Would have been proud.
Somewhere, former Bucs great Lavonte David was smiling.
David is gone, of course. Saturday night was the first time the Bucs appeared in The Licht House without David since 2011. lt felt weird.
But anyone who watched/listened to David talk football in any of his long interviews or sitdowns on podcasts, David loved to talk about “mindset.” It seemed like his favorite word.
Well, to hear Zyon McCollum after the game discuss how the Bucs’ starting defense played strong against the vaunted Justin Fields and the Chiefs, it was as if David was on the sidelines coaching them.
> “We put pressure on ourselves going into the game, whether it’s a preseason game or the Super Bowl, we want everything to be the same, so having that intensity and being able to go out and execute is a good feeling,” McCollum said.
You know, mindset.
The starting defense was only on the field for two series but pitched a three-and-out on both possessions.
> “It makes us know that we are in the right spot going into Jacksonville.”
Well, Jacksonville’s offense (and the Jets’, for that matter) is a step or two above the Jets and the Pat Mahomes-less Chiefs. So it will be interesting if the Bucs’ starting defense, if they play Friday, can match that level of intensity.
In other words, mindset.