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The Gritty Work Of Ko Kieft
November 19th, 2022
At
Sunday’s game in Munich between the Bucs and Seahawks, Joe laughed out loud
early in the game.
Joe
didn’t exactly see what happened but Joe saw the aftermath. A Seattle
linebacker was furious with Bucs
rookie Ko Kieft and had him by the shoulder pads and tried to swing him
around and throw Kieft on the ground (it didn’t work) well after the whistle.
Why
did Joe laugh? Well, if
Kieft got under someone’s skin that quickly and that badly, it meant to Joe
that Kieft was doing a helluva job.
Dudes
usually don’t get that angry in the first half unless a cheap shot is involved
or the guy just got flat-embarrassed. And Kieft isn’t a cheap shot artist.
It seems Joe isn’t the only person who
noticed Kieft’s gritty play. So too has Ben Muth of Football
Outsiders. Muth a former tackle at Stanford, and he focuses on offensive
line play for Football Outsiders. Not long ago, Muth thought the Bucs’
offensive line was playing awful football.
Now?
Muth is of the mind the line played its best game against Seattle. The way the
Bucs ran the ball was proof, he typed. An underrated key was how the Bucs used
Tristan Wirfs and Kieft as a double-team on a Seattle linebacker to spring
Playoff Lenny.
Muth highlights a specific play with
video and gave Kieft a standing-O.
I
do want to point out the tight end Ko Kieft here that’s working with Wirfs.
Because the linebacker attempted run through, Kieft doesn’t get much help from
his tackle. That’s a tough block to get inside that defensive end and seal him
off, but Kieft makes it. Look at how he emphasizes driving his inside leg up
the field, fighting to keep it in front of the defender. That’s a hell of a job
from the tight end.
Kieft is a helluva steal for a
sixth-round pick. Kieft shows vicious blocking ability and in time, Joe thinks
Kieft would be a weapon in the short passing game. He has
good hands, despite what the draftniks thought when he came out of Minnesota.
Kieft is the kind of glass-eater type
like Ryan Jensen that Joe knows Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht
covets on the offensive line.
