Linebacker SirVocea Denis is a complex player.
Bucs linebacker SirVocea Dennis in pass coverage has too often looked like a guy who missed a bus and is chasing it down the road.
But Dennis has been a beast against the run. He leads the team in tackles for loss and is tied for third in total tackles. Voss, as he’s known around One Buc Palace, is learning a lot of lessons in his first season as a starter. He’s also turning a few heads.
Two-time Super Bowl defensive lineman Chris Long brought up Dennis on his Green Light podcast without being prompted.
“That SirVocea Dennis cat, he’s a bit of a knife in the run game. Like he’s small, he’s unorthodox, sometimes he’s wrong-arm, wrong-shoulder stuff, but he’s slippery and he makes plays,” said Long, who thinks Seattle will have a tough time tomorrow with the Bucs defense, which is ranked No. 2 in yards allowed per carry.
“They’ve also done a really good job on the run game,” Long said of Tampa Bay. “Like I’ve watched them, only nine explosive [runs] on the year, five of them are quarterback runs and one of them you let Houston score, evidently. They really have shut down outside zone [runs]. So Seattle has to run into the teeth of this defense.”
Long sees the Bucs throwing a steady diet of blitzes at Seattle QB Sam Darnold.
“He has not been a great quarterback against the blitz,” Long said. “That’s been the one bugaboo for him. So you figure the Bucs are going to bring pressure.
Long added that the Seahawks’ offensive line has struggled with linebackers this year and, sadly, he said Lavonte David hasn’t been playing to his standard.
Joe is intrigued by Dennis. Will he improve in coverage? He was supposed to be good in coverage, and he certainly has the speed.