Your NFL Solo Tackles Leader: Lavonte David
November 11th, 2014
Lavonte David is one of the greats of the game.
No argument. Don’t dare deny it.
The guy’s consistency has been amazing since he was selected by the Bucs in the second round of the 2012 NFL Draft.
Through 10 weeks of this NFL season, David leads the league in solo tackles. David has 73. The next highest total (64) rests with linebacker DeAndre Levy of the Lions.
“Total tackles,” which factors in assists, David (103) is second to his draft classmate Luke Kuechly (105). But David has two forced fumbles. Kuechly has one; Levy has none.
It’s just so darn sad that David, 24, is having another stout season that’s being wasted.
Joe really is queased by the thought.
November 11th, 2014 at 1:11 pm
Man this kid is a gamer. He’s definitely missing the splash plays he had under Schiano. But got dammit this kid covers grass from sideline to sideline like no other. Freaking awesome to watch him play. Deserves to get paid real $. He’s the silent leader on the team. And it’s all because of his professionalism and play.
November 11th, 2014 at 1:25 pm
Joe
It’s about time! Week 10 and you’re finally writing about our MVP and defensive leader! No talk just action. 10 solo tackles last 4 weeks and 9 the week before that? This guy takes on lineman twice his size and still makes plays. He gets crushed on a blitz gets up dusts it off and gets back in the game. By far the best defensive play I’ve seen since mr Brooks and mr sapp were in town. LVD is an absolute monster.
I just with we had more leaders who actually make plays rather than complain all day.
November 11th, 2014 at 1:35 pm
I hope he not only helps players up off the field but he also dusts them off and writes an apology letter in case he hits them too hard.
November 11th, 2014 at 1:37 pm
LVD is the only great player we have on D. They should be trying to extend him right now.
November 11th, 2014 at 1:47 pm
@ Pierce
Sorry man we already have a “Captain” who does that. We don’t need our real Captain and Leader to start doing this as well. Lol
November 11th, 2014 at 1:49 pm
LVD, so good not even Lovie can screw him up.
November 11th, 2014 at 1:50 pm
Is he not everyone favorite buccaneer? How can you not love this kid! He puts up middle linebacker stats on the WEAK side of field. For those of you that don’t know, the weak side is typically the back side of the play. They are running away from David and he still makes more plays than any other defender in the league. It’s truly amazing what this guy can do.
November 11th, 2014 at 1:54 pm
@DB55
He’s like beast mode in the super bowl. No talk. “I’m all about that action boss.” Lmfao
November 11th, 2014 at 2:12 pm
Now, don’t get me wrong. David is a total manbeast. But, aren’t tackles inflated by the fact that we can’t get off the effing field on 3rd down? I mean if you play on a great defense delivering 3 and outs all day… Your LB’s will have far fewer tackles than the LBs on a porous defense like ours. Right? Is my logic flawed here?
November 11th, 2014 at 2:21 pm
We have the best linebacker in football and he cant get any credit because the team sucks so why is a guy that doesn’t have nearly the amount of production (GMC) getting more credit even when he doesn’t show up on the stat sheet
November 11th, 2014 at 2:30 pm
@bucs4lyfe- That is so true. Every week GMC should write LVD an apology note enclosed with $2mil of that hefty contract he just signed.
November 11th, 2014 at 2:30 pm
LVD is the best part about being a Bucs fan.
November 11th, 2014 at 2:45 pm
Ray Ray
Indeed he is. Best play was when he chased down freeman from the backside, crushed him just before the first down marker and hit him so hard he knocked Freeman’s helmet off. He had to sprint 30 yards to catch the RB and the RB was hauling a$$. These plays are neither highlighted or mention cuz everyone is stuck so far up gmc arse. 3 false starts in a row and 1 tackle vs 10 solos 14 total tackles. If gmc is worth 100m then LVD is worth 200m.
November 11th, 2014 at 2:46 pm
LVD is a rock to build a great defense on, It will come just like it did in the 90s, we just need the leadership to fix it like General Patton did in North Africa.
November 11th, 2014 at 3:00 pm
He also leads the league in TFLs, by the way.
What really bums me out, though, is that he hasn’t had a single sack OR an interception.
Don’t get me wrong, LVD is by far my favorite player, however it does seem to me that he has significantly regressed in coverage.
I know he’s being utilized differently than last year but i believe he should have had at least a sack or an interception by now, if not far more (which is what i’d have expected of him prior to the season).
November 11th, 2014 at 3:22 pm
Stud. Hands down my favorite player
November 11th, 2014 at 3:37 pm
@DB55
Dam! That’s one of many plays I forgot about. The guy has so many it’s hard to keep track. Hands down a freaking beast. Levy for Detroit is also bas a$$.
November 11th, 2014 at 4:53 pm
Yeah. Kuechly at mike and David at will.
Sorry – another case of Dominicitis! We get what? A 4th and 6th for Mark Barron.
Just kills me to think of the sheer number of stupid *** wasted Dominicitis picks. Then again Dominicitis also has stupid *** choices in head coaches!
November 11th, 2014 at 5:34 pm
Since that automatically meant David would be there for us to take in the 2nd round… I swear the people on this blog have no common sense… #itsabucslife 🙂
November 11th, 2014 at 6:24 pm
They’ll have to free up cap room and lock him up. Our punter going should help with that. And then Goldson.
November 11th, 2014 at 8:03 pm
He probably was the steal of the draft.
November 11th, 2014 at 8:05 pm
Just imagine if we had took Luke Kuechly as well. Man…..
November 11th, 2014 at 8:51 pm
Just imagine if Diminik didnt trade up and get David…
November 11th, 2014 at 10:45 pm
Maybe if he could actually cover the pass, along with all the other LBs, and not fall for the same play-action that gets him sucked towards the line, he could’ve made some defensive stops and would have less tackles. But he, along with the rest of the LBs, look like they’ve never seen play-action before and have been a complete sieve all season.
November 12th, 2014 at 11:45 am
I see David make a lot of tackles from behind. When the ideal situation would be for him to be making tackles in the hole. I’ve had enough talk about MCcoy and David. I don’t see either one being real team players. I know MCcoy talks a good game about the team, but I don’t see it in his play or David’s play. I don’t see either one of them moving around in the huddle trying to motivate players or encouraging them. Eleven individuals is not a team and that is what I see from the Bucs. A true team leader trys to get everyone on the same page and thats not happening. The big question is why. It seems that all the Bucs keep saying we’re tired of this losing, but no one steps forward to take a true leaders role in making this team step up. Lovie and the rest of the coaches can talk to the players and point out their mistakes, but a leader on the field should be getting in the face of the player as soon as he makes the mistake and let him know not to do it again. Leading by example is fine but with some guys you have to do more than that. As long as the Bucs play is on an individual basis their going to keep losing.
November 12th, 2014 at 11:51 am
Shutup Brandon. Do you really watch or were you watching the ends, subs and FOSTER biting on all those P-As and blaming David? Or maybe cos hes in every damm dogpile and you can see him at the end of the play? Guy is a baller, would be nice if everyone else played like he does. No talk just walk.
November 12th, 2014 at 2:12 pm
I’ve had the chance to watch Lavonte since his days at Nebraska. His raw instinct for the game is second to none, and he covers the entire length of the field. He is also a class act, on and off the field. He simply goes about his business with utmost professionalism. In this day and age, he has easily become one of my favorite athlete’s of all time. He deserves much more recognition!
November 12th, 2014 at 4:13 pm
David > Kuechly