- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 427,654
- Reaction score
- 44
TAMPA — Lavonte David is as hard to read off the field as he is while playing inside linebacker. He’s a master at disguising his intentions. Is he going to blitz the A gap or drop into coverage? Retire or play another year?
But shortly after the Bucs fell to the Commanders in an NFC wild-card game in January, head coach Todd Bowles got a pretty good read that David was leaning toward returning for his 14th NFL season.
“After the exit meeting, I felt better than I felt last year,” Bowles said. “He was in a much better place. Even though he said he had to think about it and he didn’t tell me anything, he was more upbeat this year than he was last year. Last year, it sounded like he was at the end.
“This year it sounded like he could go some more. In my head, I said, ‘He’s coming back.’ But I didn’t know that. And when he finally came back and we texted each other, it was outstanding. It takes a lot of weight off us when you need one backer instead of two. When you’ve got to bring two of them in there, there’s going to be a problem.”
Regardless of David’s decision to return, the Bucs must turn an eye to the future and invest in an inside linebacker in the upcoming draft. Father Time is undefeated, and while David was terrific this past season with a team-leading 122 tackles, 5 ½ sacks, three forced fumbles and an interception, but he won’t play forever.
What’s more concerning is that SirVocea Dennis is coming off shoulder surgery and was limited to only four games last season. It was a short sample size, but Dennis looked the part. He had 22 tackles and a sack while appearing competent in pass coverage.
“I thought we had a heck of player when he was on the field,” Bowles said. “We really thought he was making big strides — first, second and third down. He’s not just a third-down player. He had the shoulder, his shoulder’s been hurt since he came out of college. He got it taken care of. You’d like to see him healthy, (but) you can’t go by that. We’ve got to see that in pieces. We think he’s a heck of a football player."
Just the same, the Bucs signed former Dolphin Anthony Walker to provide some experience and competition for Dennis. They let starting inside linebacker K.J. Britt leave via free agency. Ironically, he signed with Miami.
“When he was out there, when he was healthy, we really thought he played some very good football. He did a lot of things that we really like,” Bowles said of Walker. “His zone drops are great, how he read the guards and the tackles was great, how he communicated was great. Just his presence about him when meeting him was very good. I thought he really did a lot of things that we like to do defensively, so that kind of helps us out.”
That all sounds great, but David is 35 and Walker is 29. It’s time for general manager Jason Licht to reload at inside linebacker.
It’s one position the Bucs have addressed successfully in the draft.
Licht took Kwon Alexander of LSU in the fourth round in 2015. He played well until a knee injury prompted the Bucs to go another direction. They selected another LSU linebacker, Devin White, with the fifth overall pick in 2019. White was a key reason the Bucs won Super Bowl 55. But he his performance declined shortly afterward as he sought a $100 million contract and he has since bounced around.
If you were ranking the Bucs’ biggest needs on defense, it would be for an edge rusher, inside linebacker and cornerback. So, it’s reasonable to assume they will take a linebacker with the 19th overall pick.
No player has been tied to the Bucs as often in mock drafts as Alabama linebacker Jihaad Campbell. At 6-feet-3, 235 pounds, he has prototypical size and was highly productive as a first-team All-SEC player. He had 117 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, five sacks, two forced fumbles and an interception.
Campbell said he met with Licht, Bowles and linebackers coach Larry Foote at the NFL scouting combine in March in Indianapolis.
“I feel like I’m Mr. Can-Do-It-All; I’m a Swiss Army knife,” Campbell said at the combine. “I can blitz through the A gap, I can come off the edge, I can play middle run or Tampa 2, I can drop, strong hook, hook curl, whatever you want me to do. I can play man to man on the receiver, tight end, running back– anything."
The Bucs had trouble covering the middle of the field last season, and Campbell could help in that area as well as adding another strong pass rusher.
“I love to show my versatility when I’m in coverage playing Tampa 2,” he said. “They think a big guy like me can’t cover those guys going down the field vertically, so I think that’s one of my biggest games. And obviously, rushing the passer, for sure.”
A couple of things may attract Bowles to Campbell. He loves SEC players, and both are from New Jersey.
“The biggest thing coming from Jersey, all the athletes, we’ve got a chip on our shoulder,” Cambell said.
If not Campbell, the Bucs could wait until the second or early third round and perhaps land Ole Miss linebacker Chris “Pooh” Paul Jr. A finalist for the Butkus Award, which goes to the nation’s top college linebacker, Paul is a little smaller (6-1, 222) and not as fast or long as Campbell, but he is a dominant SEC player who excels in coverage.
It may be malpractice not to address the inside linebacker position in this draft. Then again, David may continue to defy the norms.
“I still love the game,” he said. ”I still have the ability to play. I still trust myself. I still believe in myself, and why not? Why not give it another shot?"
Thursday-Saturday, Green Bay, Wisconsin. TV/streaming: NFL Network, ESPN, ESPN2
Bucs picks: Round 1 (No. 19), Round 2 (53rd), Round 3 (84th), Round 4 (121st), Round 5 (157th), Round 7 (235th)
• • •
Sign up for the Sports Today newsletter to get daily updates on the Bucs, Rays, Lightning and college football across Florida.
Never miss out on the latest with your favorite Tampa Bay sports teams. Follow our coverage on Instagram, X and Facebook.
Continue reading...
But shortly after the Bucs fell to the Commanders in an NFC wild-card game in January, head coach Todd Bowles got a pretty good read that David was leaning toward returning for his 14th NFL season.
“After the exit meeting, I felt better than I felt last year,” Bowles said. “He was in a much better place. Even though he said he had to think about it and he didn’t tell me anything, he was more upbeat this year than he was last year. Last year, it sounded like he was at the end.
“This year it sounded like he could go some more. In my head, I said, ‘He’s coming back.’ But I didn’t know that. And when he finally came back and we texted each other, it was outstanding. It takes a lot of weight off us when you need one backer instead of two. When you’ve got to bring two of them in there, there’s going to be a problem.”
Regardless of David’s decision to return, the Bucs must turn an eye to the future and invest in an inside linebacker in the upcoming draft. Father Time is undefeated, and while David was terrific this past season with a team-leading 122 tackles, 5 ½ sacks, three forced fumbles and an interception, but he won’t play forever.
What’s more concerning is that SirVocea Dennis is coming off shoulder surgery and was limited to only four games last season. It was a short sample size, but Dennis looked the part. He had 22 tackles and a sack while appearing competent in pass coverage.
“I thought we had a heck of player when he was on the field,” Bowles said. “We really thought he was making big strides — first, second and third down. He’s not just a third-down player. He had the shoulder, his shoulder’s been hurt since he came out of college. He got it taken care of. You’d like to see him healthy, (but) you can’t go by that. We’ve got to see that in pieces. We think he’s a heck of a football player."
Just the same, the Bucs signed former Dolphin Anthony Walker to provide some experience and competition for Dennis. They let starting inside linebacker K.J. Britt leave via free agency. Ironically, he signed with Miami.
“When he was out there, when he was healthy, we really thought he played some very good football. He did a lot of things that we really like,” Bowles said of Walker. “His zone drops are great, how he read the guards and the tackles was great, how he communicated was great. Just his presence about him when meeting him was very good. I thought he really did a lot of things that we like to do defensively, so that kind of helps us out.”
That all sounds great, but David is 35 and Walker is 29. It’s time for general manager Jason Licht to reload at inside linebacker.
It’s one position the Bucs have addressed successfully in the draft.
Licht took Kwon Alexander of LSU in the fourth round in 2015. He played well until a knee injury prompted the Bucs to go another direction. They selected another LSU linebacker, Devin White, with the fifth overall pick in 2019. White was a key reason the Bucs won Super Bowl 55. But he his performance declined shortly afterward as he sought a $100 million contract and he has since bounced around.
If you were ranking the Bucs’ biggest needs on defense, it would be for an edge rusher, inside linebacker and cornerback. So, it’s reasonable to assume they will take a linebacker with the 19th overall pick.
No player has been tied to the Bucs as often in mock drafts as Alabama linebacker Jihaad Campbell. At 6-feet-3, 235 pounds, he has prototypical size and was highly productive as a first-team All-SEC player. He had 117 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, five sacks, two forced fumbles and an interception.
Campbell said he met with Licht, Bowles and linebackers coach Larry Foote at the NFL scouting combine in March in Indianapolis.
“I feel like I’m Mr. Can-Do-It-All; I’m a Swiss Army knife,” Campbell said at the combine. “I can blitz through the A gap, I can come off the edge, I can play middle run or Tampa 2, I can drop, strong hook, hook curl, whatever you want me to do. I can play man to man on the receiver, tight end, running back– anything."
The Bucs had trouble covering the middle of the field last season, and Campbell could help in that area as well as adding another strong pass rusher.
“I love to show my versatility when I’m in coverage playing Tampa 2,” he said. “They think a big guy like me can’t cover those guys going down the field vertically, so I think that’s one of my biggest games. And obviously, rushing the passer, for sure.”
A couple of things may attract Bowles to Campbell. He loves SEC players, and both are from New Jersey.
“The biggest thing coming from Jersey, all the athletes, we’ve got a chip on our shoulder,” Cambell said.
If not Campbell, the Bucs could wait until the second or early third round and perhaps land Ole Miss linebacker Chris “Pooh” Paul Jr. A finalist for the Butkus Award, which goes to the nation’s top college linebacker, Paul is a little smaller (6-1, 222) and not as fast or long as Campbell, but he is a dominant SEC player who excels in coverage.
It may be malpractice not to address the inside linebacker position in this draft. Then again, David may continue to defy the norms.
“I still love the game,” he said. ”I still have the ability to play. I still trust myself. I still believe in myself, and why not? Why not give it another shot?"
NFL draft
Thursday-Saturday, Green Bay, Wisconsin. TV/streaming: NFL Network, ESPN, ESPN2
Bucs picks: Round 1 (No. 19), Round 2 (53rd), Round 3 (84th), Round 4 (121st), Round 5 (157th), Round 7 (235th)
• • •
Sign up for the Sports Today newsletter to get daily updates on the Bucs, Rays, Lightning and college football across Florida.
Never miss out on the latest with your favorite Tampa Bay sports teams. Follow our coverage on Instagram, X and Facebook.
Continue reading...
