Calijah Kancey Downplays Strong Statistical First Home Game
October 19th, 2023
DT Calijah Kancey, the Bucs’ rookie first-round pick.
Per NextGen Stats, in his first significant playing time, Bucs defensive tackle Calijah Kancey had one of the best games in years Sunday for a rookie defensive tackle.
Yesterday, Kancey told the local pen and mic club that what he delivered wasn’t s(p)it. Basically Kancey said he hasn’t been practicing much if at all for games.
“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.
“[Rehabbing and working on his previously injured calf is] definitely something I am working on every day to make sure I stay on top of it.”
So because Kancey spent so much time working to get his calf back to game shape, he said he had to sacrifice time practicing to make himself a better player and to prepare for opponents.
Now that he can devote more time to his craft rather than rehab, Kancey said there is no reason to believe he shouldn’t be better than he was Sunday.
“I definitely want to have better run fundamentals,” Kancey said. “I want to be able to dominate the run as much as the pass, and I just want to be able to make more plays.”
The regular season has basically been Kancey’s training camp and worthless preseason all rolled into one. Now that he’s healthy, he’s got catching up to do.
So yeah, Joe could see Kancey beginning to really ball out in what should be a stretch drive for the playoffs.
October 19th, 2023 at 9:10 am
He has a very professional mentality.
October 19th, 2023 at 9:16 am
I’m impressed with Kancey’s maturity first and foremost. He really flashed this past Sunday. It only stands to reason, but he should get better game to game as he get’s into football shape. I know it’s too early for the Aaron Donald comparisons….maybe. Good job JL.
October 19th, 2023 at 9:17 am
Might have struck gold with this kid.
October 19th, 2023 at 9:17 am
Where are all the posters that say he was a wasted draft pick or that they Googled calf injuries and are certain he tore his calf muscle and would be out until Christmas 2025? Probably the same hole that the posters went that said we should cut McCollum, Goedeke, and JTS (yes, he’s playing half decent ball and has been our best edge defender this season).
October 19th, 2023 at 9:19 am
I know this has been said before, but this kid plays like Aaron Donald. Super explosive.
October 19th, 2023 at 9:24 am
If he is fully healed….maybe we can give him a few snaps at RB…..he could use some of those quick moves……
No doubt he will improve with more practice and game experience.
October 19th, 2023 at 9:25 am
That’s very good news for our defense. I only watched a third of the game and missed Kancy’s play. Bucs played so bad the first quarter and a half I stop watching
October 19th, 2023 at 9:35 am
@Popcorn, “Bucs played so bad the first quarter and a half I stop watching”
No…no….no… Never stop watching our beloved Bucs. You might miss something epic like Bucs v. Rams on MNF, December 18th, 2000. Epic!
October 19th, 2023 at 9:54 am
He reminds me of the Tasmanian devil out there. Just a twitchy, sudden, angry, athletic beast! Go Bucs!
October 19th, 2023 at 9:57 am
He may be scary good.
October 19th, 2023 at 10:47 am
We got a legit starting DT at pick #19.
The whole NFL is stupid for letting Vea drop to #13.
Wirfs should have gone #1 overall.
The football gods love us!
Because Licht is building a roster of players with good characters!
And because God loves underdoggs!
And who are we as Bucs fans!? (Loyal Bucs fans)
We are the underdoggs of the NFL!
October 19th, 2023 at 10:48 am
JTS (yes, he’s playing half decent ball and has been our best edge defender this season)….Brandon
Whaaat! If JTS is our best edge defender it explains why be got rolled by the the two good teams we played. I tried to focus on him in the second half against the Lions and he was rarely in on the play. Whether or not he edge rushed (one group sack) or drop back and pass protect he was nowhere near the play. Once he was on the Buc side of the line (zero penetration) he jumped up and blocked the pass. If that is our best, we can expect to hang tough against average/poor teams and lose all the games against quality teams.
October 19th, 2023 at 10:49 am
Should be “we got rolled”.
October 19th, 2023 at 11:49 am
Love this guy. Love his attitude.
October 19th, 2023 at 11:52 am
Tampabaybucfan Says:
If he is fully healed….maybe we can give him a few snaps at RB
^^^^^^
You are joking but you bring something up …
USE VEA FOR SHORT YARDAGE DOWNS … Either A) Give him the ball. B) Create a lane like a FB. C) Push the ball carrier (Eagle’s style)
If our OC is such a genius, why hasn’t he thought of this?
October 19th, 2023 at 11:52 am
Lt. Dan,
For my money, the greatest regular season game ever played in Tampa. Nay e best game ever. Being there was AWESOME.
October 19th, 2023 at 12:20 pm
This kid COULD be an Aaron Donald
October 19th, 2023 at 12:43 pm
I watched all the Pitt games on TV the past couple seasons. Kancey played well in all the matchups. I was surprised the Bucs drafted him with their early pick. To me he looks a little undersized for his position but his grit and determination are clearly there to see.
October 19th, 2023 at 1:39 pm
With time will come improvement on his game and NFL strength.
This defense should be better by December. Todd needs to stay aggressive.
October 19th, 2023 at 2:12 pm
Kacey never smiles and I love it. He’s the anti Gerald McCoy
October 19th, 2023 at 6:28 pm
Good, because he did absolutely nothing
October 19th, 2023 at 7:27 pm
Like to see Kancey, VV, and JTS in a defensive play together. I’m not a coach so not sure if it’s possible. If it is, Bowles will figure it out.
October 19th, 2023 at 8:02 pm
Lt Dan – was at the game too. Just incredible. Playing “In the air tonight “ as they warmed up to was classic. Dunn pitch back to King on 4th and long was epic!
October 20th, 2023 at 12:43 am
I have been a bit of a pessimist where Kancey is concerned and really did not have very high expectations of him because of his missing most of camp, rookie, etc.
Did not expect him to really contribute this year. Wow did he prove me wrong on Sunday!
Go Bucs!
October 20th, 2023 at 1:54 am
This dude is a dawg on the field.
Me thinks it’s still early for this team and our rookies will need time to get into stride. We are in the midst of our toughest run on our schedule, if we can win these games we are supposed to win and compete in these lions, bills, niners games and get better as we play, we can make a splash in the playoffs. The end of our schedule is fairly easy, if we can get these divisional wins and compete out of division, I see our rookies and our studs stepping up near the end of the year. Or at least I hope