Monster Fourth Quarter By Devin White
December 20th, 2020
Take a bow Mr. White!
Joe is freaking dizzy from this game. And no, Joe hasn’t had a Big Storm beer since before kickoff.
There are many reasons why the Bucs pulled victory out of jaws of death today. In what was one of the worst first-half displays of football since the second New Orleans game, the Bucs rose from the dead, scoring 31 points in the second half to defeat the Dixie Chicks.
And one reason was the play of inside linebacker Devin White. The second-year linebacker from LSU was unleashed in the fourth quarter and he went wilding on Matty Ice.
White had three sacks in the Dixie Chicks’ final three possession. His first came on third down and forced Atlanta to kick a 52-yard field goal to take a 27-24 lead with 8:22 left in the game.
It would be the last points Atlanta would muster.
White now has eight sacks for the season – eight!
If the Bucs were going to have a comeback like they did in the second half after puking all over the field in Atlanta in the first half, trailing 17-0 at halftime, the Bucs would need their defense to rise from the dead.
And in the fourth quarter, that was led by White. He just went nuts. In addition to his three sacks, he had four tackles for loss and led the team with 12 tackles overall.
Bucs coach Bucco Bruce Arians said when he drafted White No. 5 overall that the main reason he did was that White would be a terror to quarterbacks on blitzes. We really hadn’t seen much of that well into his second season.
Until today when he had his best game as a pro.
Joe will have to think long and hard to remember a Bucs linebacker taking over a close game like White did in the fourth quarter.
Ride that horse, young man! Ride it all the way to the playoffs!
December 20th, 2020 at 4:45 pm
One word: Explosive!
December 20th, 2020 at 4:45 pm
The last time i saw a Bucs LB take over a game like that was when Brooks was assigned to spy Mike Vick in 2002 and he completely neutralized him.
“I have no time to set up!” Vick said on camera captured by NFL FILMS.
December 20th, 2020 at 4:46 pm
One more. Let’s go!
December 20th, 2020 at 4:48 pm
Devin White said owning horses is expensive, let me play coach
December 20th, 2020 at 4:49 pm
Can Bowles please use White this way in the first quarter?
December 20th, 2020 at 4:50 pm
I believe Devin also had a batted pass or was that a PBU
December 20th, 2020 at 4:56 pm
Terrible in coverage though.
December 20th, 2020 at 5:03 pm
Yes, he’s not great in coverage … all the more reason to rush him on passing downs.
December 20th, 2020 at 5:03 pm
If he could fix his coverage problems he’d be a complete lb
December 20th, 2020 at 5:07 pm
White played like a 5th overall pick today and 8 sacks in one season for an inside linebacker is crazy good. For perspective, Barrett Ruud only had 6 sacks in his entire career and the most that Nickerson ever had in one season was 3.5. The sky is the limit for this kid.
December 20th, 2020 at 5:08 pm
Loved the way White threw Matty ice on the ground in a twisting motion–dude is so strong!(I’m a girl) He takes over the game on defense when he comes alive–really impressive! Thinking we might win the next two games! So nice not to see us throwing picks in the redzone–so many wasted years with Jameis.
December 20th, 2020 at 5:11 pm
Yup, excellent blitzer, very good against the run and just needs to work on his pass coverage skills. Kid is a baller and he’s fast!
December 20th, 2020 at 5:11 pm
I’m not sure that third sack was his, I think Shaq grabbed his shoulder and made him lose his balance
December 20th, 2020 at 5:11 pm
My one word…….GRISLY
December 20th, 2020 at 5:14 pm
Last time the Bucs had a performance like this at LB was probably Kwon vs the Falcons a few years ago.
December 20th, 2020 at 5:16 pm
They should just let White rush the passer. Off topic, did Carlton Davis get benched or hurt?because I don’t remember seeing him in the 2nd half
December 20th, 2020 at 5:25 pm
HC, DC, and OC need to take a big long look in the mirror after this one. At this point in the season there’s no excuse for the slow starts. If they made adjustments at halftime, great, but why didn’t they do it after the first? The slow starts are killing them and will be killers in the playoffs, On offense and defense!
The players need to hold themselves accountable on this one as well. They looked like they were walking through the motions of a meaningless preseason game the entire first half. That was pathetic.
What I don’t want to hear from anyone in the Buck’s organization, or an announcer on TV anymore, is the chemistry and the time it takes to develop. Enough already.
They have been playing football together now for 4 months. They’re professionals. Extremely talented professionals.
Right now that sounds like an extremely hollow excuse
December 20th, 2020 at 5:25 pm
His quickness and his closing speed are just exceptional.
He appears to be running around in a different gear than the rest of the players. He is truly quick…both in reaction time and straight line speed.
I think he’s getting a bum wrap on his lack of coverage skills. He clearly blew one coverage today but it wasn’t anything to do with skill or talent but experience of where to be and which target LVD was covering. He ended up double teaming a guy leaving his man to run free. He’ll figure that out with experience.
He has generational talent.
December 20th, 2020 at 5:39 pm
I feel terrible for David that he’s stuck being a coverage LB – the guy is a monster when he’s called on to blitz, but since that monster GB game, J Watson has more sacks than David. These would be his accolades if he was just allowed to do it. In any case that’s not to take away from White, the kid is doing exactly what you want to see from a top 5 pick. He has all the tools to improve in coverage, coverage LBs tend to be less important than pass rushing LBs, in particular ones that bring pressure up the gut.
December 20th, 2020 at 6:02 pm
Davis was still in the game. Just played more aggressive at the line. Had to go elsewhere.
Go Bucs
December 20th, 2020 at 7:41 pm
All the naysayers about White and Wirfs…..and even Big V and Marpet…I lobbied for them hard on here in the novembers way before their drafts, before many others….yes Im gloating, and Im so proud of my guys!
Now draft TE Freiermuth out of Penn st. and free up some money from our TE spot. Gronk should come back cheaper and baby Gronk can learn under him. We need the funds to pay for Godwin and others…we’ll be picking late 20’s maybe 31 or 32.
December 20th, 2020 at 8:31 pm
Dude gives up at least 5 passes a game…. I don’t know why they don’t use minter on passing downs…. I would be blitzing that idiot 75% of the time!! It’s what he likes to do and what he’s good at I don’t get the dilemma??
December 20th, 2020 at 8:52 pm
LVD has been mentoring White all season. It sure showed in the second half.
December 20th, 2020 at 9:38 pm
Todd,
Hey there old buddy, I really like how you’ve been dropping 45 into zone coverages vs playing him downhill for the majority of the season. Keep
it up!
-Dirk