PFF Tribe Has Surprise Bucs Starter On Defense
June 10th, 2025
Busted.
Yeah, far more often than not, Joe mocks the PFF tribe. Why? Because a good bit of their content is either nonsensical or asinine. You pick.
“This Joe” likes their stats, not their dumb grades. There’s a huge difference.
And seeing Dalton Wasserman and Max Chadwick of the PFF tribe try to guess starting lineups for each team, it’s clear they need to get their heads out of their grades.
Wasserman and Chadwick typed they did a “deep dive” on each team’s roster. Well, when it came to the Bucs, they forgot their scuba tank. More like they were snorkeling just offshore.
SirVocea Dennis has been widely discussed as a starting inside linebacker along with Lavonte David. Even national NFL talking heads talk about how important it is for Dennis to stay on the field for a change. But no, not the PFF tribe.
These self-glossing inventors of the game don’t believe Dennis will start this year. Why? Because Anthony Walker has a higher “grade,” apparently.
Can you imagine?
Perfect example of dudes looking at (convoluted) numbers and not tape. Or, they haven’t done a lick of research.
The PFF tribe also doesn’t believe the Bucs will flip Tykee Smith to safety, even though the Bucs have all but promised to do just that. The tribe has Christian Izien at safety instead, while Smith stays at nickel.
Also, which isn’t really shocking, the tribe has Anthony Nelson in a rotation at edge with Haason Reddick and YaYa Diaby. That is probably accurate. Joe can see Nelson in a bit of a rotation with Reddick and YaYa. However, the way the Bucs crow about rookie David Walker, Joe believes he’s going to get a fair shot at earning snaps.
June 10th, 2025 at 9:07 am
Damn Joe, what got your panties in a twist this morning? Who cares what the PFF Tribe projects as the starting Bucs lineup? It probably won’t be until the 2nd or 3rd preseason game before it becomes clear what the starting lineup and backup depth will look like. Let’s just pray that injuries aren’t a determining factor in the lineup.
June 10th, 2025 at 9:23 am
Joe … ‘Can you imagine?’
Actually yes I can Joe. Two things MUST happen for SVD to be designated as the MLB starter Week 1. First, he has to make it through Training Camp injury free. I for one certainly HOPE that he does, but that’s not a given considering his first 2 years here.
And second, SVD has to ‘beat out’ BOTH Anthony Walker AND Deion Jones for the MLB starter role. Admittedly both of those guys are 29, but they’re both highly experienced, with LOTS of NFL starts between them. And neither one of them is a slouch; they’ve both done quite well during their careers in both pass defense and run defense. And both have LOTS of leadership experience, something that Todd Bowles seems to be quite high on.
Bucs are on a Super Bowl hunt, and every game is important. And especially early in the season when we need to ‘keep it close’ within the division. Last thing we need to to have a losing streak early in the year, and fall several games behind Atlanta or whoever pulls out in front early. Todd went with his veterans to start last season, and we opened 3-1 in the first quarter of the season. My guess is that he’ll probably do the same this year.
June 10th, 2025 at 10:11 am
Barring injury Dennis is a lock at ILB they are clueless.
June 10th, 2025 at 10:16 am
“don’t believe Dennis will start this year. Why? Because Anthony Walker… ”
LOL – I immediately thought of DR while reading because he’s been trying to throw that same crap at the wall…. just to watch it slide down into a meaningless pile on the floor as the season begins…..
Look down – and of course, there’s DR already in the comments – nodding his head like a bobblehead….. Ha Ha
Dennis is the starting MLB – unless something happens to Lavonte in which case Voss will slide over to the weakside spot he will inherit next year….
Either way – Sirvocea will be out there for the vast majority of snaps in 2025 – unless of course he gets hurt again – which is obviously within the realm of possibility…..
June 10th, 2025 at 10:25 am
Actually Walker should have a higher grade than Voss. As far as Voss’s grade he should get an incomplete! He was a part time player for only four games last year. Before that, well he’s always been a part time player. I’m an advid Buc fan, and I couldn’t put a grade on him, just not enough tape. We’re all hoping, but until he actually starts, and plays, who can say what he’ll be as a player. Like someone who owns this site always says, until he does it, he hasn’t done it.
June 10th, 2025 at 10:26 am
According to Todd Bowles, the 4th LB shows a lot of promise… Jones I think?
June 10th, 2025 at 10:36 am
Smith at safety and Izien at nickel. Is that so hard to see?
And we’ll need 4 OLB for sure. Who’s the 4th after Nelson is 3rd? Also, are they interchangeable? Can they flip sides or responsibilities as the situation demands?
June 10th, 2025 at 10:38 am
SVD will start because we drafted him…not saying that’s right…just sayin’
June 10th, 2025 at 10:52 am
Not a serious place for football opinions
PFF is theFoxnews of evaluations
Except they haven’t been sued for spreading lies
June 10th, 2025 at 10:56 am
Go get Germaine Pratt linebacker Bengals complete stud… And he’s ready for a new home still ton of gas in the tank!!!
June 10th, 2025 at 11:09 am
I see Smith at safety and Parrish at nickel. SVD has the inside track on inside linebacker.
June 10th, 2025 at 11:20 am
I need to go down there and show them how the video equipment works maybe show them what a HOF LB lloks like on said equipment. Brooks, LVD come to mind.
However Dennis has not been on the filed enough for them to really give him a “grade”.
17 games 0 starts 35 combo tackles in about 140 snaps. Looked great the first two games last year though.
Go Bucs!
June 10th, 2025 at 11:49 am
As of June 10, that’s what it looks like.
June 10th, 2025 at 11:51 am
That’s coming. Teams use anything and everything to get salaries down. They will even stoop to these clowns if their GD grades saves them money.
Joe’s been waiting for an agent to sue them claiming their misinformation cost their client(s) money.
June 10th, 2025 at 12:08 pm
Yeah Seems he was KICKING TAIL to me garro… 35 out of 140…
So you’re saying that in “one of Every four plays” Voss was doing his part to Bring Them to the ground? 25% of All Defensive Plays? Voss was Bringing Them Down!?
Huh, Well I guess you’re right. He SURE LOOKED pretty Good.
No Wonder they have marched him Right Back Out There ASAP!
Good point garro
June 10th, 2025 at 12:28 pm
And THAT’S WHY Joe has the “inside track” . He’s been swimming with the Big Boys for quite a while and now he’s thinking in MUCH LARGER terms.
I LIKE IT Joe! I hadn’t pondered that since playing around on the blogs isn’t in that league of “Average Contemplation”…
That is SO JUICEY and I can see why you’re Bursting at the Seams for Somebody, Anybody to figure that out.
The reason is because It’s Difficult to Prove… BUT there is Always the “Jilted One”, the “Whistle Blower” (Joe?), the Cleaver, Money Hungry, “New Agent” looking to make a name…
And THEN there IS the PURE POWER of the OMINOUS LAW SUIT and the Sweeping Possibilities of which they would want to Sweep Under the rug and then throw another rug on top of that one!
Legitimately Scandalous (perhaps)
Well thought out Joe. Just goes to show you that Indeed you don’t always Have To work hard. Like Joe, I prefer smart. And THAT’S a FANTASTIC ANGLE!
June 10th, 2025 at 12:46 pm
.SJI .tsub tfard suoivbo na na gnieb morf yawa yrujni eno si sinneD
June 10th, 2025 at 12:46 pm
^^don’t ask me why that came out backwards.
Dennis is one injury away from being an obvious draft bust. IJS.
June 10th, 2025 at 1:17 pm
Pickgrin … ‘I immediately thought of DR while reading because he’s been trying to throw that same crap at the wall’.
Wow Pickgrin, I thought you had a more open mind than that. Apparently not. I suggested 2 things that must happen for Voss to start Game 1. First, get through camp injury free (same goes for every player BTW). And second, beat out Walker & Jones.
I believe there’s a COMPETITION for numerous (but not all) positions, and yes, MLB is one of those. If you don’t feel the same way, fine. But that’s hardly ‘crap being thrown at the wall’. It’s simply another OPINION.
June 10th, 2025 at 2:27 pm
Sorry DR – didn’t mean to ruffle your feathers so much. Just meant it as a playful poke…..
I saw you post a couple/three weeks back predicting pretty strongly that Walker would be the starting MLB for game 1 of the season. That’s basically what I was referring to….
Sirvocea Dennis is going to be one of our better players on defense this year – and I was sort of looking forward to ribbing you a bit about it from time to time throughout the year….
I guess its a bit early for that since we are 3 months from the start of the season. Voss was the standout defensive player throughout OTAs though -and said he feels great so I’m just excited for what he can do to improve our defense and looking forward to seeing that on the field.
June 10th, 2025 at 3:12 pm
Pickgrin … No big deal, really. I particularly enjoy OPINIONS that are different from my own because they make me think. And usually the first question I ask myself is … ‘What am I missing?’ (Often the answer is ‘Quite a bit’, but I digress).
Actually my opinion for Anthony Walker starting Game 1 was based more on Todd Bowles than it was on Voss or Walker. As I looked back at the initial games for each season, Todd seems to prefer starting the veterans on defense UNLESS a youngster is clearly head-and-shoulders above the competition.
Example: Look at Game 1 in 2023. On defense a total of 6 guys played over 95% def snaps: LVD, Devin White, Davis, Dean, Winfield and Ryan Neal (interesting that he made it as a starter since his 2023 year with us turned out to be so bad). All veterans. Another 9 guys played 39%-63% of the def snaps: Logan Hall, Shaq, JTS, Vea, Gaines, Nelson, Izien, Greene, Diaby (the latter 3 were all rookies but averaged playing in less than half the game). The rest of the defensive roster (9 guys) only got a total of 27 def snaps (that’s about what Diaby, Gaines & Nelson EACH got in that game).
BTW Pickgrin, I’m rooting for Voss this season as I wrote earlier, but mostly because I believe he’ll end up being LVD’s successor, not as a MLB. He’ll get PLENTY of time on the field this year to strut his stuff. Todd’s VERY creative as a DC, and I wouldn’t be one bit surprised to see him use 3 ILBs periodically, along with 4 big/quick guys upfront to pressure the QB, if for no other reason than to screw with the opposing OC’s head.
June 10th, 2025 at 4:47 pm
The competitions begin soon… the important ones are at CB, ILB and edge, our weak spots from last season. Don’t really care who starts, just hoping everybody makes it thru camp injury-free and the best man plays. They will probably rotate five at edge anyhow to keep players fresh but I see Diaby and Reddick with the highest percentage snaps, of course. Maybe they’ll situationally rotate ILB a bit as well.
Will be interesting to see which wide receivers are kept, but our top four are solid and locked in.
Either way, getting excited. GO BUCS!
June 10th, 2025 at 4:59 pm
Read the article and thought about DR suggesting that Walker would probably be starting game one. Then Pickgrin had his fun with it. “nodding his head like a bobble head”. Funny stuff!
June 10th, 2025 at 7:10 pm
The Bucs seem convinced that Dennis has a high ceiling. But, I think that Walker at least raises the floor, and I hope that he provides legitimate competition.