Unleashing Lavonte David
May 16th, 2016
Turn him loose.
One of many things folks are looking forward to as we inch closer to July (it’s almost June!) and the beginning of training camp is seeing what the new defense will look like.
No one knows what Mike Smith’s defense is. And there sure as hell isn’t any way for Joe or others to honestly tell from watching seven-on-seven drills in underwear football. So we will have to wait for a preseason game, or likely the opening game at Atlanta, to find out.
One thing seems clear: Smith will try a varied defense to maximize his available talent. It’s a far cry from trying to squeeze players to play a specific scheme, whether their talents fit or not. To be polite, that’s is a gargantuan waste of talent, or to be blunt, shamefully irresponsible.
That brings Joe to Pro Bowl linebacker Lavonte David. We saw glimpses of how good the “run-and-hit linebacker” could be when used in a variety of ways, like when he played under former Bucs commander Greg Schiano.
The “Custodian of Canton” agrees. eye-RAH! Kaufman, the local Pro Football Hall of Fame voter, seems eager to watch David with Smith in charge.
In 2013, Lavonte David posted 7 sacks and 5 picks. He has 4 sacks and 3 picks in the past 2 years combined. Bucs must get him more involved
— Ira Kaufman (@IKaufmanTBO) May 13, 2016
How the Bucs are able to unleash David, Joe believes, may be the key to how well the defense plays.
Wouldn’t it be nice for opposing offenses to be completely scared of a Bucs defender for a change, not knowing where they will be attacked by David?
May 16th, 2016 at 3:45 am
I dont want to say too much. But listening to what Mike Smith has been saying in his interviews, its giving me a lot of hope. The subs and 3/4 4/3 disguises are going to be he!! on opposing offenses. It boils down to how fast our men can pick it up and play it. And LD54 should be back to form since Lovie is no longer calling the shots.
May 16th, 2016 at 5:08 am
For a man that was emotional and disgusted when Lovie was relieved his duties as a defensive guru, LVD should extremely happy.
It two almost two years for LVD to be productive and forcing him to emulate Mr Brooks, which he isn’t.
This isn’t 1997 and Lovie “schemes” aren’t very hard to dissect. Even in looking at LVD most productive years he was attacking LOS and blitzing and dropping in coverage; the idiot guru made a playmaker one-deminsional.
I have a feeling the square peg – round hole coach being gone is gonna give the defense an instant upgrade along with some better philosophies and play calling.
May 16th, 2016 at 5:37 am
Arch
Definitely an instant upgrade. Didnt take a brain scientist or rocket surgeon to figure out, a quick pass against that sad excuse of a defense, was gona be easily completed.
May 16th, 2016 at 6:29 am
Players are glad lovies gone, fans are glad lovies gone. Im still not sold mike smith is that good at coaching defense but its gotta be better than the last two seasons. I have a strong feeling Hayes will be our next DC
May 16th, 2016 at 7:15 am
How do you think Mike Smith got the HC job in ATL (winning 56 games in the first 5 years) he got it by being a great Def coordinator in Jax.
May 16th, 2016 at 7:49 am
I think all of our linebackers will be more active this year….better coverage from our CBs should free them up to attack the QB.
May 16th, 2016 at 8:07 am
Imagine a passing down with Smith, McCoy, Ayers, Spence, Howard, David and Alexander as the front 7…
May 16th, 2016 at 8:45 am
Howard? More like Akeem Spence or McDonald in that group….but hey if “Howard” Jones contributes nicely as a DE then all the better.
May 16th, 2016 at 9:01 am
Hopefully his defense is more like that Jack Del Rio defenses and not like the defenses they had in Atlanta when he was HC.
May 16th, 2016 at 9:04 am
*the Jack Del Rio defenses*
May 16th, 2016 at 9:08 am
145 tackles, 7 sacks, 10 passes defended and 5 picks
That is LVD in Schiano’s defense. Can’t wait to see him used properly again.
May 16th, 2016 at 9:35 am
What a difference a year or two can make!!! It was thought by the sheep that Coach Schiano was the one who did not know what he was doing, and that lovie was going to use these player properly!!! Then the Incompetent one was exposed!!! And the masses now urn for the return of Coach Schiano’s like numbers!!
It is to bad that the local media will not admit it was wrong or apologize for the way that they treated Coach Schiano, who still with class not shown by coach my scheme!!! Held his own press conference to thank everyone and the opportunity!!!
May 16th, 2016 at 9:36 am
Yes we know… This theme has been repeated multiple times. July is a long way off…
May 16th, 2016 at 10:18 am
So coach my scheme had good players “leashed” !!!! It seemed more like an anchor!!!!!!!!
May 16th, 2016 at 10:34 am
Agree with Realist whole heartedly.
And truth be told I can’t allow myself to get overly excited about Mike Smith’s defense. There’s a reason why he got run out of ATL and (replaced by a Def Coordinator) it certainly wasn’t bc of the offense.
I’m guessing he might try the no name defense where no one lines up everyone just stands around the LOS until the ball is snapped ala Green Bay n Baltimore.
May 16th, 2016 at 1:27 pm
All who agree with The Buc Realist: I see you guys deem LOVIE for all things wrong in Tampa, there’s a lot of car jacking in the Tampa area, LOVIE: There’s a lot of homeless in the Tampa area LOVIE: There’s a lot of female teachers humping underage boys in the Tampa area LOVIE: I mean every single post Joe makes it all LOVIE’S fault: since you can’t get enough of him, why don’t all yall catch a private jet out to the corn fields and get yourself a tast of lOVIES BALL: back to the post: I’m sure LVD was a little off his game last year being that we had a rooki middle linebacker and with better play or scheme from the defensive backfield we should expect better play from all of our linebackers: don’t be surprised to re at least 3 new starters in our D/backfield!!!
May 16th, 2016 at 2:08 pm
@BigHogHeinous
Don’t act like their are not problems everywhere!!! We have to put gas into our SUV’s you know,,, Couple of weeks ago my Espresso machine broke, I had to wait for the new one to come in!!! You can’t just walk down the street and buy a Nuova Simonelli???? we all have problems BigHogHeinous. But the Bucs solved there biggest problem this offseason didn’t they!!!!! By dropping the Incompetent one!!!!!!
May 16th, 2016 at 3:36 pm
Look at the Jax timeline suddenly Jax team and Def takes a slide in 2008 when Mike Smith leaves. I would think you would look to Jax when he was a def coif you wanted to see what kind of DC you were getting not when he was a HC. Understand they were very good in ATL (56 wins in 5 season) until Mike Smith lost both his OC and DC (Mularkey and Vangorder) who took head coaching jobs at Jax and Auburn. Mike Nolan was the guy you didn’t want to hire if you didn’t like ATL 2012-2014 Def.
May 16th, 2016 at 3:43 pm
I also don’t understand all the love for Mike Smith as a Defensive Coordinator. The guy proved he can be an excellent head coach when provided the right players, but his Falcons teams were never dominant on defense.
It’s been 8 seasons since Mike Smith was a pure Defensive Coordinator. To put it in perspective, Chucky was still the head coach in Tampa and Derrick Brooks was a Pro Bowler. That was a long time ago and the NFL has evolved dramatically since then.
I’m hoping for the best, but I fear that Dirk Koetter may have made his first big mistake by hiring his friend instead of hiring the best possible candidate.
May 16th, 2016 at 4:34 pm
@the Buc Realist: you may be correct, I too am hoping for some more improvement from this New Staff, but I will not crown anybody untill I see it on the field, I got a question for you, but instead I’ll give you the answer BigHogHaynes!
May 16th, 2016 at 8:15 pm
realist you are truly the biggest cry baby I have ever seen. You whine and cry and weep and moan about the same old crap over and over. I mean you are the only one crying over that you know. Are you sure you’re a man? Who cares about Chiano other than you? You are surely like a high school girl who cant let go after she gets dumped. Listening to an hour of the blubbering Rush Limbaugh is more palatable than reading one line of your moronic dribble. Does Lovies scrotum taste that good?
You call those of us who had supported Lovie sheep but the biggest sheep I see up here is you. You seem to have an incessant need to be cool or say nifty things and when Joe called Smith coach my scheme you just ran with it like you finally had that thing to make you look cool. You make up things like the tampa 2 mafia as if it’s a real thing. I would like to see what you look like in person just so I can say it makes sense now. You’re a sad little man.
May 16th, 2016 at 8:47 pm
@davidbigbucsfan
The Tampa2 mafia is real!!!! They have taken a beating and they are mostly in hiding!!! But when the season comes they will crawl out from underneath their rock to spread their lies and propaganda!!!! Be prepared Buc fans!!!!!!
May 16th, 2016 at 9:24 pm
That’s funny because I still believe in the Tampa 2 but not part of some kind of mafia like there are secret meetings or something. It’s not out dated like so many of try to say it’s just Lovie is no Dungy. He can’t make it work. With a great front 4 and press coverage ut would dominate.
May 17th, 2016 at 7:33 am
The reason the Tampa 2 hasn’t been successful, mainly herea in its birth place, is because you need the right players to run it and we don’t have a Lynch or a Sapp or a Brooks or even a Rice for that matter. That’s why it wasn’t successful and will never be again for the most part. For it to be effective you have to run it to a tee and every player has to be in perfect position. It takes a unit that has been playing together for a long time and can master the scheme for it to be effective. It’s the hardest scheme to run in the league and it takes to long to get it down pat. And We don’t have the players, or the time to do that. Simple as that. There was only one defense that could master that scheme and it will remain that way as well.
#Long live the Tampa 2.
May 17th, 2016 at 12:42 pm
Exactly DemBoyz
May 17th, 2016 at 4:05 pm
dare i start looking forward to the bucs facing inexperienced QBs again?