Overlooked Attribute For Calijah Kancey
July 29th, 2023
Vita Vea talks about his teammate. (Vea’s barber was a busy man this offseason.)
Joe really wants to see first-round draft pick Calijah Kancey unleashed.
So why hasn’t Bucs coach Todd Bowles done that in practice? Well, there is only so much a lineman can do when he cannot hit. Welcome to the just-completed first three days of training camp where it’s still underwear football season.
Yesterday, Vita Vea spoke to the local pen and mic club. Since Vea and Kancey are expected to be the Bucs’ one-two punch in the interior of the defensive line, Vea naturally fielded questions about Kancey.
And Joe thought Vea had a very interesting take.
“The relationship is growing every day,” Vea said of playing with Kancey. “We’re still getting to know each other – it’s kind of still early, but he is showing a lot of upsides for his future.
“He is surprising all of us every day with his knowledge of the game, his work ethic and how he is playing the game. I’m excited to get out there with him and continue to grow.”
This has Joe very intrigued if not excited. It’s one thing to have the physical tools to play in the NFL. But if you are a smart guy who has a work ethic, you can take that talent to another level.
What do you often hear about guys who are either borderline starters or long-time backups? They work hard. They are smart. They are craftsmen of their trade.
You add smarts and hard work to talent, well, now you’re cooking with gas.
July 29th, 2023 at 8:16 am
The preseason hype begins.
Lancet has yet to face man strong Olinemen. He has a long way to go to establish himself as a dominating Dlineman.
July 29th, 2023 at 8:17 am
Kancey is going to make a lot of GM’s who passed on him regret it.
July 29th, 2023 at 8:22 am
Smart guy? Work ethic? Oh goody, another Swaggy Baker! (The preceding comment was brought to you by sarcasm. Sarcasm. It’s what’s for breakfast.)
July 29th, 2023 at 8:50 am
Wow, players complementing each other, what a surprise! Maybe the use of ‘surprising’ is real, especially since Vita saw Logan Hall flop last year. Hopefully, Kancey is much better than disappointing Hall. If Kancey is truly smart, that confirms the good coaching he got at Pitt, along with SirVocea Dennis? Dennis seems to be doing well, so let’s see how Kancey does in pads.
July 29th, 2023 at 9:54 am
Vita Vea, Kancey, and Hall will all be good this year. I understand that Hall didn’t impress last year (agree he looked bad). I believe he will surprise a lot of people this year. Yes, he definitely needed to get stronger to be effective…but 1st year D-Line don’t normally impress. So, I don’t get why everyone is writing the guy off…give the man a chance! The man has the tools to be very good…but he didn’t know how to effectively use those tools last year.
July 29th, 2023 at 9:54 am
Joe says:
“You add smarts and hard work to talent, well, now you’re cooking with gas.”
I couldn’t agree more and might even argue that “smarts and hard work” > athleticism, especially in a Todd Bowles defense. Process the information, work hard for it to become second nature, etc.
Anytime I think of “smart” D linemen or LBs, I think of Mike Singletary on the old Bears teams. He set the bar really high and was a captain for that reason. He played at about 6’0″, 230 lbs and only ran a 4.6 40. Not bad but small and slow compared to many of today’s LBs (and even for back then he was considered small-ish) but boy did he make up for it with his smarts.
I think Licht really focuses on smart players as well as combine numbers, especially recently. Just listening to some of the new draftees speaking with the press and most seem to have that “smart vibe”.
July 29th, 2023 at 10:00 am
He is undersized for sure
Let’s see if he can go against dudes that outweigh him by 50 pounds for 4 quarters.
South fla cats are different
Let’s see
July 29th, 2023 at 10:29 am
Nailed it Joe
The Bucs have had many overachiever players that may not have been gifted with elite talent but they make up for that with the things you mentioned. I love those guys as much or more than the superstars. Somehow Brad Culpepper springs to mind.
Go Bucs
July 29th, 2023 at 11:38 am
To me, the indication is that Kancey has come to play. It sounds like the guy keeps to himself, and is prepared to deal with whatever he is asked to do. Hoping we got a quiet alpha type. Got my eye on him and Dennis this season. We know Bowles has wanted to generate rush right up the middle for a couple seasons-is this the season he gets his wish?
July 29th, 2023 at 12:19 pm
Joe cooks with propane and propane accessories
July 29th, 2023 at 12:45 pm
Wait… are we still allowed to cook with gas? I’m pretty sure that corrupt idiot banned gas stoves. But Kancey is definitely a guy to keep your eye on. He could be very good
July 29th, 2023 at 12:55 pm
I CANNOT GET ENOUGH CK ARTICLES
I’m so pumped about this dude. Fastest DL in history! Sapp used to say his speed was more important than his strength. CK’s tape is like a
Tasmanian Devil cartoon.
Destinjohnny says, “Let’s see him go against a OL that outweighs him by 50 lbs for 4QRTs.” I say, let’s see that +50 lbs OL try and chase CK for 4QRTs.
REMEMBER: The opposition cannot practice for the fastest ever.
July 29th, 2023 at 1:12 pm
He sounds promising. I don’t think we will see much of him in preseason games. Tho. Regular season: look out!
July 29th, 2023 at 2:12 pm
I think undersized defensive linemen generally speaking have to be a little bit smarter with how they play the game. They can’t go out there and just overwhelm with size or brute strength like Vea can do.
Speed, leverage, and smart technique has to be Kancey’s game.
July 29th, 2023 at 4:06 pm
In the end it’s a middle weight fighting a heavyweight
July 29th, 2023 at 4:23 pm
I just keep falling back on the fact that defensive lineman, in particular defensive tackles, are rarely productive their rookie seasons. So even if the hype we hear about doesn’t show on the field this year, I’m not going to worry about it in the least. But, hearing all this good stuff is getting me excited about seeing the kid play.
July 30th, 2023 at 8:13 am
Kid will play as fast as he can bc his motor/skill set/and knowledge of the game are going to be off the charts.
I agree w Munch that it’s tough to see a huge year from this kid, but I would bot be surprised if he stepped in day one and was a true difference maker.
July 30th, 2023 at 9:20 am
Look a middle weight is normally going to be faster than a heavyweight