Team Glazer Should Move All-In On Lavonte David
March 27th, 2024
Lavonte David in 2012, before the Bucs made him wear clown uniforms.
So yesterday in Orlando, Buccaneers co-owner Joel Glazer took about 13 minutes to meet with Joe and some other media types and the subject of legendary Bucs linebacker Lavonte David arose.
Glazer called David “Mr. Buc” and explained why David is an ultimate Buccaneer.
As serious Bucs fans know, David is perennially underrated on a national scale.
Despite legitimate Hall of Fame stats and tremendous consistency through 12 years — plus a Super Bowl ring earned in a game in which he kept Travis Swift out of the end zone — David has been to just one Pro Bowl and is rarely named an alternate. The Pro Bowl vote tally comes from coaches, players and fans — one-third each.
The snub annoys Bucs officials and their outrage feels genuine.
So when Glazer labeled David “Mr. Buc” yesterday, Joe instantly had a great idea; put David in the Buccaneers Ring of Honor this year.
What a statement that would make!
“Lavonte David, call him Mr. Buc, I mean that guy has been unbelievable. Unbelievable on the field, unbelievable off the field. Nobody cares more than Lavonte David,” Glazer said, adding how special and rare it is to have a player stick with a team for so many years in the free agency era.
Yes, putting David in the Ring now would be unprecedented, but what’s wrong with blazing a new trail? Team Glazer owns the darn team. It’s their Ring of Honor and they make the playbook.
Glazer patriarch Malcolm Glazer paid an unprecedented sum for the Bucs nearly 30 years ago. Some called him crazy back then and now the team must be worth at least 30 times what he paid for it. Being bold can pay dividends.
Joe can’t think of anyone outside the James Wilder and Ricky Bell faithful that would moan about David getting his day in the Ring of Honor now.
March 27th, 2024 at 8:11 am
Let the man retire…… then do it…..cause you neva know if something crazy comes up!!!!!
March 27th, 2024 at 8:21 am
Thought they would give him two years.
March 27th, 2024 at 8:29 am
joe it’s a wildly interesting idea…!
he would get the “exposure stamp” he so deservedly needs at this point…
unless there are league rules and stipulations agains such an action, i would freakin’ do it…!
you know shrager and berman, and all media types would be hootin’ and hollaring across youtube, the airwaves and social media platforms…
it’s a way to get LVD his just due…
joe the idea is kinda cool…and definitely outside of standard operating procedure – but it would be good for all involved…
i’m just not so sure it would abide by official nfl policies tho…
what if there’s a waiting period after one retires or leaves a team to be ring of honor eligible
March 27th, 2024 at 8:32 am
James Wilder & Ricky Bell both should go up before L. David because their from the Bucco Bruce days. Bell was our first 1000 (1263 yards) yard rusher and Wilder was just dominate on very poor teams. Wilder is the Bucs leading rusher all time (6008 yards). He also set a NFL record for carries in a season with 403 in 1084 (later beat my 2 other RBs). James Wilder was special, if he was on a great team, where his team wasn’t always losing he could have been scary good. When Lawrence Taylor calls you one of the hardest players to tackle that should say it all. Go Bucs.
March 27th, 2024 at 8:47 am
Just wait. Don’t jinx the man.
March 27th, 2024 at 8:51 am
Do it the last game of the season but before the playoffs.
March 27th, 2024 at 8:52 am
But Wilder should have been in there 10 years ago.
March 27th, 2024 at 8:59 am
One of the many beauties of LVD is, he’s a coach on the field. Which is a good thing because the one standing caratonic on the sidelines is trying to do integral calculus instead of calling a defense that the players know what the hell their assignments are. At least Bowles likes to play that soft as Charmin zone bust scheme though. His pass defense is almost Mike Smithian / Lovie Smithian bad.
March 27th, 2024 at 9:02 am
james wilder was the man…
he was quite the receiving back as well – which no one ever really mentions…
for a few year period he was simply a bucs workhorse – on a lot of bad teams
March 27th, 2024 at 9:04 am
Joes!
“Travis Swift!”
ROTFL!
March 27th, 2024 at 9:16 am
That would open eyes across the league for sure. Might be the only way he avoids being a legacy inductee into the Hall.
March 27th, 2024 at 9:17 am
Well no one has done it before but yea who said you’d have to wait until retirement. Everyone knows he’s going up there
March 27th, 2024 at 9:26 am
lol. and if you do that, you cannot bench david, even if he stinks it up this year.
March 27th, 2024 at 9:41 am
Is there anyone who reads this site who is not a member of the James Wilder and Ricky Bell faithful?
March 27th, 2024 at 9:54 am
That would be amazing! I’m in.
March 27th, 2024 at 10:03 am
It would jinx LVD. Joe and Ira need an info sheet on LVD and pass it around at the owners meeting.
March 27th, 2024 at 10:12 am
Donny. Wilder had 407 carries to go along with 85 catches. His 492 touches are still a record and always will be.
March 27th, 2024 at 10:38 am
Perhaps a campaign to make his jersey the top seller in the entire league would have an effect on his ‘visibility’.
I would break my long standing rule of not buying anything NFL labeled for that.
If every Buc fan bought one, I think that would make a statement.
March 27th, 2024 at 12:49 pm
I already have an LVD jersey. But it’s the alarm clock variety so I would love to replace it.
March 27th, 2024 at 12:52 pm
Definitely a Bell and Wilder fan but I’m up for early entry to the Ring of Honor for Lavonte David. He totally earned it!!!
March 27th, 2024 at 2:11 pm
If anyone should go in the ring before retiring, it’s Gene Deckerhoff. He’s almost 80, has been the voice of the Bucs since ’89, and there’s precedent to put him in early – he was put into the Florida sports HOF and FSU athletics HOF already.
March 27th, 2024 at 3:11 pm
Completely silly to do something unprecedented like that. It’s just not done in ANY HOF type club outside of a posthumous type situation. And for what reason exactly? Nothing good could happen from opening that can of worms for future Bucs and it’s just unnecessary and dumb.
What can of worms? There’s no published playbook on the Buccaneers Ring of Honor. If you’re looking for “a can of worms,” then look no further than kicking Jon Gruden out of the Ring and how that was handled. –Joe
March 27th, 2024 at 3:31 pm
@Boss – Get off our Bucs site you fake azz Bucs fan ! Your the Boss of trash , and that’s all. AINTS fan pretending to be a Bucs fan. You know nothing
March 27th, 2024 at 3:37 pm
@Joe – Well said ! The Gruden situation had nothing to do with the Bucs, and if they would have done nothing, then nobody would have even thought of, or expected it to happen. Gruden deserves his name up there right next to the players from that 2002 team. Bucs ordered, and he delivered. No take backs for something that had nothing to do with the Bucs or the Tampa Bay area.
March 27th, 2024 at 3:43 pm
I hope he at least gets the Larry Fitzgerald treatment every off-season. Meaning that he has a check for the next year for as many years as he feels he can play. Same with Evans.
March 27th, 2024 at 8:27 pm
His consistent performance, ability and tenacity is unbelievable.
His consistent disrespect across the NFL work is also unbelievable.
-unbelievable