Tag: Lavonte David

Bucs LB Lavonte David named finalist for Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award

Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Lavonte David has been named one of eight finalists for the NFL’s Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award

Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Lavonte David has been one of the NFL’s best defenders since he entered the league as a second-round pick in 2012, and one of the best players in franchise history.

He’s also been lauded for how he respects the game and his opponents, and he’s once again getting recognition in that department.

David has been named one of the NFL’s eight finalists for this year’s Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award.

The award goes to the NFL player who “best demonstrates the qualities of on-field sportsmanship, including fair play, respect for the game and opponents, and integrity in competition.”

The winner, which is voted by NFL players, will be announced at this year’s NFL Honors event during Super Bowl week.

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WATCH: Bucs LB Lavonte David gets huge 3rd-down sack vs. Saints

Watch Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Lavonte David force a huge three-and-out on the New Orleans Saints’ opening drive Monday night

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers got points on their first drive Monday night against the New Orleans Saints, and the defense has responded in kind.

After a pair of short runs from Alvin Kamara, Andy Dalton dropped back to pass on third down, and immediately regretted that decision. Bucs linebacker Lavonte David flew in unblocked for the sack, giving the Tampa Bay defense a huge three-and-out to start the night.

It’s a strong start for the Bucs on both sides of the ball, and now Tom Brady and company have a chance to stretch their early lead.

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Devin White, Lavonte David rally Bucs defense over dinner

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ defensive captains are hoping to get everyone on their side of the ball on the same page

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers haven’t lived up to their lofty preseason expectations so far this year, and their defensive captains called for a meeting of the minds to get their side of the ball on the same page.

Bucs linebacker Devin White told the media Wednesday that he and fellow linebacker Lavonte David organized a dinner for everyone on their side of the ball this week, hoping to rekindle he chemistry they had during their Super Bowl run in 2020.

“We still want to be who we are, but like you said, they scored 10 points on us in the first quarter and we held them out [of the endzone] until the last drive, but we have to be better – we have to put ourselves in a better position, we have to be real smart at the end when it’s crunch time and we’ve just got to keep doing that,” White said, referring to Sunday’s overtime loss to the Cleveland Browns.

“We had a defensive dinner Tuesday night, me and Lavonte [David] organized it just to bring the guys closer and be able to lean on one another and trust each other and just talk about the tenacity we play with – everything we have to do to help this team win,” White continued. “You know, we’ve got a great defense and we want to show it for four quarters – 60 minutes and man, if we can do that, we can get the job done. Just how we did in Dallas in the first game, give them guys three [points], they give us 20 [points], 18, 16 – we win the game. So, we more so put it on us to try and keep people out of our endzone.”

Tampa Bay’s defense has been impressive for certain stretches, but they’re still struggling to put together four quarters of complete football, just like the offense.

Despite having a losing record at 5-6 heading into December, the Bucs are still in first place in the NFC South, and control their own destiny for a home playoff game.

White and David are hoping that rallying everyone on their side of the ball will help propel them to another postseason run.

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How a players-only meeting helped the Bucs turn things around

USA TODAY Sports sits down with Bucs LB Lavonte David to talk about the Bucs 2022 season.

Throughout his career, Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Lavonte David hasn’t attracted the national spotlight like other immensely talented players who have dominated his position – namely warriors like Patrick Willis, Bobby Wagner, and Micah Parsons.

But don’t underestimate the 32-year-old player who has spent his entire career with the Bucs.

His resume is borderline Hall of Fame-worthy and includes being named first or second-team All-Pro three times. He also amassed nearly 1300 tackles.

David may not be the most vocal or famous member of the Tampa Bay Bucs (that spot is reserved for a certain seven-time Super Bowl-winning QB), but recently David’s impact was felt in a different way.

After falling to the Baltimore Ravens on Oct. 27 for their third straight loss, David and some teammates called a players-only meeting.

Speaking on USA TODAY Sports’ “Sports Seriously”, David told co-host Mackenzie Salmon that the purpose of the meeting was to, “get everybody on the same page.”

The meeting paid immediate dividends as the Bucs defeated the Rams 16-13 thanks to another Tom Brady-led miracle finish.

During the drive which began with 46 seconds left in the game, the iconic QB went 5 for 6 for 60 yards and sealed the W with a one-yard TD pass to rookie Cade Otton with 9 seconds left.

David told Sports Seriously co-host Tony Anderson that the win, which put Tampa Bay at 4-5 was “much needed” and “it definitely lit a fire for sure.” The win also elevated the Bucs to the top spot in the NFC South.

Still, David acknowledges “it’s still an uphill road to climb” and the team will next face a scorching hot Geno Smith and his Seahawks Sunday morning in Germany.

Watch the full conversation with David above

Huskers in the NFL: Week 7

Two former Huskers made their NFL debuts!

Week 7 of the NFL season saw various ups and downs for former Husker football players. Rookies Cam Taylor-Britt (Cincinnati) and Samori Toure  (Green Bay) made their NFL debut, with the former playing a large role on defense.

On the flip side, a handful of Huskers were either held out of the game, sidelined with an ailment or suffered an injury in this past weekend’s slate of games.

Although Taylor-Britt came off the Bengals’ injured reserve last week, Randy Gregory, Matt Farniok and Nick Gates are sidelined with injuries. JoJo Domann, Jack Stoll, Cam Jurgens and Lamar Jackson didn’t see action.

Leading the way for the Huskers, perhaps to little surprise, was Lavonte David and Brett Maher, both of whom have had stellar seasons to this point.

Below are all the former Huskers’ notes and stats from Week 7 in the NFL:

Huskers in the NFL: Week 3

The NFL season is now officially in full swing after three weeks and this most recent slate of games delivered on drama (or not if you’re a fan of watching a scoring shootout in prime time). With the Nebraska Cornhuskers on bye in Week 4 of the college football season, Husker fans got to enjoy seeing some former stars in the red and white play at the next level. 

The NFL season is now officially in full swing after three weeks and this most recent slate of games delivered on drama (or not if you’re a fan of watching a scoring shootout in prime time). With the Nebraska Cornhuskers on bye in Week 4 of the college football season, Husker fans got to enjoy seeing some former stars in the red and white play at the next level.

15 players who spent their college career at Nebraska saw action in the NFL this week. 5 additional former Huskers are on practice squads (Ben Stille, Carlos Davis, Devine Ozigbo, Austin Allen and Khalil Davis) and two more have yet to play in the 2022-23 season due to injury. Cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt is on Cincinnati’s IR and offensive lineman Nick Gates is on the New York Giants’ Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list.

Lavonte David and Randy Gregory led the way with big defensive performances but read below to see how all the former Huskers fared in Week 3 of the NFL season:

Huskers in the NFL: Week 1

Lavonte David led the way for a number of former Huskers in Week 1 of the NFL season, which also saw the debuts of Cam Jurgens and JoJo Domann.

Sep 11, 2022; Arlington, Texas, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Lavonte David (54) reacts during the game against the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Nineteen former Cornhuskers made their way onto opening day NFL rosters, including rookies Cam Taylor-Britt, Samori Toure, JoJo Domann and Cam Jurgens. A number of former Nebraska stars will play pivotal roles as seasoned veterans this year, such as Houston’s Rex Burkhead, Tampa Bay’s Lavonte David and Denver’s Randy Gregory.

Taylor-Britt and New York Giants’ offensive lineman Nick Gates were the only former Huskers to sit out Week 1 with injuries.

Burkhead, an ever-present receiving threat out of the backfield, has a slight lead on the Texans’ No. 1 running back position over rookie Dameon Pierce. David, a Super Bowl winner, is in his team-leading 11th year in Tampa and lines up with Shaquille Barrett and Devin White to make an imposing combination of linebackers. Week 1 marked Gregory’s first game with the Denver Broncos after spending seven years with the Dallas Cowboys.

While the aforementioned trio will likely make the most noise in the 2022 NFL season, the rest of the fraternity of former Huskers will contribute as well.

Read below to see how previous Nebraska players fared in Week 1 of the NFL season:

Check out this ridiculous Lavonte David stat

Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Lavonte David is the only player in NFL history with this stat line

If you’re a Tampa Bay Buccaneers fan, you’re well aware that linebacker Lavonte David might be the most underrated player in the entire NFL.

That’s been the case for pretty much his entire career, as the likes of Luke Kuechly and Bobby Wagner racked up the Pro Bowls and All-Pro nods, all while David was putting up better numbers.

Jeff Kerr of CBS Sports dug up the fantastic stat you see above, showing just how incredible David’s production has been over his first decade in the league.

David’s stats are unmatched in NFL history at this point in his career, and while he may not have the accolades to show for it, Bucs fans know just how dominant he’s been throughout his tenure.

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NFL Top 100: Bucs LB Lavonte David, DL Vita Vea snubbed by 2022 list

Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive stars Lavonte David and Vita Vea were left off of this year’s NFL Top 100 list

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were well represented on this year’s NFL Network’s “NFL Top 100” list, but a couple of surprising names were missing.

Linebacker Lavonte David and defensive lineman Vita Vea were left off of this year’s list, despite being among the NFL’s best at their respective positions.

Though the final order of the top 20 players has yet to be revealed, those names were unveiled in alphabetical order Thursday, confirming that David and Vea wouldn’t be included this year.

The Bucs who did make the list? Outside linebacker Shaq Barrett (No. 86), safety Antoine Winfield Jr. (No. 75), linebacker Devin White (No. 64), wide receiver Mike Evans (No. 53), and offensive tackle Tristan Wirfs (No. 41).

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Tyrann Mathieu, other NFL stars discuss what makes Matthew Stafford great

Tyrann Mathieu, Lavonte David and other NFL stars discussed what makes Matthew Stafford a great quarterback

Matthew Stafford was a well-respected quarterback when he was with the Detroit Lions. He was never viewed as one of the four or five best players at his position, but most viewed him as an above-average quarterback.

He took a big step forward in 2021 when he led the Rams to the Super Bowl and defeated the Bengals to win his first championship. He’s since garnered some serious praise from his peers, more so than ever before.

After making the NFL’s Top 100 Players of 2022 list at No. 27, several players from around the league shared what makes Stafford so good. Check out the full video here.

Cooper Kupp: “You talk about being reactive as a quarterback, you take what the defense gives you. They say it all the time. I think a lot of times, he says, ‘Screw that, I’m gonna take what I want.’ What he does with his eyes and manipulating defenses, ‘I’m gonna move this guy and throw where I want,’ that I think is a special trait of his.”

Tyrann Mathieu: “Man, Stafford is so underrated from just a pure talent perspective. All the side-arm throws and the no-look passes, he’s been doing those things.”

Chester Rogers: “I think he’s been a top-five quarterback since he’s been in the league, he’s just been in Detroit. Now he’s in L.A., he’s shining.”

Lavonte David: “It was kind of like night-and-day from what they had before to what they’ve got now with him. 30-something seconds left, for him to keep his poise and not settle to go to overtime, that’s why you’ve got a guy like him. He got them to the Super Bowl, he made plays when they needed him to make plays.”

Chandler Jones: “His quarterback vision is tremendous. He has a timer in his head that is tremendous.”

There’s no question Stafford is a quarterback that strikes fear in opposing defenses, given the way he manipulates defenders with his eyes and vision.

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