Chris Hovan is tired of Aqib Talib's BS.

Former Buc Chris Hovan is not a fan of Aqib Talib’s antics, and he doesn’t appreciate that the Buccaneers enabling Talib to act that way either. If you ask Hovan, the Bucs are a team full of double-standards it’s going to bite them in the rear end. And someone did ask Hovan, the folks at WQYK in Tampa asked him and Hovan had this to say:

“How many strikes does Aqib get?” Hovan said.  “I mean, really?  He beats up a taxi driver.  He beats — I saw what he did to Torrie Cox by hitting him in the head with a helmet.  I have never seen that before in my 15-20 years of playing football. . . .  He took his helmet off and he whacked him over the bridge of the nose. He knew what he was doing.”

Hovan later said that Cox needed 20 stitches and that Hovan “could see the bone in Torrie’s nose.”

“[Talib] has been given too much leeway from Raheem Morris because, I guess, Coach Morris [the team's former defensive backs coach] has favoritism towards him because he played defensive back,” Hovan said.  “Again, they are giving this young man way too much leeway.  Any other individual would have been cut way before this. But Aqib has so much talent — his talent goes through the ceiling. But you can’t keep having these offseason issues and you can’t keep covering for this kid. They are saying it’s OK for what he is doing and he just pistol whipped somebody in Texas.”

“I mean, how many times does ownership and management let this kid get off?” Hovan said.  “It’s not fair to the other players because you have all these other players following the straight and narrow and you are letting one individual go out and do his own thing? I don’t feel that is acceptable right now. Raheem and Mark Dominik need to address this because they are saying he is bigger than the team right now. . . . [H]ow many times do you let this guy off the hook now?  How many times?  I mean, how many people does he have to hurt?  How many times is he going to get sued?  How many times is he going to go to jail before you get it right?  Who is going to step in?  Is Raheem going to step in?  I have not seen Raheem step in.”

Clearly Hovan didn’t hold back. He’s voicing an opinion that does seem to be gaining traction, but is also largely unpopular in Tampa. Many Bucs fans remain smitten with Talib and don’t want to see him go, others think it’s time to just cut him and find someone whose more reliable off the field. We know which camp Hovan is in. And as much as I’d like to discredit him, he makes some very valid points. I really don’t think the Bucs will make a determination on what to do with Talib until there is a decision made on the case in Texas (and obviously not until league business resumes). But it is very possible that the pressure from the rest of the league will cause the Bucs to just move on.

The Bucs felt no need for Hovan’s services following their decision to draft both Gerald McCoy and Brian Price in the first two rounds of the NFL Draft.

Statistics with TB (5 seasons):

• Games: 79 (missed one game in 2008)
• Tackles: 168
• Sacks: 5
• Pass Deflections: 4

The list includes fullback B.J. Askew, offensive linemen Arron Sears and Shawn Murphy, punter Sam Paulescu, and cornerback Stoney Woodson.

The two surprising names are Sears and Askew, both of whom were solid players for the Bucs in their tenures.

Stay tuned to The Pewter Plank for more in-depth analysis on the men who received the pink slip.