What to do about Aqib Talib...

Lately there has been increasing sentiment from around NFL circles that the Bucs should part ways with their talented young cornerback, Aqib Talib. Everyone has an opinion and a lot of them seem to say that the Buccaneers are a team that lacks organizational control and that the coaches are enablers and that they have to take a stance. Just this morning reports came out regarding Chris Hovan and his opinion on the situation.

The league likes to advance this image that things were purer in a previous day and era (similar to the Roman concept of Mos Maiorum). The older generation speaks as though there was this prevailing integrity inherent in the league during their time and that today’s NFL has lost that and somehow needs to get back to that. Just listen to Mark Schlereth get on his NFL soapbox at ESPN, and he’s not even that old. Listen to Mike Ditka, listen to Herm Edwards, there is almost this idea that teams should conduct themselves by this archaic, unwritten NFL Ethos.

That ethos has never existed. What I find interesting is that throughout the history of the league there are stories of selfish players and guys with criminal streaks helping great teams get to the top. No one ever calls them out. The MVP of Super Bowl I, Max McGee, violated the team’s curfew the night before and was hungover the day of the game, at one point saying to starter Boyd Dowler, “I hope you don’t get hurt. I’m not in very good shape.” Nobody ever questions why Vince Lombardi didn’t sit him for violation of team rules.

As it stands Max McGee is woven into the fabric of NFL lore, the first MVP of the first Super Bowl. Today you’d listen to Mark Schlereth say that, “this is a guy who doesn’t get it.” The prevailing idea being that this is not how things are done in the NFL. Only that was 40-some years ago on Lombardi’s Packers.

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