“Taking Control”
May 11th, 2017
Year-round force
Lavonte David painted quite a picture yesterday of a young man leading the Tampa Bay locker room and defense.
And he wasn’t talking about himself.
The 2012 second-round pick was talking about the 2015 fourth-round pick, Kwon Alexander.
David talked to media about reviewing film of last season, so Joe thought it was a good time to ask David to tell fans about the guy playing alongside him. Kwon, per David, is asserting himself in all ways at all times.
JoeBucsFan.com: Kwon led the NFL in solo tackles last year. You’ve watched him since he got here. As the guy playing next to him, what can you say about his growth, where he is and and who he is as a player?
Lavonte David: Film speak for itself, man. You know, since Day 1, man, Kwon always been that guy that is just trying to learn and trying to be great. You know, he is always preaching greatness and that’s what he tries to be. Just to get a chance to watch him grow from his rookie year to now. You know, even in this defense, last year, like all of us had struggled. But now, when we come into meetings, he is calling everything out. He’s the Mike ‘backer. When we’re in meetings, he’s basically taking control like he’s on the field, making all the calls and things like that. And that’s awesome to see from being a shy kid at first to now growing up, to being mature. That’s amazing. You know, the best is yet to come from Kwon.
Yes, it’s Kwon who is the Jameis Winston of the defense.
While the players’ votes for team captain mean little on the scoreboard, it will be interesting to see if there’s a changing of the guard in the locker room this year. Joe would be surprised if Kwon is not a captain for the first time.
May 11th, 2017 at 3:51 pm
I hope we improve with the Run-Defense….giving up 4.4 YPC won’t cut it in the NFL.
May 11th, 2017 at 3:54 pm
Kinda why they brought inn Swaggy and Tui Lakeland. Kwon gone eat real good behind those two.
May 11th, 2017 at 3:56 pm
David, McCoy and others were entrenched captains. Captains are suppose to lead then two rookies come in and are better leaders. Seems the Bucs are in better hands now with some true Alphas in the locker room
May 11th, 2017 at 3:57 pm
Lakeland I think the run defense was a big reason that we signed Chris Baker. His main job is likely to take up space and clog up the A gaps, forcing redirects and double teams. A solid run stuffing front four begins with the one tech dt. And if Baker can command double teams that will allow Kwon and LVD to wreak havoc in the backfield.
May 11th, 2017 at 4:03 pm
After the “coaching” the lovie out of them last year, and a whole other offseason to deploy even more looks and more of Coach Mike Smith’s scheme, I have high hopes for the defense!!! We really just need the D-line and BG24 to stay healthy!!!!! This side of the ball has the potential for even more splash plays!!!!
Go Bucs!!!!!!!
May 11th, 2017 at 4:21 pm
the new bucs are exciting and have the right mindset it’s some of the hold over members and leaders of the losing culture who will hurt this team.
May 11th, 2017 at 4:42 pm
Our defense wont do anything if we can’t rush the passer that’s how we won the big game by getting to the quarterback and right now we cant do that thats been our problem for 10 plus years
May 11th, 2017 at 4:43 pm
It doesn’t matter what defense we run we dont have any pass rushers
May 11th, 2017 at 4:58 pm
In Kwon we trust.
I like that Beckles can play MLB too if needed. Gives us some flexibility / depth across multiple LB positions
May 11th, 2017 at 5:03 pm
KWON the Destroyer. Where KWON goes, so goes the path of destruction. To be feared. KWON! KWON! KWON! Love this guy!
May 11th, 2017 at 5:03 pm
No tmax. Mccoy can get his 6-9 sacks that he’s good for a year. Is Kwon not going to play hard while Mccoy is here? Hell no lol.
May 11th, 2017 at 5:04 pm
Need to complete the LSU trilogy – Kwon/MLB, Beckwith/SLB and next year DE Arden Key/LSU. Next Aldon Smith without the booze. lol.
May 11th, 2017 at 5:17 pm
Great capture by Joe and nice to see Lavonte is selfless and not selfish. Plus, he seems pretty correct from what we can see….
May 11th, 2017 at 5:29 pm
How some ‘fans’ can turn something positive (Kwon’s growth) into something negative (GMC bashing) amazes me. Almost as bad as those who can’t seem to get over Lovie’s departure. Bucs are building something special, and that will hopefully endure … embrace it. ALL OF IT !!!!!!!
May 11th, 2017 at 5:33 pm
Devil if you recall last pre season the Bucs lead the league in sacks. More than likely because the play calling was simple. Once the season began cats were thinking instead of reacting thusly it took awhile for things to click. Once it did we lead the league in sacks again in the regular season(for a stretch). I have no doubts about ability to get to the QB next season considering everyone is now on the same page bro.
May 11th, 2017 at 5:38 pm
De De De Devildogbuc! They wont listen to me but maybe you can make them here it……talent will make this defence a force, sacks are (splash plays) and I wish we could find that 15 sack guy but I would rather have a defence that could continually bring pressure to the QB! If you can bring the pressure the sacks will come…now let the competition began!!
May 11th, 2017 at 5:39 pm
Wow…defense or offense…#3 or Kwon…which will float our boat…both?
And who are our favorites…so many to choose…OJ? The old faves…so far I find myself liking Stevie T. because of his back story and I’m rooting for Evans and McNichols. Those two could make a significant difference this year.
May 11th, 2017 at 5:41 pm
Speaking for Pablo
“When Kwon ripped the ball out of Hulio Hones’ hands…..Pablo knew Kwon was special…..dat dude got game”
May 11th, 2017 at 5:57 pm
We will get to see just how good this defense is when new York at new England come to town. If they show up for them games then we can start to consider ourselves a contender.
May 11th, 2017 at 6:00 pm
Good stuff. Go ‘Bucs !!!! Aye Joe, any word on player signings ???
May 11th, 2017 at 6:01 pm
^^^mute this guy
May 11th, 2017 at 6:02 pm
@Kwame
You got in the line of 🔥
May 11th, 2017 at 6:17 pm
IDK how to get through to some people. If you take a crapy team with crappy coaching and put an all pro defensive tackle on said crappy team, it will make very little difference as it pertains to their wins and losses. A defensive tackle can not single handedly change the outcome of a game to the same degree that a quarterback or middle linebacker can. And that’s why some teams are reluctant to draft an interior lineman in the top five.
May 11th, 2017 at 6:22 pm
David should not be a captain way too quite. Alexander obviously deserves and requires it.
May 11th, 2017 at 6:23 pm
TBBF that is what you call a splash play! He robbed Jones so badly he shoulda been arrested for it! The even greater part of thst play was the Kwonqueror ran the ball back further than Jones did. Was one of the best plays of that season.
It’s a shame LVD has been shunned for Pro Bowl consideration and now the Kwonqueror leads the league in solo tackles and still gets dissed. That ain’t right! Guess thd boyz gotta become winners to go to that dinner!
May 11th, 2017 at 6:29 pm
Nole preseason is nothing we need a rush that’s the reason we can’t get over the hump cause when it counts we can’t stop anyone everyone has all day to sit back and pass against us 3-4 or 4-3 even nickel defense we don’t strike any fear in anyone that has a good passing attack wonder why cause no pass rush it’s also why we get no respect the saints can even rush the passer and their defense sucks but they get more respect than us our over under is 8 wins wonder why
May 11th, 2017 at 6:29 pm
Jameis, Kwon, Godzilla and OJ … is there a better foursome of 24 and unders in the entire NFL? I don’t think so …
May 11th, 2017 at 6:34 pm
Games are won and lost in the trenches if we lose there we have no hope on both sides of the ball remember the dallas game we were driving untill we got killed in the trenches matt ryan and drew brees can pass all day on us cause we can’t get past their oline IN THE TRENCHES we lose big games cause we get pushed around in the trenches the freakin sorry ass rams beat us cause they are better in the TRENCHES
May 11th, 2017 at 6:41 pm
I know it’s standard fair to say we don’t have any pass rush.
But.
Ayers McCoy Baker Spence don’t sound to bad to me.
Gholston and Smith as Run downs and back up.
Might surprise some people.
May 11th, 2017 at 7:10 pm
I hear what you’re saying but Mike Smith mentioned along with LVD yesterday stated that the issues were people knowing they’re assignment but the assignment of the player next to him. Once that began to occur the productivity happened. Again for a six week stretch we lead the entire league. Now if I never saw it I would get where you are coming from, but the fact that I did see it last season gives confidence I’ll witness it yet again in 2017.
May 11th, 2017 at 7:12 pm
Mike Smith snail talked about adding girth and how doing so would force o linemen to place four hands on a few of our D linemen freeing up our LBs to make plays. Mission accomplished.
May 11th, 2017 at 7:23 pm
Devildogbuc … Interesting assessment of those 4 games, but might want to look a little deeper before coming to the conclusion that our DLine & OLine (guys in the TRENCHES as you say) lost those ballgames.
Lost to Dallas 26-20 and their OLine was awesome I thought. Cowboys had 36 mins TOP to 24 for Bucs. More importantly, we lost the turnover battle by 3, and lost the rush battle 185 yds to 52 yds.
Lost to Falcons (2nd game) 43-28 and their OLine was also quite good at that point in the season (they did get to the SB after all). We lost the TOP battle 33.5 mins to 26.5 mins, but won the turnover battle by 1. Lost the rush battle in that one too 136 yds to 70 yds.
Lost to the Saints (2nd game) 31-24 … they have a pretty decent OLine too & do a very good job of protecting Drew Brees. We lost the TOP battle in that one too 31.5 mins to 28.5 as well as the turnover battle (by 2). And oh ya, lost the rush battle also 123 yds to 89 yds.
Lost to the Rams 37-32 (I’m still sick about that one … no excuse for losing). Bucs won the TOp battle (33.5 to 26.5 mins) and tied in the turnover battle (we both had 2). We did however lose the rush battle 137-83 yds.
In all 4 games, Bucs scored quite a few points, but lost the rushing battle in all 4 games & were minus 4 in the turnover battle. We also lost the time-of-possession battle in 3 of the 4 games. Point being, don’t blame it all on the guys in the trenches. Winning is a team effort. So is losing.
May 11th, 2017 at 7:57 pm
Good points Defense Rules.
May 11th, 2017 at 8:35 pm
Great assessment Defense.
May 11th, 2017 at 8:37 pm
Capt. I have a feeling even after this team wins a superbowl people are still going to come here and gripe about the O and D line. Been that way since I discovered this site.
May 11th, 2017 at 8:48 pm
Nole….In order to win in the NFL, you have to be clicking on all cylinders.
May 11th, 2017 at 8:53 pm
The KWONQUEROR!!! Awesome stuff DavidBigBucsfan99! That is what I will call him from now on. Ghengis Kwon is good too but the Kwonqueror is sweet!
May 11th, 2017 at 8:56 pm
I talked to one of my friends today that is a Pats fan. He thinks that with a short week going into Tampa on a Thursday night is his biggest chance to lose maybe the whole Year! True story.
May 11th, 2017 at 9:14 pm
@SB
I bet thats the first time in awhile that that was even a thought. Great to hear!
May 11th, 2017 at 9:17 pm
I understand Lakeland. But bro many here seem to spend alot of time thinking about the shortcomings of the previous season. I look at the additions to our team and process in my mind how they eliminate those shortcomings. The common theme in what Defense posted was the ability for teams to run on us last season. Swaggy Tui and Siliga make that a little more difficult in 2017.
May 11th, 2017 at 9:25 pm
D.R.
What’s exciting about your analysis is that we can cleanup a lot of that stuff.
We have plenty of room for improvement and I believe we shall improve!!!!
May 11th, 2017 at 9:29 pm
NosBos, you can also turn that around & say that our inability to run was the common denominator. Had we done better in that department, TOP would’ve been closer and (potentially) turnovers would’ve been reduced. Falcons & Saints both aired it out on us. Best defense I think is to control the clock & keep QBs like Ryan & Brees sitting on the bench. Don’t mean to imply that TOP can only be improved through improving the running game however … I also love the short passing game with its high percentage passes (which also keep the clock moving). Bucs should do better in both aspects this year.
May 11th, 2017 at 9:36 pm
Oh and NosBos, just my opinion but I don’t think that both Tui & Siliga will make the 53-man roster. DLine will keep 9-10 most likely, and at least 5 will be DE’s. With McCoy, McDonald, Baker that leaves 1 more DT to get to 9. If we keep 10 DLinemen, the additional one would most likely be a DE (remember, several of our DEs can play inside). And even if we did keep both, odds are pretty good I’d think that one would be inactive on game days.
And StPete, I agree totally. We’ve already improved through some of our personnel additions, and, like Mike Smith said in his press conference, the coaches now know the players MUCH better than they did last year. HUGE factor I think (should help them to play a lot faster and execute some more intricate defensive schemes).).
May 11th, 2017 at 10:08 pm
You right Defense. And I agree bro. I expect both of those girth types Smitty mentioned yesterday to make the team.
May 12th, 2017 at 7:32 am
I think this year the Kwonqueror Buc will step up and be the hard vocal leader GMC cannot. I know Tmax and some others will happy when he does! You can see even when he’s joking around he’s serious. I see him becoming a Hardy Dickerson. Now we need a good SLB to step up and help improve this run defense. You stop their run game they play into your hands.
May 12th, 2017 at 7:34 am
Sorry I meant Hardy Nickerson! Too bad he don’t wear #56
SB you should buy a jersey and put Kwonqueror on it.
May 12th, 2017 at 7:53 am
Now it’s your turn 54 to be great again
May 12th, 2017 at 8:51 am
@TMAX,
GIVE IT A REST BRU! SICK AND TIRED OF YOU ALWAYS COMMENTING NEGATIVELY ABOUT 1 OF THE BEST DEFENSIVE PLAYERS WE HAVE ON THE TEAM! GO CHEER FOR 1 OF THE OTHER 31 TEAMS IF YOU CAN’T BE HAPPY THEY FINALLY SURROUNDING THIS TEAM WITH TALENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
May 12th, 2017 at 9:25 am
Joe do you think Kwon is man enough to say anything to Desean Jackson for not attending another week of workouts this entire week? Shows what a horrible teammate DJ is and I’m sure Jameis is livid but wont say it yet. Terrible signing mark my words. Always has been a “ME” guy not a good teammate
May 12th, 2017 at 10:05 am
Buddy,
OTA’ s start the 23rd. So what the f are you talking about. Damn Man ck a schedule before popping off. Can’t miss what ain’t there …..
What’s your deal anyway? Wanna be the first onboard the hater train or just can’t wait for validation of your existence. Talking about bad teammates, it’s the guy in the mirror.
May 12th, 2017 at 10:58 am
@duke So the fact all the others have been there working out doesn’t matter? Jameis, gerald, Lavonte, Kwon. The other vets? Doesn’t matter? ok got it. this guy has been a problem EVERYWHERE he has been, and its starting early with him not partaking in the ENTIRE off season program not just when he feels like going. Check his snapchat homie, this guy out goofying off while the other guys have been grinding. You’d think he would be smart enough to not pull any of his typical stunts until the actual season starts. How about when the KNocks cameras start rolling this guy gonna act the fool for sure. And answer me this..whys he wearing number 1 on the days he has been attending instead of his jersey number of 11. Just the standard from this guy all about him. I’ve got people on the inside at one buc and it sounds like his act is already wearing thin on some staffers. I honestly hope he plays well but his track record isn’t exactly that great as a teammate or dedication. Just sayin