Hustling Lavonte David
November 28th, 2019
Effort.
Joe thinks it is safe to say Bucs star linebacker Lavonte David is having his best season since former Bucs commander Greg Schiano was here.
David has been an unstoppable force. And NextGen stats demonstrate he is totally busting his arse.
NextGen stats are tabulated by sensors in players’ equipment and the data comes straight from the NFL.
It seems David and linebacker Rashaan Evans of the Titans lead the NFL in what is called “hustle stops.”
So what is a hustle stop? It’s when a defender covers at least 20 yards of real estate in order to make a tackle or a stop, or something positive.
David and Evans have 14 hustle stops each.
In other words, David is busting his tail.
Rashaan Evans and Lavonte David have been everywhere for their defenses this season, accruing 14 Hustle Stops each, the most in the NFL.
Hustle Stop – a tackle where a defender covers 20+ yards of in-play distance that results in a successful play for the defense. pic.twitter.com/0eyU6N4g0I
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) November 28, 2019
November 28th, 2019 at 8:12 am
Does David have one more year on his contract? If so, that would be money well spent.
November 28th, 2019 at 8:54 am
1st Team All Pro IMO
Few have his range, speed, athleticism, heart, and character all rolled into one
One of my favorite Bucs of all time
November 28th, 2019 at 8:59 am
Teams with losing records don’t get a lot of player on the 1st Team All Pro. It is why he has been overlooked outside of Tampa for so long.
November 28th, 2019 at 9:51 am
Wish he had a better team around. What a great player he has bin. Honestly it’s why I get so mad wen T M A X I P A D calls this guy garbage. LVD is the most underrated player in the NFL. He leads by example an this year he’s stepped up an became a vocal leader as well. Thank you LVD for always playing your heart out even wen the games don’t mean anything
November 28th, 2019 at 11:02 am
Predictably better with new surroundings on the field !!
November 28th, 2019 at 11:03 am
What defines a successful play?
If you chase the play down and tackle someone 8 yards from the line of scrimmage on a 1st and 10 play, is that successful?
If it’s 3rd and 20 and you chase the player down by running 20-plus yards to make the stop and it’s an 18 yard gain, is that considered successful??
Cool to know David is hustling and playing well this year (and not surprisingly), but there is too many variables, idiosyncrasies and factors to account for and determine and establish what is a successful play or not.
The same outcome on the exact same play and result could be considered successful just depending on the down and distance of that said play. It may be considered successful at one down and distance and point in the game, but the exact same play and result, but on a different down and distance (and situation), may not be considered successful. Never mind just the normal qualifications and subjectivity that are set to determine successful or not.
It’s not only too hard and subjective to determine what the parameters for a “successful play” are, but it’s often changing depending on a myriad of different factors, situations, etc., etc.
November 28th, 2019 at 11:42 am
Yes.
You prefer someone just stand and watch the guy run for a touchdown?
November 28th, 2019 at 11:51 am
Since Schiano was here, huh, Joes? When was that? 8 years ago when LVD was a rookie? LVD is just as good a player as DB55 (HOF). It’s amazing he’s still here with all the HC changes that have gone down. If he raised a white flag right now, 10 teams (at least) would answer. Belicheat would crap his pants. He’s still here cos the defense is jelling with Bowles. LVD is having a ball playing this year cos Bowles let him loose. Looking forward to Sunday. Go Bucs!!
November 28th, 2019 at 11:55 am
NFL fields are 53+ yards wide so it’s not impossible to understand how you can run 20+ yards after a running back or wide receiver doing some sort of sweep play.
November 28th, 2019 at 11:56 am
@Joe
Who would prefer that? That’s a strange question to ask and a stranger use of sarcasm there. If that was your intent.
I honestly and unknowingly asked what are they using to define a successful play. That’s not a stupid question (or maybe it is) and I’m just curious what they qualify as a “successful play”. It’s very subjective, ever-changing, situational and circumstantial to me. But maybe that’s just me. Seems hard to define though, and a play could be considered successful in certain situations, but not successful in others.
And for the record, no I don’t prefer our team (and David specifically) to just stand there and let the opposing offense score touchdowns. Weird I know.
Or are you saying a successful play is one where the defender doesn’t just stand there and the opposing offense doesn’t score a TD? So Malcolm Jenkins’ tackle on Vincent Jackson’s 95 yard catch and run to the 1 yard line, in the throwback creamsicle uniforms, would be considered a “successful play” and would count as a hustle stop right? He didn’t stand there, he ran 20+ yards and the offense didn’t score a TD…
November 28th, 2019 at 12:19 pm
J,
I get that part. Thats one example for sure. For a LB or DB, running 20+ yards on any given play is very probable.
I’m just curious what qualifies as a successful play. Seems it would be hard to qualify it and define it as is, and collectively. But it could change in different scenarios, situations and moments.
Just using your example, which is just one of out many possibilities, making a tackle on a sweep, toss or even screen play behind the line of scrimmage is an obvious successful play. Stopping them for a 2-3 yard gain is obvious as well. If it’s 1st and 10 and you stop them 9 yards down the field, is that successful? If it’s 3rd and 2 and you make the tackle after just a 3 yard gain, is that successful? Or if it’s 4th and 1 and you stop the offensive player for 1 yard, but he gets the 1st down is that successful? If it’s 3rd and 25 and you stop the offensive player for a 22 yard gain, is that considered successful? If it’s 1st and 25 and you chase the play down and make the stop after a 12 yard gain, is that successful? If it’s the last play of the game and the offense gains 68 yards, but gets chased down and stopped at the 2 yard line, preserving the win, but giving up a huge chunk play, is that successful?
I get the obvious, that’s easy to understand. What about the more obscure. What about the specificities and not just collectively. Where is the line drawn for successful becoming unsuccessful. Is it the same qualifications for every play and situation or does it change depending on a multitude of factors. How is it determined, and even why is it. Lots of grey area here.
I get the point is that David is hustling his arse off, and that’s awesome and not surprising, but I’m just curious how they establish successful and qualify it all related to this stat and analysis.
November 28th, 2019 at 12:59 pm
I believe many people are unaware of how wide an actual football field is, so I don’t believe it’s that obvious necessarily. But I’m with you about what exactly defines a successful play. Can Next Gen Stats not provide us with the actual plays when these specific stats were recorded? Isn’t that the whole point behind sports science, to provide specific stats at specific times, to understand why and how an athlete made a possible game changing play so they can tweak it in the future?
November 28th, 2019 at 2:17 pm
Another stat. Can’t wait till they think of the next one. ‘Fastest from locker room to field’.
Just love David. Get him into the playoffs!!
November 29th, 2019 at 12:18 pm
The conversation about the meaning of successful play has been intelligent and interesting.
however the definition of hustle stop on next gens stat glossary is
“Longest Tackles
A defensive player’s hustle can go unnoticed on the field. Longest Tackles measures the actual distance (in yards) a defender covered on a play to make a tackle. This stat reveals players who don’t give up on plays, and can also indicate players who can truly cover “sideline to sideline”.
so within the stat there is no determination or evaluation of successful, just simply yards the tackler covered to make the tackle… raw data not evaluation.