“He Is Having Fun”
May 14th, 2019
Veteran Bucs LB explains.
A loud segment of Bucs fans led by former Bucs guard and popular local radio personality Ian Beckles were outraged when stud defensive tackle Gerald McCoy, in an effort to rally his teammates, once said before a game to just have fun.
With embattled GMC on the cusp of seeing his Tampa days end, a popular veteran Bucs linebacker said seeing this player have fun in practice is a good thing.
Bucs linebacker Lavonte David (who if you want to go all baseball WAR about, has a worse record with the Bucs than the fan pinata that is GMC) spoke today after underwear football practice and he has noticed a change in Noah Spence’s demeanor.
A 2016 second-round pick who has all but vanished on the football field for the Bucs after a promising rookie season due to injuries and possibly lack of coaching, Spence enters the final season of his contract. Now moved to outside linebacker, it is likely Spence’s last chance with the Bucs to prove his worth.
And David has noticed a changed Spence.
“Seeing him, he is in a whole new attitude and mindset right now,” David said. “His body is looking good, he is in great shape and he is having fun. Noah is communicating and talking and feeling more confident, so that is what I like to see.
“An unfortunate thing happened with JPP [Jason Pierre-Paul]. That gives guys like Noah and other guys a chance to step up. We have all the faith in the world in Noah. We know what he brings to the table and we’re ready for him to bring it this year.”
Spence had a respectable 5.5 sacks as a rookie despite only starting three games in an injury-plagued year. He separated his shoulder twice that season, even jamming his shoulder back into place on the field in the final game of the season.
In the second game of Spence’s second season, he again separated the surgically-repaired shoulder and only played in four more games before being shelved for 2017.
Last year Spence was little more than a rumor. After his rookie season, Spence had just one sack while playing defensive end.
It is pretty much do-or-die for Spence. The way David talked, if you read between the lines, either Spence threw in the towel on the previous coaching defensive staff or they threw in the towel on Spence, or both?
Can new Bucs defensive coordinator Todd Bowles jump-start what just a few months ago looked like a career circling the drain?
May 14th, 2019 at 5:02 pm
Man this refreshing about spence have never heard this in a preseason setting
May 14th, 2019 at 5:17 pm
Great news lets hope he keeps it up.
May 14th, 2019 at 5:36 pm
6 sacks, that’s how many players on this team have a pair.
May 14th, 2019 at 5:49 pm
I’m very leery of that word “fun”. GMC talked about having fun a couple years back during the offseason so did Lavonte and they lost a lot of games. You have fun when you start winning. The Patriots and Saints don’t talk about having fun they win games.
May 14th, 2019 at 5:51 pm
I’ve seen Spence a few times around Tampa….physically he’s in great shape….problem is he looks like he weighs about 230. Being undersized good speed but not elite and having bum shoulders, at best he seems like a role player and special teamer.
May 14th, 2019 at 6:03 pm
I wonder why he is so happy?????? Its almost like he know that she-mc is gone!!!!! And that she won’t march in with her agent to the higher ups to complain and b!t$h about scheme that she does not like that schemed out NS57 back in 2016!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (allegedly)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
2019 will reveal answers to the sheep, that the “real” fans already know!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Go Bucs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
May 14th, 2019 at 6:11 pm
I suspect Spence’s new positive attitude has more to do with Smith and his pathetic coaches being gone that JPP being out.
May 14th, 2019 at 6:12 pm
I normally rant on Spence articles that he doesn’t deserve to be talked about but this one is different since he is actually on the football field.
It would be nice to see Spence start to show any ability and I’ll take any positive sign we can get. But I will hold my breath on this guy til he gets to lace em up in August.
If he can’t show anything in a game I hope this coaching staff is good enough to find us a replacement.
One encouraging thing is that he will be in the LB room. He will work under the rule of White, our new team leader……..It might pay dividends playing with guys who will hold him accountable and push him to improve. I doubt Gerald’s Line did that for Spence.
May 14th, 2019 at 6:20 pm
The injury to Spence (twice) was a shoulder dislocation, not shoulder separation. In a dislocation the upper end of the humerus pops out of its normal relation at the shoulder joint, and is very prone to recur, sometimes even in the face of good surgical repair. The so-called shoulder separation really doesn’t involve the shoulder joint at all but is a strain or tear of ligaments at the spot where the outer end of the collar bone (clavicle) comes out to form an immovable joint with the scapula. Properly treated, maybe with surgery, it’s less likely to recur. The two terms are CONSTANTLY misused and confused.
May 14th, 2019 at 6:25 pm
I’ll say it, when JPP went down Spence knew he was no longer a bubble player. He knows he is going to play more.
May 14th, 2019 at 6:34 pm
But its..underwear football y’all.
May 14th, 2019 at 6:46 pm
You dont see this many early round draft picks not pan out..
ITS COACHING!!!!!
Would anyone go buy ingredients to make a top shelf gourmet dinner and hire a mcdonalds cook to prepare it? Thats what the Bucs have been doing for years. Jason licht buys the groceries he aint tge frieking chef!!!!!
May 14th, 2019 at 6:51 pm
who if you want to go all baseball WAR about, has a worse record with the Bucs than the fan pinata that is GMC
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Allow me to retort. It pretty simple really turn on any game and you’ll see LVD making plays. Watch a whole season and see LVD making huge plays at critical times. Ie. Vs the browns he caused a fumble which resulted in a turnover on downs. Huge play! Baker Mayfield takes off scrambling on 4th down, LVD chases him down, strips the ball, it goes out of bounds about 2 inches before the first down marker. Huge play! Meanwhile McIceCream is helping someone of the ground and making plans to exchange sugar cookie recipes after the game. Pretty simple!
May 14th, 2019 at 6:52 pm
Fun? Football is all about having fun. This goes for the guys who get to play and for the fans as well. When it stops being fun it is time to find something else to do with your time.
The guys who just love football, love to practice, love to watch film and study the game, love to play their hearts out and go home with a victory, these are the guys we want.
The guys who have a lot of talent but are content to watch their bank accounts grow never achieve greatness in the game at the Pro level.
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Culture Change, Team=>Fans
May 14th, 2019 at 6:53 pm
@Duthsty. Really? This is the first time you heard preseason rumblings about Spence? This marks the 3rd time that I’ve heard about his preseason and how good he looks only to be on the outside looking in. I would say it has just as much to do with coaches putting in just about anybody over Spence. I hope the best but I’ve heard this song and dance before. I’m going to need to see it when the games count before I believe it. No different than Beckwith. You could see the tea leaves suggested this man’s career is likely over before it really got started. It’s a shame. I feel for Kendall.
May 14th, 2019 at 7:35 pm
FACT: If Lavonte were not camera-shy Bucs fans would be hounding him just like they do GMC!
May 14th, 2019 at 8:29 pm
I get it coming from Spence and his history with the team because you want a guy who’d been invisible for a while having fun and confident. What he did under Dirk is irrelevant just like him and his coaching staff. Great I’m glad he is out there having fun and excited because if he sucks then we know it’s a talent thing
May 14th, 2019 at 9:37 pm
St. Pete Bucs Fan Says:
“The injury to Spence (twice) was a shoulder dislocation, not shoulder separation. In a dislocation the upper end of the humerus pops out of its normal relation at the shoulder joint, and is very prone to recur, sometimes even in the face of good surgical repair. The so-called shoulder separation really doesn’t involve the shoulder joint at all but is a strain or tear of ligaments at the spot where the outer end of the collar bone (clavicle) comes out to form an immovable joint with the scapula. Properly treated, maybe with surgery, it’s less likely to recur.
.
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Well thanks, St Pete. This is the first time I’ve heard this explained.
May 14th, 2019 at 9:56 pm
As Bucs fans, we need to put some of the funk in those sugar cookies to keep calm during the losing.
May 15th, 2019 at 6:21 am
David’s doing what any team captain should do: holding up his players in the best light and always encouraging them. But it rings hollow, especially after last year when Spence was supposedly helathy, lean and ready to go. And rarely did they even play him. So yes, this is now or never again for Spence, but it’s unprofessional that he seemed to be butt-hurt because maybe he had personality conflicts or different views than his coaches and/or owners. Pros will always just play, and play well.
May 15th, 2019 at 11:45 am
Long way to go but good news. Needed that.
May 15th, 2019 at 12:00 pm
He separated his shoulder twice that season, even jamming his shoulder back into place on the field in the final game of the season.
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Was it separated or dislocated? There’s a huge difference. You can’t jam a separated shoulder back into place, that’s just not how it works. Dislocations, on the other hand, if they don’t go immediately back in, should be put in ASAP, and generally speaking, the real pain doesn’t start until you wake up the next day. I’ve played with both. The separation is just painful, the dislocation is impossible to play with until it is put back in place,