Bucs’ White, David, Hold Important Dinner For Defense

As the Bucs get ready to play on Monday Night Football against the New Orleans Saints in their next game, they are looking to get back to .500 and sweep the season series against their NFC South foe. To do that, the team needs to stay focused on the task at hand and be able to handle what remains a tough opponent. 

The Bucs’ defense is preparing to face a different quarterback this time around at Raymond James Stadium in Andy Dalton, also known as the “Red Rifle.” Dalton has taken the reins of the Saints’ offense since Week 4 and has gone 3-6 as a starter with 2,023 yards and 14 touchdowns to seven interceptions. He has been solid, but he does not bring the same dynamic play style as someone like Jameis Winston does.

Bucs ILB Devin White – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Regardless of who their signal-caller is, the Bucs cannot afford to let another opportunity slip past them. That is what inside linebacker Devin White echoed Wednesday after practice. 

“It’s been crunch time,” White said. “Can’t afford to lose, [we’re] not in panic mode because you want to stay grounded, you want to make sure the work ethic is still the same and focus on the details, especially playing the Saints. They throw a lot of personnel at you, and you got to be 100% sound.

“That was the way we were able to stop them last time. Just really studying all week, knowing their personnel, knowing how to fit everything. Today, we did a great job making sure we were fitting and seeing the right things.”

Defense Holds Dinner Led By Bucs ILBs Devin White, Lavonte David

White could not have said it any better. The team needs to stay grounded and detail-oriented, as often lapses on both sides of the ball have cost them this season. Last week, it was allowing the Cleveland Browns back into the game after leading 17-10 and eventually losing in overtime. If there is any chance for the Bucs to make noise in the playoffs, it starts by taking it one week at a time with their upcoming matchup and playing mistake-free football for 60 minutes.

Bucs LB Lavonte David and DT Akiem Hicks – Photo by: USA Today

To get the rest of the defense on board with this message, both White and fellow inside linebacker (and team captain) Lavonte David held a defense-only dinner in which they talked about how they have to play.

“We had a defensive dinner Monday night, me and Lavonte [David] organized that just to bring the guys close and kind of be able to lean on one another, trust one another, and just talk about the tenacity we got to play with.

“Everything we got to do to help this team win, because at the end of the day, we got a great defense, and we want to show it for four quarters, 60 minutes, and if we do that, we can get the job done. Just how we did in Dallas in the first game, give them guys 3, they give us 20, 18, 16, we win the game. We more so put it on us and try to keep people out of our other end zone.”

This is a great message by White, as even though their offense has struggled to put points on the board (just 18.2 this season), the defense needs to work with what they get and hold their opponent to even less. White also mentioned that while they talked football, they also just enjoyed dinner, watched the Monday night game, and came closer together. 

‘We Were Watching Monday Night Football And Having A Great Dinner, I Think That Was Well-Needed’

Bucs ILB Devin White – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

“We went around the room, we said what we had to say about football,” White said. “The main thing was about football because, at the end of the day, it’s our job, this is what we want to do. This is what we lay our bodies on the line for, so we just had a come-together moment.

“We discussed it, and then we were able to enjoy each other’s company right after we finished talking about football and just eat. We were watching Monday night football and having a great dinner, I think that was well-needed. It brought us together, people know that everybody will be held accountable and something will get said to them if something happens and [they can] just take it as constructive criticism and not fight back.

“If I say something to somebody and I mess up, they get to say something back to me, it doesn’t matter who you are. We kind of wanted to bring that to broad-day light because you don’t want anyone arguing on the field when somebody’s just holding somebody accountable. We try to up it even more, do whatever we can so we can help this team win.”

This is exactly what the Bucs’ defense needed to do to get back on track as they prepare for their own Monday Night Football game, and if they bring this message onto the field, great things will come of it. It also does not hurt that they picked a great local dining spot. Asked where they went and who picked up the tab, White mentioned that it was “Eddie V’s, me and Lavonte did.”