Morris brings team together after Talib incident

Bucs coach Raheem Morris decided to scrap his plans for practice Thursday and ordered a special teams workout in an attempt to bring the team together one day after cornerback Aqib Talib swung his helmet at offensive tackle Donald Penn.

Cornerback Torrie Cox, who was trying to play peace-maker during the altercation late in practice Wednesday, was inadvertently struck by Talib's helmet and suffered a facial laceration. He was treated by the team's medical staff and his injury is not considered serious. Talib said Cox received stitches.

Morris said the matter was handled 'in house,' and would not reveal sanctions against Talib, although it's likely he was fined. On Thursday, players mostly ran 50- and 100-yard sprints and even hit the blocking sled. The workout lasted about 30 minutes.

"Man, I told you every day as a head coach for me is brand new,'' Morris said. "I went to my office today and that's what I felt. We had a practice scripted today. I just felt we needed something else. I felt like I needed something else for our team, for team development and team growth. We could've gone out there and done X's and O's today and not gotten better. I feel like we got better as a team today.''

It's the second violent incident involving Talib and another teammate in two years, the Bucs first-round pick in 2008. He had an altercation with rookie running back Cory Boyd at the NFL Rookie Symposium shortly after the draft last year.

"Anytime you play this voilent of a game, you're always going to have some type of controlling your emotions issues,'' Morris said. "I've got my own controlling my emotions issues. That's when the coach steps in and helps him and he has to grow from it, he has to learn.

"Each individual action that you take, you've got to get something out of it and learn from it. That's what I think he's doing...You saw him grow. Last year was an off-the-field incident. This year was on-the-field incident. If he grows as much as he did from his off-the-field incident, then I'm going to love it. We're all going to love it.''

Morris appeared as concerned that news of the incident involving Talib and Penn reached the media as he did with Talib's actions.

"We went out there yesterday and had a spirited practice,'' Morris said. "Like I said, tempers boil over. Actions happen that you don't like. You take it and handle it in-house. It's a family affair. Then you come out to today and figure out how to change it.

"No question, you've always got to worry about different elements of your actions. We always handle family affairs internally and it's been handled. It's been handled. He understands the consequences for his team, we understand the consequences for our team if anybody does anything. We deal with it internally, we deal with it as a family and it's been dealt with.

"When stuff happens, when things happen internally, the leaders have got to step up and handle it. When you guys get it first before everybody else, then we're not developing our leaders right. Our leaders have got to be developed within. They've got to learn how to deal with those situations. They've got to learn how to keep it inside.''

Comments

[Rube]

Good job by Morris. He wants a "violent" team but needs to reiterate that it needs to take place on the field. Not by swinging your helmet at another. I don't agree with people dismissing Talib's actions as merely passion for winning.

[GoBucs]

Well first of all this is not stuff that should be reported. Now reading the other blog about shows to me that not too many people that blog on this site have played football on a competitive team. I played college football and there are fights all the time. Alot of them are in the locker room and then not reported. Fights happen everyday in camp in the NFL. If you think 80 guys all get along you are on crack. Donald Penn said himself it was no big deal. Rick Stroud and Steven Holder, I respect you guys but, this is worthless crap to report. You guys know that fights happen alot. So you report it because Cox has a little rudy poo cut on his face? WOW just wow. Hell look up how many QB fights there were over the years. Fights happen in football its part of the game.

[Itch]

Ok, Aquib can only play with a paper helmet from now on.

[JC]

I appreciate the intensity... let's hope this carries over to the season.

[Itch]

Rick Stroud - Ever feel like you can't win? The Bucs are mad because you did your job too good and fans like GoBucs are mad at you because you did not do it good enough. You can't please them all.

I think this info is important because it does reflect on "team" unity, coach temperment, and player personalities. So to your critics I say, if you do not like it, then do not read it.

[Erick]

It's one thing to have a fight in practice, as I'm sure it happens a lot, but when a player is actually injured in a manner like this of course it's going to be reported, as it should be.

I'm glad this was on here. I have a better idea now about the kind of player Talib is. He's got talent but he has a lot of maturing to do to be a good person.

[skp]

i get the feeling i'm gonna have "controlling my emotions issues", as Rah put it, while watching this team next season

[BucFandango]

Gassers, haha. Act like kids, get treated like kids. Great job Raheem. take charge and kick them all right in the pants. You are the boss, and they all better not forget it. Make them all run, until the coach gets too tired to blow the whistle. Hahahahaha. Dem wittle bucs had to wun for being bad bad boys. Chaulk one more up for the Coach. Proving me wrong again. That excercise should be good for at least 1 more win. That makes 7 LOL.

[ETO]

GoBucs you are sooo wrong here.

Fights happen all the time. Personally, I like to see that Buc teammates are getting fired up with each other. You are absolutely right that a scuffle alone is not too noteworthy (amazingly enough though they always get reported and not just by Stroud and Holder, see Baltimore and Carolina last year), but (and a BIG BUT here) when a player at ANY level from peewee up to the NFL, uses a helmet at the end of his fist during a scuffle, it IS noteworthy AND reportable AND deserves significant consequences.
Rah is going to find out the hard way that this "family affair" isn't going to go away just because he said it was taken care of internally.

[Rick Stroud]

You got me, GoBucs, I played college baseball. But I've watched about 1,500 football practices at the NFL level and this is the first time I've reported about a player taking off his helmet and using it as a weapon against another player. In this case, the player swinging the helmet was Aqib Talib, the Bucs' first round pick in 2008. The same guy who had an issue at the NFL Rookie Symposium when he got into a fight with then teammate Cory Boyd.
The Bucs have a lot invested in Talib, whose history of making bad choices at Kansas is well-documented. It's not every day a player needs stitches to close a cut caused by a player deliberately swinging a helmet to inflict harm on another player. We call that NEWS. Now, you and Raheem can take issue about how news of this incident made its way to the media when it happened during a closed practice. Frankly, I tend to think that if it was 'just another fight,' like the ones your college teammates engaged in, nobody would've mentioned it. But with 86 players, 20 coaches, front office types on the field, I suspect somebody thought it was an extraordinary event.
If Aqib Talib loses his cool, takes off his helmet and swings it at an opponent during an NFL game, his team will be penalized, he'll be thrown out the game and likely suspended for a few games. Then you and others might be wondering if Aqib ever had a history of struggling to keep his cool. Now you don't have to wonder. Many fans want to read about how Bucs players perform in practice. "Worthless crap?' I know the Bucs don't think so. I suspect when Talib sees how much they fine him, his response will be, "Wow. Just Wow!'

[OAR]

Right on Rick!

[BucFandango]

Rick Stroud, (sorry but I'm working in the office today and keep checking on this) you are right that it is news and worth reporting, especially this time of year. Maybe GoLong needs to do a little less talking, and a little more listening...or run a few of dem gassers wit da boys. Raheem sounded embarrassed, and I bet this doesn't happen again, but if it did and you didn't report it the first time you would be crucified too. If you didn't shut GoLong up with that response, you sure shut me up. Well Said. Bravo.

[DR]

You can tell who has played football and who have been spectators all their lives on these blogs. I do think that a helmet swing is over the top, but at the end of the day, both players apologized and won't make a big deal about it. Fights happen at practice very frequently. It is surprising to hear a fight reported but when a helmet is swung and causes a significant injury, I can see why it is reported. That is big news in OTAs. But its nothing to worry about for the team. It's great news to hear these guys are fired up already! These coaches won't play it off as acceptable to the media but inside their coaches room, they're excited to see their players with this intensity.
A fine should definitely be levied. Question, have they got control of the other hot head Trueblood who made stupid emotional mistakes all season and tried to lose them a game last year?

[Go Long]

Bucfandango - exactly where did I comment on this situation?

[BucFandango]

Oops, sorry, must be my Bushlexia. GoBucs, GoLong, GoAway, you "Go's" all look alike anyway.

[Kurt]

So did he break out the jambox and play the music that all the playas like (cause he's in like that) to get everyone together? I guess Hovan & Trueblood had to sit out of that jam session (they're more into rock!)

[DR]

Awwww, poor Kurt doesn't like them playing rap music...are you a racist? Should they play Brittany Spears for you?

[OAR]

Spin-DR, what an a--! You don't have to be racist to not like a certain cultured thing. I don't like country music, so I guess I'm racist towards rednecks. I don't like grunge rock, so I guess I'm Cobain racist towards Cobain-ians. I don't like rap so I guess I'm racist towards gangstas. I don't like soft rock/pop so I guess I'm racist towards....well you!

[DR]

mOARon, look at Kurt's previous posts. He's made a reference to their black coach and rap music several different times. He should get over it. Quit defending your lover. You guys going to Vermont to get married anytime soon? If you don't like soft rock/pop, then why do you like Gruden? Kurt never cared what music gruden played so why does he bring it up now? I know he's a Tampa hater and all, but let's get off the racial references.

[OAR]

"Kurt doesn't like them playing rap music...are you a racist?" I'm not defending him. I'm offending your dumb a-- question!
Also glad to see your true colors(sliver and blue) shining through with this statement, "He's made a reference to their black coach". That's right our coach ("thier black coach") not yours. Your coach is in Dallas.

[DR]

Yeah, you guys sure do sound like you adopted Coach morris as yours! LMAO! Nobody on here really should reference anything Bucs in the possessive sense. Only a few should be allowed to do that.

[OAR]

Spin-DR, Certainly not your Dallas Cowgirl's a--!
What hater comments have I ever made to or about Morris? I have questioned his experience and all of his moves so far(whether they are good or not), but I have never hated on the man.