Mario Has to Be Our BEST Player This Year

[SpikedLemonade]

No question.

[TacklingDummy]

Well its certainly not Dareus or Manuel.

[SpikedLemonade]

Stop being so negative.

Just be happy to still have a Buffalo team in the NFL.

The world is against us.

[ServoBillieves]

Well its certainly not Dareus or Manuel.

Or Kolb, Hairston, Meeks, Carrington, Caussin, Hopkins, Smith... Manuel is injured dude, it's hard to produce when you can't lace up for gameday. Dareus is a different story... he sucks.

[Novacane]

He was huge again today. Plays like that forced fumble are what we need from him

[BuffaloRedleg]

Or Kolb, Hairston, Meeks, Carrington, Caussin, Hopkins, Smith... Manuel is injured dude, it's hard to produce when you can't lace up for gameday. Dareus is a different story... he sucks.

Dareus doesn't suck, he just isn't as good as his draft position should indicate.

Everyone who isn't elite sucks.

[SpikedLemonade]

Dareus doesn't suck, he just isn't as good as his draft position should indicate.

Everyone who isn't elite sucks.

By the way friend, no offense but you are not elite to me....yes you suck.

[MikeInRoch]

Fred Jackson.

[Typ0]

nah Mario just gets garbage time sacks...

[Parzival]

Mario with another great game, even causing the game winning fumble!

I also didn't know he was third in the league in sacks.

[coastal]

No question.
Everyone knows Kiko Alonso is the Bills best player this year... you just don't like white people.

racist!

[Meathead]

yeah!

[split71]

Fred Jackson.

Agreed.

[ICRockets]

Mario with another great game, even causing the game winning fumble!

I also didn't know he was third in the league in sacks.

First after the strip sack!

[WagonCircler]

Fred and Kiko.

Honorable mention to Carpenter. (I know kickers aren't football players, but he has come up big).

[JCBills]

Or Kolb, Hairston, Meeks, Carrington, Caussin, Hopkins, Smith... Manuel is injured dude, it's hard to produce when you can't lace up for gameday. Dareus is a different story... he sucks.

Dareus is still young at 23. He hasn't lived up to his draft position, but he has played well as a 3-4 DE and 4-3 DT. Also, 15 sacks so far in just his 3rd season is pretty good, and he has been making some big stops in recent games.

[X-Era]

Kiko!

[HAMMER]

I don't see coastal spouting his usual vitrial fools gold garbage.

- - - Updated - - -

I don't see coastal spouting his usual vitrial fools gold garbage.

[feldspar]

Why bash Dareus? He's a good player, and he's playing well this year.

[IlluminatusUIUC]

For the moment, Mario leads the league in sacks. Awesome.

[mjt328]

Dareus is still young at 23. He hasn't lived up to his draft position, but he has played well as a 3-4 DE and 4-3 DT. Also, 15 sacks so far in just his 3rd season is pretty good, and he has been making some big stops in recent games.

I agree. He's a solid player. Commands a lot of double-teams. Seems to hold his ground in the running game. Disappears a little bit too often (as does our whole D-Line) when rushing the passer.

The problem is, he's most likely never going to live up to being the #3 pick in the draft - for several reasons.

As a defensive tackle, he's never going to have glamorous stats. When he got drafted, Bills fans were comparing him to Bruce Smith. But his position is not the type to get a lot of tackles or sacks. On many of his most effective plays, he's tying up linemen so his teammates can make plays.

A lot of fans also like to blame our defensive tackles (Dareus and Williams) for our run defense sucking. Personally, I think the problem lies more with the people behind our D-Line.

Dareus will also get compared to the guys taken around him, in what turned out to be a spectacular draft. He was sandwiched between Von Miller and AJ Green. He was taken before guys like JJ Watt and Aldon Smith.

[better days]

Well, the "FOOLS GOLD" has shined BRIGHT this year as I said he would in Pettine's system.

[Famous Amos]

Sincere question: who is responsible for the poor run defense?
We have an overrated front four, in my opinion.

[pmoon6]

Sincere question: who is responsible for the poor run defense?
We have an overrated front four, in my opinion.Who has overrated them? Certainly not the national media. As far as so called Bills' Fans opinions, I would say they are underrated.

[Mace]

Who has overrated them? Certainly not the national media. As far as so called Bills' Fans opinions, I would say they are underrated.

This is a tough one, but you have to admit they have enough name value for huge expectations and don't as a rule dominate games like you'd think they should.

I'd say underrated if they weren't a bunch of vets who should reliably be plugging holes and generating rush by themselves. This really should be a dominating D line.

[Crisis]

A lot of our ****ty run defense comes from the piss poor tackling. The unit definitely underachieves at stopping the run though.

[Crisis]

I think Roby deserves some love here, too. Not even including the pick 6, he's been solid this year. Much better than Justin Rogers (way to set the bar high) while coming in as a UDFA. Not saying he's been our best defensive player but I hardly ever see his name mentioned around here and he's been extremely solid imo.

[JCBills]

Mario has more sacks than he ever has through the first 7 games and is on pace for over 20. Also, he has forced at least 1 fumble every season so far in the NFL.

[BertSquirtgum]

Dareus is still young at 23. He hasn't lived up to his draft position, but he has played well as a 3-4 DE and 4-3 DT. Also, 15 sacks so far in just his 3rd season is pretty good, and he has been making some big stops in recent games.

Dareus sucks. Open your eyes. He constantly gets pushed back.

[feldspar]

Dareus sucks. Open your eyes. He constantly gets pushed back.

Wow

[Mahdi]

Dareus has been a good player this year, not dominant, but good. I think he will continue to get better.

And as for why we are bad against the run. I think Kyle Williams is a big reason. He is a flash player and always has been. He gets pushed around but through effort and quickness he manages to make plays here and there that make him look a bit better than he is. He is good not great.

If Dareus was playing next to a space eater he would make a lot more plays in the backfield. This defense is one big, dominant NT away from being great.

[GvilleBills]

Dareus sucks. Open your eyes. He constantly gets pushed back.
Open yours. He commands the double team, even then not being taken out of plays. If he's been singled up, he's making a play.
All the hate for Dareus...if you want to focus on his first 2 years, fine. But he's been a stud this year.
Pettine has turned the light on for quite a few guys in this D.

[BertSquirtgum]

Open yours. He commands the double team, even then not being taken out of plays. If he's been singled up, he's making a play.
All the hate for Dareus...if you want to focus on his first 2 years, fine. But he's been a stud this year.
Pettine has turned the light on for quite a few guys in this D.


There it is again. Someone think lazy dareus is a stud. He blows.

[Jry44]

Dareus has been a good player this year, not dominant, but good. I think he will continue to get better.

And as for why we are bad against the run. I think Kyle Williams is a big reason. He is a flash player and always has been. He gets pushed around but through effort and quickness he manages to make plays here and there that make him look a bit better than he is. He is good not great.

If Dareus was playing next to a space eater he would make a lot more plays in the backfield. This defense is one big, dominant NT away from being great.

You don't have a middle linebacker that's leading the team in tackles if you don't have two chooch DT's up front that are eating up run blockers. Dareus and KW are doing what they need to do in the run game.

The biggest thing I've noticed is that our over pursuit is killing us most of the time. Pettine love the aggressive, attacking style of defense and teams know this and use it against us. The Cincy game last week was a perfect example. We give it up in big chunks.

[Jry44]

There it is again. Someone think lazy dareus is a stud. He blows.

I think you need to be paying attention to more than just sack totals. There isn't a single DT in the league that doesn't get blown off of the ball at some point. There have been a few games this season where Dareus has been down right dominant (Carolina especially). DT's don't put up tons of gaudy stat lines, they primarily eat up blockers so that DE's and LB's can get to the QB on blitzes and such in the pass game, and they eat up blocking guards and centers in the run game so that LB's can plug holes in the run game. For the most part, he has been doing this evidenced by Kiko's league leading tackle totals.

[mjt328]

You don't have a middle linebacker that's leading the team in tackles if you don't have two chooch DT's up front that are eating up run blockers. Dareus and KW are doing what they need to do in the run game.

The biggest thing I've noticed is that our over pursuit is killing us most of the time. Pettine love the aggressive, attacking style of defense and teams know this and use it against us. The Cincy game last week was a perfect example. We give it up in big chunks.

From what I've seen, this is spot on.

The big runs don't usually come from us getting blown off the ball. And they don't usually come in either of the A gaps (between the center and guard where Dareus and Kyle Williams are usually stationed). They usually come on misdirection plays where someone over-pursues and one of the defenders ends up out of their lane.

Watch the replays on those big runs. The offense looks like it's a run to the right side - the whole Bills defense aggressively bites and crashes that direction - then the runner cuts back and finds a massive hole on the left.

Responsibility for these plays usually falls on the inside linebackers (Moats, Alonso), strong safety (Searcy) or edge rushers (Mario, Branch, Lawson, Hughes). In my opinion, Dareus and Kyle are commanding double teams and doing a pretty good job in the middle.

[GvilleBills]

There it is again. Someone think lazy dareus is a stud. He blows.
There it is again, someone too lazy to learn the difference in positional responsibilities.
ditch your tired ass agenda, and WATCH THE GAME.

[Generalissimus Gibby]

No question.

Kiko

[BuffaloRedleg]

By the way friend, no offense but you are not elite to me....yes you suck.

I would definitely be an example of someone who is not elite and sucks at football. I'd be a good water boy though, i'm elite at that.

[PTI]

Ideally the QB would be our best player, but if Williams was our best, that would be good.

I would say if not the QB, ideally our best player would be Dareus though. If he was dominant our defense would be very good.

[TedMock]

As of right now, Mario Williams is 2nd in the league in sacks (10). Robert Mathis has 11.5 according to NFL.com. The more interesting thing is Marcel Dareus leads all DT's in tackles (34 according to NFL.com and 26 according to Pro Football Focus - leads on both sites) and is tied for 3rd amongst DT's in sacks (4).

[PTI]

As of right now, Mario Williams is 2nd in the league in sacks (10). Robert Mathis has 11.5 according to NFL.com. The more interesting thing is Marcel Dareus leads all DT's in tackles (34 according to NFL.com and 26 according to Pro Football Focus - leads on both sites) and is tied for 3rd amongst DT's in sacks (4).

Inflated defensive stats, someone has to make tackles when you play offense fast and are near the very bottom in TOP on offense. WE also played 7 games, half the teams played 6.

[GvilleBills]

15 sacks in < 3yrs from the DT and 3-4 DE position is not too damn shabby.

[better days]

Inflated defensive stats, someone has to make tackles when you play offense fast and are near the very bottom in TOP on offense. WE also played 7 games, half the teams played 6.

Well, Mario's sacks have been MEANINGFUL. And Helped win games & put the Bills in position to win the games they lost.

NO garbage time sacks for Mario this year.

[TedMock]

Inflated defensive stats, someone has to make tackles when you play offense fast and are near the very bottom in TOP on offense. WE also played 7 games, half the teams played 6.

In terms of overall ranking, I agree. I'm not inferring anything by putting the rankings out there. Still, 10 sacks in 7 games is a lot. Same with Dareus a half sack and 3-5 tackles per game is still good. You are right though in terms of opportunity. We are near the bottom in TOP.

[justasportsfan]

Mario mic'd up

http://www.buffalobills.com/video/videos/Bills-Focus-Mario-Williams-Wired-for-Sound/ccbe1c04-6c88-4207-aee3-cb39a21c7cf2

[The last buffalo fan]

ESPN Stats & Info ✔ @ESPNStatsInfo
Mario Williams has 10 sacks this season (t-2nd in NFL). He has 2 straight 10-sack seasons with the Bills (2 with Texans in 6 seasons).
Retweeted by Bills Daily (https://twitter.com/billsdaily)

[jimmifli]

As of right now, Mario Williams is 2nd in the league in sacks (10). Robert Mathis has 11.5 according to NFL.com. The more interesting thing is Marcel Dareus leads all DT's in tackles (34 according to NFL.com and 26 according to Pro Football Focus - leads on both sites) and is tied for 3rd amongst DT's in sacks (4).
Dareus seems to have figured out his timing for shedding blocks. I've seen countless plays where he holds his ground and waits for the RB to choose a hole, and BAM! Block shed, tackle. He's just much more aware and focused on tackling instead of just pushing his lineman upfield.

He's been really good. We just need 2 more actual NFL caliber LB's behind him to show how dominant our line has been in the run game.

[TacklingDummy]

The more interesting thing is Marcel Dareus leads all DT's in tackles (34 according to NFL.com and 26 according to Pro Football Focus - leads on both sites) and is tied for 3rd amongst DT's in sacks (4).

3 Tackles for loss, 8.8%, 144th in the league. Tackles 5 yards down field do not impress me for an defensive linemen. What that means is he's being pushed down field with ease and if you watch him closely in games that does seem to be the problem. He's not a linebacker.

[TacklingDummy]

3 Tackles for loss, 8.8%, 144th in the league. Tackles 5 yards down field do not impress me for an defensive linemen. What that means is he's being pushed down field with ease and if you watch him closely in games that does seem to be the problem. He's not a linebacker.

Of the 144 players ahead of Dareus is 27 other Defensive Tackles.

[TedMock]

3 Tackles for loss, 8.8%, 144th in the league. Tackles 5 yards down field do not impress me for an defensive linemen. What that means is he's being pushed down field with ease and if you watch him closely in games that does seem to be the problem. He's not a linebacker.

I don't think tackles for loss and getting pushed down field are necessarily an "either, or" for defensive lineman. Consistently tackling between 0-2 yards is very good, for example. Re-directing the play is often better than the tackle can be another example. I have re-watched every game and my belief is that the LB's are generally not filling where they're supposed to be. Kiko has made several big plays, but his overall performance is all over the place. His run defense has been more bad than good, overall. Bradham is flat. Not many terrible plays and not many good plays. Sort of average against the run. Moats is strongest of the three against the run, but worst in coverage.

Dareus not getting a tackle, but re-directing the play is a positive and he seems to do his job there. It appears to me that he is being asked to hold ground and stay disciplined in his space. He did not play well the first two weeks of the year. Tough to suggest otherwise. He has graded on the plus side in run defense the last five weeks though. Not saying I don't want to see more. I do, but he deserves credit for the solid play over the last month +. Kyle Williams has been better on passing downs than Marcell, but not as good on run downs. Neither has played poorly, overall.

Mario, like most DE's, is streaky. He has at least 1 sack in 5 of the 7 games, but actually played well in 4 of the 5. He played average or below average in 3 games. That should not be a shock to anybody though.

[K-Gun]

Dareus seems to have figured out his timing for shedding blocks. I've seen countless plays where he holds his ground and waits for the RB to choose a hole, and BAM! Block shed, tackle. He's just much more aware and focused on tackling instead of just pushing his lineman upfield.

He's been really good. We just need 2 more actual NFL caliber LB's behind him to show how dominant our line has been in the run game.

I agree with everything, but I think Kyle Williams and Dareus play that same type of penetrating DT. In addition to two more LB's (Khalil Mack?) I think we need a true NT space eater like a Wilfork or Ngota in order to become dominant against the run.

[BuffaloRedleg]

3 Tackles for loss, 8.8%, 144th in the league. Tackles 5 yards down field do not impress me for an defensive linemen. What that means is he's being pushed down field with ease and if you watch him closely in games that does seem to be the problem. He's not a linebacker.

That is valid, but you can't just pick and choose which stats you want to use to decide his quality of play. He's been excellent in some aspects and poor in others. Nobody is saying he is the best, we're just saying there are stats to support that he has been playing well.

[jimmifli]

I agree with everything, but I think Kyle Williams and Dareus play that same type of penetrating DT. In addition to two more LB's (Khalil Mack?) I think we need a true NT space eater like a Wilfork or Ngota in order to become dominant against the run.
I think Dareus is filling that role right now. And he's doing a very good job.

I'd put a space eater downs as a "nice to have", but getting one that's better than Dareus will be tough. Athletic 330 lb men are a rare breed. As for LB's I still think Nick Barnett would be the second best LB on this team, as bad as that is. We could really use some help.

[HAMMER]

It's amazing how The Douchers need to try and rain on every parade. Piss off.

[JoeMama]

Mario's playing like the guy we thought he was when he signed the dotted line.

I'm sure there are still fans out there who will petulantly contend that he's awful and worthless and terrible.

But that's more about defending their internet personas than talking about reality.

He's been a game changer, which is exactly what I want from a player regardless of the price tag.

[PromoTheRobot]

Kiko Alonso would question you. You don't want Kiko Alonso to question you.

PTR

[stuckincincy]

Mario's playing like the guy we thought he was when he signed the dotted line.

I'm sure there are still fans out there who will petulantly contend that he's awful and worthless and terrible.

But that's more about defending their internet personas than talking about reality.

He's been a game changer, which is exactly what I want from a player regardless of the price tag.

Williams has 19 tackles, 13 solo. That's not special performance for a starting DE. The 10 or 10.5 sacks do matte - given the situation..game changer, as you say. I looked, and could not find any info showing when he strung a run play and sealed off a runner. 13 solo tackles means he only got credit for 3 tackles on a rb or a receiver. Weak, IMO.

He's not exactly what I want from a DE. Certainly not at at his contract cost.

[swiper]

No question.

Oh there most certainly is a question. Fred Jackson is unquestionably the MVP of this team. Just ask Mario.

[swiper]

I'm sure there are still fans out there who will petulantly contend that he's awful and worthless and terrible.


I wouldn't exactly say that, but he's only been a true "game-changer" on a dozen or so plays so far. So that by itself doesn't make him the best player on the team. An important one? Sure. No question. But a part (of the team). And an expensive one. But his play recently certainly justifies his presence more than he was doing previously. So I'm somewhere in the middle on this one.

[JoeMama]

I wouldn't exactly say that, but he's only been a true "game-changer" on a dozen or so plays so far. So that by itself doesn't make him the best player on the team. An important one? Sure. No question. But a part (of the team). And an expensive one. But his play recently certainly justifies his presence more than he was doing previously. So I'm somewhere in the middle on this one.

Just so we're clear, I never said he's the best player on our team.

[JoeMama]

Williams has 19 tackles, 13 solo. That's not special performance for a starting DE. The 10 or 10.5 sacks do matte - given the situation..game changer, as you say. I looked, and could not find any info showing when he strung a run play and sealed off a runner. 13 solo tackles means he only got credit for 3 tackles on a rb or a receiver. Weak, IMO.

He's not exactly what I want from a DE. Certainly not at at his contract cost.

Then it sounds like you prefer the likes of Ryan Denney or Chris Kelsay if you value meaningless tackles five yards down field more than generating pressure and getting sacks.

I don't think you understand the purpose of a DE.

[stuckincincy]

Then it sounds like you prefer the likes of Ryan Denney or Chris Kelsay if you value meaningless tackles five yards down field more than generating pressure and getting sacks.

I don't think you understand the purpose of a DE.

I do. I think an effective DE is the one that gets the sacks now and again, one that peels off by design or instinct and seals the edge, one that occasionally when out on there on the edge, denies a completion or flattens a successful receiver. One that discerns the difference between taking a mad rush to a qb and detecting that the OL he opposes is setting up for the springing of the rb. The good ones set up their DTs if the opportunity presents.

He certainly takes some heat off of Dareus/Kyle Williams/other DE. I'm not sure it's the right heat. I can't get around the fact that he has only tackled 3 other players besides a qb.
IMO, his accomplishments are far less than his price tag, and add in how that big $$ cost opportunities to otherwise shore up the club.

When his agent was hawking him, I recall the talk that BUF was pretty much the main suitor. I don't recall others swooning; he signed up pretty quickly. HOU sure made no effort to retain him.

He's a 3-4 end, but doesn't care to play 3-4 end. He comes to a team that flip-flops between 3 -4 and 4 -3, says I will play in the 4 - 3, but is AWOL on the outside duties.

He's a smart cookie, as is his agent. Get those sacks, get those player of the week accolades.


IMO, they signed him to stoke the base and stoke the bottom line. It worked. The talking heads chuntered on about the signing, I'm sure BUF games got shown in wider markets than before.

[BuffaloRedleg]

I do. I think an effective DE is the one that gets the sacks now and again, one that peels off by design or instinct and seals the edge, one that occasionally when out on there on the edge, denies a completion or flattens a successful receiver. One that discerns the difference between taking a mad rush to a qb and detecting that the OL he opposes is setting up for the springing of the rb. The good ones set up their DTs if the opportunity presents.

He certainly takes some heat off of Dareus/Kyle Williams/other DE. I'm not sure it's the right heat. I can't get around the fact that he has only tackled 3 other players besides a qb.
IMO, his accomplishments are far less than his price tag, and add in how that big $$ cost opportunities to otherwise shore up the club.

When his agent was hawking him, I recall the talk that BUF was pretty much the main suitor. I don't recall others swooning; he signed up pretty quickly. HOU sure made no effort to retain him.

He's a 3-4 end, but doesn't care to play 3-4 end. He comes to a team that flip-flops between 3 -4 and 4 -3, says I will play in the 4 - 3, but is AWOL on the outside duties.

He's a smart cookie, as is his agent. Get those sacks, get those player of the week accolades.


IMO, they signed him to stoke the base and stoke the bottom line. It worked. The talking heads chuntered on about the signing, I'm sure BUF games got shown in wider markets than before.

He literally was the lynchpin of success for 2 wins this season. He was a major contributor in a few of the other games too. If he doesn't put together the performances he had we lose both those games.

I don't know what more you want.

[stuckincincy]

He literally was the lynchpin of success for 2 wins this season. He was a major contributor in a few of the other games too. If he doesn't put together the performances he had we lose both those games.

I don't know what more you want.

I'd like him to tackle a rb now and again. Since he cried about wanting to play in a 4 -3, I haven't seen him being a force sticking his presence out of the tackle box. How is it possible to log the minutes he has, and has only 3 solo tackles save his qb sacks?

HOU gave up on him. BUF bit.

He smelled last season. He smells less this season. Nobody plans a game against him. He's quick to the qb, but that's his one trick. If I plan against him, I know he's looking for sack numbers, not stopping my running or my short passes. If he starts to do that - reliably - my opinion changes.

[BuffaloRedleg]

I'd like him to tackle a rb now and again. Since he cried about wanting to play in a 4 -3, I haven't seen him being a force sticking his presence out of the tackle box. How is it possible to log the minutes he has, and has only 3 solo tackles save his qb sacks?

AFC Defensive player of the week. Responsible for 2 wins single handedly. And you want to talk about solo tackles? Do you have any idea how petty that sounds?


HOU gave up on him. BUF bit.

Buf hasn't given up on anything, he's been here for not even a season and a half. He's making his presence felt and showing the contract was worth it. His been a game changer and forced 2 wins, and was very strong in a few others. A few games he wasn't a factor, but that's going to happen sometimes.


He smelled last season. He smells less this season. Nobody plans a game against him. He's quick to the qb, but that's his one trick. If I plan against him, I know he's looking for sack numbers, not stopping my running or my short passes. If he starts to do that - reliably - my opinion changes.

He's paid to help us win games, how he does that is irrelevant. They better start planning against him, because he's been rampaging out there and forced 2 wins and has what 10 sacks? Jeeeeezusss some of you are unbelievable.

[JoeMama]

I do. I think an effective DE is the one that gets the sacks now and again, one that peels off by design or instinct and seals the edge, one that occasionally when out on there on the edge, denies a completion or flattens a successful receiver. One that discerns the difference between taking a mad rush to a qb and detecting that the OL he opposes is setting up for the springing of the rb. The good ones set up their DTs if the opportunity presents.

He certainly takes some heat off of Dareus/Kyle Williams/other DE. I'm not sure it's the right heat. I can't get around the fact that he has only tackled 3 other players besides a qb.
IMO, his accomplishments are far less than his price tag, and add in how that big $$ cost opportunities to otherwise shore up the club.

When his agent was hawking him, I recall the talk that BUF was pretty much the main suitor. I don't recall others swooning; he signed up pretty quickly. HOU sure made no effort to retain him.

He's a 3-4 end, but doesn't care to play 3-4 end. He comes to a team that flip-flops between 3 -4 and 4 -3, says I will play in the 4 - 3, but is AWOL on the outside duties.

He's a smart cookie, as is his agent. Get those sacks, get those player of the week accolades.


IMO, they signed him to stoke the base and stoke the bottom line. It worked. The talking heads chuntered on about the signing, I'm sure BUF games got shown in wider markets than before.

I stopped reading this at "I do" because I can't have a serious conversation with somebody who thinks Dennelsay is better than Mario Williams.

Also, here's a fun fact that will blow your garbage dump theory to pieces...

Opposing RBs are only getting 3.51 ypc against Mario's side of the field, as opposed to 5.69 ypc when they run to the other side. '

Oops...

[JCBills]

I do. I think an effective DE is the one that gets the sacks now and again, one that peels off by design or instinct and seals the edge, one that occasionally when out on there on the edge, denies a completion or flattens a successful receiver. One that discerns the difference between taking a mad rush to a qb and detecting that the OL he opposes is setting up for the springing of the rb. The good ones set up their DTs if the opportunity presents.

He certainly takes some heat off of Dareus/Kyle Williams/other DE. I'm not sure it's the right heat. I can't get around the fact that he has only tackled 3 other players besides a qb.
IMO, his accomplishments are far less than his price tag, and add in how that big $$ cost opportunities to otherwise shore up the club.

When his agent was hawking him, I recall the talk that BUF was pretty much the main suitor. I don't recall others swooning; he signed up pretty quickly. HOU sure made no effort to retain him.

He's a 3-4 end, but doesn't care to play 3-4 end. He comes to a team that flip-flops between 3 -4 and 4 -3, says I will play in the 4 - 3, but is AWOL on the outside duties.

He's a smart cookie, as is his agent. Get those sacks, get those player of the week accolades.



IMO, they signed him to stoke the base and stoke the bottom line. It worked. The talking heads chuntered on about the signing, I'm sure BUF games got shown in wider markets than before.

He isn't a 3-4 end. He has the body type, but has practically never lined up there unless it was a shifted look. He's a 4-3 LE that lines up at RE as well as OLB in 3-4 fronts. If you haven't seen him seal the edge this season you haven't been watching. DEs and DTs in this system funnel players to the LBs and safeties coming up in support.