The Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ defense last season was not very good, but that does not mean this year’s team won’t be better. If you ask linebacker Lavonte David, they have a chance to be the best defense ever.
“I think we can be the best defense ever, to be honest. I’m going to go out there and say it,” David said via The Tampa Bay Times Thursday.
David was speaking with reporters after the Bucs had a workout. He was asked whether he meant the best defense in franchise or NFL history, and he did not back down.
“Yeah, I’m going to say it. Put it on me. I’m going to say it,” he said. “NFL history, Bucs history, anything. That’s just the type of attitude we have.”
Though David himself is a stud, the Bucs as a defensive unit have a long way to go. They were ranked 26th in the league in points allowed and 10th in yards allowed.
Given the team’s recent history, such a claim is worthy of laughs. But it could be the product of new defensive coordinator Mike Smith, a defensive expert who was a defensive coach on the 2000 Ravens. That defensive unit allowed just 165 points in 16 games and is considered perhaps the best ever. Maybe Smith is telling his players he sees them as having the potential to be better than that outstanding 2000 Baltimore unit.
