This is not something you hear publicly very often.
In the happy Bucs locker room in Atlanta, iconic Tampa Bay linebacker Lavonte David had tough talk for a teammate.
What a roller coaster game it was for starting inside linebacker SirVocea Dennis, his first taking over the position alongside David.
Dennis was overmatched too often and missed tackles but made strong plays, too. Dennis had 10 combined tackles with 7 solo and 2 tackles for loss and a key deflected pass.
That’s a strong stat line but it didn’t tell the whole story. Bucs fans were screaming about Dennis on social media and in bars from Lakeland to Largo.
David understood why.
> “You know, he gotta get his ass going,” David said of Dennis’ rough start.
>
> “You know what I’m saying? You got no time to wait. You gotta come out there ready to go. He had some tough times. It’s one game, but I know for a fact he’s going to be better. And like you said, he came back the very next play in the second half, he stuffed the fullback and made the play. I expect nothing less out of Voss, man. You know, he’s just got to get his feet under him a little bit, but I won’t expect that another time.”
Dennis seemed pensive in the locker room alongside David in the jubilant locker room. Joe didn’t ask Dennis about his showing. David summed it up quite well.