Report: Lavonte David Told Coaches He Didn’t Want To Blitz
October 2nd, 2024
While this nugget comes from a high-ranking Buccaneers official, Joe is labeling it a “report” because it’s so hard to believe.
Bucs fans watched Lavonte David record two sacks Sunday and up his career total to 35 1/2. You can count on one hand — maybe one finger — the number of inside linebackers with that many career sacks plus 30 forced fumbles.
But David preferred not to get after quarterbacks as recently as two years ago, head coach Todd Bowles said yesterday on the Buccaneers Radio Network.
Remember, David was a blitzing machine in his second season (2013) with 7 sacks and 13 quarterback hits.
“A couple of years ago, I know he just wanted to cover and he didn’t want to blitz. Now he wants to blitz all the time,” Bowles said of David. “So, he’s a very good blitzer. He’s probably one of our best blitzers. And he can slither through or he can run you over, and he’s relentless when he comes.
“Some of it [Sunday], the [pass] coverage was decent. But he had a heck of a rush against Saquon [Barkley] one time and he got through and came back for the ball and got the strip/sack. He’s just a relentless player.”
Lavonte David didn’t want to blitz? What?
Joe can only speculate that David, before the start of the 2022 season, figured he was best used in coverage because Devin White was such an explosive, impactful blitzer. Or, White was pushing so hard to blitz and David agreed because David knew he was better dropping in coverage.
October 2nd, 2024 at 9:03 am
Maybe he knew if he blitzed when White was out there, the blitz wouldn’t get there because the other qb could just make an easy completion to whomever White was supposed to be covering.
October 2nd, 2024 at 9:05 am
I mean a couple of years ago Devin White was still a premier blitzer from the linebacking position and Lavonte was one of the premier coverage linebackers good enough to eliminate prime Travis Kelce from the competitive portion of Super Bowl LV.
So it’s understandable in a way.
October 2nd, 2024 at 9:07 am
Interesting take BucFan. If anybody knew about White’s lack of coverage skills it’s Lavonte.
October 2nd, 2024 at 9:24 am
Sounds like David was not only cleaning up Devin White’s missed tackles on the field but also protecting him from the coaches. If they had D White in coverage more often after year one instead of blitzing all the time, I think he would have been gone sooner.
October 2nd, 2024 at 9:37 am
Future HOFamer whether he blitzes or not. Glad he’s a Buc and has a SB ring.
October 2nd, 2024 at 9:56 am
LVD actually said his to a coach? The only way that makes sense is if it happened the way you suggest in that last paragraph Joe.
Diva was a liability in all but blitzing.
That’s why I give some slack to his replacement Britt. He is leaps and bounds a better overall LB than Diva was. If he were able to be honest about it I would bet LVD feels the same way.
Go Bucs!
October 2nd, 2024 at 10:29 am
Last paragraph, dead on Joe. Hammer, meet nail.
October 2nd, 2024 at 10:46 am
LVD is a team first guy. D-White was a great blitzer then and not great in coverage, so LVD knew he needed to be in coverage. Now we desperately need sacks, so LVD steps up and becomes a blitzer. A team-first guy who is also stepping up as a vocal leader, he belongs in the HOF. The Bucs PR group needs to talk him up in the production meetings with the TV crews.
October 2nd, 2024 at 12:28 pm
JimBobBuc … ‘LVD is a team first guy. D-White was a great blitzer then and not great in coverage, so LVD knew he needed to be in coverage.’
No question in my mind that LVD is the ultimate ‘team first guy’. The line most everyone seems to espouse on White is that he was a ‘great blitzer’ and that he was ‘not great in coverage’. I’m not convinced that both are of those are true in Devin’s case.
Here are Devin’s coverage stats for 2019-2023:
o 2019: Targets-56 … Completed-42 … Percent-75.0%
o 2020: Targets-84 … Completed-70 … Percent-83.3%
o 2021: Targets-78 … Completed-64 … Percent-82.1%
o 2022: Targets-60 … Completed-46 … Percent-76.7%
o 2023: Targets-43 … Completed-29 … Percent-67.4%
And here are LVD’s coverage stats for 2019-2023:
o 2019: Targets-90 … Completed-57 … Percent-63.3%
o 2020: Targets-92 … Completed-69 … Percent-75.0%
o 2021: Targets-67 … Completed-54 … Percent-80.6%
o 2022: Targets-73 … Completed-55 … Percent-75.3%
o 2023: Targets-85 … Completed-67 … Percent-78.8%
If you disregard 2019 (a hard year for our defense all-around in that it was just transitioning to Bowles’ 3-4 defense), LVD’s rate stayed between 75-80% (quite consistent IMO). But Devin’s rate actually improved each year from 2020 (83.3%) to 2023 (67.4%). Interestingly, Devin’s blitzes were DOWN in his best coverage years (91 blitzes in 2020, to 133 in 2021, to 65 in 2022 then to 75 in 2023). Looks to me like the more he blitzed, the worse his coverage numbers became.
October 2nd, 2024 at 10:00 pm
He didn’t want to blitz because leaving white out there to guard tight ends and RBs means we lose and he doesn’t want to lose