“If I’m going to take over the league, then I’m going to do it.'' - Marcell Dareus
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There's only a couple of ways to beat a quarterback like Tom Brady. You have to get pressure with a four man rush, and you have to pray for rain.
Last season, the Buffalo Bills led the NFL in sacks with 54.
Unlike most teams, the Bills pass rush starts inside, via defensive tackles Marcell Dareus and Kyle Williams.
Williams is a four time pro bowler who overcame foot issues early in his career to notch 21 sacks in his last three seasons. At six foot one, he may not have the long arms preferred to control the line of scrimmage against the run, but that's okay, because like the rest of Buffalo's front, he shoots his gap and makes a living in the backfield.
Next year will be Williams' tenth in Buffalo. Last year was his first non-losing season as a professional.
The franchise's failures have only strengthened KW's resolve. Not only is he Buffalo's man in the middle on the field, but he and Fred Jackson are often the men in the middle in the lockerroom huddle, sharing words that cause goosebumps for most Bills, as well as held back tears for the quarterbacks and kickers.
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Though Williams' size left him as an afterthought when he was selected in the fifth round of the 2006 Draft, he is back in similar circumstances thanks to his current partner in crime, Marcell Dareus, who is nearly impossible to ignore at 6'4 and over 330 pounds.
Dareus was a can't miss prospect out of Alabama, and was actually briefly considered a disappointment early in his Bills tenure, underacheiving after being selected between rookie phenoms Cam Newton, Von Miller, A.J. Green, Patrick Peterson, Julio Jones, and Aldon Smith consecutively. Not to mention with J.J. Watt being the next defensive lineman off the board after Smith.
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Dareus has now come into his own, leading all defensive tackles in sacks over the last two seasons, and as somebody who lines up a couple feet from the ball on most snaps, he often wrecks offensive gameplans and any hope for a clean pocket in about 0.002 seconds. (Against the run, Buffalo didn't give up 90 yards rushing until week seven.)
The large and in charge Dareus eats up double teams to free up fellow d-lineman on twists or even linebackers for the blitz happy Bills of Doug Marrone. (As we all know, Rex Ryan isn't exactly blitz sad.)
Dareus will not only be clogging up B gaps in 2015, he will also be clogging up his b account - his rookie deal expires after the year and he will be earning a contract that will rival runningmate Mario Williams'.
In theory it's simple. The tackles push the pocket, the freaks on the edge collapse it. Mario Williams is about a 12/10 on the freak scale.
6 foot 6, 290 pounds? Check. 4.6 forty? Check. 35 bench reps of 225 pounds? Check.
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Williams also overcame some early career questions. He was drafted first overall by the Texans, where Reggie Bush seemed to be the unanimous number one prospect, and if it wasn't enough to piss off Texans fans by passing up the best runningback prospect since Marshall Faulk, they then jumped over Houston native Vince Young at quarterback. Bush's rookie season saw the shocking turnaround of the Saints as they went from perennial laughing stock to the NFC title game. Young won rookie of the year, while also making a Pro Bowl and the cover of Madden 08.
As years went by, Bush and Young unraveled, and Williams, along with the Texans defense, continued to improve as before long Mario was the Texans all-time sack leader (since surpassed by J.J Watt).
Super Mario might have gotten a little too super, as Houston decided to let him walk 100 million dollars later. A lot of people thought the money was a little too much for a guy who has had questions about his motor (and even in Buffalo, he had half of his 2012 sacks in two games, half of his 2013 sacks in two games, and had half of his 2014 sacks in weeks 9 through 11. Is Mario having 15 sack seasons without even flipping the switch most weeks?)
There is one thing Rio is flipping - quarterbacks to their impending doom.
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This is why NFL signal callers can't get too comfortable back there. I'm not sure if any pass rusher translates speed to power as well as Mario - get around the corner and just destroy some poor tailback trying to chip you as you are running 20 miles per hour coming unimpeded around the tackle.
Offenses might as well free release any tight end to his side - because that tight end won't be of much use anyways on the bracket.
I mean even some NFL tackles are often overwhelmed physically - Mario Williams destroyed Dolphins rookie Dallas Thomas on Thursday Night Football last year. That's not even hyperbole - Mario Williams actually killed a guy. On national television. How are more people not talking about this? You were a good man, Dallas. And a good TV show.
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The possible fourth best player on this d-line, Jerry Hughes, has had double digit sacks in each of the last two seasons, and at 26, is just now entering the prime of his career.
Either bring in some heavier personnel or some unbalanced lines and prepare to get the ball out quick, because you aren't going to win all four matchups on five and seven step drops. Your best chance at stopping them is by boring them with quick throws and getting them to think about which night club they should head out to later. Either that or hope that the backjudge is a former quarterback and is on the absolute look out for potential ''roughness.''
It is possible that the Bills will lose Hughes in free agency next month, which only seems fair considering that they gained him through grand larceny - a straight up trade with the Colts for Kelvin Sheppard. This is why player for player trades don't happen in the NFL. This is why.
He has some issues with penalties, but there is no doubt that the former second round pick has found his niche in Buffalo and I imagine that he will do what he can to stay now that his career has been resurrected and now that he has a ton of protection across the line. (Like the number two hitter for the 1927 Yankees.)
Teams will be weary of him because of his teammates (where was this production in Indy?) and I think he has more value with the Bills than anywhere else.
I get that his value right now may be as high as it ever will be, so you couldn't blame him for taking the fattest check he is offered. I imagine that creating room for that check is the first order of business for the Bills this offseason.
Could you even blame Buffalo for tacking on about seven years in order to lower the cap hit? Maybe 7/60 mostly guaranteed?
I mean, it's Buffalo, mortgage the future, you have no quarterback and your poor fans need to go to the playoffs! It's been 27 years! Charles Woodson was still in the NFL the last time you made the playoffs.
Assuming that you get Hughes back, is there anybody in the league currently that you want to coach these guys up over Rex Ryan? The guy who actually wrote the book on defensive line play (and the 46 defense)?
Ryan is known for his love of two things - snacks and pressure. And he's all out of snacks.
Rex still has a fondness for the type of football that he grew up around - his father's bone crunching 46 bear defense. While teams have now moved away from the condensed 21 personnel to spread out the 46 to near extinction at the pro level and clear out some of the confusion and blitzing possibilities, Ryan's mentality hasn't changed.
Let the line wreak havoc and let the backers clean it up. Any one gap defensive lineman will love playing for Ryan, less reading and reacting, and more hitting anything in your path. Whether it's a guard pulling past your face on power or counter, a fullback leading through the B gap, neighboring uncovered lineman free releasing to the second level, jam him under the chin and spill anything to the outside - no easy yardage. Make the offense try to win with finesse (outside), and bank on the tougher team winning up front - they usually do.
That defensive aggressiveness let's you win the first step off the ball and knock back any linemen taking a slight read step against stunting and makes it harder for uncovered lineman to get their hands on you on a reach block or double team.
Let your lineman be the aggressors (they're in the NFL because they can bench press 500 pounds - being smart is just a bonus), and leave the thinking and reading to the linebackers.
Ray Lewis loved playing in Ryan's Baltimore defense with Haloti Ngata (who was a two gapping lineman, but from a 4-3 Buffalo won't have to worry about that unless in certain situation to the tight end side), because Lewis loved the protection that it offered him. No more uncovered lineman free releasing and hitting him like a ton of bricks while he tried to diagnose the play.
Let the linemen engage and jam anything upfield (which gives blitzing backers an edge if the jammed lineman get knocked off their path and need an extra step to step down to their gap being blitzed), and let them force runs to the outside, opening up the kill shot for linebackers flowing to the perimeter.
Along with shooting gaps, linemen in Ryan's system are taught to protect linebackers even farther by eating up double teams by exchanging roles with the backer once they get doubled. The DL will push the double team playside (butt to the sideline) and become a cutback player, once again keeping the LB untouched in pursuit. Now, if a defensive lineman being doubled gets overtaken by one offensive lineman and lets the other to the second level to the backer, the offense wins.
It takes studs to pull it off, but Buffalo has no shortage of those on the front. Neither has Baltimore and the Jets in the past - so I think we have an idea of why Ryan chose the Bills.
Though Ryan has never had an end with the speed and strength of Mario Williams, who can force any outside runs and rush upfield WHILE keeping contain on bootlegs/scrambles with guys like, I dunno, Michael Vick. (The Bills roster says that Williams is from North Carolina State, but I suspect some sort of uninhabitable hydrogen based planet.)
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Buddy Ryan forced the NFL offenses to evolve with finesse as a result of his brute force and overwhelming chaos. His son does the same with his defenses. He unloads all of his bullets between the offensive tackles and forces run angles to the outside. The lineman spill, then the backers kill.
Walk a backer up over the tight end and force the former basketball player to get off a jam or to block somebody one on one instead of just taking an easy rib shot on the defensive end. If any tight end or back stays in to block, their man is now a pass rusher. Also known as ''green-dogging'', finding aggressive ways to bring pressure is the Ryan way.
Don't let the offense win, force them to win. Blitz and play man behind it (and i'm not talking Cover 2, though it's more fun to blitz when you have Revis, Cromartie, or Ed Reed lurking), force them to win their matchups on every level of the field, force the quarterback to get up after getting his head slammed into the icy Buffalo turf six times in the first quarter, knowing that he has 45 minutes left. (Buddy may even play 12 guys until a ref notices. As Abe Lincoln always said, it's better to punch someone in the head than to ask for forgiveness. Or something like that.)
Rex brings a throwback mentality to a city that modern football has not treated very well. The spreading of offensive formations and the tweaking of rules that have emphasized speed and the value of a quarterback represents the antithesis of the Ryan coaching DNA.
Don't expect the success of the early 90s Bills, but don't also expect Marv Levy's light contact, shells and shorts practices either. Somebody see if Mark Kelso is interested in lending his freaky brainiac helmet to Sammy Watkins. He might need it.
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Though 30 years of offensive evolution has combated 21 personnel and smashmouth iso/dive football due to matchup issues and clogged holes from the elder Ryan's 46 Bear front, and save for some 'spread' adjustments versus trey, trips, or quads or something - and now the zone read, you wouldn't know it from watching the younger Ryan's defense.
Then again, maybe Rex's defenses aren't built to adapt. They just are what they are. Just like Rex is who he is, and is not afraid to hide that in front of a camera.
Rex's defenses are built to attack. Why don't YOU adapt by doing something about it?
That sound like a bully to you? Good.
Now let's go eat a damn snack.
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