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It's time for people to notice Bucs' Lavonte David

 
Bucs linebacker Lavonte David, dragging down Bills running back Fred Jackson for a 2-yard loss in a December game, consistently creates havoc in the backfield and has strong coverage skills as well.
Bucs linebacker Lavonte David, dragging down Bills running back Fred Jackson for a 2-yard loss in a December game, consistently creates havoc in the backfield and has strong coverage skills as well.
Published Sept. 4, 2014

TAMPA — He should dance, the way Ray Lewis used to dance.

He should live on the edge, or on the other side of it, where Lawrence Taylor once resided. He should bite people in the pileups, the way Dick Butkus used to do. He should have Mike Single­tary's crazy eyes, or have Jack Lambert's gap-toothed profile, or Patrick Willis' oversized biceps.

Perhaps then, the world might notice Lavonte David.

Perhaps then, it might fully appreciate him.

As it is, David is Tampa Bay's secret weapon. Around here, he is already recognized as a great linebacker, as a fierce, fast, furious player who seems to believe that every tackle should be his. In other places? His shadow has not spread that far. Elsewhere, they might be aware that David is good, but they do not know just how good.

Last year, for instance, David was good enough to make All-Pro, which means the people who know the game are aware of his greatness.

On the other hand, the Miami native did not make the Pro Bowl, which means a lot of other people are just now catching on.

Presumably, those are the folks whom David has not tackled. Yet.

"If you're a linebacker guy, and you've looked at the linebackers in the league, you should know his talent and ask about No. 54 down here," said Bucs coach Lovie Smith, an old linebacker coach at heart.

"He can do all you ask an outside linebacker to do. He can guard tight ends and receivers. He's an excellent zone coverage guy. He has good hands. If we wanted to make him into one of the better pass rushers as an outside linebacker, he could do that. He's disciplined. Everything you look for in an outside linebacker, he has."

And yet, in many ways, the Bucs' 2012 second-round pick out of Nebraska is still waiting for his excellence to be discovered.

"Any defensive player wants to be known as the best at their position," David, 24, says quietly. "Maybe even as the best defensive player in the NFL. That's why I go out there on Sunday and play my hardest.

"It's not up to me. I just have to be consistent with my level of play and maybe it will come along."

Maybe that's the problem. Everything about David is quiet but the way he plays the position. He does not beat his own chest. He does not eat raw meat. He does not make police departments nervous. He simply plays football. And shouldn't that be enough?

Eventually, it might be. When a team wins only four games, however, it is hard for a linebacker to get noticed. Even one with the production of David. Four wins creates a lot of amnesia around the league.

Still, review his season. He led the league with 14½ run stuffs. He ranked third in the league (and first among linebackers) with 20 tackles for a loss. He was the first linebacker since sacks became an official statistic to have six sacks and five interceptions in the same year. He was fifth in the league in tackles with 143. And so on.

"He's not a good player," teammate Gerald McCoy said. "He's a great player. He doesn't like talking about himself. He doesn't even like being brought up. He's so humble, but he's so talented. I don't even think he knows how talented he is."

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Around here, he has been convincing enough. Around here, he helps set the tone for a defense that remains the Bucs' best chance of winning.

"If people don't know about him yet, they're starting to know," fellow linebacker Mason Foster said. "He's made a lot of plays around here. Some of them are impossible plays, but he makes them. His play speaks for himself. He's not one of those guys who talks about himself a lot. He just makes it happen.

"I think he's the best linebacker in the game. And I'm a linebacker. I study what he does. I see the way he approaches the game. He's definitely one of the top three linebackers in the game."

Ah, but the world notices the dancers. It notices the knockout artists. It notices the sack masters. It notices the best players from the best defenses.

So who is this guy? Except for the fact that he's a fine linebacker, and except for a few Derrick Brooks comparisons, he remains a whisper. No one knows much about David.

"Isn't that a good thing?" David asks, smiling.

For most of the week, his teammates say, he's funny. That seems to wear off as the game approaches, and McCoy says David becomes a different person. His nickname is Flash, which fits. He sings, including classics such as Candy Rain. And he takes his job seriously.

"Last year, I wanted to really analyze the linebackers," Smith said. "And Lavonte David was one I just loved. Now I get a chance to see it daily. More people are taking note of him. How can you not?"

And so he plays, quietly excellent, as if waiting for the world to notice him. Until then, he shows up to play. Eventually, the spotlight will find him.

When it does, he'll be the guy making the tackle.