Pressures Freak Rueben Bain
April 30th, 2026
Lots of football people are obsessed with quarterback pressures. Many are not.
Joe is in the latter camp. While lots of pressures can indicate a consistent pass rush. Ultimately, pressures don’t faze top NFL quarterbacks very often, and those are the quarterbacks in the playoffs.
Quarterback hits get Joe much more excited; those get in quarterbacks heads and bones. And Joe loves sacks, of course. Sacks are drive killers.
The Bucs just drafted stud University of Miami edge rusher Rueben Bain.
Does he collect pressures, the data nerds ask? Per the CBS Sports graphic below, Bain is a pressures freak. Last season, Bain had the second-most pressures in FBS college football recorded over the past 10 years.
For those wondering while studying the graphic, neither Sutton Smith nor Hunter Dimick registered a sack in the NFL. (The Bucs sniffed Dimick on their offseason roster in 2019).
Bain had his 83 pressures in 16 games. Will Anderson of the Texans, the highest paid non-quarterback in the NFL, got his 82 pressures in 15 games. Bailey needed 14 to record 81.
If pressures do, in fact, matter a lot, then Bain seems primed for a successful career.
April 30th, 2026 at 5:14 am
a lot of people are saying he could have gone to the jets at #2 over bailey….
so all you t-rex haters need to chill…
we love t-rex and he hasn’t even gotten a uni or number yet
April 30th, 2026 at 5:39 am
Pressure doesn’t matter if the receiver is wide open
April 30th, 2026 at 5:42 am
Joe … ‘And Joe loves sacks, of course. Sacks are drive killers’.
And THAT’s why I love turnovers more than sacks Joe. They’re not only drive killers, but YOU get the ball, and often with a short field to boot.
April 30th, 2026 at 5:50 am
Would love to know how many QB hits CBS Sports credited Bain with. Found where Pro Football Focus (PFF) only credited him with 3 QB hits last season, but that was the only place I found QB hits numbers.
April 30th, 2026 at 7:10 am
BTW Joe, found an excellent video on YouTube titled ‘Why do so many elite pass rushers have short arms?’ that pretty much features … Rueben Bain. REALLY interesting; left me very impressed with his technique.
April 30th, 2026 at 7:48 am
Those pressures could mean Ya Ya cleans up.
April 30th, 2026 at 7:49 am
A sack is a drive killer if it gets the offense off the field on 3rd down and forces them to punt. Pressure is good for EVERY QB because it moves them off their mark and makes them antsy but only if you hit them during the game and hard. If you can rattle a QB then you have the chance for an INT.
April 30th, 2026 at 8:13 am
2025 sack leaders FBS
Miami (FL): 50 sacks
Oklahoma: 45.0 sacks
Texas A&M: 43.0 sacks
Western Michigan: 43.0 sacks
14.5 sacks from Bain (9.5) and Scott (5). Mesidor had 12.5.
Sure Bain gets pressure but he also helps collapse the pocket and push the quarterback to the other side for the edge on the other side. He also sets a solid edge and is a great run defender. He’s good to be out there for every single down because of this.
Lets not forget his interception. That means he’s also grrat in coverage. LOL
He can do all the things we need him to do. We just need him to stay healthy and to learn and be the dude that snatched his hat off the table with intensity!
April 30th, 2026 at 8:25 am
“Somewhere in the first 5 -10 plays in a game, the other teams quarterback must go down and he must go down hard.” Al Davis.
April 30th, 2026 at 9:01 am
We are fine at pressuring the QB…we suck at getting them on the ground!
April 30th, 2026 at 9:21 am
“BTW Joe, found an excellent video on YouTube titled ‘Why do so many elite pass rushers have short arms?’ that pretty much features … Rueben Bain. REALLY interesting; left me very impressed with his technique.”
Brett Kollmann is fantastic
April 30th, 2026 at 9:58 am
UGotRobbed Says:
April 30th, 2026 at 9:01 am
We are fine at pressuring the QB…we suck at getting them on the ground!
BINGO!!!!!
YaYa is the King of “pressures” lol
GO BUCS!!!!
April 30th, 2026 at 10:47 am
QB sacks, TFL, QB hurries, QB pressures are all disruptive plays by the defense
Sacks and TFL are the most effective, but pressures and hurries are important
You can’t allow the QB to relax in the pocket without being pressured
April 30th, 2026 at 10:50 am
@ DR,
That vid you suggested was fantastic! Seeing Bain’s power gives a ton of optimism. YaYa should feast, just like Mesidor did, mostly because of Bain’s pressure.
April 30th, 2026 at 11:10 am
Love the video, DR, thank you for the share.
April 30th, 2026 at 11:36 am
3-28
The Bucs recorded a “pressure” on that play.
You apply pressure to try and stop the bleeding … but you’re still bleeding.
April 30th, 2026 at 1:17 pm
Pressures turn into sacks when QB’s don’t have wide open receivers because the DC has the corners sitting 15-yards deep in a super soft zone.
April 30th, 2026 at 2:41 pm
Yaya got pressures but no one else was there to clean up.
Hassan Reddick, Braswell, Gaines, and Hall were awful.
Kancey was hurt.
Vea was double teamed every snap.
Pressures create sacks if OTHER guys are also getting pressure.
Yaya was the only guy getting pressure last year.
1. Vea
2. Kancey
3. Robinson
4. Bain
5. Yaya
6. Mohammed
7. Nelson
8. Walker
9. Elijah Roberts
10. Capeheart
11. Elijah Simmons
Wow.
That’s what I’ve always wanted.
An 11 deep defensive line.
Let’s just pray we make it through training camp and the pre-season without any injuries!
April 30th, 2026 at 2:42 pm
I didn’t include Braswell on purpose.
He might not make the roster this year.
April 30th, 2026 at 4:09 pm
Jack Says:
Recievers usually only get wide open when their QB isn’t getting pressured.
Pressure will cause QBs to throw early, throw off the mark, etc etc
———–
If your rushers are getting to the QB, but he has huge wide open passing windows because the coverage is incredibly soft, yes, pretty much every single NFL QB can get the ball in the general area of the receivers. Yes, they might be incomplete, but if you want the QB to eat the ball, take the sack, or throw an INT, you need to have coverage in the general vicinity of receivers.
Last year, when Bowles actually brought pressure while playing tight coverage, that’s when the defense looked completely different, made stops and got turnovers. When he just sat back in his trash super soft zone, and you basically had one guy getting pressure (Yaya once Kancey was out), QBs always knew they’d have someone wide open and would just dump the ball off. Tighten up that coverage, and the QBs can just dump the ball off without worrying about anything bad happening.
April 30th, 2026 at 4:42 pm
Teacherman … ‘I didn’t include Braswell on purpose. He might not make the roster this year.’
You’re right; there’s always that possibility. But I think Bowles will keep 6 OLBs this year, and Braswell will be one of them (Diaby, Muhammad, Bain, Nelson, Walker & Braswell).
Chris Braswell plays the run as good as any of our OLBs IMO; that’s more of a strength for him that pass rushing is (yup, I know that’s an understatement). Last season he only got in on 283 def snaps, but had 30 tackles (21 solo) plus 4 QB hits & 4 TFLs. His Missed Tackle Rate over 2 seasons is listed as 4.0%, the lowest of any of our OLBs (Nelly is very close with a 4.1% however). Granted Chris has only had 2.5 sacks in 2 years, but hey, Anthony Nelson only had 1 sack in his first 2 years (but 5 sacks in each of his next 2 years).
I keep thinking that maybe Todd’s been using him mostly in Run scenarios (to play to his strength). And maybe that’s what he’ll do this year also, since we have Bain & Muhammad & Walker as Pass Rush specialists. I’m a big believer in keeping our defense just as fresh as we can, so rotating guys in & out based on their strengths makes sense. Plus they’re giving the full 100% each time they’re out there because they’re ‘fresher’.
April 30th, 2026 at 5:04 pm
Pressures matter when you are also getting hits & sacks. Like Bane does.
They are irrelevant when it’s the only thing you do.
April 30th, 2026 at 5:16 pm
Defense Rules Says:
I think Bowles will keep 6 OLBs this year, and Braswell will be one of them (Diaby, Muhammad, Bain, Nelson, Walker & Braswell).
————-
Agreed.
With as much as people whine and complain about Braswell, he is/was a developmental player and has improved, and I don’t see them dumping him unless someone unexpected steps up bigly.