What Bucs Will Miss If Devin White Can’t Play
November 25th, 2021
Blitzing machine at linebacker.
Yes, Joe understands the Colts are a damn good running team. That’s a no-brainer.
But Joe isn’t sold on Carson Wentz. At one point, Joe thought he was one of the best young quarterbacks in the game. He’s dropped off considerably and is a bit on the brittle side.
Colts coach Frank Reich seems to be squeezing a lot of juice from what’s left in Wentz. He’s due for a clunker of a game. You pressure him and he folds.
So we all know Devin White has a quad injury and Joe will guess White doesn’t play Sunday. No inside intel, just a sad hunch. Quad injuries can be nasty. We may know more later today. Bucco Bruce Arians didn’t sound hopeful Wednesday night on SiriusXM NFL Radio.
Yes, the Bucs will lose a tackling machine if White cannot go, and the Bucs will lose an underrated pass rusher. NextGen Stats broke down what the Bucs will miss if White is sidelined.
Buccaneers linebacker Devin White has generated more than twice as many pressures (23) as the next closest off-ball linebacker (Demario Davis, 11).
If Davis does finish among the top 5 by season’s end, it will be for the fifth-straight season (2017 thru 2021).#GoBucs | #Saints pic.twitter.com/QKRhdewWiL
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) November 24, 2021
Joe had no idea that White was this effective in blitzing. That’s a wide margin between him and the No. 2 linebacker. It’s not even close. To be fair, White has blitzed more than any player in the NFL.
Yeah, Joe has confidence in Kevin Minter. He’s not a bad player. But he’s not White. Not even close.
November 25th, 2021 at 12:21 am
HAPPY TURKEY Day TAMPABAY!!!!!!
November 25th, 2021 at 12:30 am
Hell play
November 25th, 2021 at 12:58 am
He has Covid Quad
November 25th, 2021 at 3:45 am
This defense will focus on what they do best which is stop the run first, it won’t be the same without White but I’m confident Bowles will scheme something to limit their running attack because that’s what they do best. I have a feeling the D will step up in this game , my concern is the offense operating at its potential on the road, which has yet to happen this year.
November 25th, 2021 at 5:53 am
‘Joe had no idea that White was this effective in blitzing. To be fair, White has blitzed more than any player in the NFL.’
Blitzing your ILBs is a double-edged sword Joe, and there-in lies the rub. If you get there, you’re a hero. If you don’t get there, you’ve vacated a large chunk of real estate & the QB completes short passes in your area more easily. But it’s OK I guess; everyone blames the Secondary anyways.
Devin blitzed 80 times in the first 10 games and was credited with 20 pressures (2 sacks, 9 Hurries, 9 Knockdowns). That 8 times/game average is quite a bit higher than his first 2 seasons when he averaged just about 6 times/game, so he’s blitzing about 33% more often this season. Looked at another way, Devin blitzed on 9% of his def snaps in each of his first 2 seasons. This year he’s blitzing on 12% of his def snaps.
My question is … Why is he blitzing so much more this year? I thought at first it might be because our DLine & OLBs aren’t gittin ‘er done as effectively as they did last season. But that’s not true; we’re actually being more effective blitzing this season (getting a Pressure on 40% of our blitzes as opposed to on 35% of our blitzes last year). Bewildering.
November 25th, 2021 at 6:04 am
Brady’s offense needs to score every time they get the ball
November 25th, 2021 at 7:01 am
We need to get a 3 score lead early and limit their running……easier said.
November 25th, 2021 at 8:54 am
Is a 25% pressure success rate on the blitz an effective number? I don’t know, but it feels like a low ROI. If White is blitzing more than any other player, then I wouldn’t expect anything else other than the highest amount of pressures, or it’d be an exercise in idiocy.
Appreciate the success rate stats, DR. Those are more meaningful and less misleading to me than straight up totals. To answer your question, I think White is blitzing more so that they can better mask his coverage skills (or lack thereof), which may be improving, but are not nearly as strong as his run tackling skills by comparison.
November 25th, 2021 at 8:56 am
Wentz is one if the most accurate passers in the league. The loss of White would be a huge loss when trying to disrupt Wentz not to mention his run D. Not the guy you want missing in this game. I’m hoping he just wanted Thanksgiving off.
November 25th, 2021 at 8:58 am
I should add, the latter of which, elite run tackling is what the Bucs will truly miss if White can’t play.
Forget blitzing Carson Wentz, the key to stopping the colts is stopping Jonathan Taylor from another 100+ yard rushing day. I would welcome 30+ passes from Carson Wentz into our suddenly healthy secondary’s waiting arms.
November 25th, 2021 at 9:04 am
I’m getting really sick of hearing about these quad injuries… all that money, the Bucs don’t have a leg extension machine? Come to LA FITNESS in Lutz, I’ll show you where the damn thing is. Disgraziata.
November 25th, 2021 at 9:15 am
I tell you what man, White and David are by far the best linebacker duo in the league. Both are easily top 10
November 25th, 2021 at 9:32 am
We need his speed and athleticism this week with J. Taylor on the field. However, I’m hopeful Minter can hold down the fort should White have to sit out. Fingers crossed!
November 25th, 2021 at 11:31 am
If White can’t play, may need to shift to more safety blitz’s and keep JTS on the field the entire game. Brady can’t take the first quarter off and the O needs to score TDs in the red zone. They are leaving too many points on the Table. Oh and Shaq needs to step up his game.