stroud trying to piss off as many Bucs fans as he can?
April 28th, 2011 at 5:05 pm
I just want to win…. another Super Bowl. However Rah/Dom go about it, who they keep and who they don’t really doesn’t matter that much. Just win. Do what you think best for the team and Just Win, Please.
April 28th, 2011 at 5:28 pm
BucnJim- I challenge you to go back and look up the recieving yardage of tight ends against the Bucs last year. It wasn’t very good. Gonzo did ok but no one shuts him down. And Heap had one big play on a blown coverage by Sabby. Ruud held it down in coverage. A few picks would have been nice but the fact is teams tend not to throw to their TE’s with Ruud covering.
CreamsicleBananaHammock-
Greg Jones is just another T2 style linebacker who struggles to shed blocks and drag tackles instead of driving ballcarriers back. What is the point of replacing Ruud with a rookie that has many of the same weaknesses? Near as I can tell the only thing Jones does better than Ruud is(possibly) rush the passer.
April 28th, 2011 at 5:39 pm
If u dont appreciate ruud u dont understand nfl, tampa 2 football. I have said this before but a few of you appear new. In run d, the first resp. after read steps is to gap fill, then flow to the football.
If ruud is making a drag down or side tackle it is typically bc someone else, like gmc, lost gap integrity. These plays are positive plays for ruud not negatives. Yet u novices seem to not know enough to get it.
Ruud is Always in position and is excellent in pass coverage- he is a near pro bowler.
April 28th, 2011 at 5:43 pm
I have mixed feelings about Ruud…
I am certain about CUTTING….Asslib
may his name never be mentioned again…….ever !
April 28th, 2011 at 6:00 pm
Its certainly weird for me to agree with Thomas on anything but he is spot on with what he said although it was Roy Miller and ALL the sorry ass defensive ends who were the biggest culprits in losing gap integrity last year. If the Bucs want to have a better run defense next year they need to
A) hope that Brian Price is ready to go and stays healthy so he can replace Roy Miller at nose tackle
B) draft defensive ends who can not only rush the passer but properly penetrate their gaps to disrupt the run like DE’s in a one gap scheme MUST do.
Or we can let Ruud walk and draft a Kelvin Sheppard or Akeem Dent to be run thumpers in the middle and watch them get toasted for big plays in the passing game which will ultimately hurt the Bucs more then giving up the rushing yards.
April 28th, 2011 at 6:14 pm
Hey Matt, if you had season tix, you would have already renewed, so don’t pull out the useless bluff. Renewals were done a long time ago… That said, Ruud is over-rated, he makes tackles allright, well after they have gained alot of yards and the 1st down
April 28th, 2011 at 6:16 pm
Agreed rastaman. I also think that you are catching on as well guitar although we will never agree on gmc – we agree that the rest of the front 4 stinks. I hope that they stay focused on d tonight. D end, olb and cb are desperate needs. Gmc was bad, but with his investment, the unknown value of price and the emergence of bennett, okam and maybe magee – i guess that they should ignore tackle.
April 28th, 2011 at 6:17 pm
You guys would be right on except for one thing: The Monte Kiffin Tampa 2 Defense we were known for all those years is all but gone and forgotten. So I guess you’re right about Ruud being perfect for “THAT” Defense! Although I never agree with Thomas; sometimes he’ll make a valid argument now and then. To say that Ruud is great in a Defense that we run 15-20% of time is absurd. Also; you are wrong! I do understand the Tampa 2 which is why Ruud’s value has gone done in the past two years. If you take the two Super Bowl teams and compare Ruud to any of their LB’s you’ll see that there is no comparison.
April 28th, 2011 at 6:18 pm
Just thought it was funny how out of all the great posts today like the Williams video, the news of the temporary lockout lift, a lengthy phenomenally in-depth post about the draft prospects etc…. The post that gets the most comments/conversation/views isn’t the one that is “news” at all, but the one that reiterates a long known fact that Raheem likes Ruud.
What the heck ,people? You’ve known this for a year now. Why still bother being upset over it?
April 28th, 2011 at 6:27 pm
Well BucnJim- I’ll agree with you that the Bucs don’t play Tampa 2 as much as they used too but you’re overreaching a little, I think, to claim its only %20. Thats why I would like to see the Bucs draft some bigger, badder DE\OLB tweeners for their 3 man alignments BUT, even in a 3-4 alignment your inside linebackers aren’t necessarily counted on to be big nasty thumpers. Ruud has the skillset to be a decent inside backer as the bucs possibly transition to playing more 3-4 in their hybrid scheme. Thats why the team has brought in guys like Dontay Moch and Cris Carter for visits. They are former college defensive ends whom the Bucs would draft to play OUTSIDE linebacker and situational defensive end. The Bucs already have linebackers, including Ruud, who can suffice as inside backers if the Bucs do decide to play more 3-4(Many signs point to that being the case). Either way you slice it Barrett Ruud would continue to have a valid role with this team.
April 28th, 2011 at 6:36 pm
Gitarlvr,
That’s a great arguement and I’ll agree Ruud does have value in that capacity. The case or arguement that I try to make is that ever since Ruud has been captain; the team has taken on his passive finesse style of play and I can’t stand that. I have no problem with Ruud being on the team if he has value like you’re talking about. What I would like you see is a young aggressive new leader (that has an attitude) to step up and lead this Defense into the future. Also; someone who not only leads by example, but holds players responsible like Sapp & Lynch used to. That’s not asking for much really!
April 28th, 2011 at 7:03 pm
Gitarlvr, no need to waste your energy… after 2 days of drafting, the fans will quickly realize that Ruud wasnt replaced and the team has no better option but to go after ruud in free agency with a purpose… because we will have no one at MLB.
April 28th, 2011 at 8:00 pm
If the big argument is leadership and just getting a fiery guy ala Sapp or Nickerson who will make a big hit and go crazy and get the team and crowd fired up then Im agreed with you that the Bucs could benefit from having that larger than life type of guy on their D. But we can keep Ruud getting the D lined up and it wont be sacrilege if they draft a player at DE or or outside linebacker that becomes the heart and soul who gets this team revved up. At the end of the day the Bucs can keep Ruud, for now at least, to benefit from the skills he does have and we shouldn’t assume that the MLB has to be the firestarter just because a guy like Ray Lewis is for the Ravens or because Hardy was for us back in the day.