Respected stathead defends.
It’s a holiday weekend and Joe should be hungover this morning from a full day of sipping good Kentucky bourbon and having a few ice cold Florida beers, celebrating Uncle Sam’s birthday.
And yeah, Joe’s head is throbbing this morning. Not from the aftereffects of the bourbon and beer and not from the constant pounding of the fireworks in the burbs.
No, the PFF tribe and their dumbass grades have Joe’s head hurting.
The tribe’s assault on Calijah Kancey is driving Joe nuts. Do these people even watch games? But no, these guys act like a football version of Socrates because some dope in his Irish dorm room “grades” plays.
And there are enough folks that are gullible enough to swallow these grades whole, like football Gospel. They’re trash, just as any reliable person working in the league knows.
(Please do not confuse the PFF tribe’s dumbass grades with their advanced stats. Those are two wholly different things. Apples and oranges. Joe respects the tribe’s advanced stats.)
The PFF tribe in recent weeks has suggested Kancey is on the bubble for what the tribe deems an inept run defense. And recently, the tribe ranked the Bucs as having the fifth-worst defensive line in the NFL, largely because of Kancey.
Can you imagine?
Well, let’s allow some logic to enter the conversation. In his Sharp Football Analysis 2025 Preview, noted handicapper turned stathead Warren Sharp documented how Kancey is no slouch defending the run.
The Bucs allowed 4.2 yards per carry on running back runs in 2024 (13th), but for the most part, they shut opposing running games down. They faced the second fewest rushing attempts from opposing running backs, allowed the fourth fewest yards to the position, the fourth fewest rushing touchdowns, and had the fifth best success rate against RB runs.
The core of the defensive line returns and is set to once again be led by Vita Vea. Vea logged 9 run stuffs in 2024, 34th among qualified defensive linemen, and contributed 7 sacks on an 11.1% pressure rate. 2023 first round pick Calijah Kancey unfortunately missed time again in his second season, but he led the team with 7.5 sacks and had 8 run stuffs of his own.
So let Joe get this straight: Kancey played in four fewer games than Vea, a Pro Bowler, yet Kancey only had one fewer run stuff than Vea?
A run stuff is when a defender stops a runner for either no gain or a tackle for loss.
Yet the PFF tribe will have you believe that Kancey is fighting for his professional career because he’s so bad against the run.
How is it Warren Sharp, NextGen Stats and sober eyes can see Kancey can play the run just fine, yet the PFF tribe can’t?
Joe knows why: Because their GD grades suck!
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Boy, The PFF Tribe Really Dislikes Calijah Kancey