Barrett Ruud has established himself as an elite MLB in the league, but many people are still unfamiliar with him. I liken him to a 2006 Troy Polamalu. He is blue-collared, hard-working, extremely intelligent and just an all around good football player. Ruud is heading into his 5th season out of Nebraska and his 3rd as a full-time starter. We will get more into his contract situation in a bit, but he is also arriving at the final year of his contract, one in which he has DESERVED to have extended.

Below you will see Ruud’s numbers. He was 4th in the league in Solo Tackles and Total Tackles. While the players on the Top 10 list aren’t overly impressive, playing behind a shabby defensive line and still recording numbers like that is worth taking note of. The less size you have in front of you, the easier it is for guards to get to the 2nd level and put pads on the Mike. As Bates open up Ruud’s role from a Tampa 2 (in which is primary responsibility is run and secondary is to get his pass drop) to a Run-Contain 4-3 in which his pass responsibility is either Man, Free, or Blitz. He will have a lot more opportunities to make plays in Bates system. We should see increased numbers in the Sacks, Tackles,  TFL and Forced Fumbles. He will have a decrease in INT’s and Pass Deflections, though it will go unnoticed simply because the media, coaches, fans do not expect a middle linebacker to make those plays in a traditional defense.

With the departure of Derrick Brooks, Barrett Ruud becomes what I think the UNQUESTIONED leader of this defense. He is old enough that he should feel secure in running the show and no longer has to live in the shadows of 55. Many say Barber would be the leader because of his age, his Pro-Bowls and his ring. While Barber is no doubt the leader of the secondary it is the Middle Linebacker who is the “quarterback” of the defense. He relays the plays, he checks to make sure people are in the right place, he intimidates and he is involved in more plays than any other position. With Ruud’s skill set and his intelligence most guys on the (very young) defense will look to him.

Now, let’s talk about his contract situation. Ruud has one year and about 1 1/2 Million left on his original 5 year deal. He has outplayed his contract by a Nebraska mile. I would imagine Ruud is asking for a contract similar to the best MLB’s in the league, and I believe he deserves it. While he is a different type of linebacker than Brian Urlacher or Ray Lewis his contract should resemble what they signed theres for several years ago. Ray Lewis had a 7 year 50 million dollar contract, which I think is fair to offer Ruud. Ruud may not be a future HOF like Lewis, but his impact on this team will mirror the impact Lewis had on even the championship teams in Baltimore and Ruud has much less to work with around him. Go ahead and throw out some offers you think are fair, but I believe this is what Ruud wants. Tampa has had no talks with Ruud, recently (according to PewterReport.Com). He skipped Voluntary OTA’s because of his contract situation but showed class and why he deserves respect when regardless of his contract situation and ‘morale’ (For lack of a better word) about the whole deal showed up at Mandatory Mini-Camps to prepare to do what he does and play football.

Ruud has no serious injury history, no beef with coaches and no reason to be concerned that he WON’T continue to develop and lead this defense back to greatness. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, the one above is worth one….OUCH.

On a side note, here is a very somber but nice article on the passing of Barrett Ruud’s mother……http://www.tampabay.com/news/humaninterest/article999629.ece