SR, why Talib and not Mendenhall????

[SunnyD]

Wow! What a stunning revelation SunnyD.

Meh.

Truth is Mendenhall wouldn't have brought anything to the table that the Bucs don't already have.

And apparently the FO reached the same conclusion.

If people wanna complain about not drafting a RB in the first round complain about Chris Johnson, at least he would have brought a unique skill set.

[Samari28]

I am sitting here on Monday night still scratching my head as to why we took Aqib Talib over maybe one of the best RB's in this year's draft.  Mendenhall is maybe one of the most complete backs to come out in the past couple of years (Adrian Peterson aside) and we have an obvious need at RB, not CB in my opinion.  Plus we could have drafted a CB in Round 2 or Round 3.

At CB we have a proven Ronde Barber who probably has 2 years left, Phillip Buchanan has gotten better every year he has been here and he is a very talented guy, Eugene Wilson was signed this off-season and he has proven he can be a starter, Sammy Davis did not play that bad last year and Torrie Cox has some decent skills.

At RB we have an unproven Graham as he has never shown he can do it AGAIN, Warrick is a nice pick-up but he is in his early 30's and not a 20 - 25 carry a game back and Bennett although he has speed and can catch still cannot block.  Then you add in the fact that Cadillac may never play again and even if he does he may never be the same.  I understand you don't want a bunch of money tied up in one position but you don't get the chance to draft a stud like Mendenhall very often.

Mendenhall has no holes in his game, he has good size, good speed, good hands, able to block and he has good character. 

Everybody knows my feelings on Graham and I think honestly if you look at things objectively and not through Croc glasses you would see he is a consistent back but he has no upside, he can only get worse and again he has never proven he can be the man full-time all season long.  Then you add in the fact he is 28, wants a large contract and you have the same issue - a lot of money tied up in one position.

I totally understand Talib over Mike Jenkins as Talib is a much more accomplished playmaker but all off season we heard about how we need playmakers yet we have one of the best playmakers fall right in our laps and we take a pass on him.

Mike Tomlin obviously knows how good of a player he is and it is not like the Steelers needed a RB as they have Willie Parker who has proven a lot more than Graham and Bennett have combined.

To me if you are going to pass on Mendenhall we should have traded our #1 and #2 this year and #1 next year for Jaren Allen as no matter how good Talib is he is no Jared Allen as far as dominating and splash plays.  He is not the next Woodson and he is not the next McAlister.  He is not even the next Cromartie and it is hard to believe he is so talented that this is the first CB we have taken in the first round in how many years?  We have passed on a lot more talented CB's over the years and I for one again do not understand the logic in Talib over Mendenhall.

I also don't see the need for Dexter Jackson and Zuttah as I think we drafted two back-ups and second and third round picks need to be starters.  When we look back at this draft we will see we drafted three back-ups in the first three rounds and to me we get a D for this draft.  Dre Moore is the only thing really saving this draft as he was a good value in round 4 and although I like Josh Johnson he is a project and I hope Gruden does not mess it up as he has NEVER developed a young QB to do much of anything in this league.

[BucsGuru]

Graham Baby!!

[SarasotaBuc Fan]

good question, if you guys interveiw gruden or BA soon, that would be a question i would ask.

[dbucfan]

Ask Hate - he will give you a quick answer - we didn't understand it either...  My assumption - along with most folks - was that the buccs would be taking an offensive playmaker - Mendenhall or Johnson made sense - I just did not think about a defensive playmaker prior to the draft.

[SunnyD]

Is Mendenhall that different of a back than Graham?

[bizkitlimped]

Faster, that's about it.

[Calvin Johnson]

Thats a good question. After listening to Dennis Hickey's director of college scouting for tampa. I thought either Rashard or Devin Thomas would have been taken by tampa. Hickey was talking about taking the best player at 20 that fills a position.

Having a player like Mendenhall fall in your lap should be cause to alter your thought process. As our pick was approaching, and the possibililty of him being there increased, I just couldn't see how we'd pass on this guy.

And as previously stated, the Steelers took him and they need a rb less than we do, IMO.

This was like Steven Jackson all over again.

[dbucfan]

Mendenhall is a big play threat - moves, speed and power.  EG gets it done with want to...

[leeroybuc93]

If we had Aqib rated higher we take him.  It's that simple.  Mendenhall was the 2nd or 3rd best back in the draft while Talib was probably the 2nd or 3rd best CB.  If we had them rated the same, CBs are just more important. 

[PoorRichard]

I am sitting here on Monday night still scratching my head as to why we took Aqib Talib over maybe one of the best RB's in this year's draft. Mendenhall is maybe one of the most complete backs to come out in the past couple of years (Adrian Peterson aside) and we have an obvious need at RB, not CB in my opinion. Plus we could have drafted a CB in Round 2 or Round 3.

At CB we have a proven Ronde Barber who probably has 2 years left, Phillip Buchanan has gotten better every year he has been here and he is a very talented guy, Eugene Wilson was signed this off-season and he has proven he can be a starter, Sammy Davis did not play that bad last year and Torrie Cox has some decent skills.

You fail to realize that all the DBs mentioned are basically 1 year guys. Ronde aint getting any younger, PB is in a contract year, Davis same, Wilson is basically a year-to-year guy. Not to mention defense wins championships.

Mendenhall would have been a wasted pick for next year. The liklihood that he would get significant carries from Graham and Dunn in this offense is zero.

[Samari28]

Talib will not start over Ronde, P-Buc and Wilson and I disagree, Mendenhall would have started over Graham as again not sure what everyone sees in him other than he is a Gator and he is a "workman" but Mendenhall is a talented guy that would start.  Anybody who thinks Graham is better than Mendenhall is not being objective and on this team RB is a lot more needed than CB as CB has always been a later round pick.  DE's, LB's and RB's have been the staple of this team for years.

[Madman]

In Gruden's book, Do You Love Football?!, he writes that the four most important positions in football in order are: quarterback, a pass-rushing defensive end, then left tackle and a shut-down cornerback tied for third.

Unless his name is Adrian Peterson, CB has more value than a RB (even on a Cover 2 defense).

[leeroybuc93]

Talib will not start over Ronde, P-Buc and Wilson and I disagree, Mendenhall would have started over Graham as again not sure what everyone sees in him other than he is a Gator and he is a "workman" but Mendenhall is a talented guy that would start. Anybody who thinks Graham is better than Mendenhall is not being objective and on this team RB is a lot more needed than CB as CB has always been a later round pick. DE's, LB's and RB's have been the staple of this team for years.

What it says to me is that we don't think Caddy is done.