Aqib Talib scouting report from a Buccaneers blogger

In doing some google searching for Aqib Talib I stumbled across a recently posted article on the SB Nation Bucs blog. It asked the question, should the Bucs trade Talib?

Well, they did. so I was curious what the Bucs follower had to say.

There is the obvious stuff about his off-field incidents. Which we have and will continue to hear plenty about. How about an honest assessment of his on field play? At the end of the day, that's all that really matters anyway.

Belichick has brought Talib in with the hopes of saving his secondary, and in some ways the season (exaggerating a little). He was a first round pick, but so was Devin McCourty. Is Talib up to the task?

This blogger's take is essentially that he has shown flashes of great potential, but is ultimately inconsistent. Here's to hoping that a change in scenery is all he needs.

Sander Philipse, Bucs Nation:

One thing the Bucs must take into account is the cornerback's inconsistent on-field play and his failure to stay healthy. Talib has all the talent in the world, but he has a tendency to apparently lose focus during matches, giving up some relatively easy completions. Other times he hurts the team with stupid penalties, as the cornerback played a major part in the 2011 loss to the Chicago Bears in London, earning a taunting penalty to give the Bears a first down after an impressive third-down stop late in the game. When he's on his game, he can be one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL, as evidenced by his completely shutting down Greg Jennings the past season, but he isn't on his game quite often enough to be a true premiere cornerback.

More troubling may be the fact that Talib has never completed a full sixteen-game season, missing games with injury in each of his four seasons. He ended both his past two seasons on injured reserve and struggled with minor injuries that hampered his effectiveness throughout the 2011 season. With 17 interceptions and 3 touchdowns through four seasons he has surely proven his ability to be a playmaker on the defensive side of the ball, but it's tough for the Buccaneers to reward with him a long-term contract in the face of all of these problems.