The Nine-Game Streak And Calijah Kancey
August 4th, 2025
Calijah Kancey
So the Buccaneers’ run defense has not allowed 100 yards in a game through its past nine games. That streak represents a franchise record for run defense.
Yes, you read that correctly.
Joe has a clue and realizes one reason for that record is because the Tampa Bay pass defense was ugly and teams chose to pass against the Bucs a high percentage of the time. Last year’s run defense did not compare to the incredibly suffocating units of 1999, 2012 and 2020. But still, the Bucs’ 2024 run defense was quite good — top-10 in the NFL in yards-per-carry allowed.
And that brings Joe to Pro Football Focus high priest emeritus Sam Monson. He left the PFF Tribe last year to share his genius via The33rdTeam.com. Monson and fellow PFF expatriate Steve Palazzolo have the popular Check The Mic podcast, which tackled an NFC South preview today.
In that breakdown, Monson said over and over that Bucs defensive tackle Calijah Kancey is a significant liability in run defense.
Think about that for a moment.
Kancey did not play in the Bucs’ first five games of last season, in which teams averaged 120 yards rushing against the Bucs. Kancey gets his legs under him and then the Bucs run off the streak referenced above.
How much of a liability could Kancey have been? Consider the NFL’s official NextGen Stats reported Kancey did not miss a tackle through the entire 2024 season. Kancey said he missed one and Joe found it. One!
Kancey is likely a better pass rusher than a run-stuffer, but to call him a liability against the run is typical PFF-style gibberish.
Joe suspects Monson is preaching from a PFF published “analysis” in June that noted Kancey has a lot to prove in the NFL because of his “dreadful” run defense.
This is a popular time of year for renewals of a PFF subscription that includes player grades and other anaysis. Needless to say, they won’t get Joe’s money.
August 4th, 2025 at 12:09 pm
I thought they had a solid run defense,
Until the Ravens game, the Ravens really exposed them
Derrick Henry was cake walking through the defense
Derrick Henry 182 rushing yards, the team 244 rushing yards
I think we need improvement with the run defense
As well as the pass defense,
August 4th, 2025 at 12:44 pm
would like to see kancey play more on the edge on 1st and 2nd down
GO BUCS!!!!
August 4th, 2025 at 12:48 pm
These lazy national idiots look at Calijah’s size and assume he can’t play the run. They probably just read the inaccurate PFF grade. Calijah needs to stay healthy this year so his stats will speak for themselves. Having Haas next to him will help too.
August 4th, 2025 at 12:57 pm
should the Bucs trade for Micah Parsons –> Yes
Will Jason Light Do Anything —> No
August 4th, 2025 at 1:01 pm
Defense also allowed only 17.75 PPG those same last 9 games.
I was relieved to hear Logan (I think) say emphasis remains on run-stopping. People should be giving Todd and the D some credit and props for that…. Run defense remains very important in the NFL – and we don’t make the playoffs without a good one.
August 4th, 2025 at 1:13 pm
Kancey is a good player who is still figuring out how to become a dominant one. Watching last year’s games you could sort of see a back and forth happening with him. At times he could be taken out of plays by teams using a single blocker on him, at other times he’d still impact a play while being doubled. It’s all about stacking more good reps in a row for him, which should happen with more experience.
Hopefully by the end of this year he’ll be close to something like a poor man’s Aaron Donald, which I’d take in an instant.
August 4th, 2025 at 1:21 pm
Yes! The Buccaneers should give up a first round, second round, and YaYa Diaby!
August 4th, 2025 at 1:36 pm
When I get to the motel tonight I want to look up the last 10 years or so of run stats. It doesn’t seem to me like teams run as much as they once did, they don’t even pay running backs all that much money anymore. Might all just be my perception
August 4th, 2025 at 1:38 pm
@leroy… no, they shouldn’t PERIOD!
August 4th, 2025 at 1:40 pm
It’s truly remarkable how incredibly wrong those dummies are at time. Maybe they should hire Americans instead of Irish potato farmers to run their business, then they’d know the difference between football and soccer.
August 4th, 2025 at 2:13 pm
Last year why run against the Bucs when all you had to do was flip it down the middle and watch your receivers run TD’s or 20+ yards per paly.
August 4th, 2025 at 2:24 pm
The Bucs pass defense wasn’t as bad as people say they were
They were at the bottom in Total Passing Yards
Because teams threw on us a whole lot more
But we wasn’t bad in YPC, we wasn’t bad in 3rd down defense
We wasn’t that bad in Red Zone defense,
I think this season, teams will throw less against us
And they will run more against us
We will be a better overall defense this season
August 4th, 2025 at 2:25 pm
A sure way to see the decline of Micah Parsons is to see him traded to the Bucs for a couple of first round picks & more….pay him $45 million ……then watch the shocking decline of a once great player.
No Thanks!!!
August 4th, 2025 at 2:37 pm
The good teams will gash Todd’s D. Feels like a 9-8 season. Injury headwinds, lack of depth at LB and WR, and a brand new OC that seems to be struggling.
August 4th, 2025 at 2:40 pm
To quote Forrest Gump, “Stupid is as stupid does.” Or writes.
August 4th, 2025 at 2:59 pm
Jeff Says…. lack of depth at LB and WR
Man, I think that the Bucs have one of the strongest Receiving corp in the league.
August 4th, 2025 at 4:06 pm
Is it 2000? 1997?
Dinosaur defensive football.
It’s a passing league.
August 4th, 2025 at 4:33 pm
Don’t mind my grandson he’s a special boy if you know what I mean now go put your grannies phone back boy
August 4th, 2025 at 4:36 pm
The Ravens game was weird, the Bucs should have been up by at least 3 TD’s cause their offense was going through the vaunted Ravens D till middle of 2nd quarter. They could have made them one dimensional and Jackson is not good at playing from behind, Henry had a huge run to pad the stats so that’s an outlier. Even today stopping the run first is critical because it forces the offense to be just that, one dimensional which is easier to defend. Bowels is taking a play out of Rod Marinelli’s playbook that emphasizes stopping the runner on the way to the QB, and we know how good that Tampa D was so here’s hoping for a repeat. I do expect the pass D to be better this year cause of the talent that came in. As far as Kancey being a weak link? Please, the numbers bear that out. These guys are a bunch of ham sandwich’s
August 4th, 2025 at 4:37 pm
Or Royal’s with cheese…
August 4th, 2025 at 4:38 pm
imBobBuc Says:
These lazy national idiots look at Calijah’s size and assume he can’t play the run.
^^^^^^
Nailed it!
August 4th, 2025 at 5:38 pm
@JimBobBuc
That’s why analytics are just destroying sports now because everything is all about the numbers & all instead of just PLAYING THE GAME. We have to rely on all of that now instead of just kicking the FG or punting the ball when it’s a better idea to. Look at how many times Dan Campbell has costed Detroit because all he wants to do is go for it. He really killed them in that playoff game against SF just recently when they passed on like FOUR FGs & they definitely could’ve used all of those points in the end because SF came back on them.
August 4th, 2025 at 7:11 pm
If I was an OC I would have done nothing but 3 to 5 step drops and fire vs. this team. Just like Cousins did.
August 4th, 2025 at 10:37 pm
Until Kancey does something, he’s just another guy!
August 5th, 2025 at 5:51 am
Good on you Joe! I hope someothers who consider these dweebs as gospel and know very little about the game do likewise.
Dangerous to me that some of your brethren have apparently fallen for the con job. Great news is that, as Joe has pointed out, no coaches are buying it. They tend to watch the games and look at the film…LOL
Go Bucs!
August 5th, 2025 at 11:39 am
this ignores vita vea.
and it ignore the value of up tthe middle pash rush clancey brings.
i dont see a lot of people taking this guy seriously on this one