Veteran defensive game breaker Lavonte David leading Bucs unit that's been shouldering the load
TAMPA, Fla. - While the Bucs offense is trying to find consistency, the defense has been shouldering the load.
They've kept the team in every game the season, allowing a meager 18.3 points per game, their best since the 2007 season. Leading the defensive charge, as well as the team in tackles, is the oldest veteran on the team, Lavonte David.
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"Everything is playing out," David said. "Everybody is doing what they’re supposed to do, for the most part. [I am] just flying to the football and playing the game the way I know how to play it."
David is on a record run right now. He has racked up double-digit tackles for three straight games, something no other Buccaneer has achieved in franchise history. David has a chance to match his team record against Houston with a 4th straight week.
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"It's very motivating," Jamel Dean said. "It's like man, if an older guy can do it, why can't I?"
"Lavonte is an animal, Tristan Wirfs said. "I think he is incredibly underrated [and] incredibly overlooked. You look at what he’s done the past 12 years, and it’s up there with the best to ever to do it. They better get his gold jacket ready. Lavonte is an incredible player, incredible person, and it’s not a surprise to any of us in this locker room what he is doing in year 12 still."
As stingy as the Bucs defense has been in keeping teams out of the endzone, there is still a lot of improvement for this unit to make. Namely, by cutting down on yards allowed and stopping teams on 3rd downs; the Bucs are dead last in the category.
"At the end of the day, the total yards, if we give up all the passing yards, that plays a factor, as well," David said. "We want to be a whole defense – we don’t want to just dominate in certain categories, we want to dominate in all categories. We want to try to put it all together and be better at everything."