“The Tape Usually Wins The Argument”
May 8th, 2026
Production matters.
Joe has to give Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht credit. How many inventive and interesting ways can one come up with to answer the same question asked a dozen times?
Licht did a hit on “Good Morning Football” seen on NFL Network today. Once again, he was asked about Rueben Bain’s short arms, or perceived short arms.
“Every year, I think, we all seem to invent new ways to overthink things,” Licht said. “The arm length, all the different measurements, they all come into play in all of our meetings, the 1,000 hours of meetings that we log.”
Licht put the subject to bed, as if he hasn’t already, that if a player can play, measurements don’t mean s(p)it.
“If you stare at the tape long enough, I’ve learned, the tape usually wins the argument,” Licht said. “That’s the conclusion that we came to. We never thought [short arms] was a hindrance in his play.
“I’ve said this before but you can probably ask all the tackles in the SEC, Big Ten and ACC if [Bain’s] short arms were a hindrance in his play. They’d probably all agree that it doesn’t.”
It’s simple: The eye in the sky doesn’t lie. If you can play, you can play.
Warren Sapp wasn’t exactly a perfect-sized tackle when he came out of Miami. Aaron Donald surely wasn’t an ideal-sized tackle when he came out of Pitt. There’s no question Khalil Mack wasn’t a desired-sized end coming from Buffalo in the MAC.
But all three could play.
Does Rueben Bain Jr.'s arm length really matter?@Buccaneers GM Jason Licht says you can ask the tackles he faced in college 💪 pic.twitter.com/GjtmMBR1a7
— NFL Network (@nflnetwork) May 8, 2026
May 8th, 2026 at 10:54 am
Cashius Howell arms are shorter than Reuben Bain arms
That didn’t stop Howell from wrecking the SEC last season
11.5 Sacks
14 TFL
6 PD
May 8th, 2026 at 10:59 am
Enough already with the short arms.
May 8th, 2026 at 11:02 am
It’s a tired concern for sure.
“Look at the game tape!”
May 8th, 2026 at 11:28 am
Leverage wins in the end. His perceived lack of size and his powerful lower half combined with his tenacity overcame the wonderfully lengthy arms of the tackles he faced. Aside from a slight jump in skill level, shouldn’t be much different in the pros.
May 8th, 2026 at 11:37 am
It will be soon when teams use AI to make decisions on players
May 8th, 2026 at 11:39 am
SAPP and BAINE are a bad comparison
I don’t know how many people remember Sapp in college, but he was The Player everyone talked about all season in his last year. He was unreal. He was the best player by far every Saturday.
Sapp was one the best three defensive players I’ve ever seen in college. Suh, Sapp, and Clowney (in that order) absolutely destroyed college teams. There was no answer for them.
Baine had a good run in the playoffs, but the other guys were so good they talked about them as Heisman candidates. That’s crazy for a defensive player.
Baine and Sapp aren’t the same. It’s not even close.
May 8th, 2026 at 11:50 am
Every article about Bain’s short arms will pi$$ him off….but they also pi$$ TBBF off….
Enough of them, already…
May 8th, 2026 at 11:52 am
Arm length is more important in a 4-3 defensive end. I don’t think it is as critical on an outside linebacker. People keep confusing the 2 positions because they can be similar roles.
May 8th, 2026 at 12:11 pm
This guy is a Stud. Could not have been a better pick for what we needed.
May 8th, 2026 at 12:15 pm
I can’t wait to see this young man play and see how he can contribute to help the Bucs win games.
May 8th, 2026 at 12:27 pm
Enough with the arms!!
May 8th, 2026 at 12:59 pm
It is more important of what is between the ears, ishe highly motivated and is he smart enough. It seems the answer to both questions is H3LL Yeah! Now no more arm talk until it is proven to be a problem.
May 8th, 2026 at 1:07 pm
Talking Sapp as Heisman candidate, the closest defensive guy that came to winning the Heisman was Hugh Green out of Pitt, the same class as LT. George Rogers won it, cause, ya know, we can’t have a defensive guy win the award for best player in college that year. SMDH. Green had a better rookie year than LT did if I remember right, maybe a couple cause the Bucs were in the playoffs those years and the Giants were starting their build. But yeah the arm thing is old and stupid vs the tape. Bain had a great year. This years Miami team wasn’t like Sapp’s Miami team which was on the tube all the time.
May 8th, 2026 at 1:08 pm
Green came in 2nd in the voting that year, everyone was wondering if he was gonna be the first defensive player to win it, and he should have
May 8th, 2026 at 1:24 pm
Jose, while other NFL commentators are not ready to move on from the short arms story, I believe the denizens of JBF certainly are.
May 8th, 2026 at 1:29 pm
Charles Woodson was the only defensive player to win the Heisman
May 8th, 2026 at 1:33 pm
But Charles Woodson also played some Offense and Punt Returner
May 8th, 2026 at 1:42 pm
Teams already use AI to manage their drafts. The Bucs used Microsoft’s copilot + Azure for harvesting information and film and also computer vision to get player tracking speed on film. They even know how fast everyone is on the field in pads instead of on a track!
May 8th, 2026 at 1:49 pm
Lakeland. Travis Hunter won a Heismann in 2024. Played both ways. Selmon and Suh were dominant the way Sapp was in college. Bain wasn’t quite on those guys level.
May 8th, 2026 at 1:54 pm
I don’t Kenton
I think Travis Hunter was a WR
May 8th, 2026 at 1:55 pm
But l think Aaron Donald had the best college career if any defensive player
May 8th, 2026 at 1:56 pm
How long are his legs? Did they measure any other extremities? I’ve heard that they are very thorough at the combine….
May 8th, 2026 at 2:00 pm
Never watched any of his games in college until he played Ohio State in the playoffs. I was like, “Whoa, who is that guy!”. The guy dominated the Buckeyes O-line all game. The short arm length quips during the draft process were and are ridiculous. How is an inch or so less going to stop a guy from pummeling his opponent? Just pure stupid!
May 8th, 2026 at 2:01 pm
George Selvie, in just 2007 alone, 31.5 TFL, 14.5 sacks — and 34 1/2″ arms!
May 8th, 2026 at 2:06 pm
George Selvie, that’s a name k haven’t heard in a long, long time
May 8th, 2026 at 2:22 pm
Dude is a marginal drafter
May 8th, 2026 at 2:54 pm
When I was in the Army, way back then, we used to have to line up for a short arm inspection. They’re not talking about that, I hope.
May 8th, 2026 at 2:55 pm
“The Tape Usually Wins The Argument”
Correct. Just go watch the tape of the 2-7 stretch on 2025.
Bowles put together that tape. The tape sucks.
Bowles sucks. Fire Bowles now!!!
May 8th, 2026 at 2:57 pm
None of the aforementioned studs ever had to experience the intensified Bowles Regression Program.
Has Jason Taylor been hired yet? Of course not. We haszn The Genus.
May 8th, 2026 at 2:59 pm
The metrics don’t lie – arm length, wing span, hand size, d**k size. They all tell the truth, but how do you measure the will to win, tenacity, heart, etc? Let’s see if Bain can overcome his shortcomings and play football! Bain was disrespected in the draft but the Bucs believed in him with a top 5 grade. Bain will prove the numbers guys wrong! LFG!
May 8th, 2026 at 3:02 pm
And Lynch, the tape doesn’t suck for one purpose. It is the clear evidence of a poorly coached team in decline and is therefore Exhibit A on why the resident clown should have been fired in January.
So it’s useful for that.
May 8th, 2026 at 3:48 pm
The tape doesn’t lie…
4th and 4 vs the Saints, game on the line, Baker has plenty of time, a wide open Otton for a 1st down… and Baker throws it at his feet, Otton has to come back for the poorly thrown ball, is tackled, game is over. 122 yards passing, INT deep in Bucs territory… and the Saints tarted at their 47 yard line or better on 4 drives… and what did people complain about post game? The defense.
LOL!
Over the final 6 weeks…
Bucs were 10th in points allowed
Bucs were 28th in point scored
The tape doesn’t lie.
May 8th, 2026 at 3:51 pm
Lakeland Says:
May 8th, 2026 at 2:06 pm
George Selvie, that’s a name k haven’t heard in a long, long time
———
I was looking at his combine – at 252 pounds, he ran a 5.01 40. Yikes. Still, he had a 6-year career, including a 7-sack season for the Cowboys.
May 8th, 2026 at 3:52 pm
All I care about is Bain’s arms….
May 8th, 2026 at 3:53 pm
Bucs87
word is he can’t even put on his own helmet 😎
May 8th, 2026 at 4:06 pm
Rod Munch,
I always wondered why George Selvie was a 7th round pick
So it was his slow 40 time, but he had good production
May 8th, 2026 at 4:19 pm
Lakeland Says:
May 8th, 2026 at 4:06 pm
Rod Munch,
I always wondered why George Selvie was a 7th round pick
So it was his slow 40 time, but he had good production
———–
He had one good year. I always thought as a 4-3 DE he was good enough and should have gotten more chances, his 7-sack season came later in his career after bouncing around on practices squads if I remember correctly.
I was looking at Selvie’s stats again, and they reminded me someone… see if you can guess who that someone is – hint, it’s a Bucs draft pick…
Career stats…
Selvie: 80 games, 32 starts, 14 sacks, 143 tackles, 25 TFL, 37 QB hits
Player X: 82 games, 45 starts, 15 sacks, 160 tackles, 22 TFL, 37 QB hits
I’ll announce the identity of Player X in another post.
May 8th, 2026 at 4:23 pm
Alright
May 8th, 2026 at 4:29 pm
Player X = JTS
Almost the same pro-career as Selvie.
May 8th, 2026 at 4:36 pm
We still weak at cornerback
May 8th, 2026 at 4:50 pm
Is it just me or is Lakeland and Munch the same person? If not they should get a room. Nobody cares about JTS or Some obscure player from 20 years ago. Can’t you guys stay on topic?
BAIN has short arms… I had no idea.
May 8th, 2026 at 4:54 pm
El Stubbo. The new Buc Hope…..ROFL. This guy will be worse than JTS an Howard combined. Mods will not allow this.
May 8th, 2026 at 5:05 pm
He drafted a short arm edge. It will be a first magnitude flop. Go ahead and mod me. I will be back.A total floppo draft. A Loser season coming up no matter how you try put lipstick on this pig.
May 8th, 2026 at 5:16 pm
Rueben Bain has a lot of lower body strength
I believe that’s where his advantage is at
His short arms are probably an advantage because of his lower body strength
May 8th, 2026 at 5:18 pm
I thought JTS would be a good one.
He started out playing decent, he was versatile
Then he kind of fell off
May 8th, 2026 at 5:22 pm
George Selvie was better than JPP at USF imo. Surprised he didn’t have a better NFL career.
May 8th, 2026 at 5:25 pm
Munch and ByeByeBakerByeByeBowles have been in Munch’s basement throwing darts at a poster of Baker Mayfield. Munch poster of Tom Brady with his shirt off has Munch’s lipstick all over it.
May 8th, 2026 at 5:52 pm
Licht please just increase the talent and quit talking about yourself . There are some very very affordable free agents that can make this team deeper and better . You and Bowles are too soft and already have all but a player or two picked for the final roster. Competition is good and it’s ok to cut friends/ your players . #lichtsonvacationuntilcamp
May 8th, 2026 at 6:22 pm
With the power in Bain’s arms, longer bones would increase the bending moments on the bones and the torsion on the joints.
Bain’s arms are like a Roman stabbing gladius. They are the perfect tools for his body type and the way he gets low and fires upward into his target.
May 8th, 2026 at 6:26 pm
Short arms, again? I don’t see it in videos for Bain, but large testicles can hinder running. Do they measure them at the combine?
May 8th, 2026 at 6:38 pm
Over the final 6 games of the season the Bucs scored 20.7 points per game, which ranked 24th in the NFL. They gave up 22.7 points per game, good for 18th in the NFL. So their rankings were 24th and 18th in points scored vs points allowed respectively. Munch says it was 28th and 10th respectively.
May 8th, 2026 at 8:26 pm
Oscar Says:
May 8th, 2026 at 6:38 pm
Over the final 6 games of the season the Bucs scored 20.7 points per game, which ranked 24th in the NFL. They gave up 22.7 points per game, good for 18th in the NFL. So their rankings were 24th and 18th in points scored vs points allowed respectively. Munch says it was 28th and 10th respectively.
————
Stop being lazy and copying and pasting the first Google AI results and thinking it means anything. Go look at the actual numbers, the it’s 28th in points scored, and 10th in points against.
You’re the same moron on draft day claiming Trotter ran a 4.5 at the combine and posting it over and over again when he didn’t even run at the combine, and all you had to do was look at the combine page. But no, like a dummy, you just repeat like a parrot whatever fake news the AI feeds you.
May 8th, 2026 at 8:47 pm
3.28.Evans, nobody takes your football opinions seriously anymore because you crossed the line from passionate fan into full-time troll years ago. Every day it’s the same routine: cry, insult, doom-post, throw a tantrum, repeat. You don’t even sound like someone discussing football — you sound like an angry child mashing a keyboard for attention because negative reactions are the only way you know how to feel noticed.”
May 9th, 2026 at 12:12 am
Like anyone gives a rip, let’s discuss something important. Fat drunk and 99 is no way to go through life.
May 9th, 2026 at 11:13 am
3.28 Aqua turd 💩 I’m living rent free in your head. Ask your mom if it’s ok if you can go back to your coloring book and crayons.
May 9th, 2026 at 2:21 pm
Measure his butt and legs.
He’s going to destroy people