Lavonte David Pressures
July 18th, 2025
Slowed down?
This is partially for the crowd that reveres the close-only-counts-in-horseshoes-and-hand-grenades sect of pass rushing.
Joe strongly maintains pressures don’t faze good quarterbacks. But the Bucs don’t face a good quarterback every game. And for those stiffs, Lavonte David is still a terror.
Per NextGen Stats, no off-ball linebacker scared quarterbacks more than David. He far and away had more pressures than any other off-ball linebacker. And David had significantly more pressures than a man who people claim is David’s peer, Bobby Wagner.
The folks who claim David doesn’t belong in the Pro Football Hall of Fame are running out of excuses.
For Joe, this stat brings two schools of thought: David doesn’t seem to be slowing down when getting after the quarterback, and if one believes Father Time has slowed David a step, how many of those pressures would have been sacks if he were just five years younger?
Three-time All-Pro Lavonte David returns to the Buccaneers after generating 34 pressures last season, tied for the most among off ball linebackers. 23 of those pressures came within 2.5 seconds of the snap, leading his position.@Buccaneers | #RaiseTheFlags https://t.co/wy62pS6wMP pic.twitter.com/Nt0Pv2AgX0
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) March 10, 2025
July 18th, 2025 at 7:05 am
I was REALLY wanting us to sign Wagner in the ’23 off-season, would have been glorious having those two playing together. They’re good friends also to boot
July 18th, 2025 at 7:31 am
When he gets another SB ring this season, there will be no keeping him out of the HOF.
July 18th, 2025 at 7:53 am
I am sorry but I do have to take issue with one thing. While pressures are not as good as sacks, there is no such thing as a quarterback thats impervious to pressure. Great quarterbacks overcome presure more often than not but to say they are impervious ? No.
July 18th, 2025 at 8:26 am
Someday Joe you’ll have to explain to us the difference between how Next Gen Stats measures a ‘pressure’ and how organizations like Pro-Football-Reference (PFR) measures ‘pressures’.
PFR credited LVD with 13 pressures for 2024, consisting of 5.5 sacks (rounded to 6), q QB Knockdown and 6 QB Hurries.
Next Gen Stats credited him with about 2.5 times that many (34) for the 2024 season, which tells me there must be a significant difference in how they’re measuring ‘pressures’.
July 18th, 2025 at 8:27 am
And it’s not like David only had pressures, a la Diaby. He had a lot of sacks last season as well. The most he’s had in a long time.
July 18th, 2025 at 8:42 am
Lavonte gets extra work in the offseason chasing a toddler around the house lol.
Blitzing is light work compared to wrangling a 3yo for bath/bed time.
July 18th, 2025 at 8:47 am
“Someday???!!!” Seriously? Joe’s referenced how NextGen stats gets its intel. smh Maybe referenced it about 50 times.
One is computer chips. The other, Joe really doesn’t know. Nor does he care. That’s way too deep in the woods for Joe to go over. But Joe does know Pro Football Reference is very credible. Have never heard of Pro Football Reference being often wrong. Rarely heard how NextGen Stats is wrong. You can guess who Joe hears All… The… Time… is wrong. 🙂
***Thinking*** though not sure, Pro Football Reference gets some of its numbers from teams.
Anything more than that is proprietary intel that neither party is overly willing to share.
July 18th, 2025 at 9:16 am
I like QB knockdowns and sacks. Knockdowns are less subjective than pressures. Keep hitting a QB and he’ll start rushing his throws and maybe throw it to our secondary.
July 18th, 2025 at 9:20 am
Excellent point.
July 18th, 2025 at 9:43 am
Yaya Diaby had more QB pressures than TJ Watt in 2024.
The Steelers are not paying TJ, $41 million per season for QB pressure
And the Bucs wasn’t happy with Yaya total sacks
July 18th, 2025 at 9:43 am
Greg Says:
ABSOLITELY CORRECT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! No QB likes pressure, not even the best ones.
July 18th, 2025 at 12:19 pm
Let the big dogs eat.
July 18th, 2025 at 12:54 pm
Beeej Says:
I was REALLY wanting us to sign Wagner in the ’23 off-season, would have been glorious having those two playing together. They’re good friends also to boot.
^^^^^^^^^
I agree 1000%. I really wanted this, too. It would have been so much fun.
July 18th, 2025 at 2:18 pm
“Joe strongly maintains pressures don’t faze good quarterbacks.”
Not to be nit picking or disagreeable but I think the operative word there is “good”.
If you consider ALL NFL QB’s good I might disagree a tad. If you’re talking Mahomes and Allen and that level I could cosign.
But the Bucs will play plenty fo teams with either mediocre or inexperienced QB’s including all three of the Division rivals. So pressures there against QB’s that are still inexperienced or lacking talent could be very effective.
July 18th, 2025 at 3:06 pm
“If you’re talking Mahomes and Allen and that level I could cosign.”
As it stands, Mahomes is the most pressured QB in a single game in Super Bowl history. Guess who did it?
July 18th, 2025 at 3:07 pm
LVD is an absolute stud and hopefully a future HOF’er at some point.
Heart of our D. Here’s to another solid yr
July 18th, 2025 at 3:29 pm
LD54 was sent on a LOT of blitzes last year – which is why his pressures, hits and sacks #s were up in 2024.
Its nice to know 54 can still be so effective at bothering/getting to the QB in his mid 30s – but here’s hoping Lavonte’s blitz opportunities are substantially less in 2025 – because the front 4/5 is doing such a good job of consistently pressuring the QB without the need for excessive blitzing….
July 18th, 2025 at 4:35 pm
@WB Lynch
“As it stands, Mahomes is the most pressured QB in a single game in Super Bowl history. Guess who did it?”
Excellent point WB! Of course it was that incompetent DC that some wish to run out of town.
If you’re suggesting I “cosigned” too early on that I certainly wouldn’t argue.
July 18th, 2025 at 5:42 pm
I’m of the opinion that sacks are great but pressures absolutely impact most/all QBs to some degree. Seems to me many interceptions are @ least indirectly caused by “pressures”.
July 18th, 2025 at 9:42 pm
Stop playing that awful super soft zone, where QBs always have someone running wide open, and then suddenly those pressures will turn into sacks. How do I know this? Last year when the Bucs did just that, actually played some man-to-man and were aggressive in coverage, that’s when they got a bunch sacks. The tape doesn’t lie.
July 19th, 2025 at 6:06 pm
Interesting that our newer great defense got more pressures in the Super Bowl than our older great defense…
At least some of that was the scrubs KC was playing on their O-line due to injuries.
July 20th, 2025 at 12:43 am
Stpetematt – That 2002-03 Bucs defense allowed 3 net points in the playoffs, that’s 1 point per game. It is the best defense in NFL history. The 2020 Bucs were great, very fun and all, but they’re not even remotely in the same class as the ALL-TIME great 2002-03 defense.