Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Lavonte David Deserves to Win NFL Defensive Player of the YearDespite Tampa Bay’s Mediocre Record, the Young Linebacker Has Made a Strong Case to Win the Prestigious Award By James LoPresti1 hour ago COMMENTARY | Reggie White, Cortez Kennedy, Lawrence Taylor, Michael Strahan, Jason Taylor -- since the NFL began handing out a defensive player of the year award in 1971, five players have won while playing for a losing team. Lavonte David deserves to be the sixth.The second-year player out of Nebraska is excelling on the field, and is one of the few highlights for a Tampa Bay team that sits with a 4-9 record -- though winners of four of their last five.After finishing ninth in the NFL in tackles as a rookie, David is putting on an encore performance sure to capture the attention of the league. Against the Buffalo Bills Week 14, he compiled a game-high nine tackles, and recorded one sack, two interceptions and two tackles for loss - giving him 17 tackles for loss on the season, tied for the most in football. Last season, he recorded 20 tackles for loss, which was the second-most on record for a rookie since the NFL began tracking the statistic in 2000.Setting a New StandardDavid isn't just a tackler; he rushes the quarterback, and plays coverage too. His all-around effort is paying dividends. He is the first linebacker in the history of the NFL to record at least six sacks and five interceptions in a single season. The last player to record at least five sacks and five interceptions in a season was Chicago Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher in 2007.According to Pro Football Focus, David also leads the league with 66 total stops -- nine more than the next closest player in the NFL. Stops constitute a loss on 3rd down, or prevention of a first down for the offense. Among outside linebackers, David leads with 41 run stops , and a 13.8 percent tackles-to-stops average.Drawing Praise From Former and Current PlayersDavid's strong play and athleticism has caught the eye of several players recently. Former Bucs safety John Lynch spoke about David saying that he (David) is playing as well as any linebacker in football. Lynch went further to explain that if the young linebacker played baseball, he'd be referred to as a five-tool player because of the all-around skills he possesses.Bucs cornerback Darrelle Revis said that he doesn't want to disrespect San Francisco 49ers linebacker Patrick Willis, but that David is everywhere on the field and that he's the best linebacker in the league. Defensive tackle Gerald McCoy seconded Revis after Sunday's game against the Buffalo Bills, saying, "he's everywhere." McCoy praised David's ability to transition from one spot on the field to another and make tackles out of nowhere.Comparisons to a Former Great LinebackerWhen most fans think about a Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive player, future Hall of Famer Derrick Brooks is usually the first name brought up.And though he's still got a ways to go before he can be mentioned in the same sentence as Brooks, David is handily outperforming the 11-time Pro-Bowler through their first two seasons.Derrick Brooks' first two seasons:212 total tackles, one sack, one interception, three forced fumbles, 14 pass breakups.Lavonte David's first 29 games (three games left in season):265 total tackles, 37 tackles for loss, eight sacks, six interceptions, one safety, 14 pass breakups.David has drawn comparison to the former Buccaneer for good reason. He is undersized compared to Brooks, but makes up for it with speed, awareness, and ball instincts. He's a young player, but well on his way to becoming one of the top defensive players in Buccaneers franchise history.Team Record Shouldn't MatterSome might say that because David plays for a team with a poor record, that he shouldn't be considered to win the award. He isn't a household name, but record-breaking statistics shouldn't be pushed aside. From a numbers standpoint, David is clearly a step above perennial candidates such as Patrick Willis, J.J. Watt, DeMarcus Ware, and Terrell Suggs.In 2006, Miami Dolphins defensive end Jason Taylor won the award on a 6-10 team by posting 13.5 sacks, two interceptions -- both returned for touchdowns -- and nine forced fumbles. In 1987, Reggie White won despite playing for a Philadelphia Eagles team that ranked 23rd in total defense. In 1992, the honor was given to defensive tackle Cortez Kennedy, who recorded 92 tackles and 14 sacks with a dreadful 2-14 Seattle Seahawks squad.It doesn't happen often, but sometimes the best defensive player in the league does play for a mediocre team. And that shouldn't be counted against them. This year, the best defensive player in football plays for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. http://sports.yahoo.com/news/tampa-bay-buccaneers-lavonte-david-deserves-win-nfl-201000475--nfl.html
And another article.Lavonte David's Quietly Huge YearYou may remember a lot of talk from us last year about J.J. Watt's record of 56 Defeats in the 2012 regular season. "Defeats" are our stat that combine the following three types of plays:1) Tackles for a loss2) Turnovers, or pass deflections leading to interceptions by someone else3) Tackles, assists, or PDs that prevent conversion on third or fourth down.Watt's total of 56 last completely blew away the historical field. Our counts of Defeats go back to 1996 and the previous record had been 45 by Ray Lewis in 1999. Derrick Brooks in 1999 was the only other player to ever top 40...... until this week.Lavonte David of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers had four Defeats against Buffalo this week, giving him 43 on the season. It would take three huge games, but he's within sight of Watt's record. More likely, he ends up with about 50 Defeats, the second highest total since 1996.Cataloging David's 43 Defeats, we have:7 sacks (6.0, technically, but since an assist is a Defeat, half-sacks are full Defeats)5 interceptions2 PDs on third downs3 TFL after pass receptions8 tackles to prevent third-down conversions on pass receptions13 TFL on runs, including a safety5 tackles to prevent third-down conversions on runs (one of which was also a TFL)1 stuff of Mark Ingram on fourth-and-goalOf course David's season isn't quite as amazing as Watt's. Most of the all-time leaders in Defeats are linebackers. Watt not only set the overall record, he destroyed the previous record for Defeats by a defensive lineman, which had been 37 by Detroit's Robert Porcher in 1997. But it's a pretty damn amazing season for a player who doesn't get a lot of press on a team that started 0-8. You may not have realized this, but Tampa Bay is sixth in defensive DVOA.Here are your Defeats leaders through Week 14 of 2013:Player Team Pos Dft54-L.David TB OLB 4358-T.Davis CAR OLB 2999-J.Watt HOU DE 2850-K.Alonso BUF ILB 2759-L.Kuechly CAR ILB 2756-K.Dansby ARI ILB 2652-A.Ogletree STL OLB 2694-Ke.Burnett OAK OLB 2653-N.Bowman SF ILB 2555-S.Tulloch DET ILB 2594-R.Quinn STL DE 2551-P.Posluszny JAC ILB 2451-D.Smith BAL ILB 2498-R.Mathis IND OLB 24T.J. Ward of Cleveland leads all safeties with 20 Defeats. Kyle Williams of Buffalo leads defensive tackles with 20 Defeats. Four different cornerbacks are tied for the lead with 17 Defeats: William Gay, Corey Graham, Chris Harris, and Tramon Williams. http://www.footballoutsiders.com/extra-points/2013/lavonte-davids-quietly-huge-year
Thanks for sharing. Good stuff.
Beast
I'm so sick of people saying he shouldn't win the award because the teams record sucks. Uhh hello? This is an individual award. Unless this guy is scoring touchdowns every play don't expect a linebacker to carry a team to victory 16 games.
I'm also tired of fans on here pulling stuff out of their asses and trying to say someone else deserves the award more. Just shut the fakkkk up guys, the Buccaneers have Lavonte David, the best defender in the NFL this year. Get over it.
King David. Crown him.
I'm also tired of fans on here pulling stuff out of their asses and trying to say someone else deserves the award more. Just shut the fakkkk up guys, the Buccaneers have Lavonte David, the best defender in the NFL this year. Get over it.
Plus mutha effin' one
I don't understand why being on a team with a bad record should in any way affect getting an award like DPOTY.That's like questioning how good AP is because he's on the Vikings...If it's clear that David is so freaking good, why should he be snubbed for the award?
I emailed Peter King and he printed it in his MMQB SEND A BUC TO THE BEACH. I know nobody notices Lavonte David because he plays for Tampa, but he deserves some recognition. On Sunday he became the only linebacker in history to record six sacks and five interceptions in a season, and he’s top 5 in tackles. He’s also ninth in pro bowl voting at his position, which is a complete joke. Please show him some love, and help get Lavonte David to Hawaii!—Jon DominicoYou just helped the cause, my man. Thank you.
I'm so sick of people saying he shouldn't win the award because the teams record sucks. Uhh hello? This is an individual award. Unless this guy is scoring touchdowns every play don't expect a linebacker to carry a team to victory 16 games.
How many people have you seen actually say that, I don't think I've seen one person say he shouldn't win because the teams record sucks.I've seen plenty of people say he likely won't win because of the record but that is a totally different thing.The dude should win it easily but reality is the teams record (and his lack of big name) will be held against him when it comes time to vote.You only have to look at the Pro Bowl voting where he's not even cracked the top 5 LBers (#9 the last time I looked) to see there is a large issue with people not being able to separate out how good of a year a player is having from their reputation (remember Larry Allen getting all those Pro Bowl nods seemingly even after he retired?) or how good their team is (see the Niners getting all those players in last year).Maybe if he could come up with a lame nickname or stupid dance that the networks could pick up on and make him a name he would have a chance but as it is now he's very likely to get robbed.
I emailed Peter King and he printed it in his MMQB SEND A BUC TO THE BEACH. I know nobody notices Lavonte David because he plays for Tampa, but he deserves some recognition. On Sunday he became the only linebacker in history to record six sacks and five interceptions in a season, and he’s top 5 in tackles. He’s also ninth in pro bowl voting at his position, which is a complete joke. Please show him some love, and help get Lavonte David to Hawaii!—Jon DominicoYou just helped the cause, my man. Thank you.
Great job man!!!!
Should and will are different things. Losing teams should not matter for an individual award. Will, well it does. Just like a team losing a game means that you can't win a Heisman, no matter how well the individual plays. I'd would think unless he gets a signature sot of moment, a big pick 6 versus the saints or SF then it is gonna be hard.
The DPOTY is an individual award. Team record shouldn't matter.As an individual, Lavonte is having the best season as a defensive player.
Let me tell you guys some stats/facts that I have said a ton of times, but need to be repeated for all the (idiotic) doubters here.1. The third player in NFL HISTORY(!!) to have 100+ tackles, 6 sacks, and 5 INTs.2. There is a pretty great stat for defenders called defeats. It has been recorded since 1996 and is a combination of TFLs, turnovers or deflections/ff that caused turnovers, and tackles/pass deflections to stop a first down conversion on 3rd/4th down. So yea, this looks like a pretty damn good stat to help judge a defender's impact. Well at 43 defeats on the season, David not only leads the NFL by a mile (next closest guy has 29) he is one of only 4 players since that 1996 season to be over 40. The other 3 guys were Ray Lewis in 96', DB55 in 99', and Watt last year at 56 which is **CENSORED**ing insane and thats why it was arguably the greatest defensive season ever. Anyway, David is probably not going to catch Watt, but he is only 2 away from tying Lewis who is second all time.So guys, look at those facts and tell me someone else is even close to more deserving. Its a **CENSORED**ing joke hearing some of you dudes say Keuchly or Sherman should get it. Please. If you don't like stats, check PFF. If you don't like PFF, check football outsiders. If you fancy yourself a good judge of football talent, check the frickin film yourself.It's a FACT. Lavonte David is the Defensive Player of the Year. Sorry fellas.
