Bucs head coach Todd Bowles and ILB Devin White – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Finding a good Sushi restaurant in a new town can be very difficult, Bucs fans. I have found this out the hard way. Having moved several times in my life, each new city brought with it a new search for a place that hits right. Sushi, after all, is a very difficult cuisine to get right.

And if I am being honest, the search for that right restaurant can be an arduous one. It has, for me, involved many bad spots that have left me hunched over with stomach pains. But when you find that place … oh, does it crush.

Devin White, to me, is very much like finding the right sushi place. When he hits, when it all comes together, when he achieves his high-end plays, it is beautiful. Not many can match him on the high-end.

The trouble with White is the journey in between the high-end plays. Much like me with my head over the toilet after yet another bad sushi experience, it is reasonable to ask: “Is this worth that occasional high-end experience?” At this point, I would argue the answer is no.

White Straight-Up Caused The First Pittsburgh Touchdown

The Bucs ended up in a hole from almost the outset of Sunday’s game in Pittsburgh when they allowed the Steelers to score a touchdown on their opening drive. And White was the main culprit in allowing those points. The obvious root is this roughing the passer call he committed on this third-and-6 situation.

These are mental mistakes that shouldn’t be happening in year four for someone who is considered a top-tier player in the league. For all of the debate around bogus roughing the passer calls being thrown out in the NFL right now, no one is going to be using this as an example of something that needs to be changed. What should have been the play that got the Bucs off the field instead became a 15-yard penalty and an automatic first down that extended the drive for the Steelers.

Then, you could point to the final play of the drive that resulted in the touchdown for the Steelers.

Steelers running back Najee Harris ends up wide open in the flat for an easy six. Why? Because White got sucked into the line hoping Harris would stay in for pass protection. Harris is his responsibility, and he should have delayed his push up to the line to read Harris. If Harris stays in to block, then White has the green light to come in on a delayed rush, but his primary duty is to stay on Harris if he leaks, which Harris does.

And if you don’t believe me, Bucs head coach Todd Bowles confirmed it this week during a media availability session. When asked if Harris was White’s responsibility on the play Bowles responded, “Yeah, he had two busts on the first drive.”

The Second Bust

What was the second bust Bowles referenced? For my money, I am betting it is the third-and-11 the Steelers faced at the Bucs’ 21.

The Bucs show an initial single-high look to appear as if they are going to be in Cover 1 or Cover 3. But post-snap, it looks like the coverage is actually a variation of Cover 4.

Watch as free safety Dee Delaney communicates to cornerback Jamel Dean at the top of the screen. He is telling Dean that he is now in a man assignment with Diontae Johnson, who he is lined up on. This will allow Delaney to assist if the strongside “3” (in this case, wide receiver Chase Claypool) goes vertical.

With Dean matching Johnson on the backside and Delaney shading to the closed side, strong safety Keanu Neal and cornerback Carlton Davis III fall into deep zones and double the corner route run by George Pickens. Once Delaney sees that Claypool is running a shorter route, he reacts by finding Pickens and doubling him.

Meanwhile underneath, Antoine Winfield Jr. matches the flat route that Claypool runs, and Lavonte David picks up Connor Heyward’s short crossing route. That leaves running back Jaylen Warren as the last man who needs to be picked up. That’s White’s responsibility. You can see Warren initially looks to block in case of a blitz, but quickly releases to the flat. White reads him as staying home and makes a play to come in on a delayed rush.

This seems to be White’s favorite thing to do. But as White sucks up to the line, Warren releases. He is open. White’s saving grace is that Kenny Pickett is running a single-side read progression and doesn’t see it. Ultimately, White scrambles to recover. I don’t fault White for vacating the area he was in where Pickett ends up scrambling for a 10-yard gain. He never should have been there to begin with.

Struggling To Stack And Shed

Linebackers have a lot of responsibilities. I maintain it is the most difficult position to play on defense in the modern NFL. The best in the game combine the ability to play the run and the pass at a high level. But even the middling-to-average linebackers can stack and shed blocks. White is struggling to do even that this season. Case-in-point is this second-and-9 sweep to Diontae Johnson.

White has been known to be a heat-seeking missile that is often aimed in the wrong direction. So, I am not faulting him for slowing here and protecting the cutback. But once Claypool engages, I do expect White to shed the block with relative ease. Or even hold his ground. Not get bodied. Not get pushed back.

White Needs To Be More Consistent To Get Paid

White’s fifth-year option for 2023 has already been exercised by the Bucs, so he has the rest of this year and next to translate his potential into consistent play. But if he wants the mega-contract he has been angling for since his draft days, he has got to string together consistent high-level play on a snap-in, snap-out basis.

That includes erasing the mental mistakes, being assignment sound and cutting out the penchant to freelance that constantly leaves his Bucs teammates hung out to dry. Until then, he will continue to be that ever-painful search for the right sushi spot in town. Amazing when you find it, but so painful as you search for it.