Carlton Davis’ Streak Hits 19 Games
November 18th, 2022
Joe was waiting to write this post when Carlton Davis broke his dubious streak, but it never happened. So Joe is sharing today.
The Buccaneers’ No. 1 cornerback is riding a 19-game streak without an interception. That includes the Bucs’ two postseason games last year. Over his last 30 games, Davis has just one interception.
There’s a lot more to being a great cornerback than interceptions, but Joe really hoped this would be a breakthrough season for Davis when it came to forcing turnovers. Davis has a forced fumble this season but none last year in the regular season or playoffs.
When Joe thinks of the Bucs looking more like a dominant contender, Joe’s mind goes to the team forcing more turnovers and the offense capitalizing on short fields.
The Bucs defense has 10 takeaways in 10 games, which ranks tied for 21st, though some teams with fewer turnovers have played one less game than Tampa Bay.
With the offense now coming around, if the Bucs can get their turnovers totals closer to their goal of at least two per game, then the Ws should start piling up easily against a relatively weak remaining schedule.
Hopefully, Davis is part of that takeaway surge.
Todd Bowles Confidence Poll (Week 11)
Flash poll posted at 9:36 a.m. Poll closed at 1:21 p.m. Last week’s results linked here.
November 18th, 2022 at 10:31 am
I wonder how often Carlton Davis gets targeted compared to the average cornerback in the NFL.
November 18th, 2022 at 10:37 am
No interceptions but the rest is really good….I’ll take it.
November 18th, 2022 at 10:39 am
he’s a terrific cornerback… no INT’s is more a function of how they are utlizing him on defense and how they are scheming things.
If Devon White had no sacks this year, odds are Davis would have picks.
November 18th, 2022 at 10:48 am
Shots fired! lol….just a little motivational support, thats all 🙂
November 18th, 2022 at 10:51 am
Team looked great last week Mr Bowels ….Winning cures all….I’ll give Mr Bowels the benefit of the doubt….Maybe the bucs can turn it around.Very optimistic based on the performance in deutsch land .The Zeik looked happy and urgent for the first time all year.LFG BABY!
November 18th, 2022 at 11:02 am
Forgetting that batted ball on the zero blitz against ATL last season that tunred into a Mike Edwards pick-6, best thing about Carlton Davis is as solid as he is in coverage, he’s also a CB you can ask to protect his side of the field as a run defender, especially when he’s the last line of defense between the edge and the sideline.
November 18th, 2022 at 11:05 am
I’ll take it. great job CD.
should he go for picks and get burned?
November 18th, 2022 at 11:25 am
Dooley,
Spot-on observation about CD’s run defense. In fact, Ronde Barber did a break-down of CD in the Rams game where CD was all alone on a run to his side, and CD got a great solo tackle for very minimal gain. Ronde said it was textbook run coverage by a DB.
November 18th, 2022 at 12:00 pm
@D-Rok
I’ll have to go check that out. Those Ronde Barber film breakdowns are super informative, but they’re always way too short in my opinion. Davis is a solid CB, maybe not the greatest in terms of takeaways with 6 career INTs, but if you add the 56 career pass breakups(only 4 this season), tackling ability, and reliability to play off & on the LOS you’d get why our front office thought he was worth paying.
November 18th, 2022 at 12:05 pm
Davis is a seat belt, pretty interesting he doesn’t have one though. Gotta change that
November 18th, 2022 at 12:27 pm
Good corner, just can’t ever get takeaways.
Guys like Darrell Revis were rarely targeted and he still managed to get interceptions. As much as teams have thrown against this defense in the last three or four years it’s actually crazy how few interceptions this team has. Scheme has to play into it.
November 18th, 2022 at 12:42 pm
Not my faovurite player !!
Slightly better than average….
Compared on what we had in the past, he is alright….
November 18th, 2022 at 12:57 pm
Dean and Davis make a great pair of corners
November 18th, 2022 at 1:05 pm
Dooley,
Look up in You Tube “ronde barber film session” and you’ll find the week 9 video against the Rams. Like you said, his breakdowns are way too short, and this one was no exception: He showed 1 play with Vea, and 2 with Davis.
Good stuff and worth the time, IMO.
I’d love to see more content from Barber.
November 18th, 2022 at 1:07 pm
carlton is a really good cover corner…he’s a blanket…not a turnover guy tho…if he averaged 6 ints a year with his coverage skills, he’d be considered one of the top corners in the league – but that’s not really his game for whatever reason…
and across from him we now have the formidable jamel dean, who has developed into quite the player himself…and is kinda like coach bowles “fave kid on the team that i will take under the wing” type of guy…so when he’s resigned (not if) we’ll have 2 solid young corners moving forward…
with zion hopefully developing, and delaney maturing as well…
smb could be the odd man out, but will have a spot in the league and he could blossom elsewhere too…he’s def no scrub…
#CornerbackTalkBehindTheWoodshed
November 18th, 2022 at 1:10 pm
Was wondering why the Bucs’ takeaways are down so far this season compared to 2019-2021. Looks like it might be as simple as opposing teams have changed their attack strategies somewhat.
This season, opponents are running on 41.7% of their plays against us & passing on only 58.3% of their plays. We’ve only gotten 10 takeaways (6 INT & 4 FR) in our 10 games like Joe said, or an average of 1.0 per game.
Last season, opponents ran on 33.5% of their plays & passed on 66.5%. But we had 29 takeaways (17 INTs & 12 FRs) in our 17 games for an average of 1.7 per game. A major difference.
Season before that (2020), opponents ran on 35.0% of their plays & passed on 65.0%. We had 25 takeaways (15 INTs & 10 FRs) in our 16 games for an average of 1.6 per game. Relatively consistent with 2021, but considerably better than 2022.
Looks like it’s not just our INTs per game that are down, but also our FRs per game. And they’re both down fairly uniformly. Hmmm, I wonder if it has anything to do with our poor tackling this year?
November 18th, 2022 at 1:16 pm
The more passes, the more strip sacks
November 18th, 2022 at 1:20 pm
DR,
One thing I’ve noticed, or think I’ve noticed, in regards to our poor tackling this year is that the “gang-tackling” mentality has been reduced this year. When the first guy ties up the runner, then the second guy goes for the strip, and yes I’ve seen it some, but seemingly not as much. It seems that in 2020 we were better at gang-tackling, as a general statement. Perhaps you can whip up some gang-tackling stats? 😉
November 18th, 2022 at 1:37 pm
Joe you’re stirring the pot again. Carlton is almost always paired up against the opposing team’s best receiver. Top receivers like he defends against probably allow fewer INTs because they know how to use their body to shield out the defender, know how to get separation, know how to knock down bad passes to keep the defender from picking them off, etc. Looks to me like Davis is very good at man-to-man, but a lot of his pass breakups on these elite receivers are just fingertip breakups.
He’s been very consistent over the years IMO. This year his completion percentage allowed is 59.6% over his 8 games. Last year it was 57.1% over his 10 games. Season before that 61.9%; before that 49.6%; before that (rookie year) 62.9%, for a career average of 57.4% over his 59 games played. He’s only got 6 INTs over his 5 years, but 4 of those came in 2020. So he’s not a big INT guy. Still, to have a CB who can neutralize the opposing team’s best receivers, I’ll take it. Sure was expensive though.
November 18th, 2022 at 1:39 pm
D-Rok … ‘Perhaps you can whip up some gang-tackling stats? 😉
Say what? I’d have to ask JL’s magic genie for help if I was gonna attempt that one.
November 18th, 2022 at 1:42 pm
Beej … ‘The more passes, the more strip sacks’.
Most likely true. And the more passes, the more INT opportunities. Still, the ratios aren’t holding true this year, even though teams are running more on us.
November 18th, 2022 at 1:46 pm
DR,
Could one derive any meaningful info by comparing solo tackles vs. assisted tackles? That might be one way to at least paint a generic picture…just thinking aloud here.
November 18th, 2022 at 1:59 pm
If he ever does get a pick 6, I expect the whole stadium to do The Carlton.
November 18th, 2022 at 2:04 pm
Davis is a good corner! Dean has been incredible in a contract yr he did well against metcalf
November 18th, 2022 at 2:05 pm
How many fumbles did Jordan Whitehead Force last year? Had to have been a few
November 18th, 2022 at 2:08 pm
Defense Rules is like the Greenberg of the board 🙂
alway bringin’ the necessary info & stats
November 18th, 2022 at 2:10 pm
@Beej:
he fumbled his left shoulder…but quickly picked it up and popped it back in when no one was looking…
#ThenOffToTheJetsHeWent
he’s playing well for the jets too
November 18th, 2022 at 2:38 pm
I’ve always considered Davis a good, not great corner. The deal he signed reflects that. 13 million AAV I believe. His PFF grade this year isn’t great, high 60s last I checked. His next gen stats are better. I’ve been critical of how Bowles has used him at times, giving up way too much space.
November 18th, 2022 at 3:24 pm
Simms spoke highly of Davis when he ranked the top five corners in the league on a recent episode. Blanketing the team’s best wide receiver is more valuable than the occasional pick
November 18th, 2022 at 4:18 pm
He’s a good corner , not a very good corner. On a good team he’s you’re number two. I don’t think he has great ball skills or tackling. He’s above average in coverage. Jamal Dean is far and away the best corner on this team and needs to get locked up
November 18th, 2022 at 5:40 pm
Let’s eat some W’s!!
November 18th, 2022 at 7:16 pm
Jimmy, 100% agree on Dean. Way more upside. Someone will throw a boatload of cash at him in the off season. Personally I would’ve locked him up, let Davis walk, and signed someone like Gilmore
November 18th, 2022 at 8:20 pm
D-Rok … Doesn’t look to me like solo vs assist tackles tells us anything useful to speak of. Seems to be more a function of position group.
For example, Davis has 34 solo, 7 assists. Dean has 36 solo, 9 assists. Winfield has 37 solo, 7 assists.
But then move in to the ILBs and LVD has 42 solo, 28 assists while White has 47 solo, 29 assists.
Move further ‘forward’ to the DLine & Vea has 12 solo, 14 assists. Gholston has 11 solo, 12 assists. RNR has 10 solo, 8 assists.
So does that mean that the DLine is better at gang tackling than our ILBs or Secondary? Or does it mean that when the DLinemen are involved in tackles, it’s always in such close quarters that several others are also involved & those keeping the stats can’t tell who actually made the tackle? I’m sure it’s much easier in ‘open space’ (like in the Secondary?) to give individual credit.
November 19th, 2022 at 1:58 am
Wow. Didn’t they have 9 takeaways in their first TWO GAMES?!?
November 19th, 2022 at 8:47 am
Thanks for looking up those stats, DR. In addition to your thoughts above, I’d add that the closer to the LOS a runner is, the more congested that area will be and we should have more assists closer to LOS than say a 15 yard gain – there will be more space and less defenders. Good stuff, buddy – thanks!
November 19th, 2022 at 8:54 am
Davis and Dean started together at Auburn on some great defenses with really good coaching. It was a physical press man scheme. Dean is younger and got flagged for PI back then quite a bit. But he’s done such a good job of improving his technique he gets better each season. Davis is the same with the Bucs as he was in college, great in coverage, physical and solid tackler. Never a big turnover guy at Auburn either. By the way,KJ Britt was also on that D.
November 20th, 2022 at 2:40 pm
CARLTON DAVIS IS OUR BEST CORNER, EVENTUALLY THE INT’S WILL COME..THE FACT HE’S OUR LEADER IM SECONDARY PLAY SPEAKS FOR ITSELF..HE’S GOT THE SWAGGER & SKILLS TO BE THE BEST AT HIS POSITION..I’M AM TRULY SATISFIED WITH THE WAY HE PLAYS THE GAME AT THIS POINT IN HIS CAREER