Defense, again

The Bucs went with defense in the first round for a second straight year, drafting Kansas cornerback Aqib Talib.

So, what to make of this? Well, I, for one, am a little surprised.

Given the fact that Devin Thomas, the Michigan State receiver, fell to No. 20 and USF's Mike Jenkins was there to be had, it was hard to see this one coming. When you consider Talib's reported history of marijuana use, it's a little perplexing.

The Bucs definitely had to address this position in this draft, so the pick is no surprise from that standpoint. And, Talib is considered a dominant cornerback, so it's hard to knock him as a player.

We hope to get a little more perspective on the pick in a few minutes when coach Jon Gruden takes a few questions from the assembled media.

(Pictured - Aqib Talib. Getty Images, 2007)

Comments

[Joe]

I got a question for Chucky... how could you take a POT HEAD over a better hometown player?

[Willis]

Ugh. The Bucs need a playmaker...someone who can score touchdowns...so they pick Aqib Talib. Fantastic. I waited all offseason for this?

Great, so we pick ourselves a stoner who will probably end up being another Pacman Jones, constantly in trouble. Way to waste the first round pick.

[JS]

what happened to mike jenkins!!???
omgggg big miss on my mind... mike jenkins is a better cover 2 corner than pothead talib... i hope this kid gets his act together like warren sapp or we will suffer...

[Keith]

We need to continue to add wife beaters, drunk drivers, pot heads, and overrated league wash-outs. Hopefully we can trade for Akili Smith or Jeff George

[Willis]

I can't overstate HOW AWFUL this pick was. Thanks Bruce Allen and Jon Gruden. This guy is bust material.

[Justin M]

This is a BIG TIME hit or miss for the Bucs. Too much of a gamble for the 1st round in my opinion. You take flyers on players in the later rounds, not at No. 20.

Horrible!!!!!

[What the Buc?]

I can't fathom this pick at all !!!! Maybe it was another classic Gruden-Allen mis-direction ... almost everyone thought (myself included) that they would go with another play maker for the offense. It was clear all last season that outside of Galloway, the Bucs do not have a serious option at WR. To top it off, the player selected has SERIOUS character issues and may likely have as big a penchant for the blunt as he does for the ball (at least consider Jenkins ... he's a home town star and not loaded with "baggage"). I don't know who the Bucs are thinking will be there at WR with some of those remaining picks (particularly if they trade for Taylor) .... God I hope this draft is NOT defense heavy ... Monte make due with what you've got ... we need a playmaker (or two) on the other side of the ball if we hope to repeat in the South.

[the guru]

we needed character players not aqib talib.. very dissapointed... this draft just went to hell for us.. we had great first rounders since clayton, williams, josephs, adams...WE NEEDED MIKE JENKINS not aqib talib.. ialmost punched my tv when i heard roger goddell.

[Matt]

Monte must have preferred him to Jenkins.

Mendenhall, all WR's are still on the board along with Brohm & Henne.

Someone really good is going to fall to us in the 2nd round.

I'll scream if they trade the pick for Taylor.

[BE]

I'm definitely cool with this pick. Talib has the skills to be a solid corner in this league, and in our scheme.
As for the pot thing, I'm not really putting too much stock in that. At least not at the moment.
According to him, it's in the past, so I'll take his word for it for now.
Hell, I'm happy he was honest about it. Same thing happened with Adams last year before the draft, and Sapp back in 95. Sapp turned out all right, and Adams appears to be on the right track.

If it weren't for the admission, Talib would've gone higher. No doubt about that.

[kevinmmills]

It is surprising, especially with Jenkins available. However I find the concerns over the pot use almost laughable.

People may not like to admit it but casual marijuana use is quite common in all walks of life, not just the NBA and NFL.

Like someone else mentioned we got Warren Sapp for the same reason, people were afraid to draft him.

Just because someone smokes pot doesnt make him Pacman Jones.

If this guy can be a dominant shutdown corner and Barber's eventual replacement this is a great pick.

I guess the Bucs just had him graded a little higher than jenkins.

[NO JASON TAYLOR IN TB]

please tampa don't go gray (or bald in this case)... we need a second round guy not jason taylor... like matt said i will scream if we trade for taylor...

[Jake]

Awesome pick! We are going to give this guy a lot of money and be here as the future at CB.

Who cares that he has failed 3 drug tests while in college...we all know the NFL doesn't care if you smoke a little pot. Ask Odell Thurman about failing three tests...no problem.

I commend you on the pick Allen and Gruden.

[JC]

sure, it's a puzzling pick with Jenkins still on the board, but you can't call it a horrible choice at this point. at least give him a chance to get on the field. hopefully, with brooks, barber, ruud, and raheem to keep his head on straight, talib will clean up his act.

[Lanshire12]

What a stupid pickup for the Bucs. You don't pick up any big name players in free agency, pick up a playmaker WR, or pick up the best CB left in the draft....and you wonder why fans don't want to renew tickets...Gruden and Allen are idiots. Mike Jenkins was a better player and should be wearing a Bucs jersey right now.

[kevinmmills]

I'll admit I didnt see either Corner play much but what makes everyone think Jenkins was the obvious choice over talib, other than that he played at USF?

[Justin M]

Talib is a talented guy with good speed. I think the Bucs, especially Monte and Raheem Morris, fell in love with his ball skills. Talib is an outstanding interceptor. The Bucs want guys to cause turnovers, and Talib is certainly capable of doing just that. Out of all the CBs in the draft he has the best ball skills. Character issues aside, the Bucs just got a top 10 talent.

[IBES]

Love some of the fans memories in here. Sapp was what before he got drafted. Better give back those rings.

Big time players like Galloway were traded for and Chad Johnson is still out there.

I am ok with the pick. Big tall corner to replace BK.

[kevinmmills]

No WR's off the board at this point? Trade up?

[frank c. costanza]

we had a player here once who used a lil' marijuana in his yute. name of warren sapp. i didn't hear anyone complaining after he got into town.

besides, you live in kansas, there's nothin to do but listen to the wind blow so i think it's a bit of an overreaction to condemn a young man just cause he smoked some weed.

if he can play, and monty obviously believes he can, then i'm all for him.

[Frantman2]

Exactly, kevinmills, if Jenkins didn't play at USF there wouldn't be near the uproar. Get over it everyone, the pot is likely in his past and he's a bigger guy and more athletic than Jenkins. He fills a need and should fill it well.

[Dwayne]

I was mad a first only because i thoguht about jenkins but then i thought allen and gruden gotta know what there doing, so maybe this works out for us, time will tell the pick is over with now so no sense in being mad about it now, he is a good interceptor.

You might not like it, but your going to LOVE IT. GREAT PICK

He will fill the need until he gets suspended by the NFL. And many experts picked Jenkins as the best CB in the draft. He was available, and we take a druggie that has a reputation of having character issues beyond the pot smoking. Boo, Boo, Boo!

I hope Jenkins plays against the Bucs and tears our offense apart while Talib is too stones to do more than stumble out in the field.

[Bucs 7-9 in 2008]

I think this pick may work out. He can learn the ropes fom Ronde, who is getting older. The character issue? Jerramy Stevens raped a woman and the organization, who surely knew of the crime, has never condemned the violent assault. So this kid smoked some weed in college. This is a twisted world.

[JS]

back to normal here.. i read the comments and think also he is a cb that has alot to do. lets move on... DON'T TRADE FOR TAYLOR... lets go for a good wr that all of them seem to fall to the second round..

[IBES]

until suspended? Nice to see someone ignorant. Guess you get a speeding ticket means you are a reckless driver for life and will get your license suspended in a year.

Best CB in the draft? and three have been picked ahead of him, you are a tool.

Still wouldn't getting him or Rice from Rutgers come second round.

[yo]

do you honestly think he is the only first round pick in todays draft who smokes pot, if you do your just plain stupid. sorry to let people now pot is out there in college and kids tend to smoke it. so if thats his only problem i can def deal with that

[kevinmmills]

just did some reading on jenkins, He got into some trouble of his own last year.. "In 2007, he was arrested after a fight outside a bar and charged with disorderly conduct and obstructing or opposing an officer without violence."

Character is important and if you can get a skilled character guy more power to you. But these are all college kids, a lot of people do dumb things and get in trouble during college. it doesnt mean they dont grow into responsible adults.

[IBES]

until suspended? Nice to see someone ignorant. Guess you get a speeding ticket means you are a reckless driver for life and will get your license suspended in a year.

Best CB in the draft? and three have been picked ahead of him, you are a tool.

Still wouldn't mind getting him or Rice from Rutgers come second round.

[Dave W]

Boy the Bucs sure know how to pick 'em.

Awful, awful pick, for football, character, and business reasons. Jenkins is better, has been in less trouble, and every USF fan would start following the Bucs.

[Scott]

Jeez, you guys are braniacs. Obviously Kiffen knows what he is doing and was the brain behind this pick. But, I guess you know more about defense than he does huh? Oh, for you guys with short memory loss, Warren Sapp also fell to us in the draft because he was a "pot head" at the time. As I remember, that pot head could play some football.

Well, apparantly he has a new nickname already. I read in ESPN that they are calling him "Marijuana man" and laughing at the Bucs.

[George Gregory]

A little 420 is a good thing. Drug-war-mongers go home. The sky is not falling. Surprising pick, but we should wait and see before jumping off a bridge.

didnt jerramy stevens commit a rrape in an alleyway and weve got no problem with him so i think that if this guy smoked a blunt now and again i can forgive him

[k]

So they went with 6'2" over 5'11", even though our beloved Bull was ranked higher...MUCH higher. Maybe they saw something we didn't, but Bruce definately knows how to tick off the home crowd. Nice Work! Now reap the ..."rewards".

Sorry Mike, most here with think it was a HUGE insult too.

/USF Alum and big fan

[DV]

Sapp was a pot head... I think he did okay. This guy is perfect as Barber's eventual replacement, possibly contributing in the return game as well. Hell, you find me one player who hasn't done drugs in college!

[Boltz25]

Congrats to Mike Jenkins. If we couldn't have him here, then it is nice to see that he will be with a high profile team such as the Cowboys, which could only help USF recruiting.

[kevinmmills]

"So they went with 6'2" over 5'11", even though our beloved Bull was ranked higher...MUCH higher."

Was he?

[rocko]

OK pipe down, just because he smoked pot does not mean he will act like pacman. I am just as surprised with this pick as the next guy but didn't Sapp have the same issue , lets chill and see what happens , only good i hope

[dornie]

It is easy to see that the sport analysis/writers and fans are not on the same page as Allen and Gruden. At least for Talib it will be good since the Bucs are like a football half-way house. Now we know another difference between Gruden and Dungy, who has standards.

[yo]

with the top 4 cb's in the draft they were all in different orders with all the so called experts and if they are experts why aren't they with a nfl team. so it must of come down to that kiffin and morris thought talib was a better fit.

[What the Buc?]

To all who point out the Sapp/ drug issues .... you are RIGHT! He did have an outstanding career and put the pipe behind him. Maybe Jenkins won't be the type of player that "Bob Marley" Talib may turn out to be ... nothing is a given with the draft ... we all know that ... just look at the sorry douche at WR .... Michael Clayton ... and don't bring up the he's been injured argument ... doesn't fly ... he's average at best and would be hard pressed to start on at least 90% of the other NFL teams ... Like almost everyone else ... I pray that we keep and use the 2nd round pick wisely ... and as for all we need defense defense defense .... it wasn't the defense that took the last few weeks of the regular season and the second half of the play off game againts the Giants off .... it was the offense ... somewhere along the line we have to draft a WR (or two) and shore up the O line some more ... It is true that the draft isn't over ... I'll give Talib a year to prove he's an impact player ... anything less will be unacceptable.

[lanshire12]

You people asking why everyone who watched USF doesn't like this pick...it's because we've watched USF and Jenkins. I've seen the Kan CB play too and teams didn't avoid him like they did with Jenkins. He didn't take plays off. I don't care about pot, he just wasn't as good as Jenkins from the games I watched.

[Scott]

I love USF, but come on people, get a grip and be objective. I remember watching Jenkins tanking it at their Bowl game (I think Oregon scored on every play), and thinking that the Bucs may want to pass on him. As a Bucs fan and a USF fan, I am not crying over this pick. Doesn't Kiffen deserve the little benefit of the doubt by now?

[Justin M]

Gaines Adams admitted to smoking weed last year. So did Calvin Johnson. He smoked pot as a college student. Dumb considering he was pursuing the NFL. Obviously the Bucs feel that that kind of behavior is in his past. The Bucs were right about Adams and Tanard Jackson, who had character issues himself. Hopefully they got a good read on Talib, too.

[George Gregory]

Yaaaay 420!

[Matt]

Get over the Mike Jenkins junk! Remove your BULL love for him, and realize he was inconsistent all year. Talib is a top 10 talent, and would have been the first CB taken, if not for the weed. Talib could very well be our steal at CB like we did with Sapp. The kid was only a Junior and could have been the first CB taken if not for the pot. Non-issue now, Bucs need a WR in the worst way. Hopefully we get Avery!