Kacy Rodgers: Calijah Kancey May Play Ndamukong Suh Role
May 4th, 2023
Bucs defensive line coach Kacy Rodgers.
If Bucs’ defensive line coach Kacey Rodgers has his way, he will do his best to see that first-round draft pick Calijah Kancey becomes Ndamukong Suh. Sort of.
When Rodgers and Todd Bowles and Bucco Bruce Arians first showed up, the defense at times designed to spring Ndamukong Suh loose up front. If the Bucs could scheme a way to get the manbeast Suh one-on-one, the Bucs liked their odds.
Rodgers said that will be the goal with Kancey.
“In the way we usually play, the guy who gets the most one-on-ones would be the role we see Kancey playing in,” Rodgers said. “When we first got him in here, [Ndamukong] Suh fit in the same role. It’s the same kind of situation where we’re going to try and dictate which way the protection turns and create the one-on-ones for our edge guys here and our interior guy there.”
Kancey, while not nearly as big as Suh, is significantly quicker than Suh. So Rodgers believes if the Bucs can find ways to get Kancey one-on-one with an offensive lineman, especially a guard, Kancey will be able to best utilize his speed.
If Bucs defensive coaches cannot craft a way to get pressure on the quarterback with all the players drafted for the front-seven the past three years, including two first-round picks and a second-rounder, that’s on them.
May 4th, 2023 at 3:57 am
Defensive Line Coach Kacy Rodgers boasts a remarkable track record for maximizing the potential of players drafted under his tutelage.
Case In Point:
Dallas Cowboys
• Round 1, 2005: No. 11 overall – DE DeMarcus Ware (HOF)
• Round 1, 2005: No. 20 overall – DE Marcus Spears
• Round 4, 2005: No. 132 overall – DE Chris Canty
• Round 7, 2005: No. 224 overall – DE Jay Ratliff
• Round 3, 2006: No. 92 overall – DE Jason Hatcher
• Round 1, 2007: No. 26 overall – DE Anthony Spencer
Miami Dolphins
• Round 2, 2008: No. 32 overall – DE Phillip Merling *
• Round 3, 2008: No. 66 overall – DE Kendall Langford
• Round 1, 2010: No. 28 overall – DE Jared Odrick
• Round 3, 2012: No. 72 overall – DE Olivier Vernon
• Round 1, 2013: No. 3 overall – DE Dion Jordan*
New York Jets
• Round 1, 2015: No. 6 overall – DE Leonard Williams
• Round 3, 2018: No. 72 overall – DT Nathan Shepherd
• Round 6, 2018: No.180 overall – DT Folorunso Fatukasi
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
• Round 4, 2019: No.107 overall – LEO Anthony Nelson
• Round 1, 2021: No.32 overall – LEO Joe Tryon-Shoyinka
• Round 2, 2022: No.33 overall – DE Logan Hall
Before he joined the Bucs – Only 2 players (Merling, Jordan) out the 15 were considered bust. He’s truly one of the best positional coaches in the league.
May 4th, 2023 at 4:02 am
Per: Bill Parcells
May 4th, 2023 at 4:09 am
Per: Hall of Famer DE DeMarcus Ware
2015
2016
2017
May 4th, 2023 at 4:17 am
You hear the same thing across the board with all the players he’s coached over the years. So I’m not worried about the defensive line – because Coach Rodgers has an outstanding track record of developing and mentoring these young men.
May 4th, 2023 at 6:05 am
I watched a you tube of Kalijah Cancy evaluation with play breakdowns. Lol! The center would just get done snapping the ball and and Cancy was in his grill with hands and arms pushing him back even before the center had begun to move to after the snap. His quickness is so elite the center was eventually fricking up the snap as he was thinking Cancy instead of the snap.
May 4th, 2023 at 7:26 am
LUVMYBUCS: I get the impression you think highly of Kacy. . .
May 4th, 2023 at 7:30 am
Genius. After all, Kancey is exactly like Suh. (Eye roll)
Leave it to Bloweszo and his clown show to try to force their top pick to be like someone else instead of modifying the system to fit the players’ strengths.
May 4th, 2023 at 7:37 am
^^^Rodgers is talking about different players playing the same position smh
May 4th, 2023 at 8:05 am
Jayzus, Goatf__er, your negative nancy act is vastly beyond its sell by date.
Really, give it up or go somewhere else to pound your pud.
Coach Rodgers simply stated the obvious, that he wants to get Kancey one on one against defenders where his speed and quickness and bend are to his advantage. Much like the Bucs used Suh.
May 4th, 2023 at 8:15 am
Pound Bloweszo’s Pud. Rodgers is fine, it’s the masturmind who is the problem. If it irritates you, excellent. I’ll post 4 or 5 more about Bloweszo the Horrible Headcoich. Maybe if Bloweszo named Rodgers to be Defensive Coordinator we might get somewhere. But he won’t, the arrogant Bloweszo.
May 4th, 2023 at 8:34 am
Damn missed you LUV lol it’s cool to see a lot of the same commenters are here from years ago you were always a favorite.
I wasn’t on as much the last few years because there just wasn’t as much to speculate or debate on in terms of what direction the team was going lol I was just enjoying the ride. Got to see a few games after moving back here in 2021 and it feels good to be home after spending like 10+ years buying NFL ticket or whatever i had to do to watch games.
Great analysis on Rodgers’ coaching history. That seems to counter the “don’t draft an edge defender because Bowles can’t coach them up” philosophy one of the Joe’s has. Sounds like we have a great D-line / edge coach.
I have my issues with Bowles but don’t get that line of thinking really.
1) He’s historically been a secondary coach before becoming a D Coordinator. That’s where his expertise is / he wasn’t coaching up the D-lineman.
2) It’s not like players sucked under Bowles at edge rush and then went elsewhere and proper coaching brought out a massive improvement. To me that’s what you need to show bad coaching / scheme impacting a player.
Hoping for an elite D this year and a Bowles redemption season. But he’s on thin ice for sure.
May 4th, 2023 at 8:43 am
Spring Suh???
Never saw him get sprung.
Sure they ran some games and stunts but I think more often than not it was he that was doing the springing.
May 4th, 2023 at 10:09 am
Well they said JTS was talented but raw with a small sample size because he opted out 1 year. That’s the asterisk on him. This year they learned from the reach on JTS and specifically drafted guys that had alot of playing time at school and were productive as well as very athletic. Hopefully this strategy will pay off with this year’s crop of guys. Time will tell, jury’s still out on JTS and definitely Logan Hall.
May 4th, 2023 at 10:16 am
LUVMYBUCS
Good stuff. The best today!
May 4th, 2023 at 10:21 am
They still need a big lineman or two, IMO. Gholston would be fine, for one. In fact, Gholston, Gaines and Vea would probably be more consistent than last year’s line, with Kancey and Hall and Diaby and Ramirez rotating in fresh on passing downs until they get their legs under them. Exciting. What a draft for the front seven!
May 4th, 2023 at 1:46 pm
So lots of changes and expectations. If at least half of the new comers produce as expected the Bucs should improve. But so will many other teams including several teams in our conference. Net result the Bucs have improved both offensive and defensive lines, but remain questionable at quarterback. And thin at running back and defensive back. Will they even win their division? Perhaps, but 50/50 at best. Super Bowl: forget it. It should be fun to watch all the new guys, both drafted and free agents. But realistic expectation in my opinion would hopefully be near an 8 and 8 season but no playoffs. 9 and 7 would be fantastic . 7 and 9 would not be surprising but disappointing. I will stick with 8 and 8 until we beat any of the better teams in our division.
May 4th, 2023 at 3:15 pm
In our cupcake division I will predict 9-8 and winning the division
May 4th, 2023 at 4:51 pm
Nice, thanks LUV
May 4th, 2023 at 6:19 pm
Id like to get another big d lineman, maybe Hicks signs for a low cost deal. Still need to stop the run and they didnt look great when Hicks or Vea were out last year. Need those cogs to free up David and White to do their thing.
May 4th, 2023 at 6:25 pm
At 270 pounds, I’m scratching my head on the comparison to Suh, maybe they are referring to his pass rush. I dont think Kancy will hold up vs the run in the middle, I think we need another 300 pound plus space eater in there to stop the run, force 2nd and 3rd and long situations to bring on pass rush opportunities for Kancey and others.
May 4th, 2023 at 9:38 pm
Just like Suh.
Suh is 6’5”, 320 pounds
Kancey is 5’11”, 275 pounds.
Yeah they are practically twins.
Kancey struggled against big powerful guards in college.
EVERY guard in the NfL is big and powerful.
Good luck kid. Its a big mans world in the NFL.
May 4th, 2023 at 10:36 pm
Goat farmer. You half rigjt half wrong. You’re right about bowels being a head coach but you’re wrong about him as a defensive coach. We don’t win a Super Bowl with out his defense. Let me say that again we don’t win a Super Bowl with out his defense. It wasn’t Brady playing defense it was Bruce calling the defense it DEFF wasn’t Byron calling the defense. It was Bowles who won it. His defense shut out the best offense the nfl has seen in a long time. I’m not glad he’s our head coach but I am glad he is still in charge of the defense. Defense still wins champs
May 4th, 2023 at 10:52 pm
If Kancy can hit the weight room and gain strength he’s got to get a lot stronger but there is reason for him to be as good as Aron Donald
May 5th, 2023 at 5:17 am
@DJB
Damn skippy!
May 5th, 2023 at 5:19 am
@ Geno711 & @ unbelievable
Appreciate y’all bigtime!
May 5th, 2023 at 5:27 am
@ Lord Cornelius
LC what good Bredren Lol? It’s been a long time. I’m glad to see that you’re still active in this board, even if you haven’t been around as much in recent years.
It’s also awesome that you were able to move back home and catch some games in person. Ain’t nothing like the energy of being in the stadium, is there?
I agree with you that the analysis on Rodgers’ coaching history is really interesting, and it definitely does seem to counter that “don’t draft an edge defender” philosophy. It’s always fascinating to see how different coaches approach different positions and players, and how they can develop and bring out the best in their players.
As for Bowles, I can see where you’re coming from with your issues, but I also think that it’s important to give him a chance to redeem himself this season. It sounds like he’s got some great coaches working with the D-line and edge rushers, so hopefully we’ll see some improvement there.
May 5th, 2023 at 7:18 am
Some of you need to focus on what your reading lol. Before you comment.
May 8th, 2023 at 9:42 pm
Bloweszo might be the most overrated defensive masturmind in the history of the NFL.