Ronde Barber announces retirement. (1 Viewer)

[Wingnut]

http://www.tampabay.com/sports/football/bucs/report-bucs-ronde-barber-retires/2119885

TAMPA Buccaneers defensive back Ronde Barber has decided to retire from the NFL after 16 seasons, according to a report by Jay Glazer of Fox Sports.

"Just got off the phone w Ronde Barber who told me he is officially retiring," Glazer said via Twitter. "I've had a better run than I ever could've dreamed of having."

What Barber will be remembered for is not that he played every week for 16 NFL seasons, it's that he played so well.

The 38-year-old Barber is the last active member of the Bucs' Super Bowl XXXVII championship team.

"It was a good run," longtime teammate Derrick Brooks said. "It was an honor to play alongside Ronde for 14 years. I'm excited to see what's next for Ronde...Ronde knew how to play the game smart. He knew how to give hits and take hits. For his size, he played big. But he knew how to play smart with his body. We took pride in what we did.

The cerebral part of his game was second to none. That obviously goes into effect when you're talking about a player of Ronde's stature being able to play as many years as he played. You can't do that unless you're smart and prepare your butt every week to be able to play."

The Bucs met with Barber in March and offered him a chance to remain with the team for what would be a reduced contract and likely a smaller role. As an unrestricted free agent, Barber had signed a series of one-year contracts the past three seasons.

Last year, he was asked to switch positions by first-year coach Greg Schiano, from cornerback to free safety, and led the team in interceptions with four, including one he returned for a touchdown. He was an alternate to the NFC Pro Bowl team.

Barber revolutionized the slot position in the nickel defense, which deploys five defensive backs. From that spot, he was skilled at disguising his intentions of whether to blitz or drop into coverage.

As a result Barber is the only player in NFL history to have recorded 47 interceptions, a club record, and 28 sacks (not including the postseason).

 

[Runningman]

Sad to see you go Ronde.

 

[Buddy Ball 2K3]

He made a living off of McNabb :(

 

[Premier]

Man I'm going to miss him.

 

[Ministry of Pain]

One of the all time Bucs great, sad to see him go but he gave so much over a 16 year career. He is a bright and articulate man, won't be surprised to see him do what his brother tried but with a lot less effort and problems. NFLN I would think might enjoy having him on their team. Super Bowl champion, 5-time Pro Bowl, 3-time All Pro, 12 Int/Fumble returns for a TD, he will be mentioned for Canton but I don't know that he makes it.

 

[Premier]

One of the all time Bucs great, sad to see him go but he gave so much over a 16 year career. He is a bright and articulate man, won't be surprised to see him do what his brother tried but with a lot less effort and problems. NFLN I would think might enjoy having him on their team. Super Bowl champion, 5-time Pro Bowl, 3-time All Pro, 12 Int/Fumble returns for a TD, he will be mentioned for Canton but I don't know that he makes it.

I think he makes it. I've seen a lot more media types refer to him as "future hall of Famer" in the last year or two than I had in the past.

 

[Wingnut]

One of the all time Bucs great, sad to see him go but he gave so much over a 16 year career. He is a bright and articulate man, won't be surprised to see him do what his brother tried but with a lot less effort and problems. NFLN I would think might enjoy having him on their team. Super Bowl champion, 5-time Pro Bowl, 3-time All Pro, 12 Int/Fumble returns for a TD, He will be mentioned for Canton but I don't know that he makes it.

I hope this is schtick. He's a first ballot HOFer.

 

[Ministry of Pain]

One of the all time Bucs great, sad to see him go but he gave so much over a 16 year career. He is a bright and articulate man, won't be surprised to see him do what his brother tried but with a lot less effort and problems. NFLN I would think might enjoy having him on their team. Super Bowl champion, 5-time Pro Bowl, 3-time All Pro, 12 Int/Fumble returns for a TD, He will be mentioned for Canton but I don't know that he makes it.

I hope this is schtick. He's a first ballot HOFer.

1st? I like him a lot just didn't think of him as a 1st ballot.

 

[Tau837]

One of the all time Bucs great, sad to see him go but he gave so much over a 16 year career. He is a bright and articulate man, won't be surprised to see him do what his brother tried but with a lot less effort and problems. NFLN I would think might enjoy having him on their team. Super Bowl champion, 5-time Pro Bowl, 3-time All Pro, 12 Int/Fumble returns for a TD, He will be mentioned for Canton but I don't know that he makes it.

I hope this is schtick. He's a first ballot HOFer.

I think he deserves it, but I don't think he will make it on the first ballot. Aeneas Williams Was as good or better, and he has been waiting since eligible.

 

[Wingnut]

One of the all time Bucs great, sad to see him go but he gave so much over a 16 year career. He is a bright and articulate man, won't be surprised to see him do what his brother tried but with a lot less effort and problems. NFLN I would think might enjoy having him on their team. Super Bowl champion, 5-time Pro Bowl, 3-time All Pro, 12 Int/Fumble returns for a TD, He will be mentioned for Canton but I don't know that he makes it.

I hope this is schtick. He's a first ballot HOFer.

1st? I like him a lot just didn't think of him as a 1st ballot.

Sapp was a 1st ballot entry, I see no reason Ronde isn't. I could see maybe making him wait til his 2nd try, but I wont be surprised if he gets in on the first.

 

[Ministry of Pain]

One of the all time Bucs great, sad to see him go but he gave so much over a 16 year career. He is a bright and articulate man, won't be surprised to see him do what his brother tried but with a lot less effort and problems. NFLN I would think might enjoy having him on their team. Super Bowl champion, 5-time Pro Bowl, 3-time All Pro, 12 Int/Fumble returns for a TD, He will be mentioned for Canton but I don't know that he makes it.

I hope this is schtick. He's a first ballot HOFer.

1st? I like him a lot just didn't think of him as a 1st ballot.

Sapp was a 1st ballot entry, I see no reason Ronde isn't. I could see maybe making him wait til his 2nd try, but I wont be surprised if he gets in on the first.

Sapp was almost one of a kind, I was on record saying he would be a 1st ballot, there was never any doubt except to people that didn't like his mouth. I just don't think voters will put him in 1st ballot. And I think he might have to wait if he gets in. I see brooks going 1st ballot or should. John Lynch would be up for some discussion but I think he will get in one day.

 

[BigSteelThrill]

Oh my. What an absolute baller!

/salute

 

[Wingnut]

One of the all time Bucs great, sad to see him go but he gave so much over a 16 year career. He is a bright and articulate man, won't be surprised to see him do what his brother tried but with a lot less effort and problems. NFLN I would think might enjoy having him on their team. Super Bowl champion, 5-time Pro Bowl, 3-time All Pro, 12 Int/Fumble returns for a TD, He will be mentioned for Canton but I don't know that he makes it.

I hope this is schtick. He's a first ballot HOFer.

I think he deserves it, but I don't think he will make it on the first ballot. Aeneas Williams Was as good or better, and he has been waiting since eligible.

What Barber has going for him over Williams is he played his whole career with one team, has a SB ring, and although Williams has a few more INTs than Barber (55 vs 47), Barber has 28 sacks vs 3 for Williams. I'm not sure how many players are in the 40/20 club (INT/Sacks), but Barber is one of the few.Eta: other members of the 40/20 clubRay Lewis 40.5/31Seth Joyner 52/24Wilbur Marshall 45/23Brian Urlacher 41.5/21

 

[Adam Harstad]

One of the all time Bucs great, sad to see him go but he gave so much over a 16 year career. He is a bright and articulate man, won't be surprised to see him do what his brother tried but with a lot less effort and problems. NFLN I would think might enjoy having him on their team. Super Bowl champion, 5-time Pro Bowl, 3-time All Pro, 12 Int/Fumble returns for a TD, He will be mentioned for Canton but I don't know that he makes it.

I hope this is schtick. He's a first ballot HOFer.

I think he deserves it, but I don't think he will make it on the first ballot. Aeneas Williams Was as good or better, and he has been waiting since eligible.

Yeah, no way. The HoF is allergic to corners. Ronde has a strong case- basically he and Champ were the only stalwarts at a position that saw an insane amount of turnover and churn over the past decade (almost Charles Woodson, too, but he definitely had some "black hole of suck" seasons at the end of his Oakland tenure before he moved on to Green Bay). Long after his quality peers had fizzled out (Patrick Surtain, Sam Madison, Troy Vincent, Ty Law, Chris McAlister, Lito Sheppard, Nnamdi Asomugha, and all of the other "next big thing"s), Ronde was still going strong and providing positive value. Barber's hurt by the fact that his peak was so much lower than most other HoF CBs (he was never really spectacular), but in what amounted to a lost generation for CBs, I'd still give it based on his longevity- just the sheer length of time where he was good-to-great. If Woodson is done at this point, too (certainly a possibility), I don't see them inducting Barber over Chuck, and I certainly don't see them inducting two first ballot CBs, which means Ronde would have to wait if he makes it at all. Ronde was perhaps the ideal Tampa-2 CB. Really, he was the case of the exact right player landing in the exact right place at the exact right time. And on top of that, he seems like a genuinely good guy.

 

[cstu]

One of the all time Bucs great, sad to see him go but he gave so much over a 16 year career. He is a bright and articulate man, won't be surprised to see him do what his brother tried but with a lot less effort and problems. NFLN I would think might enjoy having him on their team. Super Bowl champion, 5-time Pro Bowl, 3-time All Pro, 12 Int/Fumble returns for a TD, He will be mentioned for Canton but I don't know that he makes it.

I hope this is schtick. He's a first ballot HOFer.

I think he deserves it, but I don't think he will make it on the first ballot. Aeneas Williams Was as good or better, and he has been waiting since eligible.

 

[cstu]

One of the all time Bucs great, sad to see him go but he gave so much over a 16 year career. He is a bright and articulate man, won't be surprised to see him do what his brother tried but with a lot less effort and problems. NFLN I would think might enjoy having him on their team. Super Bowl champion, 5-time Pro Bowl, 3-time All Pro, 12 Int/Fumble returns for a TD, He will be mentioned for Canton but I don't know that he makes it.

I hope this is schtick. He's a first ballot HOFer.

I think he deserves it, but I don't think he will make it on the first ballot. Aeneas Williams Was as good or better, and he has been waiting since eligible.

What Barber has going for him over Williams is he played his whole career with one team, has a SB ring, and although Williams has a few more INTs than Barber (55 vs 47), Barber has 28 sacks vs 3 for Williams. I'm not sure how many players are in the 40/20 club (INT/Sacks), but Barber is one of the few.Eta: other members of the 40/20 clubRay Lewis 40.5/31Seth Joyner 52/24Wilbur Marshall 45/23Brian Urlacher 41.5/21Yup, I think Ronde gets in 1st ballot.

Barber had a ridiculous 10 of his 47 INT's in one season. He averaged less than 3 a season over the rest of his career. He was a great CB but he wasn't much of a ballhawk outside of 2001.

 

[Adam Harstad]

One of the all time Bucs great, sad to see him go but he gave so much over a 16 year career. He is a bright and articulate man, won't be surprised to see him do what his brother tried but with a lot less effort and problems. NFLN I would think might enjoy having him on their team. Super Bowl champion, 5-time Pro Bowl, 3-time All Pro, 12 Int/Fumble returns for a TD, He will be mentioned for Canton but I don't know that he makes it.

I hope this is schtick. He's a first ballot HOFer.

I think he deserves it, but I don't think he will make it on the first ballot. Aeneas Williams Was as good or better, and he has been waiting since eligible.

What Barber has going for him over Williams is he played his whole career with one team, has a SB ring, and although Williams has a few more INTs than Barber (55 vs 47), Barber has 28 sacks vs 3 for Williams. I'm not sure how many players are in the 40/20 club (INT/Sacks), but Barber is one of the few.Eta: other members of the 40/20 clubRay Lewis 40.5/31Seth Joyner 52/24Wilbur Marshall 45/23Brian Urlacher 41.5/21Yup, I think Ronde gets in 1st ballot.

Barber had a ridiculous 10 of his 47 INT's in one season. He averaged less than 3 a season over the rest of his career. He was a great CB but he wasn't much of a ballhawk outside of 2001.

I don't think that's so uncommon. Champ had 10 of his 52 career INTs in one year, and 8 the year before that. In his other 12 seasons, he averaged fewer than 3. Nnamdi had 8 INTs one year, and 7 INTs in his other 8 seasons combined. Ty Law is commonly thought of as a ballhawk, but 19 of his INTs came in two seasons, and he averaged fewer than 3 per year for the rest of his career. Deion Sanders averaged 4 INTs per year for his entire career, and never topped 7 in a single year. Charles Woodson averages 3.7 INTs per season for his entire career. I think people underrate just how rare of an event an INT really is.

 

[Premier]

One of the all time Bucs great, sad to see him go but he gave so much over a 16 year career. He is a bright and articulate man, won't be surprised to see him do what his brother tried but with a lot less effort and problems. NFLN I would think might enjoy having him on their team. Super Bowl champion, 5-time Pro Bowl, 3-time All Pro, 12 Int/Fumble returns for a TD, He will be mentioned for Canton but I don't know that he makes it.

I hope this is schtick. He's a first ballot HOFer.

I think he deserves it, but I don't think he will make it on the first ballot. Aeneas Williams Was as good or better, and he has been waiting since eligible.

What Barber has going for him over Williams is he played his whole career with one team, has a SB ring, and although Williams has a few more INTs than Barber (55 vs 47), Barber has 28 sacks vs 3 for Williams. I'm not sure how many players are in the 40/20 club (INT/Sacks), but Barber is one of the few.Eta: other members of the 40/20 clubRay Lewis 40.5/31Seth Joyner 52/24Wilbur Marshall 45/23Brian Urlacher 41.5/21Yup, I think Ronde gets in 1st ballot.

Barber had a ridiculous 10 of his 47 INT's in one season. He averaged less than 3 a season over the rest of his career. He was a great CB but he wasn't much of a ballhawk outside of 2001.

I don't think that's so uncommon. Champ had 10 of his 52 career INTs in one year, and 8 the year before that. In his other 12 seasons, he averaged fewer than 3. Nnamdi had 8 INTs one year, and 7 INTs in his other 8 seasons combined. Ty Law is commonly thought of as a ballhawk, but 19 of his INTs came in two seasons, and he averaged fewer than 3 per year for the rest of his career. Deion Sanders averaged 4 INTs per year for his entire career, and never topped 7 in a single year. Charles Woodson averages 3.7 INTs per season for his entire career. I think people underrate just how rare of an event an INT really is.

I definitely think he gets in but not first ballot. Probably third or fourth. Basically like 9-10 years from now.

 

[Tau837]

One of the all time Bucs great, sad to see him go but he gave so much over a 16 year career. He is a bright and articulate man, won't be surprised to see him do what his brother tried but with a lot less effort and problems. NFLN I would think might enjoy having him on their team. Super Bowl champion, 5-time Pro Bowl, 3-time All Pro, 12 Int/Fumble returns for a TD, He will be mentioned for Canton but I don't know that he makes it.

I hope this is schtick. He's a first ballot HOFer.

I think he deserves it, but I don't think he will make it on the first ballot. Aeneas Williams Was as good or better, and he has been waiting since eligible.

Yeah, no way. The HoF is allergic to corners. Ronde has a strong case- basically he and Champ were the only stalwarts at a position that saw an insane amount of turnover and churn over the past decade (almost Charles Woodson, too, but he definitely had some "black hole of suck" seasons at the end of his Oakland tenure before he moved on to Green Bay). Long after his quality peers had fizzled out (Patrick Surtain, Sam Madison, Troy Vincent, Ty Law, Chris McAlister, Lito Sheppard, Nnamdi Asomugha, and all of the other "next big thing"s), Ronde was still going strong and providing positive value. Barber's hurt by the fact that his peak was so much lower than most other HoF CBs (he was never really spectacular), but in what amounted to a lost generation for CBs, I'd still give it based on his longevity- just the sheer length of time where he was good-to-great. If Woodson is done at this point, too (certainly a possibility), I don't see them inducting Barber over Chuck, and I certainly don't see them inducting two first ballot CBs, which means Ronde would have to wait if he makes it at all.Ronde was perhaps the ideal Tampa-2 CB. Really, he was the case of the exact right player landing in the exact right place at the exact right time. And on top of that, he seems like a genuinely good guy.

I agree with all of this, but, of Ronde's peers, I definitely think Champ and Woodson are more deserving. Historically, not a lot of DBs get into the HOF, so that could mean Ronde will have to wait a while. But, like I said before, I think he is deserving.

 

[bucsbaby]

Great player, ironman, and class act. Can't ask for more in a player.

 

[Adam Harstad]

One of the all time Bucs great, sad to see him go but he gave so much over a 16 year career. He is a bright and articulate man, won't be surprised to see him do what his brother tried but with a lot less effort and problems. NFLN I would think might enjoy having him on their team. Super Bowl champion, 5-time Pro Bowl, 3-time All Pro, 12 Int/Fumble returns for a TD, He will be mentioned for Canton but I don't know that he makes it.

I hope this is schtick. He's a first ballot HOFer.

I think he deserves it, but I don't think he will make it on the first ballot. Aeneas Williams Was as good or better, and he has been waiting since eligible.

Yeah, no way. The HoF is allergic to corners. Ronde has a strong case- basically he and Champ were the only stalwarts at a position that saw an insane amount of turnover and churn over the past decade (almost Charles Woodson, too, but he definitely had some "black hole of suck" seasons at the end of his Oakland tenure before he moved on to Green Bay). Long after his quality peers had fizzled out (Patrick Surtain, Sam Madison, Troy Vincent, Ty Law, Chris McAlister, Lito Sheppard, Nnamdi Asomugha, and all of the other "next big thing"s), Ronde was still going strong and providing positive value. Barber's hurt by the fact that his peak was so much lower than most other HoF CBs (he was never really spectacular), but in what amounted to a lost generation for CBs, I'd still give it based on his longevity- just the sheer length of time where he was good-to-great. If Woodson is done at this point, too (certainly a possibility), I don't see them inducting Barber over Chuck, and I certainly don't see them inducting two first ballot CBs, which means Ronde would have to wait if he makes it at all.Ronde was perhaps the ideal Tampa-2 CB. Really, he was the case of the exact right player landing in the exact right place at the exact right time. And on top of that, he seems like a genuinely good guy.

I agree with all of this, but, of Ronde's peers, I definitely think Champ and Woodson are more deserving. Historically, not a lot of DBs get into the HOF, so that could mean Ronde will have to wait a while. But, like I said before, I think he is deserving.

I think Champ is without question more deserving. He's one of the rare defensive backs who really is a first-ballot lock. His 12 pro bowls match Ken Houston for the most ever by a defensive back, and he's very likely to add to that total (making him potentially the 6th player ever to make 13 pro bowls, the 3rd player ever to make 14 pro bowls, or the 1st player ever to make 15 pro bowls). The playoff game is fresh in everyone's mind, but PFF and the AP both named him a 2nd-team All Pro this year, so obviously he's still going strong. His 3 first-team AP All Pros compare favorably to his HoF peers, and his 7 combined All Pros (1st or 2nd team) I believe is the second most for a CB (Sanders had 8, Willie Brown also had 7). He did miss out on the DPoY in 2006 (he finished second to Jason Taylor; I'm obviously biased, but Champ was jobbed), but since so few CBs have a DPoY, it doesn't really hurt his chances to get in on the first ballot. Add to this the intangibles (well-liked by the media, terrific in run support, the guy every CB in the league was compared to for a decade), as well as the possibility of extending his career by a couple of years by moving to safety when he loses a step (a la Woodson and Barber), and Champ is going to sail into the Hall of Fame without delay.

Barber vs. Woodson is a much more interesting comparison. Woodson obviously has the edge in hardware- 8 pro bowls vs. 5, and while both have three 1AP nods, Woodson has three 2APs vs. Barber's two, plus Woodson has the DRoY and DPoYs. Woodson gets the edge in the sexy stats (INTs and Fumbles), but Barber was always better in run support. Both have a ring, and both joined Champ on the all-decade team. I think the hardware means Woodson will get in well before Barber, but I don't know if I believe he should- I just have a hard time ignoring that massive hole in the middle of his career. Woodson started out his career with an amazing 5-year run, and he ended it with another amazing 5-year run, but in the middle he was... pretty bad, actually. Something of a malcontent, too, iirc. Woodson himself said that he never wanted to go to Green Bay, but they were the only team that offered him a contract. At their respective best, Woodson was clearly better than Barber, but I think Barber deserves a lot of credit for continuing to put his head down and do his job to the best of his ability while his team disintegrated around him.

I think it's interesting what players get spit out by PFR's "similar players" tool. Ronde's comps are as terrific as they come- of the 10 players with the most similar careers, 8 are already in the hall, and the other two are Champ and Aeneas (who we both agree should be in already). Woodson's 10 comps, on the other hand, don't include a single hall of famer. Not one. He has a few HoVGers like Sam Madison and Troy Vincent, some "what might have been" guys like Chris McAlister, and some excellent old timers who wouldn't really look out of place in the HoF (such as 6-time finalist Johnny Robinson or the perennially overlooked Louis Wright)... but no Hall of Famers. Not that this means anything about Woodson's chances (nor should it), I just think it's interesting that PFR's algorithm looks at Barber's career and basically screams "this is what a Hall of Famer's career looks like", and then it looks at Woodson's career and essentially shrugs and says "not many Hall of Famers have careers that look anything like that".

Like you, I'd let all three in- Champ immediately, and Ronde/Charles whenever I'd worked through enough of the backlog elsewhere. They really defined the generation at CB. There was really no one else in the entire league who had more than 5 years of sustained high-quality play at CB. Hell, very few gave more than 3 such seasons. It's kind of absurd when you look back at it- even sure-thing studs like Nnamdi fell off a cliff after 5 or 6 good seasons. I don't know what it is about the CB position that created so much turnover at the top over the past 15 years, but the fact that these three guys managed to hold a place on the leaderboard for so long in such a turbulent era speaks very well for them.

 

[STEADYMOBBIN 22]

I have no problem letting Barber I to the HOF - As long as Aeneas Williams gets in ahead of him.

 

[Grahamburn]

Thanks, Ronde.

 

[Biabreakable]

Great player. Future HoF corner. The fumble he forced on Peterson was a key play in helping the Bucs beat the Vikings last season. I do not think it is fair to poo poo his INT numbers. Many teams avoided throwing at him if the receiver he was covering could even get off the line. Barber had a knack for making big plays when the team needed them and those are not always interceptions. Fumbles and pass deflections that lead to a team mate getting an interception and what a great tackler Barber has been as well.

I would say Champ is more highly regarded but I think they are both pretty close to the same high level of excellence worthy of the HoF.

 

[Truman]

Barber vs. Woodson is a much more interesting comparison. Woodson obviously has the edge in hardware- 8 pro bowls vs. 5, and while both have three 1AP nods, Woodson has three 2APs vs. Barber's two, plus Woodson has the DRoY and DPoYs. Woodson gets the edge in the sexy stats (INTs and Fumbles), but Barber was always better in run support. Both have a ring, and both joined Champ on the all-decade team. I think the hardware means Woodson will get in well before Barber, but I don't know if I believe he should- I just have a hard time ignoring that massive hole in the middle of his career. Woodson started out his career with an amazing 5-year run, and he ended it with another amazing 5-year run, but in the middle he was... pretty bad, actually. Something of a malcontent, too, iirc. Woodson himself said that he never wanted to go to Green Bay, but they were the only team that offered him a contract. At their respective best, Woodson was clearly better than Barber, but I think Barber deserves a lot of credit for continuing to put his head down and do his job to the best of his ability while his team disintegrated around him.

I guess it depends whether you want a DB who can actually cover receivers or a system guy who wasn't even asked to. If Ronde ever gets in he has Monte Kiffin to thank.

 

[Adam Harstad]

Barber vs. Woodson is a much more interesting comparison. Woodson obviously has the edge in hardware- 8 pro bowls vs. 5, and while both have three 1AP nods, Woodson has three 2APs vs. Barber's two, plus Woodson has the DRoY and DPoYs. Woodson gets the edge in the sexy stats (INTs and Fumbles), but Barber was always better in run support. Both have a ring, and both joined Champ on the all-decade team. I think the hardware means Woodson will get in well before Barber, but I don't know if I believe he should- I just have a hard time ignoring that massive hole in the middle of his career. Woodson started out his career with an amazing 5-year run, and he ended it with another amazing 5-year run, but in the middle he was... pretty bad, actually. Something of a malcontent, too, iirc. Woodson himself said that he never wanted to go to Green Bay, but they were the only team that offered him a contract. At their respective best, Woodson was clearly better than Barber, but I think Barber deserves a lot of credit for continuing to put his head down and do his job to the best of his ability while his team disintegrated around him.

I guess it depends whether you want a DB who can actually cover receivers or a system guy who wasn't even asked to. If Ronde ever gets in he has Monte Kiffin to thank.

You're knocking a guy because he was the perfect fit, the absolute prototype for what his team wanted to do? That's like saying Joe Montana is great if you want a QB who'll just throw a million dink and dunk passes over the middle to open receivers. Or Terrell Davis was a fantastic runningback if you like runningbacks who just identify the proper hole, make a single cut, and explode through it for huge yardage. Or Marvin Harrison was great if you just wanted a guy to run razor-sharp routes to a super-precise point and catch every ball that came near him. In another system, Joe Montana and Terrell Davis and Marvin Harrison and Ronde Barber wouldn't have been JOE MONTANA or TERRELL DAVIS or MARVIN HARRISON or RONDE BARBER... but fortunately for all of us as football fans, they didn't play in another system.

Besides, the CB in the Tampa 2 has plenty of responsibilities. The Tampa 2 places tremendous stress on the CBs to hold up in the run game. Ronde Barber has the most tackles by a CB in history with 1,260, which ranks 12th all time regardless of position. The second best CB is Rod Woodson, with 937- more than 300 tackles back, and coming in at 37th all time regardless of position. And sure, Ronde played far more zone than man, but it's not like he never played man, and it's not like playing man is fundamentally harder than playing zone. They require different skill sets. You can be perhaps the best man corner in the league and still be terrible in zone coverage- just ask Nnamdi. If playing CB in the Tampa 2 was so easy, every team with bad CBs would be running it to help cover up for their bad CBs.

Meanwhile, Woodson was a better CB than Barber when both were at their best, but he stunk to high heaven for 5 years (to the point where Green Bay was the only team to offer him a contract) and pouted his way off of his team the second things started going poorly for him. When the Bucs fell apart, Ronde remained the same old reliable veteran he always had been. If I were starting a franchise from scratch and had to pick a CB to roster for the next 15 years, through good times and bad, I know I'd rather have Ronde Barber. If I had a contender looking to win a SB in the next three years, sure, give me Woodson.