Buccaneers’ weakside linebacker Lavonte David spoke to reporters Monday, saying he wants to “be able to get better and get back to my old self.”
- David struggled in year one of defensive coordinator Mike Smith’s scheme, but with a year under his belt, is poised to bounce back now that he has a better understanding of Smith’s defense.
- The insertion of Smith’s new scheme resulted in David posting his lowest career tackle total of just 83 combined tackles in 2016. Compared to his first four seasons, this a drop of nearly 50 combined tackles, as he averaged 132.5 tackles from 2012–2015
- Getting back to his old self would be a huge plus for the Bucs, as David's overall grades through his first three seasons earned an average of 87.8, whereas he graded out at 77.6 in 2016.