Where Is Talib?
July 10th, 2011
Everything Joe’s read from many media outlets and heard directly from Bucs players claims Aqib Talib has been a regular at Josh Freeman’s offseason workout sessions in Tampa, plus Talib was at Freeman’s minicamp in Bradenton two weeks ago.
So Joe was surprised to read beat writer Rick Stroud’s offering today that paints a different impression of Talib’s offseason whereabouts. It’s in a St. Pete Times story about Ronde Barber commenting on what’s best for Talib. Here’s a snippet:
Barber said he and coach Raheem Morris have implored Talib to spend his offseason training in Tampa. But Talib has chosen to return to his hometown near Dallas, where his mother and two sisters live.
It was there, in Garland, where Talib and his mother, Okolo, were arrested in connection with a shooting involving the live-in boyfriend of one of Talib’s sisters March 21.
“He has his life in Dallas, and I don’t know what that life is,” Barber said. “Aqib is a person that should be … the confident Buc.
“But he’s got to embrace Tampa the way Tampa as the team wants to embrace him. (Former Buc great) Warren (Sapp) was great with that. He knew the team atmosphere was better when everybody is around. There’s a culture, a spirit, and nowadays (players) want to go back and train wherever they are.
“That’s different than from when I was coming up. We always wanted to be around.”
Joe suggests you read Stroud’s entire piece linked above. There’s no mention of Talib working regularly with his teammates this offseason, and there’s no source that backs up “Talib has chosen to return to his hometown.” Very strange.
And how about the irony? Talib is being advised, via a St. Pete Times story, to build roots in Tampa, when the same newspaper reported the Bucs already have decided to cut Talib when the lockout ends.
Joe gets Barber’s desire for Talib to immerse himself in the Tampa community, which likely would keep him away from his troubled family, which led to his recent legal troubles.
However, Joe’s not about to advise Talib to distance himself from his loved ones. Like Barber said, he doesn’t know what Talib’s Texas life is like.
Neither does Joe.
For all we know Talib has great relatives and friends there who offer him real support. Regardless, Talib needs some form of regular counseling first and foremost. As Talib knows, he can find trouble regardless of his address. Joe can only hope he’s getting that counseling.
July 10th, 2011 at 10:13 am
If Josh Junior wants to go to the 49’rs, why not do a straight up trade for Alex Smith. Smith has had his share of problems there,(ya think) and he hasn’t had a decent coach there either, but could be a good backup for Freeman. I don’t know, just a thought, but both QB’s could use a change of scenery.
July 10th, 2011 at 10:24 am
wrong post dude…
July 10th, 2011 at 10:26 am
By the way… That Stroud guy can be a real D!CK sometimes…
July 10th, 2011 at 11:01 am
There’s clear media bias against Talib on all fronts, except for Joe and Shaun King and Powlowksi. Maybe it’s because Talib is black, or an idiot, or a troublefinder, probably all three. People want to run him out of town before we find out what really happened. It’s not like he was an alleged gang member firing a gun at a bar. The guy was trying to keep the peace at his sister’s house from a guy with a dangerous history who was harrassing her earlier that day.
July 10th, 2011 at 11:05 am
Vic! He’s a Buc player. That’s all it takes around here…
July 10th, 2011 at 11:28 am
i have to agree with Vic, lets hear the case befor we convict him. i know a trial went the ABSOLUTE wrong way down there in Fla just a few days ago but lets not let the media influence what we DONT know with their speculation. i love Talib and hope he gets it together but unless any of you wur in that house that day just shut up about it. i hope the Bucs DONT cut him, im not gna make a decsion on it until the facts are out. just think what that secondary would look like with Nnamdi and Talib TOGETHER for the next 5 years! wow can you say SHUT DOWN!!!!! LETS GO BUCS!!!!!!!!
July 10th, 2011 at 11:55 am
Where are ANY of the players today? Where the HELL is the NFL today?
Nobody’s knows squat and these rumors and innuendos will be sorted out when the freaking disrespectful and damaging lockout is over.
In the meantime Talib is innocent until proven guilty…….PERIOD.
July 10th, 2011 at 12:23 pm
i have a feeling this interview took place BEFORE any of the freeman led offseason workouts, and wasn’t posted till now. Like Joe does with some of his videos. I think this article is actually purposefully misleading.
July 10th, 2011 at 12:23 pm
the rick stroud article i mean
July 10th, 2011 at 12:28 pm
barton1017, et al. Let me first say that I, too support Talib and believe he should have his day in court if it comes to that. But, I would appeal to you to understand that trials always go right. They go just like they are tried, how jurors are selected, how the defendant is charged, whether the lawyers are competent, and whether there is a propensity of the evidence. American Jurisprudence is the best in the world, although like all man-made systems, it is imperfect. It just so happens that we have an adversarial system where it is as simple as, sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. I feel your passion for justice, but as much as we all (well most of us) want Talib to be vindicated, It can go either way and the court will have gotten it right.
July 10th, 2011 at 12:52 pm
@Macabee It isn’t always right. It just is.
July 10th, 2011 at 1:52 pm
Maybe he missed that Texas BBQ ? Kind of had to get some good BBQ Beef Brisket in Tampa ?
Seriously, maybe his mind is on his court case back in Texas ?
July 10th, 2011 at 3:16 pm
@Dan
I completely agree and was going to write the exact same thing. I bet this is very old news. Once the whole gun thing happened Talib came to Tampa, before that he spent most of his time in Texas – that’s my bet.
SPTimes is really losing its credibility as of late with these stories. Stroud and Holder are two of the worst sports columists for this area, too bad Shelton can’t carry the whole load
July 10th, 2011 at 4:23 pm
I always liked Holder and Stroud up until about a year ago. I don’t know what it is, but I think they overestimated their value and got a little full of themselves. Here today, gone tomorrow. Seeya boys.
July 10th, 2011 at 4:43 pm
Apple, Iv’e been smoking briskets since I was kid in Texas. Here’s the deal, if you want it right, do it yourself.
1. Bigger is better, I like about 7 – 8 Lbs. Smokem 2 at a time.
2. Use a foil pan, FAT side up (don’t trim fat), The pan contains the juice and won’t burn or deteriorate. 2 pans for 2 bucks at Walmart.
3. Cover it with foil about 75%, but not all the way, in the middle.
4. Tend to your fire and water pan every 60 to 90 minutes, keeping the pan full and adding coals as you go, and wood chunks.
5. I use an electric starter and regular Kingsford charcoal(cheap at Sams)
6. I like hickory chunks (Walmart) but Orange trees are great too, even mangroves. Soak them in a 5 gal bucket of water a little before and keep em soaking.
7. Don’t over smoke it. Smoke a little and let it slow cook a little.
8. I cook it about 17 – 19 hours and the last 6 hours or so I don’t use any smoking wood chunks, just slow cooking. Don’t open the meat doors to check it, just the fire and water pan. I completely cover it for the last 6 hours with foil too.
9. Let you meat sit out an hour or so before you start, season with Sea Salt, Pepper, Tony Chacheres, but not too much, you don’t need it, let the meat be itself.
10. You don’t need a big fancy smoker, the cheap vertical Brinkman boxes work fine, or the small side barrel with the flame box, but I like the vertical boxes that keep the pan directly above the fire and below the meat.
Piece of cake, guaranteed to be the juiciest brisket you’ve ever had. Even several day later in the microwave, still juicy.
Sorry for being off topic, again, but I had to post this.
July 10th, 2011 at 4:46 pm
http://www.tmz.com/2011/07/10/adam-pacman-jones-arrested-cincinnati-bengals-cornerback-disorderly-conduct-while-intoxicate-resisting-arrest/
rewind …fast forward….same AZZclown mentality
July 10th, 2011 at 4:50 pm
Vic- if you wanna be an apologist for the idiot Talib, go ahead. But” clear media biased”- I mean, how stupid are you. The guy is openly belligerent and borderline violent to local media. “protecting his sister”- pleaaaassse!! The guy is listed as her common law husband. They have lived together for years, and have a long history of violence. He is a convicted felony- sexual assult on a child under 14. He is a frequent resident at Aqib’s mothers house- who is also a convicted felon!!!! Talib has assaulted fellow rookies, teammates, attempted to assault referees, assaulted cab drivers, and just about anything else thats had the misfortune to cross paths with the loser. The biased is because he’s a piece of S%^t. Even an idiot would see that
July 10th, 2011 at 7:53 pm
Without attacking: is there a reason you haven’t updated your post with the info from your Holder exchange on Twitter?
July 10th, 2011 at 9:42 pm
Matt:
Wasn’t much of an (ahem) “exchange.” 🙁
July 10th, 2011 at 9:43 pm
“The guy is openly belligerent and borderline violent to local media. ”
———–
Where is your basis for that? I’ve heard he doesn’t speak to the media much, but to say borderline violent is a pretty big accusation. I know there was a guy from Kansas that said something similar, but it was a while back, plus we don’t know who he is. Ed Reed rarely speaks to the media, is he borderline violent too?
I don’t understand your reasoning that he wasn’t protecting his sister because they were common law? So what!? Then you start going off about his (Billings) history of crime, as if that is Talib’s fault. Do you stop protecting your family because of those things? I know I wouldn’t. Those things he has done are stupid, no doubt. He obviously has some issues with his temper. But calling him a piece of sh%^ is over the line when you don’t know him (as are some of the other names you have called him in the past that are much worse). I’m sorry, but I’m going to trust the word of his teammates over you Captain!
July 10th, 2011 at 9:57 pm
Actually, the media reported Talib was working out with the other players…last week?
Either way, thank you for pointing out the inconsistancies. The more the media is held to a standard, the more they’ll have to get things right. Maybe we’ll see reporters instead of “bloggers” doing news stories. (nothing against bloggers, but they are not true traditional reporters who do things the proper way).
July 10th, 2011 at 10:02 pm
Pete:
Just off the top of Joe’s head, Josh Freeman invoked Talib’s name on SiriusXM NFL Radio for working out with him and Pat Yasinskas of ESPN (which Joe linked to in this post) reported that Talib was working with his Bucs teammates at USF.
July 10th, 2011 at 10:07 pm
Joe here,
@Matt — Joe stands behind what’s written here. Don’t confuse the platitude you saw Joe offer on Twitter with anything significant. If there was a reason to change this post, Joe would do it immediately.
July 10th, 2011 at 11:00 pm
Joe, I know the golden rule here is not to speak for Joe, so I won’t quote what I remember. But during an article about filming the NFL training camp show here, I recall Joe discussing Talib’s interaction with the media, and how he would have to be “kept away” from the cameras. If Joe wants to repomt his thoughts on Talib- that’s up to Joe. Hawaiian, you can find it in the archives , in an article about the Bucs refusing to be televised. It was only a couple of weeks ago. Again, it amazes me how none of the apologist seem to have any memory of any thing negative about Talib, and distort the positive to ‘elite’ proportions. It’s like a blindness epidemic that matches the one the Chucky lovers suffered from!!! Gotta be something in the Bay water system. This many normally intelligent people don’t just suffer mass delusions unprovoked!
Again, not listing quotes, as Capt Tim knows not to speak for Joe. Joe is far more Eloquent than I.
July 10th, 2011 at 11:21 pm
Joe here,
@Pete Dutcher — In this post, Joe is referring to the linked story. Not anything else. That’s quite clear.
July 10th, 2011 at 11:22 pm
Joe here,
@Capt. Tim — Not sure what you’re getting at. Permission to speak freely. 😉
July 10th, 2011 at 11:31 pm
Capt. Tim:
Talib doesn’t like to talk to reporters. Last season he would skip out of the Bucs locker room before reporters had a chance to even get in there, a violation of NFL rules. So given how he’s prone to emotionally react, if he had a camera in his face all the time during Hard Knocks, who knows what would happen?
FYI, the times Joe has interacted with Talib, he has been cooperative if not kind to Joe.
July 11th, 2011 at 1:16 am
Capt. Tim,
You pulled a Thomas on this one buddy! You took Joe’s comment of not wanting to have Talib on Hard Knocks and spun that to he is borderline violent to the media. Joe said it right there, he has always been cooperative (if not kind) to him. So I don’t think I am delusional, because I got my facts straight. Don’t confuse someone not wanting to talk to the media to someone who is violent towards the media. I have no problem with players not wanting to talk to the media (I’m sure Joe disagrees, I would too if I was him). Some guys just want to play ball, good for them.
It’s not about being an apologist. I don’t think this case (if you believe his side) is enough to get rid of him, especially since he is our best corner (elite or not). My goodness, he’s been suspended a grand total of one game in his entire career, so it’s not like we are dealing with Pacman Jones here. I remember when you said how none of his players came to his defense right after this event, and how that says a lot about him. Shortly thereafter, about 10 teammates came to his defense, including #20. If you want to say he’s a bad teammate for having no one come to his defense, then it’s only fair you say the opposite when they do. You have a right to not like him, but it’s not right to post inaccurate statements to back up your belief, nor is it right to call him some of the names you have called him. Let’s all just leave the name calling to Thomas, because we all know he’s an arse hole.
July 11th, 2011 at 4:39 pm
“There’s no source that backs up ‘Talib has chosen to return to his hometown.’ Very strange.”
Don’t you cite Barber stating precisely that?
July 11th, 2011 at 7:51 pm
Joe here,
@Jocko — Excellent question. No. There is no direct attribution to Barber saying “Talib returned to his hometown,” in a story primarily about the implication that Talib isn’t spending enough time in Tampa.
Barber saying “he has a life in Texas” doesn’t qualify. Plenty of players have “lives” in their hometown — family, friends, connections with colleges or high schools.
McCoy has a house here but has his roots in Oklahoma. Mike Williams just played a basketball tournament in Buffalo, and has his mom there, right before coming to Freeman’s minicamp, and he’s another guy who has spent plenty of time here training with Freeman. James Lee ran a huge charity event on the east coast this summer and visited schools there — where he’s from — but also is working out locally and visited a hospital here as the Times documented last week. … Talib owns a house here, too. You can look it up.
As Joe pointed out there is no mention in that Times story of Talib ever spending any offseason time in Tampa with his teammates this year. Very misleading to say the least.
Guys travel and bounce around quite, especially with this lockout.
July 11th, 2011 at 9:50 pm
@Joe:
I guess that’s true, Barber doesn’t say that “Talib has chosen to return to his hometown.” But your statement goes on to say that this is a “story primarily about the implication that Talib isn’t spending enough time in Tampa.” That implication clearly comes from Barber.
Ronde says Talib has “his life in Dallas” that he’s not embracing “Tampa the way Tampa as the team wants to embrace him,” contrasts Sapp with today’s players who “want to go back and train wherever they are,” which is again contrasted to Barber himself who “always wanted to be around.” Those comments make no sense unless he’s being (at least mildly) critical of Talib.
So maybe they should have directly attributed the first quote to Barber (Talib has returned to Dallas), but the rest of Barber’s comments make pretty clear that Barber thinks Talib isn’t spending enough time in Tampa. That’s not unsourced, it’s his direct comments. What am I missing?
July 12th, 2011 at 8:01 am
Joe here,
@Jocko – If you go back and read this post just simply for what it is — start to finish — I don’t think you’ll have any questions. … … What set Joe off here was reading the original Times piece, simply for what it is, and that story paints Talib in a bad light by clearly illustrating him as a guy who’s flat out absent during the lockout. And that’s false.