Calijah Kancey A Complement To Vita Vea
June 20th, 2023
Bucs DT Calijah Kancey.
So the tag-team duo of Vita Vea and Calijah Kancey could be fun to watch in a couple of years (months?).
Joe doesn’t know how much of an impact Kancey may have this fall.
Lavonte David was very direct when asked about Kancey during underwear football: “Immediate impact,” David said without blinking an eye.
We shall see. Joe isn’t one to expect Pro Bowl play from a rookie. It just isn’t reasonable.
Jenna Laine of ESPN tried to gauge what sort of impact Kancey may make this fall. She admits she won’t get much of an idea until the pads come on in training camp.
There’s only so much you can take from watching a defensive tackle without pads and actual hitting, but Kancey’s quickness off the ball has been apparent in drills and should serve as a nice complement to big-bodied Vita Vea. And Kancey has not only the desire but the ability to understand what goes on around him in the defense and not just his respective role.
Joe has watched Kancey a little in individual drills, like firing off a ball and running under a metal apparatus to force players to stay low, and of course, tackling sleds. Kancey appears to have a burst and that’s always good.
Joe thinks how quickly Kancey can adjust to tangling with monsters at the NFL level who eat up space will determine how good he is as a rookie. Your average NFL guard is 6-4, 315.
There aren’t that many cats that size playing in the ACC.
June 20th, 2023 at 1:03 am
His jump and hands with Vea could wreak havoc
June 20th, 2023 at 1:21 am
Just a simple swim move away from making that 6’4” 315 pounder look like a bust though.
A lot of times he just bounces off the center and guard with power.
His understanding of WHEN to use his tools is what will separate him from the rest and he is still learning.
Once he has a year under his belt, I see a personal goal of DPOY honors.
This guy is legit.
June 20th, 2023 at 3:12 am
“There aren’t that many cats that size playing in the ACC.”
Exactly Joe.
Nothing against the guy but a big jump in talent and size from the college. And once NFL linemen get there hands on you it is usually over, especially for the smaller guys.
Everyone in the NFL wants the unicorns. The next Aaron Donald (wins despite size), Patrick Mahomes (athletic QB With an arm), Rob Gronkowski (blocks and catches). The guys who can do it all, sometimes despite the measurables. They’re very hard to find but GMs/Coaches keep trying to do it.
June 20th, 2023 at 3:56 am
Opponents attacked the Bowles’ defense in a very different way last year. They ran at us a LOT more than they did in 2019, 2020 & 2021.
2022: Def plays – 1073; Rushes – 458; Run/Pass Ratio – 42.7%
2021: Def plays – 1093; Rushes – 366; Run/Pass Ratio – 33.5%
2020: Def plays – 1023; Rushes – 358; Run/Pass Ratio – 35.0%
2019: Def plays – 1073; Rushes – 362; Run/Pass Ratio – 33.7%
And if you look at last year’s losses, most of those teams who whooped us heavily relied on the run (45-50% range). For instance, Kansas City ran 37 times for 189 yards versus 37 passes for 249 yards … and controlled the TOP for almost 39 minutes in the process. San Fran ran the ball 36 times for 209 yards versus 23 passes for 196 yards … and controlled the TOP for almost 33 minutes.
This year we’ll most likely see even more of that, UNTIL we show that we can effectively stop the run & force passing situations. Kancey is apparently quick off the ball, but if he struggles holding his gap & playing the run he’ll see about as many defensive snaps as Logan Hall did last year (he was on the field for 36% of the def snaps against the Chiefs & 38% against the 49ers). Personally I think that run defense will be Kancey’s biggest challenge.
June 20th, 2023 at 6:00 am
They usually weren’t having to come back from a huge deficit either
June 20th, 2023 at 6:31 am
I refuse to get my hopes up for any rookie or second year defensive linemen. JTS and Logan Hall showed me how foolish it is.
June 20th, 2023 at 6:44 am
Calijah Kancey wrecked practice.
June 20th, 2023 at 7:13 am
Aaron Donaldson is cat quick for a DT. He is and has been the top DT in the NFL for years and he is the same size and weight as Kancey.
June 20th, 2023 at 7:59 am
I realize 40 times for D lineman don’t mean much…..but you’ve got to admire Kancey for the best 40 time in the last 20 years at the combine for D line.
June 20th, 2023 at 8:00 am
More excited to see how Kancey is lined up and how much he gets moved around. I’m guessing he’ll obviously get some work at 3 tech, but I’d like to see him line up in a 4 or 5 tech to give him the opportunity to work against every offensive lineman on the LOS. Leverage is an automatic win for this kid, and if his strength is as advertised along with his short area quickness he’ll be be a bigger pain in the butt for whomever is blocking him than they will be for him.
Double Vea/Gaines, you leave Kancey and whomever is to the left of him 1 on 1 which basically leaves one side of the OL on an island, which should help our LBs get that space they need to plug running and cutback lanes. Double Kancey and you leave Vea/Gaines 1 on 1 with an OG plus whomever is to the right of them 1 on 1 with a tackle. Not to mention that different personnel packages and stunts we’ll see, I can see Anthony Nelson/JTS/Hall playing the role of the looper coming off of Kanceys’ rear while he takes inside leverage on a G and pushes him into the tackle chasing the OLB.
June 20th, 2023 at 8:01 am
Oh, and the metal “apparatus” is a linemans’ chute, it’s to teach leverage and cheating it is like taking a Hacksaw Jim Duggan clothesline to the windpipe, not fun at all.
June 20th, 2023 at 8:22 am
Average OG weighs 315. And Kancey is ?????
June 20th, 2023 at 8:47 am
281.
June 20th, 2023 at 10:07 am
Joe you said it perfect. Can’t expect pro bowl production from the rookie. A lot of fans expect that from the 1st round and when it doesn’t happen these same fans call em a bust just after a few seasons. Yes high expectations come when drafted in the 1st few rds but this is the big leagues. Grown man league and it takes time for some players to develop. I hope he blows up his rookie year but reality is it might take a few seasons. Him an vea will be fun to watch for years to come and hopefully make our new LB life easier to make splash plays
June 20th, 2023 at 10:49 am
It would be fun to watch Wirfs go up against Vea or Kancy in practice whenever that may happen. Iron sharpening iron.
June 20th, 2023 at 10:52 am
Many of you guys ha e been dulled down and you just don’t believe your own lying eyes. Perhaps you should go back and watch THE TAPE. Turns out that it doesn’t lie. It also turns out that Kancey DOMINATED game after game, year after year with the title of the ACC Defensive Player of the Year 2022 to finish off a stellar college career.
The Reality is you are talking down the greatest defender the ACC could find out of what? Hundreds? Thousand? Of the BEST colleges have to offer across the Entire USA as if he’s some scrub. YOU. So when did YOU become QUALIFIED to doubt ALL the Professionals?
Perhaps it may benefit you to maybe check out the tape to get a clue as to why he EARNED the ONLY title of it’s kind given to 1 human per year. Maybe some good advice.
He is compared to Randle, Donald, Sapp FOR A REASON. And if you think the only reason is his size well probably you should go back and PONDER the comparisons. There were Other smaller comparables out there. Why is he Only being compared to HALL OF FAMERS by Actual Professional Ball Players? HMM?
In any case, have a little more faith. Do yourselves a favor so you don’t sound like a fool as to some claims that are starting to line up as he’s a flopping bust before he has a chance to show the CLEARLY UNAWARE what the real deal IS.
Instead, maybe consider the possibility that Kancey IS what they say he is.
Well, I’ve read enough dribble from the cheap seats. Here’s what I think.
“A STAR IS BORN”
GO BUCS!
June 20th, 2023 at 12:06 pm
Guards are guards because they are generally too slow to be offensive tackles. Kancey’s quickness will pay big dividends if he’s one on one while Vea is getting double teamed. Kancey could be a real game changer.
June 20th, 2023 at 1:07 pm
I just looked up LG’s and RG’s that Kancey faced in the ACC, and most of them were 6’4″ 300+pounds. Not sure where you’re getting your info from, Joe.
June 20th, 2023 at 1:13 pm
“NOT MANY OG 6’4 315 in the ACC”
WRONG! Do your homework.
Last year’s schedule included VT, Louisville, NC, Duke, Miami … I skimmed their rosters. +95% OL are over 300 lbs. OG at UCLA (Pitt’s bowl game is 340 lbs).
Are they all NFL caliber? No, but these are big football schools.