TAMPA, Fla. — Buccaneers linebacker Devin White wants to take an old-school Thanksgiving Day approach to get Tampa Bay back on track after Sunday's loss to the Detroit Lions.
"We’ve just got to get back to the backyard football," White said in the locker room. "Everybody go make a play; don’t [ever] think another man will make the play and just run to the ball and have fun doing it."
Fellow captain and linebacker Lavonte David helps lead a defense that's the best in the NFL in the red zone, but they're near the bottom of the league in stopping third-down conversions.
"Better communication and better execution. At the end of the day, that’s all it comes down to," David explained. "We [have] the ability; it’s putting it all together, making sure everybody is on the same page, and that’s what’s been hurting us. We just have to get better at it."
David's in his 12th NFL season, but it feels more like he's been drinking from the fountain of youth.
"I feel good. I’ve been doing a great job taking care of myself, keeping my weight where I need it to be at, eating right, taking care of my body," David added. "Just doing a good job communicating with the staff, training staff, and coaches. Just taking care of myself throughout the week."
Bucs rookie defensive lineman Calijah Kancey registered a sack in his first full NFL game. He's been fighting a calf injury that's kept him out of game action since playing a handful of snaps in the season opener. Kancey says he's ready to stop rehabbing and keep playing.
"I think I’ve learned a lot from playing fast," Kancey said after practice. "A lot of my process has been recovering, working to get back on the field, so now [I am] actually playing in a full game, [and] I just have to work on the bad plays that I had out there."
The Bucs 3-2 record might not be the prettiest, but it's good enough to hold a slight lead over the Atlanta Falcons (3-3) in the division. Tampa Bay quarterback Baker Mayfield says the team is still hungry, knowing their goals are right in front of them.
"We’re not hitting the panic button. We know we can play better, and that’s the good thing," Mayfield said at his weekly press conference. "It’s not [like] we’re looking around like, ‘Oh no, what’s the deal? How do we fix this?’ No, we know what we need to fix, and we have a good group to be able to do that.”
Tampa Bay and Atlanta kick off at Raymond James Stadium on Sunday at 1 P.M.
