“His Football IQ Is Off The Charts”
April 28th, 2026
Titans head coach Robert Saleh.
This bodes extremely well for an edge rusher entering the Todd Bowles defense.
The Buccaneers’ head coach likes to ask his edge guys to put a lot on their plate outside of rushing the passer.
So the New York Post wrote a story today about how Hall of Fame receiver Michael Irvin is outraged because ESPN made such a huge deal about Bucs first-round pick edge rusher Rueben Bain having short arms — seconds after Bain’s pick was announced on Thursday.
Irving found it highly disrespectful.
Joe has no beef with ESPN going there, as it was a big story tied to Bain. But last year, ESPN didn’t bark loudly about short arms when the Bucs drafted short-armed edge rusher and fourth-round pick David “That’s How You Win The Super Bowl” Walker out of Central Arkansas.
Regardless, Joe was more interested in a nugget in “The Post” from defensive guru Titans head coach Robert Saleh. Two months ago, it seems, Saleh raved openly about Bain.
“(Bain’s) tape is undeniable,” Saleh said, per NFL.com. “His football IQ is off the charts. There are certain things he’ll have to adjust to, but he’s a guy that should have a lot of success in the league.”
That stands out because head coaches rarely talk about prospects. It’s largely considered taboo before the draft. Bain, however, gets people talking.
April 28th, 2026 at 3:22 pm
Football IQ “off the charts”. I seem to remember that being used on a former QB of ours once. Not really gonna put much stock in that.
April 28th, 2026 at 3:35 pm
I don’t listen to these people, they’re mostly wrong
I use my own football knowledge, and my understanding of the game
Also, they pile on these weak teams with criticism
The Rams drafted Ty Simpson with the 13th pick
And you haven’t heard a whisper about the pick
They don’t bad mouth Les Snead and Sean McVay
If the Bucs, or another team they love to disrespect
Had drafted Ty Simpson with the 13th pick
They would have been ridiculed for months
April 28th, 2026 at 3:36 pm
Let’s see what happens on the field. I think we’re all thrilled and anxious to see what this guy can do to help our putrid pass defense.
April 28th, 2026 at 3:36 pm
Bain will be fine!!!
i have no doubt Bain will be asking Wirfs, ” how would you block me vs the run, and how would you block me vs the pass”…
he’ll be going up against an ALL Pro LT every day in practice and Luke is no slouch either lol…
GO BUCS!!!!
April 28th, 2026 at 3:36 pm
It’s great he has all the intangibles and the only knock is short arms. A lot of people thought Sapp was too short and fat. I think it’s the desire to be great to do whatever it takes to be an amazing teammate and win the game. Bain will collapse a pocket and chase the quarterback into the Diaby. I don’t care if he gets a sack, if the Diabt gets a sack, if trotter forces a fumble or Scott forces a fumble or the quarterback throws a pick or an incompletion, I want to see a whole lot more three and outs and l want third and long and fourth and long conversions to be a very, very rare thing for the opposition. You hear a lot about the “term pass rush specialist” but this guy is an all-around good edge rusher who can play every down. Gets me excited. It’s great if we’re good against the run but I want us to have teams worried when they have to pass the ball as well.
April 28th, 2026 at 3:46 pm
Instead of blindly believing what others tell me to, I’ll use my eyes and brain.
Being ranked 32nd in red zone defense tells me all I need to know.
I really want to believe that the defense will improve.
The problem is I see no improvement year after year.
A lot has changed except for the root cause. Todd Bowles.
April 28th, 2026 at 3:46 pm
T-Rex had short arms and people still talk about him millions of years later.
April 28th, 2026 at 3:47 pm
Really excited to do see what Bain can do. Feeling MUCH more optimistic about our D this year and expect a decent amount of improvement.
At the very least, I think we’ll see a much more fired up and harder-hitting D than last year.
Hopium reigns supreme at this point… Go Bucs ! ! !
April 28th, 2026 at 4:53 pm
@Lakeland, I have read multiple articles questioning the Rams picking Simpson at 13.
They may not be getting ridiculed but they aren’t receiving high marks either. The common sense angle is the Rams did nothing to make them stronger contenders this year but if Simpson pans out, maybe they opened the window wider. Many people I have read don’t love the move.
April 28th, 2026 at 5:00 pm
Can we really expect a 21 year old to come in and start pushing around grown men?