FAB 3. Barber Overcame Disastrous Rookie Season

There were high-fives all around Tampa Bay’s war room after the team selected Virginia cornerback Ronde Barber, twin brother of running back Tiki Barber, in the third round of the 1997 NFL Draft. As a three-year starter with the Cavaliers, the play-making Barber had 15 interceptions, including eight as a sophomore in 1994.

Yet with just three picks as a senior and a slow time in the 40-yard dash, Barber slipped to the third round where Tampa Bay was happy to scoop him up and stop his draft day slide.

Former Bucs RB Ronde Barber at Virginia – Photo by: Getty Images

At the time, neither general manager Rich McKay nor director of player personnel Jerry Angelo nor director of college scouting Tim Ruskell suspected that Barber would be the greatest defensive back in franchise history, helping the Bucs to the first and only Super Bowl six years later on the way to a Hall of Fame-caliber career.

Yet neither head coach Tony Dungy nor defensive backs coach Herman Edwards realized that Barber would have such an unbelievably bad rookie season that would prompt the Bucs to draft another cornerback in the second round the next year in USC’s Brian Kelly.

To truly understand how great Barber’s storied career in Tampa Bay was it’s important to go back to the beginning during his rookie season in 1997 where he saw action in only one game – a 19-18 win over the Arizona Cardinals – in which Barber got torched by Rob Moore, who had eight catches for 147 yards and a touchdown, and Frank Sanders that day while collecting four tackles. That win came in Week 5 and Barber’s outing was so bad he did not appear in another regular season game during the 1997 season. Barber didn’t play again until the Bucs’ playoff road game at Green Bay and he suited up because there were some banged up players in the secondary that day.

“Ronde had a horrible rookie year,” said former Bucs cornerback Donnie Abraham. “We can look back it now and laugh, but he did not do well his rookie year. It was almost to the point where there were discussions about him not making it. When you go through things like that, and him obviously coming from Virginia and the ACC, you come into those type of situations thinking, ‘I’m going to come in and play and be productive right away.’ Then when you don’t have those things happen to you right away it builds character and humbles you a little bit. You sort of have to go back to the drawing board understanding that you don’t have it figured out. He put a little bit more work into it, and that’s the thing I saw about him. He was a guy that would put the work in.”

Former Bucs RB Ronde Barber – Photo by: Getty Images

Barber worked hard in the weight room, leaning down to become a tick faster and quicker, but put even more time in the film room to study his opponents and gain every advantage he could from watching receivers’ tendencies on tape. Abraham said Edwards did a good job of helping Barber overcome a rough rookie year.

“Herm did a good job of reaching each individual player,” Abraham said. “Some guys required him to light a fire under them. Some guys he could talk to because they were more laid back. Every situation with every player is different. I came in and played right away and that normally doesn’t happen. When you have a third-round pick like Ronde the next year, you kind of expect those things to happen. As a coach, you just have to find out what works for each individual player, and I think Herm did a great job of reaching Ronde. When it finally clicked, he turned into the type of player that he was.”

Part of Barber’s problem during his rookie year was living up to lofty expectations, as Abraham set the bar pretty high during his own rookie season a year prior in 1996. Abraham was a third-round pick out of East Tennessee State and was so impressive as rookie that Dungy, Edwards and defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin agreed that he should start. Abraham, whom I nicknamed “The Iceman” on the cover of Buccaneer Magazine that year for his cool demeanor, set a Bucs rookie record with five interceptions in 1996, picking off John Elway for his first career INT.

Not only did a poor rookie season humble Barber and light a fire under him for the 1998 campaign, but so did the arrival of Kelly, who was drafted in the second round in ’98 as a potential replacement in case Barber didn’t pan out. Barber rose to the occasion with 70 tackles, three sacks, two interceptions in nine starts, replacing veteran Anthony Parker at right cornerback and playing opposite Abraham. He also scored a touchdown on a 23-yard punt return off a deflected punt against Chicago to give his fledgling career some much-needed momentum.

Former Bucs CB Donnie Abraham – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

“Ronde and I hit it off pretty good and it was one of those things where we learned together,” Abraham said. “We helped each other out. We were similar, but different. He was the fire, and I was the ice. We did a good job of helping each other and then Brian Kelly came in and he was the new kid on the block as a second-round pick. We all know how that goes with second-round draft picks. They are expected to play. Ronde did a good job of responding to his first year. He didn’t let anything bother him. He just put his head down and worked. When he got his opportunity to start, he stepped in and didn’t look back from that point on.”

Barber held Kelly at bay in 1998 and remained a Bucs starter for the next 14 years. In nickel situations and on obvious passing downs in ‘98, Kiffin began moving Barber inside to cover the slot receivers and inserted Kelly at outside cornerback. Kiffin also used Barber to blitz quarterbacks from the slot and he racked up 28 sacks, which is the most by any cornerback in NFL history.

Barber developed the talent to cover Cris Crarter and Randy Moss as an outside cornerback and pick off Daunte Culpepper down the sidelines on first and second down, and then move into the slot and sack the former Vikings giant quarterback on third down.

“It takes a special kind of athlete to do that,” Abraham said. “Not everybody could do it. Ronde could and he definitely deserves the honor of being in the Hall of Fame with the type of numbers he put up.”

No one knew it in the late 1990s, especially after such a horrible rookie season, but Barber was on his way to recording 47 interceptions, 28 sacks and posting over 1,400 tackles during a remarkable 16-year run in Tampa Bay. He had a breakout year in 2001 when he led the league with 10 interceptions and set a single season franchise record.

Former Bucs CB Ronde Barber – Photo by: Getty Images

Kelly struggled for his first three years, but finally found his footing in 2001 and replaced Abraham as the starter in 2002 when Tampa Bay didn’t offer Abraham a contract extension. Kelly wound up tied for the NFL lead with eight interceptions in 2002 playing opposite Barber, with that duo teaming with Dwight Smith and safeties John Lynch and Dexter Jackson to lead the Bucs to a Super Bowl victory over Oakland.

“I don’t think anyone predicted the type of career he would have, but for a guy like Ronde he put in the work,” Abraham said. He didn’t have the measurables you look for – I think he ran a 4.68 or a 4.70 in the 40 – but he was a smart, articulate player with a strong football I.Q. Just with that with the work he put in to it, he became that type of player.”

That work culminated into Barber breaking Tampa Bay’s career interception record of 31, which was set by Abraham in 2001, and being inducted into the Bucs’ Ring of Honor this year.

“We were the left corner and the right corner and we enjoyed each other’s success,” Abraham said. “We loved seeing each other do well. When I stopped playing and he kept going I was always happy for him. If there was anybody I wanted to break my record, it was Ronde. He was fortunate enough and blessed enough to play a long time and have a Hall of Fame career. I’m definitely ecstatic about it. I’m going to enjoy seeing his name go up in the stadium this year. I’m happy for him, Claudia and the girls. It’s definitely well deserved. He had a hell of a career – 16 years. It definitely will put a smile on my face and it will be something exciting to be a part of go to.”

Hopefully getting a bronze bust and a gold jacket at the Pro Football Hall of Fame is the next thing on Barber’s list of achievements. It’s crazy to think that it almost didn’t happen after a rookie season gone wrong. But Barber’s remarkable career is a testament to the work ethic he had and the work that he put in during the 1998 offseason to turn his career around and point it towards Canton, Ohio.

Former Bucs CB Ronde Barber – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

“I didn’t come in with a lot of fanfare,” Barber said at his retirement press conference at One Buccaneer Place a few years ago after the 2013 season. “I can promise you that some of the guys people compare me with worked as hard as I did to get to where I am. I’ve paid my dues. I think I’ve earned everything that I have.”