A two-time Super Bowl–winning defensive end is excited about what the Bucs’ pass rush now could be.
Joe often references the commentary of Chris Long. In addition to winning rings with the Belicheats and Eagles, and playing with Aaron Donald in Los Angeles, Long knows the NFL game and defensive play inside and out. His dad is Hall of Fame defensive lineman Howie Long.
Long also watches the Bucs regularly, as regular listeners to his Green Light podcast know well. He often co-hosts with Beau Allen, the former Buccaneer defensive tacle (2018 and 2019), who does not hide his Bucs fandom and friendship with current Buccaneers.
Long likes the draft pick of Rueben Bain in Round 1, in part because he thinks the Bucs became a nasty unit.
“You got [YaYa] Diaby, you got Bain, you got [Calijah] Kancey, you got Vita Vea. That’s a fuc**n, that’s a tough group,” Long said.
Short-arm chatter and concern is real when it comes to defensive ends and tackles, Long said, but it’s not applicable to Bain. So he thinks the Bucs cashed in.
“Obviously, Jason Licht, like a smart GM, is looking at guys that he thinks are devalued because of some perceived trait,” Long said. “And I think for Rueben Bain, he’s sitting there and he fits perfectly with their group. You’ve got power players on this group, YaYa Diaby, Rueben Bain, who by the way can move up and down the line.”
Bain talked about how Bain is a true, two-position pass rusher — inside and outside — which he says is a tremendous asset. Joe agrees, but how Todd Bowles uses Bain concerns Joe.
It’s going to be very easy to overthink using Diaby, Bain, Kancey and Vea. And then there’s 11-sack free agent edge rusher Al-Quadin Muhammad and nasty DT A’Shawn Robinson. Bowles might get all guru and make life for Bain and the defensive front more complicated than it needs to be.
Big decisions ahead for Bowles.
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