Patriots concerned about Aqib Talib's work ethic

[MoLewisrocks]

Giardi is pretty well connected in the locker room and perhaps on the staff. Bedard almost tripped into a minefield the other night when he was on with Felger. Offhandedly seemed to touch on concerns about Talib but when Felger tried to pin him down he backed off.

As for what Bill had to say about Talib recently, ever hear him wax poetic about Ocho's effort? About the only patriot player commentary I ever trust coming out of Bill's mouth is when he says there is no other QB he'd rather have than Brady.

Only deal I sign Talib to is a heavily incentivized one that retains elements of prove it and minimal dead cap throughout.

 

[JackBauer]

Do you want a guy who's got questionable work habits but performs well on Sundays? Or a guy who's a maniac working out but is awful on Sundays?

How about a guy who's a maniac working out and performs well on Sundays? Surely such a rare species must still exist somewhere?

 

[Steve102]

What about a guy like Antoine Cason?

 

[Deus Irae]

Nice call on Sam Shields. Wouldn't be a bad pickup and he's got the U of Miami connection.

He'd probably be my first choice overall, but the Packers are usually a smart organization and likely won't let him get away.

 

[Get it shawtaay]

This. Asomugha would be a swell acquisition if we're attempting to construct the WOAT secondary.

I hate it when people say this. Asomugha has not "lost it" - maybe he's lost a step, but he's still an excellent cornerback.

People need to understand that Asomugha was a SAFETY in college. Al Davis liked how big he was, and in camp told him to go to the right side of the field and maul the guy in front of him and not let him get away.

The Eagles spent all this money on Nnamdi so they can have him shadow the opposing team's best receiver, play in the slot, play zone instead of press, etc. - thing's he's literally never done in his life. Yet he's still statistically one of the top corners in the NFL (completion % allowed). ie. They made a big money move without thinking it out (par the course for that offseason).

Belichick isn't a fool like the guys in Philly. I'm not saying it happens. But, if he signs Asomugha, he will keep him in his comfort zone and get excellent play out of him.

 

[SacPete1]

Who is this excellent source? I doubt a coach or personnel guy would be providing this kind of nformation to a reporter. Imagine how pissed off Belichick must be reading this.
More likely a player who could very well be a free agent. Unless a coach or personnel guy is saying this and is quoted directly, the title should read "Reporter claims Patriots concerned about Talib's work ethic.

Regardless of whether this story is true, Talib is not a shutdown corner. He's a good corner but there are other good corners (including McCourty) and safeties. The succes of the off-season does not hinge on signing him.

 

[Deus Irae]

Have you watched him lately? He's definitely lost it.

For $15 million a season, he's lost it.

For league minimum, he's still an awesome signing.



The question is where he'd fall in between those extremes.

 

[JackBauer]

I hate it when people say this. Asomugha has not "lost it" - maybe he's lost a step, but he's still an excellent cornerback.

People need to understand that Asomugha was a SAFETY in college. Al Davis liked how big he was, and in camp told him to go to the right side of the field and maul the guy in front of him and not let him get away.

The Eagles spent all this money on Nnamdi so they can have him shadow the opposing team's best receiver, play in the slot, play zone instead of press, etc. - thing's he's literally never done in his life. Yet he's still statistically one of the top corners in the NFL (completion % allowed). ie. They made a big money move without thinking it out (par the course for that offseason).

Belichick isn't a fool like the guys in Philly. I'm not saying it happens. But, if he signs Asomugha, he will keep him in his comfort zone and get excellent play out of him.

That's nice. He was still fairly terrible last year (no doubt he looked worse due to awful safety play), and I wouldn't pin my hopes on signing a 32 year old corner and praying he somehow finds his magic again, especially in a FA-rich CB market.

 

[Brady_to_Moss]

welp if this is the case bye talib...and now we need to find an answer for the CB spot...and not in the draft...

 

[condon84]

How about a guy who's a maniac working out and performs well on Sundays? Surely such a rare species must still exist somewhere?

That's pretty rare for us. McCourty is one out of how many guys we've brought in?

 

[ralmat55]

Despite their concerns about Talib's work ethic, the coaches gave him a pretty prominent role in their game plans for the 2 playoff games- man-to-man against Andre Johnson and Anquan Boldin.

I'm thinking this is a strategic leak hoping to give pause to any team out there thinking about making him a multi-year offer with substantial guarantees. My guess is the Patriots want him back on reasonable terms or else they wouldn't have let this information out.

 

[edboc]

Giardi is pretty well connected in the locker room and perhaps on the staff. Bedard almost tripped into a minefield the other night when he was on with Felger. Offhandedly seemed to touch on concerns about Talib but when Felger tried to pin him down he backed off.

As for what Bill had to say about Talib recently, ever hear him wax poetic about Ocho's effort? About the only patriot player commentary I ever trust coming out of Bill's mouth is when he says there is no other QB he'd rather have than Brady.

Only deal I sign Talib to is a heavily incentivized one that retains elements of prove it and minimal dead cap throughout.

This info sounds (fishy) like this might be coming out to be used as leverage against the agent, or to be used for public perception that the team is moving away from resigning Talib because of these "issues."

 

[Kontradiction]

For $15 million a season, he's lost it.

For league minimum, he's still an awesome signing.



The question is where he'd fall in between those extremes.

I don't see him accepting the league minimum. To me, it looked like he lost a good deal of speed in the Eagles games I saw last year (my roomate is a Giants fan, so I saw a good bit of them). Now, it could have been a combination of the scheme that he was in mixed in with the fact that he may have not been giving it his all. But, for me, I think there are better options out there in FA than him.

 

[Get it shawtaay]

welp if this is the case bye talib...and now we need to find an answer for the CB spot...and not in the draft...

I like Derek Cox a ton as an alternative to Talib. On the field, I'd rather have Cox actually. The problem is that he's missed a lot of games in his career due to injury.

 

[Kontradiction]

I like Derek Cox a ton as an alternative to Talib. On the field, I'd rather have Cox actually. The problem is that he's missed a lot of games in his career due to injury.

He'd fit right in with this team, then.

 

[patsinthesnow]

So if not Talib, who? Keenan Lewis or Brent Grimes?

I wish their were videos of Lewis. The stats (PD, comp%, qbr) indicate he is by far the best CB available, yet he is a no name in a sense. He had no INTs, weird. The steelers did have the #1 pass defense too with older players Polamalu, Clark, and Taylor in the secondary.

 

[supafly]

I wish their were videos of Lewis. The stats (PD, comp%, qbr) indicate he is by far the best CB available, yet he is a no name in a sense. He had no INTs, weird. The steelers did have the #1 pass defense too with older players Polamalu, Clark, and Taylor in the secondary.

First off, we have to assume that PIT is going to retain him. Recent comments on Lewis' twitter feed suggest that "he's happy with what the team has told him regarding their future plans." (not word for word, but that was the gist of it)

Pittsburgh isn't exactly in a position to allow young talent to walk free at a reasonable cost, as they are already in a rebuilding mode of sorts.

I am not a pro scout, but I actually have a TON of concerns with Keenan Lewis, and I saw almost every single game this year. In my opinion, he certainly benefitted from their aggressive scheme and didn't even turn it on until the second half of the season.

The front office will have to make that determination as to whether or not he is a rising star or he is potentially Laurant Robinson part 2 at a different position.

 

[patsinthesnow]

First off, we have to assume that PIT is going to retain him. Recent comments on Lewis' twitter feed suggest that "he's happy with what the team has told him regarding their future plans." (not word for word, but that was the gist of it)

Pittsburgh isn't exactly in a position to allow young talent to walk free at a reasonable cost, as they are already in a rebuilding mode of sorts.

I am not a pro scout, but I actually have a TON of concerns with Keenan Lewis, and I saw almost every single game this year. In my opinion, he certainly benefitted from their aggressive scheme and didn't even turn it on until the second half of the season.

The front office will have to make that determination as to whether or not he is a rising star or he is potentially Laurant Robinson part 2 at a different position.

Haha, just as you posted this I searched his name with forum attached, Steelers fans feel the same way we do about Talib, risky. Damn. Pittsburgh is over the cap though.

 

[supafly]

Not sure if C.Williams has been brought up, but he's overrated in my opinion and asking for way too much money, approx.8-10 million per yr.

He gave up over 1000 yds this season and had a defensive passer rating on opposing QB's of 91.7

 

[supafly]

Haha, just as you posted this I searched his name with forum attached, Steelers fans feel the same way we do about Talib, risky. Damn. Pittsburgh is over the cap though.

I think most teams/fans are going to have concerns about Talib.

Then again, it only takes that one team to make him a better offer.

As far as Pittsburgh's salary cap woes, you do bring up a good point that they will have to be limited to what they can do but I think sometimes these cap problems are overrated too.

Just last year alone they claimed to be in cap hell etc, and managed to move about 12-14 off the cap in a 24 hr period with a couple of restructures.

I'm guessing that they end up keeping Lewis myself, just a hunch though.