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Ronde Barber has seen the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at their very best, and he’s also been with the franchise while it was close to rock bottom. The 17-year veteran isn’t ready to walk away yet, possibly because he believes in some of the dramatic changes that have (pardon this pun) rocked the boat in a positive way this offseason. Ronde Barber joined Steve Duemig on WDAE in Tampa to discuss the approaching conclusion to his long NFL career, the major changes in Tampa, and what went wrong for the Bucs in. He also talked about new head coach Greg Schiano and the controversial Aqib Talib.
On retirement, whenever that comes:
“I’ve been on the brink of not playing football for the past couple of years, so I’ve had plenty of time to think about it. It’s nothing that I’m scared of. I’ll be ready for it whenever that time comes and I’m sure I’ll have some options on some things to do. And I’ll look forward to that whenever that time comes.”
On the completely new coaching staff and a new era in Tampa:
“I think I treaded very cautiously to begin with. I’ve been through four head coaches but this was the first one where it was actually really a change for me. This is the first one that’s really completely different. There’s virtually no connection to the old Bucs, and that’s both good and bad. I imagine one of the reasons I’m still around is because I have some of that history and I can at the very least show what it was to be great back in those days. But this has been a change, and change is change, man. Coach Schiano says it all the time, that you have to embrace change. Obviously what we were doing before wasn’t working — we haven’t been to the playoffs in a number of years. So we gotta get un-used to what we were doing and find new methods and that’s what we’ve been doing this offseason and this training camp.”
On what went wrong last year:
“I wish I knew. There was a lot of things. Injuries was one. We just lost some confidence. There was a lot of things. The good thing about last year is last year is done, and we get to restart it in 2012.”
On new head coach Greg Schiano transitioning from the college game to the pro game:
“Unfortunately there’s been a lot of college coaches that weren’t [successful in the NFL]. Again, it’s hard for me to relay how detailed and how specific he is about his plans for us. But that type of attention to detail I think can only help us, and it’ll only translate into good things for this football team. So to me it doesn’t matter where he came from. He’s here now. His methodology is firmly in place with this football team, and I honestly see it helping us win football games. So I think if you’re a Bucs fan you can count on more discipline and more attention to detail.”
On if Aqib Talib has been scared straight:
“His decision to stay in Tampa and be here for I think almost 100 percent of the workouts, and train in the offseason, which he’d never done before, he’d always gone home — I think those things just speak to his level of dedication. Whether you call it scared straight or really just wanting to realize his talent. Either way, he was here. “
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