What is more important to you as a fan, a player's character or talent?

[buckit]

I pay over $200 a season for the NFL ticket to see my Bucs win games, not help the fricken homeless.  I don't care if the guy runs over kittens with a lawnmower on his off days.  Just so long as he stays out of jail and in the endzone.   When his off field antics affect his performance, then I have issues.  Case in point, the 2 game suspension he'll have to serve.  That puts the Bucs in somewhat of a bind coming out of the gate.  I don't like that.  We'd better have a good TE to back him up in case he gets all David Boston on us this year...

[BuckEmUp]

BuckIt, the Bucs have four TE's on the roster.  I do not think they are worried about only being able to carry Smith, Troupe, and Gilmore in games 1 and 2.  They have the insurance policies already on the team.

[rowdie]

There's no reason not to strive for both. It's the extreme that should get out an exit pass, either you just suck at NLF football or you suck at life but if you suck at either, we'll find someone else thanks for your offer of help.

[cheveliar]

This is a difficult question to answer.  By nature of what they do these guys are modern day gladiators.  Full of testosterone jacked up on adrenaline on Sunday.  Not every guy you find with great talent will have the character to match.  Actually I think that is rare when you speak in terms of greatness. 

Seems like the prevailing attitude is that you have to have a mixture.  And I agree for every Simeon Rice and Warren Sapp you gotta have a Derrick Brooks to even that out.  To beable to call them on the carpet at anytime and have the cred and game to back up his speech.  If the nucleus of the team is frail then you can afford questionable players or the locker room will be lost...

[rpc1978]

at the end of the day, when you sign a player you aren't looking back at what he did in the past (character and football production) as much as you are looking forward at the player's potential upside on the field and his propensity for trouble off the field. Stevens has the potential to be quite productive in our system and beside DUIs he hasn't been in serious trouble since college, which was a decade ago so there isnt a reason to think he is going to do so going forward.

This will all blow over. That was an uproar about Pittman once upon a time and yet now the general consensus on the guy is positive.

Pittman turned his life around with the help of counselling and the church. He is still married to his wife and has been in no trouble since.

yet if Stevens is going to be drilled for sexual assualt and stomping a guy over a decade ago, check out Pittman's rap sheet.  Ramming his wife's car wasn't the first domestric violence incident.  he has had multiple run ins with the law dating back to college and all involve violence against women.  yet, with time that blew over.  so will this provided Stevens is productive on the field and keeps his nose clean off the field.  How much do you hear about Kobe's allged rape charges or Ray Lewis' trial?  That stuff blows over.   These are athletes.  they should be admired for their athletic gifts but by no means are they models for morality.   nor should they be.  i have no problem with giving guys with past legal woes a shot as long as its for the vet minimum contract.  low risk/high reward. 

[yuccaneers]

It comes down to talent for me in most cases, while I can overlook a few minor infractions or run ins with the law, certain things just cant be over looked.

This is a league of what you you done lately, if you have nothing but choir boys you arent going to win consistently, you have to have players with egos, which leads to a few minor infractions from time to time because of choices they make. 

[STULAAKE]

Talent; most players in the NFL, IMO, have both...but using the 80/20 rule, 20% of the NFL players that have poor character overlook the 80% that have good character because that is what we as a society crave is the pro athlete gone bad...have a nice weekend!

[bucbeast]

Talent by far, I am of the opinion that if the Bucs have to swing by Raford prison on Sunday mornings to pick up 2 or 3 starters off of death row so be it, its a game and the object is winning, so do whatever's necessary to achieve it.

[cheveliar]

Talent by far, I am of the opinion that if the Bucs have to swing by Raford prison on Sunday mornings to pick up 2 or 3 starters off of death row so be it, its a game and the object is winning, so do whatever's necessary to achieve it.

OMG!!!!  Now that is a baaaaad place right there...LOL

[The Q]

Talent wins in the NFL, where winning is involved. If it is the league office and Roger G. then  it might be character, but to the teams and fans, it is talent that wins.