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Bucs Leader Devin White Forced to Take Morale-Improving Measure After Revealing the Defence Is ‘Not as Close as They Used to Be’

ByShivam Pratap Singh

Dec 1, 2022 | 8:30 AM EST

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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ defense capitulated in the dying minutes to allow a Cleveland Browns comeback. And after the shock loss, the D-line leader, Devin White, has taken the matter into his own hands. The loss has forced him to take drastic measures to improve the morale of the Bucs’ defense. And he believes it will help them get closer to each other.

The Buccaneers’ season hangs in a balance after the Browns handed them their sixth loss of the season.

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Devin White improving morale

According to linebacker Devin White, the Buccaneers’ defense is not as close to each other as it used to be. And that affects their performance on the field. So, taking the matter into his own hands, he invited every member of the team’s defense to a dinner at a prime seafood restaurant after they fell to the Browns.

White and fellow LB Lavonte David arranged for the dinner. The motive: to bring the players closer, to the level they were at during the COVID-19 period.

Bucs LB Devin White called for the whole defense to meet for dinner at Eddie V’s Monday night. because he and Lavonte David felt they needed to become closer. They want to hold each other more accountable. Said they were closer during COVID-19 period.
— Rick Stroud (@NFLSTROUD) November 30, 2022

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“Me and Lavonte organized that just to bring the guys closer, just to be able to lean on one another and trust one another, just talk about the tenacity we’ve got to play with — you know, everything that we’ve got to do to help this team win,” White said during the dinner.

White added that the Bucs’ defense is great, and he wants them to show that for all four quarters of the game. Tampa’s defense is seventh in the league for points allowed but has capitulated in the last minutes of the game on multiple occasions.

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The defensive woes

The Buccaneers’ D-line is as formidable as it can get. They showed that during the opening game of the season when they only allowed a field goal for the Dallas Cowboys. But in recent times, they have fallen in the fourth quarter and allowed the opponents to come back into the game.

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When the Buccaneers met the Baltimore Ravens in week eight, they led the game 10-3 at halftime. But they allowed the Ravens to come back into it by conceding 24 points in the second half. And the OT loss to the Browns is the most recent example. The Pewter Pirates are still at the top of the NFC South divisional table. Can they make it deep into the playoffs? And can they repeat their 2020 season heroics again?

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