Bucs cornerback Aqib Talib has given PFT plenty to write about this year: he's fought with a teammate, a cab driver, and reportedly cursed at his coach.
Now it's time to give the kid his due for his play.
In a league full of zone coverages and cornerbacks that concentrate on one side of the field, Talib has taken to shadowing the opposition's best receiver. And he's been shutting them down.
Despite getting little or no safety help according to the St. Petersburg Times, Talib has been regularly stopping quality wideouts.
DeSean Jackson and Steve Smith were held to one catch against him. Randy Moss caught five passes for 69 yards, but Talib intercepted a pass. The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel called Talib the Defensive Player of the Game last Sunday for following Greg Jennings all day and holding him to five catches for 61 yards. Talib picked off a pass against the Packers as well.
Put together a run like that on a winning team, and Talib might be getting Pro Bowl consideration.
Now we know why the Bucs have put up with his off-field issues.
Talib making an impact
Posted by Gregg Rosenthal on November 10, 2009 10:54 PM ET
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He's got game. I just hope he can get his head on straight.
5 catches for 61 yards sounds pretty decent whether you're Greg Jennings or Joe Schmoe. Defensive Player of the Game my sasquatch ass.
He's a "gunslinger", he either picks off a pass or gets toasted. His pick in the Packers game came while he was roasted, the ball was behind the receiver, got tipped and he caught it (and then he got knocked the f-ck out by Driver). He also was burnt badly in the first quarter for a TD.
He "held" Steve Smith and DeSean Jackson in check because they were averaging 6 yds a carry, why bother throwing the ball?
Just because one player on our defense has a highlight or two doesnt mean he should make the probowl, the entire D is horrible. And lets try not to give him a bigger ego than he already has, why not talk about how high pitched his voice is instead?
Million dollar talent and a ten cent head. This will not have a happy ending.
That URL is invalid... and cannot be loaded.
Criminal.
steve smith sure, but not the good steve smith.
That INT against Brady was a thing of beauty too. The kid ran all the way from the other side of the field to pick it.
As long as a player has talent it doesn't matter what he does off the field cause its what happens on the field is what ultimately counts.
What about Jonathan Joseph from the Cincinnati Bengals or Leon Hall. They have held THREE Teams number one recievers to no catches this season and in five catches their number ones have had one catch or fewer. It is much more impressive than giving up 69 yards to Greg Jennings who had ZERO against Jonathan Joseph. Derrick Mason also had ZERO against Jonathan Jospeh.
Bearsrule said : Million dollar talent and a ten cent head.
You just described 90% of the guys playing in the NFL.
If I remember correctly, didn't he get beat for a touchdown by SINORICE Moss in the Giants' game?
"Randy Moss caught five passes for 69 yards, but Talib intercepted a pass."
He got his balls roasted by Randy and didn't shut him down. Gregg - please don't be stupid.
Fan of Four says: November 11, 2009 7:17 AM
Bearsrule said : Million dollar talent and a ten cent head.
You just described 90% of the guys playing in the NFL.
HAHA. Actually, that figure might be too low !
This sounds like the same annointing of Nnamdi Asomugha.
"Nobody throws his way... he's got the other guys #1 receiver 1:1... Pro Bowler..."
Take a look. There are so many other holes to attack that the guy's stats don't look as bad.
This article is about possibly the best player on a HORRIBLE team....
WHO CARES? His team sucks, his attitude sucks and we'll be reading about his DUI or wife beating in January.
Ummm, correction...
Steve Smith wasn't HELD to one catch, Delhomme could only GET one ball to him. We ran all over Tampa, especially on the game-winning drive. 15 out of 16 plays were runs on that last drive and they couldn't stop it. But to say Talib HELD Steve Smith to only one catch is unfair, that's assuming that Jake Delhomme could even throw it that far. Maybe if Talib was hanging out in the Panthers huddle then he could've intercepted Jake, but they wouldn't even let him throw the ball...let's be real. Talib got off the hook that game, on one hand he had #89 across the line from him, but then on the other, he had #17 with the ball in his hands, and we all know that Delhomme likes to throw--to the wrong team. So Talib benefitted from balls being thrown into the dirt, or out of bounds, or 10 yards over Smith's head. In real life, with a real QB, Smith would've torched Talib.
Complete thug. This is the perfect example of a criminal minded individual being rescued by sport. With the amount and style of trouble he's already caused it shouldn't be too much longer before he joins the likes of Cecil "The Diesel" Collins annd Lawrence Phillips in the can. Talib has no idea what it means to function in society or interact with other human beings in a reasonable capacity. I am an incredible fan of football on all levels. Unfortunately, I live in the Tampa Bay area, wish we had better football here from top to bottom. As soon as football ends, he'll prove to be another sobering statistic, a disfunctional sports thug! Gold tooth and all.
Talib has played extremely well. As a matter of fact, the entire Bucs secondary has played well since week 2 and the team's DBs are among the best groups in the NFL. Unfortunately for the Bucs D, their defensive line is perhaps the worst in the league and they get no pass rush.
What most moronic fans don't realize, is that Talib and the rest of the DBs have been "trying to cover other receivers" without the benefit of a defensive lineman that can get to the QB in under 5 seconds. Sure, Jimmy Wilkerson has 5 sacks, all of which were the result of coverage sacks. This is a very good secondary but coupled with a terrible defensive line they won't get their just due.
The thing with Talib also, is that teams haven't had to throw at him with no pass rush and usually playing with a big lead and yet he still has 5 INTS, he's also a second year player and his first year as a starter. He and Tanard Jackson are quickly developing into the best young FS/CB due in the league.
if you idiots ACTUALLY watched the game, you would know TB shadowed a safety over the top of desean jackson most of the game.