Broncos cornerback recently took part in a Quora Q&A session, read all his answers here!
From scary run-ins with flocks of birds to men's fashion advice, CB Aqib Talib shared a lot about himself during a Tuesday Q&A session on Quora. Fans submitted questions and Talib took his time responding to more than 20 of them. You can find the full session of questions and his responses here.
We certainly learned a good deal about Aqib, but these are our top six things that we took away from his answers:
- Talib has not had a good history with birds
During his time at ESPN over the offseason, Talib was asked about his fear of birds. It was a memorable moment, to be sure.
Hahaha. Aqib Talib on SportsCenter: "I really don't mess with the birds" pic.twitter.com/WDRrluQCb3 — Danny Picard (@DannyPicard) April 11, 2016
He elaborated on the bird encounters that scarred him from his youth -- one in New Jersey and the other at a beach in Tampa Bay, Florida.
I had a couple of run-ins with birds. I was downtown in Trenton, NJ, and there was a bunch of pigeons. They did not get out of the way and they flocked me. So it was a lot of birds flying at me so I've never trusted birds.
The next time, I got to the NFL, my rookie year in Tampa we were at the beach and some of the seagulls started coming for me. I started to run and they followed me! I guess they thought we were feeding them or something, but it was unreal.
- What separates good from great
There are tons of decent wide receivers, but the cream of the crop stand out in ways that others can't. So one user asked Talib how different it is to defend against those types of players. The answer, though perhaps not shocking, reveals how much simply amounts to an extremely competitive nature.
It's totally different. Their competitiveness is why those guys have their name. They compete harder and that's what really separates them. They want it more.
- Baggy jeans are dead and Talib's other fashion tips
Since Talib came into the league in 2008, fashion -- particularly when it comes to professional athletes -- has truly evolved as an outlet for players to express themselves, in a way. Expression or simply trying look nice, plane runways before road trips have become a different kind of runway of sorts for players looking to show off their finest threads.
Talib's sense of fashion has evolved with him, and he gave a couple tips for starters. If you want to talk shoes, he dished on his stylish wedding shoes last week.
No more big baggy jeans. That is dead!
You have to have a longer shirt when you're wearing slimmer jeans. It makes it look better. If you can get that right then we'll talk later about your shoes and everything else.
- Sending Peyton off with the best finish
Peyton Manning's 18-year career came to an emotional end in February when he retired following the Broncos' Super Bowl 50 victory. It was a perfect send-off, and Talib said he couldn't have imagined it any other way.
I was excited for him. He has one of the best stories an NFL player can have. I didn't really want him to come back, I didn't want the ending of his book to come to an end any other way. I was very excited and honored to be part of his last chapter.
- How it felt to be a first-round pick
If you saw my 5.97-second 40-yard dash during the Broncos TV combine preparation, you know I have no clue what it would feel like to be a first-round pick in an NFL Draft. But Aqib Talib does!
It was a dream come true. I had a good feeling I was going to be picked in the first round. I had my entire family there, it was just exciting. Probably one of the most exciting times of my life.
I ran a good time at the combine so I had a good feeling I was going in the first round. It was an incredible experience.
- The evolution of NFL defenses
We mentioned the evolution of fashion earlier, but Talib's main area of expertise -- dominant defense -- has evolved during his eight NFL seasons, too.
We play with a lot more DBs on the field now. There are more versatile guys like TJ (Ward) who can play in the box, but this is a passing league so more guys in the secondary and also now cornerbacks are bigger guys like me. When I came in I was one of only a few that was my size, now every team has at least one or two bigger guys.
