Lavonte David and Kyle Pitts
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Lavonte David did not hold back when discussing SirVocea Dennis' performance for the Buccaneers in Week 1
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers grinded out a narrow 23-20 victory over the Atlanta Falcons to open the 2025 campaign on Sunday, and while winning is always nice, there are some issues that the team has to clean up moving forward. Right after the game, star linebacker Lavonte David made that extremely with some pointed comments towards his partner in crime, SirVocea Dennis.
The Buccaneers paired David up alongside Dennis as their two starting inside linebackers this season, but Dennis struggled throughout this clash against the Falcons and even got benched at one point. While Dennis bounced back and returned to the field, David did not hold back when discussing his Week 1 performance.
Lavonte David Doesn’t Hold Back on SirVocea Dennis
David has been in the NFL since he was selected by the Bucs in the second round of the 2012 NFL Draft, and he’s seen pretty much everything you can imagine as he enters the 14th season of his career. David earned a Pro Bowl selection in 2015 and three All-Pro honors throughout his career, while also helping Tampa Bay take down the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LV.
Dennis, on the other hand, is an inexperienced 2023 fifth-round pick who made only his first start of his career against the Falcons. He got outclassed by Atlanta’s star running back Bijan Robinson on a few occasions, and at one point in the game, he got replaced by Deion Jones due to his struggles.
Later in the game, Dennis returned to the field and performed better, but the Buccaneers are going to need more from him if he’s going to hold onto a starting job alongside David. After the game, David called out Dennis for his struggles, while also praising his resilience and his ability to bounce back later in the game.
“He gotta get his a** going,” David bluntly said after the game. “He ain’t 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 gonna be better, and he came back the very next play in the second half, stuffed the fullback and made the play. I expect nothing less out of Voc, he’s just gotta get his feet under him a little bit.”
Buccaneers Turn Attention to Week 2 Matchup vs. Texans
SirVocea Dennis
GettyTampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker SirVocea Dennis.
It wasn’t a perfect game by any means, but Dennis managed to recover and rack up 10 tackles, one of which went for a loss, and one pass deflection. There is certainly stuff he can build off of from this performance, and that’s what David is going to be working on ensuring happens after this big win to open the season.
The Buccaneers will hit the practice field this week and begin preparing for their Week 2 matchup, which will be against a tough Houston Texans team. While they only racked up three field goals in Week 1 against the Los Angeles Rams, the Texans have several explosive playmakers at their disposal. It will be up to David, Dennis, and the rest of the defense to slow them when they meet up on Monday Night Football in Week 2.