Calijah Kancey Chasing 60 Quarterback Pressures
June 2nd, 2025
Run defense debate.
No, Joe is not into quarterback pressures, the football equivalent of playing horseshoes and hand grenades.
Joe believes in sacks. And the numbers bear that value out; sacks are drive-killers.
Besides, good quarterbacks aren’t fazed by pressures. And if the Bucs’ goal is to win the Super Bowl, Joe has a hunch somewhere along the way, the Bucs will face a good quarterback or two.
But one guy — naturally, a stathead — believes in pressures. He’s a former high priest of the PFF tribe, retired minor league pitcher Steve Palazzolo. Like his comrade Sam Monson, he thinks Bucs defensive tackle Calijah Kancey is trash against the run.
Todd Bowles — who is a stickler for run defense — and NextGen Stats disagree. But what do they know?
However, Palazzolo is a major believer in Kancey the pass rusher.
“Kancey’s got incredible pass rushing potential,” Palazzolo said, “ability to get up the field [and] can be really disruptive.
“It showed up in his sack totals. I think there’s a 50- to 60-pressure season in there for Kancey, which is awesome for a defensive interior player.”
Joe hopes for double-digit sacks. And Joe thinks Kancey can pull that off, provided he doesn’t get injured in training camp for the third straight summer.
Calf injuries sidelined Kancey for four and five games, respectively, the past two seasons. He played every game after recovering. So he’s durable once he heals. (Yes, Joe knows Kancey played 11 snaps in the season opener in 2023 but aggravated his calf injury which put him back on the shelf.)
Palazzolo claims he once saw Kancey blow past Penei Sewell of the Lions with such speed that Sewell had zero chance of recovery. That is the type of pass rusher the Bucs have, he noted.
Palazzolo and Monson were harsh in their critique of Kancey the run defender. Joe didn’t see it. And Joe likes to cite how NextGen Stats had Kancey with zero missed tackles in the 2024 regular season. Lousy run defenders don’t do that.
Here is Bowles responding to Joe about Kancey’s run defense in February at the combine: Note that Bowles is a stickler for defending the run and he is not one to toss flowers at a player for s(p)its and giggles.
“I thought he did a heck of a job from [2023] to [2024] from a run game standpoint and a pass game standpoint,” Bowles said. “He missed five games last year. When he came back, [offenses] weren’t double-teaming him and blowing him off the football.
“He understood the game. We freed him up a little bit. We did some things [to help him] and I thought he became a heck of a player.
“Had he made the first five games, he may have made the Pro Bowl as well. I’m very happy with his play.”
Does that sound like Bowles is talking about a trash run defender?
"I think this is the year Calijah Kancey is going to put it together as a pass rusher." 👀@StevePalazzolo_ and @SamMonsonNFL agree — Kancey is ready for a breakout season 🔥👇 https://t.co/B0rv4aoH2E pic.twitter.com/DP0HfFCIir
— Check the Mic with Steve Palazzolo & Sam Monson (@CTM_Show) June 1, 2025
June 2nd, 2025 at 7:17 am
Lancet and Vita is a top 3 best DT combination in the league and I’m being cautiously humble saying 3, because off I can’t think of a Duo that’s better.
June 2nd, 2025 at 7:27 am
This year is all about the Putrid Pass Defense being better. This Team has a top 5 Offense with very few weak spots overall. Now if we can get off the field on 3rd downs this team is a legit SB contender. Pass Rush is our Key to success. Go BUCS!!!
June 2nd, 2025 at 7:32 am
West Philly
Imagine if Vita played more than 50% of snaps..
Granted our D can’t get off the field, so there’s a lot of D snaps , but still.
June 2nd, 2025 at 7:35 am
Vea & Kancey complement each other perfectly (I’m sure that Vea eats up most of the double-teams). Logan Hall is also coming along very nicely IMO. His sacks increased nicely last year to 5.5, as did his QB Hits (to 10), his TFLs (to 6), and his tackles (to 28), with his def snaps staying around 50% (539 last season). If Logan has another season like that, I wouldn’t hesitate to re-sign him to a 2-3 year contract.
Still concerned though about what’d happen if Vita Vea went down for any extended period of time (like in 2020). Back then we had Suh & RNR to pick up the slack inside, as well as Gholston (he had his best year in 2020). Today we’d have a very light DLine without Vea, and that might turn out to be a problem.
June 2nd, 2025 at 7:48 am
I’m just crossing my fingers Kancey can complete a whole season. He’s a good player, but he has to start a season on the field, not on the sidelines.
June 2nd, 2025 at 8:28 am
I’m not sure the metaphor actually supports your conclusion Josephs.
Start with Horseshoes. A sack would be the equivalent of a ringer, but a pressure could be the equivalent of a scoring toss, just not a ringer. IE the QB is pressured and so he throws it into the dirt. Obviously not as good as a ringer but still effective. And if the pressure “happens” to force the QB into a hurried pass that is intercepted that’s even better than a sack. Nothing the D can do is better than getting a change of possession on one play…int or fumble.
And of course with hand grenades close is all that is needed. The target is effectively fragged, much as losers who didn’t like their officers in Vietnam used to do..frag him. Disgusting for sure but some LOSERS actually did that!
So I’m with the Palazzolo. I love QB pressures. A sack is more definitive but QB pressures run the gamut from no harm to an int, fumble, and all that’s in the middle. I get it doesn’t satisfy Al Davis famous, ‘The QB must go down and go down hard” but it still can affect the QB’s mind set and confidence.
If the QB is an old dude with experience like Brady who doesn’t want to get hit and absolutely doesn’t want an interception he quickly throws it in the dirt wasting a down or opportunity.
June 2nd, 2025 at 8:29 am
I’m also of the mindset sacks are more valuable, but I think interior might be a little different in terms of pressures. If you’ve got half decent guys on the outside then pressure up the middle doesn’t allow the qb to step up in the pocket and gives the outside guys more sacks
June 2nd, 2025 at 8:47 am
Could this be the first time in Franchise History that we end up with (3) guys with 10+ sacks ? Reddick,Diaby,Kancey . Very possible .
June 2nd, 2025 at 9:18 am
Superbowl
June 2nd, 2025 at 9:52 am
“Besides, good quarterbacks aren’t fazed by pressures”
Ask Tom Brady about pressure! “Pressure from the inside is a Killer”
June 2nd, 2025 at 10:04 am
“”‘The QB must go down and go down hard” “”
In today’s NFL that would be a roughing the QB. 15 yrd penalty. Automatic first down.
June 2nd, 2025 at 10:09 am
Looking at the Breakout players for each NFC team. Monson picked Young for Carolina and Penix for the Falcons. If Kancey and his close friends (Vea, Hall, Reddick, Diaby and let’s not forget Walker) have a Breakout season then maybe the Falcons and Panthers will have to be looking for backup Breakout choices. I can see our secondary getting to more than a few QBs also. Winfield has those type Blitz skills and I bet Parrish would love to get a few secondary blitz calls too. If Braswell can pick up 5 or 6 sacks that oughta be about 70 sacks and what- maybe 250 pressures or so? Earlier story we were discussing how Trask would do if needed. DR pointed out that Purdy looked better with a better defense. DR sometimes points out the obvious! DEFENSE!!!
June 2nd, 2025 at 11:38 am
The pressures from Kancey last year when a QB ran away from Kancey and through the arms of JTS may foreshadow sacks this year if a QB running away from Kancey is taken to the turf by Reddick.
As groups like NexGen Sports eventually use tracking data and AI to advance the science of football analysis, maybe pressures will be given an effective pressures subdivision – did the QB throw an uncatchable pass into the turf or the back of a player, sail it out of bounds or grossly overthrow or miss the throw to the receiver; was the pass deflected, defended, or intercepted as a result of pressure influence; or was the QB forced to within play making distance of another defender whether or not the defender
Sack statistics falsely make it seem like a sack is the result of one person, or two people in the case of a half sack. A lot of sacks only happen because someone else pressured the QB into funning into a sack elsewhere.
June 2nd, 2025 at 11:49 am
I can’t leave it without repeating that the best pressure is inside pressure.
It takes away to shortest, quickest, easiest passes across the short middle.
It runs the QB into the arms of the edge defenders or forces the QB to put more air under the ball looking for an outside receiver making press man coverage with inside leverage much more effective and increases the defenders chances of intercepting the ball or at least defending the pass.
And, so long as gap discipline is maintained, it takes away the QB’s shortest, quickest escape route.
And, pressure that results in an incomplete pass is as valuable as a run stuff, and has much of the value of a sack in that the down is gone even if no yardage was loss. And, it may cause yardage to be loss if a beaten blocker gets desperate and holds the pressuring defender.
June 3rd, 2025 at 7:21 am
I still think we lack a Vea 2.0.
If he only plays half of the game,
We need a second starting caliber NT/DT!
Gaines is a warrior, but he’s not an NFL starter!
We need a second starter at NT because Vea sits half the game!
June 3rd, 2025 at 7:23 am
Don’t give a rip about the “pressures” stuff Joe. Sacks please.
…From OLBs as well please.
Go Bucs!
June 3rd, 2025 at 11:28 am
Pressure in that confined pocket is never good for the QB, if you can get into his head AND take him down you have a chance for the int, look at last years SB & our Win against probably the best QB there is at delivering under pressure. You also get into the offensive lines heads and the receivers having to cut routes, if needed, to get the completion, then there’s the chance for the DB to jump the route for a pick. It’s a combination of the 2.
June 3rd, 2025 at 1:28 pm
There were a few posters here that pounded the table for another big NT in this year’s draft, Chris. Obviously, Licht and the team had other priorities. I guess Gaines and Hall will have to do this year. Don’t know how much bulk either of them have at this time. Don’t know if anybody is actually considered Vea’s backup