Claiborne might be less likely to be taken by the Bucs.

[michael89156]

MARCH 21, 2012


The fallout from Ronde Barber's return to the Bucs


I’ll preface this by saying this post will be somewhat incomplete because there are still some shoes that must drop.
 
But after tonight’s news that Ronde Barber will be returning to the Bucs for a 16th season, it’s not too early to address what, exactly, it all means.
 
Let’s start with this: The Bucs now have a bit more flexibility in their decision-making as it relates to the secondary. We don’t know for certain what Barber’s role is going to be because a) we don’t know what will become of Aqib Talib when he stands trial next month and b) it’s still too early to know where the Bucs will play new signee Eric Wright or whether they’ll select a cornerback in next month’s draft (we fully expect them to, though maybe not the first round).
 
To take things a step further, we don’t even know the details of the defensive scheme the Bucs are going to play under their new coaching staff and coordinator Bill Sheridan.
 
But this much we can all agree on: The Bucs have to feel a little better about the position tonight. They currently have three very proven players at cornerback in Barber, Talib and Wright. That would be a pretty formidable 1-2-3 lineup in any order, provided Talib emerges from his legal troubles.
 
Given that, you can make a case that LSU prospect Morris Claiborne, who might be available when the Bucs draft at No. 5 overall, might be less likely to be taken by the Bucs. At the very least, cornerback is at least a little lower of a draft priority after Barber’s decision.
 
This doesn’t represent a seismic shift in the Bucs’ offseason, but it’s definitely an important move that will affect other decisions. And given the fact Barber was mostly solid in 2011, the effects of Barber returning will certainly be positive.



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Posted by Stephen Holder at 9:05:50 pm on March 21, 2012

[MasterC25]

We can only pray!



Draft Trent Richardson

[jhop88]

I'd love Claiborne...Trent Richardson, not so much...drafting a RB w/the 5th pick should have AP-type talent...IMO, Richardson is nowhere close.

[BucBalla85]

I still think he could be taken. Although Richardson sounds likely due to what we've done so far.

[traew01]

Right now I think Richardson is the likely pick if he is still on the board.

I just don't think Blount gives Schiano the type of back he wants to build his running game around. Right now, for Schiano, he is all about laying a foundation for the future of this team. With V Jax, Nicks, Freeman and Richardson - that would be one heck of a foundation for the next 3-5 years.

Not saying its right - but all signs point to TR.

[buccaneer4ever]

TR had two games where he had less than 4 yards per carry last year. In one, versus LSU, he had 3.9. In the other, he had 3 TDs on 13 carries. How is that NOT elite?

Link: http://espn.go.com/college-football/player/_/id/480206/trent-richardson

[BucBalla85]

Yea and I love Blount. We just need another weapon besides him and Richardson would fit that as well as anybody. However I'm on that bandwagon where we can get a back later. Draft Claiborne and get that elite corner.

[traew01]

I'm gonna be THRILLED with either Claiborne (Secondary goes from dreadful to potentially special with Claiborne, Talib (hopefully) Wright and Barber; Richardson (he and Blount would sick combo); or Blackmon (a scary receiving trio with VJax and MW19, and great depth behind them.

We are in the cat birds seat for sure.

[youngone]

I don't think a 37 year old corner should sway them from drafting Claiborne if that's who they want. Richardson could very well be the pick but ronde shouldn't be the only reason why especially with the possibility of talib not being available.

[The Franchi5e]

Just my opinion, but I think they gave Ronde some assurance that they won't be drafting Claiborne. EJ Biggers, Myron Lewis and Gaitor aren't exactly Revis, Champ Bailey and Joe Haden, but they're still really young and I'm sure that Schiano and his staff is going to atleast see what they have in them. If we see one or two of them cut then the chances become higher that we're drafting Claiborne. But with Talib, Wright, Ronde, Biggers, Lewis and Gaitor on the roster I think CB isn't nearly as big as an issue as RB and LB. Those are our two most glaring needs by far. I mean we have 6 CB's already on roster....but literally only 1 RB and he's only got a year left on his contract if I'm not mistaken? And we have only one LBer on roster who even showed decent play and that was only for a few games at the beginning of the year. Dekoda Watson has shown potential but he's honestly looked more like a DE, or an OLB in a 3-4 scheme. Quincy Black looked like one of the worst linebackers I have ever seen last year, and Adam Hayward is pretty much strictly a special teams player unless there's a few injuries and he absolutely needs to be out there. Hell, even DL might be a bigger need than CB at this point. We have two of the most fragile guys in the league playing out there for us and two guys who are barely even in the league in Roy Miller and Frank Okam backing them up. Safety is even a bigger need after Grimm had season ending injuries two years in a row, and Tanard is one bong hit away from being banned from the NFL for life. You guys just need to realize that Talib was playing injured for most of the year, and Biggers was routinely put on the #1 receiver. This year he'll be on the other team's #3 receiver at best, and he should be back to playing good football doing that. It also didn't help that we played pretty much every top passing team in the league with some of the best receivers in the league (Calvin, Roddy and Julio twice, Reggie Wayne, Garcon, Drew Brees to everyone twice, Andre Johnson, Aaron Rodgers to everyone, Steve Smith twice, Dez, Miles Austin).

And to those saying that Trent Richardson is no AP.....I think you never really saw the guy play besides the National Championship and some YouTube highlights. The guy is straight up one of the best, most complete RB's I've ever seen in my life. He's going to be a top 3 RB in the NFL and a perennial Pro-Bowler. AP is the only back in recent memory that you can even COMPARE Trent to. And if you posters knew the type of leader and person he is, you'd want him part of this team even more. Another RB like him probably isn't going to come around for a long time, and if they do then hopefully we're not picking this high in the draft again in 5-10 years to pick him.

[nubcake]

Name me a weakness in Trent Richardson's game.

Good luck.

And I don't even support us taking him 5th, but people who act like he's overrated need to get their facts straight. The argument should be against Richardson's position being drafted top 5. TR himself isn't the problem.

[aarex]

A one year deal for a 37 year old DB is not going to affect our draft strategy one iota.

[youngone]

Just my opinion, but I think they gave Ronde some assurance that they won't be drafting Claiborne. EJ Biggers, Myron Lewis and Gaitor aren't exactly Revis, Champ Bailey and Joe Haden, but they're still really young and I'm sure that Schiano and his staff is going to atleast see what they have in them. If we see one or two of them cut then the chances become higher that we're drafting Claiborne. But with Talib, Wright, Ronde, Biggers, Lewis and Gaitor on the roster I think CB isn't nearly as big as an issue as RB and LB. Those are our two most glaring needs by far. I mean we have 6 CB's already on roster....but literally only 1 RB and he's only got a year left on his contract if I'm not mistaken? And we have only one LBer on roster who even showed decent play and that was only for a few games at the beginning of the year. Dekoda Watson has shown potential but he's honestly looked more like a DE, or an OLB in a 3-4 scheme. Quincy Black looked like one of the worst linebackers I have ever seen last year, and Adam Hayward is pretty much strictly a special teams player unless there's a few injuries and he absolutely needs to be out there. Hell, even DL might be a bigger need than CB at this point. We have two of the most fragile guys in the league playing out there for us and two guys who are barely even in the league in Roy Miller and Frank Okam backing them up. Safety is even a bigger need after Grimm had season ending injuries two years in a row, and Tanard is one bong hit away from being banned from the NFL for life. You guys just need to realize that Talib was playing injured for most of the year, and Biggers was routinely put on the #1 receiver. This year he'll be on the other team's #3 receiver at best, and he should be back to playing good football doing that. It also didn't help that we played pretty much every top passing team in the league with some of the best receivers in the league (Calvin, Roddy and Julio twice, Reggie Wayne, Garcon, Drew Brees to everyone twice, Andre Johnson, Aaron Rodgers to everyone, Steve Smith twice, Dez, Miles Austin).

And to those saying that Trent Richardson is no AP.....I think you never really saw the guy play besides the National Championship and some YouTube highlights. The guy is straight up one of the best, most complete RB's I've ever seen in my life. He's going to be a top 3 RB in the NFL and a perennial Pro-Bowler. AP is the only back in recent memory that you can even COMPARE Trent to. And if you posters knew the type of leader and person he is, you'd want him part of this team even more. Another RB like him probably isn't going to come around for a long time, and if they do then hopefully we're not picking this high in the draft again in 5-10 years to pick him.

We are not assured that talib will be available but you made some good points. if they draft Richardson I won't complain. He dominated the best division in college football.

[buccaneer4ever]

In 7 games last year, half of the games he started, TR had a 5 yards or more per carry average. Against Ole Miss he had a 10.8 YPC with 4 TDs and against N. Texas his YPC were 15.2! He only had 11 carries in that game and scored 3 TDs.

The man is an absolute beast.

[NittanyBuc]

As much as I think Claiborne is the right pick, TR is one hell of a consolation prize.