Legend Of Linebackers Grows
September 14th, 2021
Still anchoring the defense.
This really shouldn’t shock anyone but Joe thought it was cool so here we go.
Joe will put Lavonte David and Devin White against any inside linebackers in the game. Name a better duo? Joe doesn’t think there is one.
And while the Bucs didn’t have the greatest of defensive outings last week — Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott sliced them apart (gee, Prescott sure didn’t need any worthless preseason games, did he?) — when plays needed to be made, guess who was in the middle of things?
Yep, David and White.
The two combined for 21 tackles. David had 11, White had 10. David also had a quarterback hit and a pass defended. David damn near had a key pick and White was a hair away from having a pick in the fourth quarter and it might have been a pick-six.
As long as those two guys are on their two feet, the defense will be OK.
September 14th, 2021 at 9:23 am
LVD!! Catch the ball!! Go Bucs.
September 14th, 2021 at 9:25 am
Agree that they are the best duo in the NFL. I saw White miss a tackle (or two) but that happens to everyone – occasionally.
September 14th, 2021 at 9:26 am
David and Goliath
September 14th, 2021 at 9:29 am
22 tackles out of like 75 snaps. Not impressed by their production on Thursday. Sorry, the standard is higher.
September 14th, 2021 at 9:38 am
Passes defended and turnovers are more critical for this duo. We know they can tackle well.
September 14th, 2021 at 9:43 am
Overall a respectable night for both of them Joe, but neither made any game-changing plays. And stats like theirs can be a little misleading.
For instance, LVD had 5 solo tackles & 6 assists in those 11 tackles. He had 1 QB Hit, but he blitzed 11 times. Targeted with 6 passes & all 6 were completions. And oh ya, he was on the field for all 84 def snaps (way too many).
White in comparison had 8 solo tackles & 2 assists in his 10 combined tackles. He blitzed 8 times, but came away with 0 sacks, 0 QB Hits, and 0 hurries. Targeted 7 times & all 7 were completions (might explain the tackles?). And just like LVD, he was on the field for all 84 def snaps (again, way too many).
Problem Thurs night IMO is that everyone on defense pretty much did their jobs, but no one (except for Carlton Davis) really stood out. At the same time however, I don’t think that anyone really got taken to the woodshed. Gut feel is that 84 def snaps simply wore many our guys out.
September 14th, 2021 at 9:44 am
David getting his hand on the ball down in the red zone kept Edwards from an easy pick, but hey, that stuff happens sometimes. Otherwise, they played really, really well and held the team together, bending but not breaking.
September 14th, 2021 at 10:12 am
David played great and White had a good game. This is Devin’s third year and it seems he has started rather slowly in his previous two seasons. Now that the first game is under their belt I expect both to be dominant and ball out this year.
September 14th, 2021 at 10:42 am
11 + 10 was 21 last time I went to school
September 14th, 2021 at 11:01 am
They will do just fine. We dont need Bowles dialing up all his craziness with these guys so early in the season. Peak late in the season, not early. Last year, we would have lost that game on Thursday early in the season. I used to worry about the stats when this team lost, and always dreamed of what would happen if the team just found a way to win. Well, this is what it looks like. Always room for improvement. This team normally gets its game straight when the dirty birds come to town. Enjoy the ride Bucs fans.
September 14th, 2021 at 11:35 am
White was mostly a non-factor in Game 1.
He blitzed a ton but couldn’t get any pressure.
I believe he’s looking for a bounce back game against Atlanta.
September 14th, 2021 at 11:36 am
Excellent Take DR!!
September 14th, 2021 at 1:30 pm
Dallas’ game plan was brilliant. They virtually took the linebackers out of the game by throwing almost all of their passes out to the flats. Considering the gameplan and the lack of running Dallas did, its amazing that they got that many tackles
September 15th, 2021 at 2:02 pm
The WR passes into the flats are on the Corners, they were playing too far off the receivers. I recall towards the end of last year Bucs were pressing WR’s at LOS.
Not against Dallas. You have to at some point in the game smell those plays and come up and tackle. Bowles may have wanted those CB’s way off the ball but the result was 2 yard pass in the air, 10-15 yard catch and run.
Lamb and Cooper are very fluid, one move to freeze DB and their burst and evasiveness had huge benefits. Cooper/Lamb/Shultz had 26 catches. Prescott’s average pass attempt in the air was 6.5 yards. Those 3 receivers had 250 yards in catches.
170 yards of balls caught but another 80 yards after the catch. On a 6 yard pass you cannot give up 3 yard of YAC. That is nearly a first down every time on a pass that can’t be broken up. Press coverage is remedy.