There is no defensive scheme on earth where a player can be utilized that misses tackles. It is up to the player to pick up their play not a scheme. If you miss TFL opportunities then blitzing that player isn't going to improve their ability to tackle behind the line of scrimmage all of sudden.If a player misses tackles in zone coverage, that player isn't going to be a better tackler playing m2m in tight coverage where the margin of error is smaller.I have seen this massive logical fallacy tossed around a lot lately regarding Lavonte David. Moving on, lets clear up some things up as I come to the defense of Lavonte David and Lovie Smith:1. Lavonte David is missing tackles this year but that has nothing to do with the scheme. Despite all the missed tackles he is the current leader in combined tackles on the team. The WILL in this scheme is usually near the top or at the top of tackles combined and/or total. This is because most of the plays are funneled, such that, the WILL is able to flow to the ball. Whether in an under or over defensive alignment it doesn't matter. The WILL has an opportunity to be on the ball carrier within the first fifteen yards of the play every play.2. It has been insinuated that Lavonte David is too dumb for this scheme and he needs to go back to being a downhill attacking LB. Not only did he have the green dot under Schiano, but also last year with Lovie: http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2015/5/21/8634011/how-lavonte-david-became-so-inexplicably-good
I couldn't believe how fast he diagnosed things on the field," Ekeler says. "The way he studies the game, the way he anticipates things, the way he understands the relationship between the ball carrier and the blockers and figures out how to navigate that area, it's incredible. His instincts are ridiculous."
How do you explain smart guys?" says Lovie Smith, who allowed David to calls plays last year as well. "How do you explain a guy's natural instincts?" Smith adds that last year David "immediately picked up" the coaching staff's new defensive system. "A lot of guys it takes years," he says. "It took Lavonte less than one."
"First two years I did it, so I was kind of used to it. I had to get back in the groove of it," said David, who took on a role that had been held by middle linebackers Mason Foster and, in the last two weeks, Dane Fletcher. "Today was a good thing to get it started, and we'll see how it goes from here. I'm used to it. It's just taking on a bigger responsibility."
3. It has been said that Lavonte David can't play in zone coverage. http://www.nfl.com/combine/profiles/lavonte-david?id=2532828 From his scouting report:
Strengths Lavonte has speed that is evident from the second the play starts. He is an instinctive player who is able to read offensive lines and trigger to get to the spot he needs to be. He understands angles and leveraging himself when taking on blocks, which allow him to overcome his size deficiency. His footwork is fluid in transition and when moving laterally, he routinely fits up against running backs in the hole and stonewalls them at the point. He can pursue against the run to the outside and use his instincts to meet players where they ultimately will be, and rarely whiffs on tackles. He can cover tight ends close in man and works well in zone coverage as he has natural, fluid hips to turn and pass set.
http://espn.go.com/blog/tampa-bay-buccaneers/post/_/id/11987/lavonte-david-ready-to-turn-up-the-heat-in-seasons-second-half Here is an article that came out recently:
Bucs coach Lovie Smith said it’s too early to be concerned.“Just keep doing what he’s doing,” Smith said of David. “There’s no magic pill for any of it.“Some of our stars, we expect them to play like stars each week. None of us have done that yet. None of us have done our job as well as we can and we will. What you do is you just keep working, and that’s what Lavonte David does. Nobody works harder than him. Sometimes, things just don’t happen for whatever reason, but you keeping coming, keep working hard and eventually you will [produce]. That will be the case with him."Bucs defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier said the addition of rookie middle linebacker Kwon Alexander has affected David’s numbers. The fourth-round draft pick out of LSU has 59 tackles, one sack, one forced fumble and a team-high two interceptions.“Lavonte is doing some good things,” Frazier said. “What’s happening, we have another guy ... who’s making some of those plays that we haven’t always had made at the Mike linebacker position, at least not in my short time here. Some of those plays that Lavonte would have been asked to make in the past or has made in the past, he’s not making those plays. But for the most part, the plays that are designed for him to make, he’s making those plays."Still, David wants to do more.“Holding myself accountable,” he said. “Knowing that guys are depending on me to make those plays, I have to be harder on myself. I’m already hard on myself, but I have to be harder.”
Summary for the tl;dr crowd or generation:1. Lavonte needs to tackle better2. Lavonte is a smart, instinctive player3. David can cover in space4. Alexander is a rising star playing next to David and a rookie play caller that is also missing tackles.5. David says it is up to him to make plays. Straight from the man himself.Will this be enough "proof" for the window licking red boarders? Probably not. Their hatred for Lovie has reached a fever-pitched irrational level.
