Bucs icon Lavonte David.
Two things quickly get Joe fully frosted when it comes to the Bucs.
The first is edge rush.
Seeing so many proven edge rushers become available the past couple of days has Joe staring at a computer screen continually pounding a fist the way you’d expect after Joe stares at the S&P 500 ticker monitoring Joe’s Tesla stock the past two week. Or the way Joe hammers his desktop when the pizza delivery guy is running late.
The other is the slander of Lavonte David.
It is just criminal how David has been screwed by the haughty, learned NFL types who give out Pro Bowl gifts.
David could have 200 tackles in a season and people wouldn’t vote the guy into the Pro Bowl. It just drives Joe up a tree.
“Aw, com’on Joe, the Pro Bowl sucks! No one cares! It doesn’t mean a damn thing!”
Oh, really? Then why do teams give out bonuses to players who make the Pro Bowl? Why are Pro Bowl appearances regularly used as criteria to get into the Pro Football Hall of Fame? Don’t give Joe this nonsense the Pro Bowl is meaningless.
Now when some folks talk about linebackers and the Hall of Fame, Joe has actually heard chatter linking Washington linebacker Bobby Wagner as a Hall of Fame candidate. Joe agrees He’s been a strong linebacker for a long time and has a Super Bowl ring.
David? Well, Pro Football Hall of Fame selector Ira Kaufman always cautions Bucs fans that David may not have “the hardware,” meaning David may not have enough All-Pro awards or Pro Bowl appearances to sway enough voters.
Don’t blame Ira. He’s just the messenger.
So you look at these stats dug up by Bucs fan Trevor Allen (@tdbucs2002). If this doesn’t make you want to hit the ceiling, Joe doesn’t know what to say.
Hell, David’s stats are damn near identical to Wagner’s yet David may never sniff the Hall of Fame, but Wagner might because of the GD Pro Bowl??? Outrageous!
All Joe hears from defensive coaches is constant prattle and droning about the importance of takeaways. David’s takeaways blow away Wagner’s. But, nope, can’t have David in the Pro Bowl. He doesn’t have the hardware to get in to the Hall of Fame.
What a bunch of crap!
It is shameful beyond words how David has been shat on for no other reason than he plays in Tampa Bay and not in the NFC East, the AFC North or the NFC North.
Can you imagine how the NFL community would fall to its knees for David if he played in one of the aforementioned divisions? There would be a bridge named after him.
But David’s been punished for playing for a garbage team for half his career and being buried in the NFC South, which is virtually ignored by BSPN and the league’s house organ, NFL Network.
Just a complete shame — and sham — man!
Lavonte David Is Back! Ira Kaufman Talks Free Agency, Trey Hendrickson Versus Florence Henderson, Jamel Dean’s Shaky Ground & More. Special Guest Chris Simms