As most of my readers know, I’m not a big fan of some of the folks in the lamestream media in Buffalo. In fact, I’m not a fan of many lamestreamers across the country. So, its always a good day when someone completely proves that some of these mouth-breathing scribers are wrong. Enter Marcell Dareus. Remember last summer when Bouffant Sully wanted him cut because he smoked fake weed and was racing with a teammate? How about when he didn’t pass a conditioning test on the first day of camp? There was just so much white noise that surrounded the guy last year that you would have thought the press corp. was villainizing the husband from Missing Amy.
A year later, look at him now…he’s about to cash in big on a monster deal. And guess what? He deserves every bit of the Pegula vault. Dareus is right now the best player on this roster and possibly the best defensive player the Bills have had since Bruce Smith. Sure, he’s not a media darling because lamestreamers love to poke the most popular player who isn’t too quotable, but there’s no denying that the Bills finally got it right in the draft with selecting Dareus at #3. He’s heading into year 5 and isn’t even hitting his prime yet as a player.
Dareus has dealt with adversity, some of it inflicted by himself with some of his off the field mistakes and some out of his hands like getting over family tragedy. And yet, he was still able to kick ass and take names on the field. It helps that Marcell is surrounded by an all-world DL, but he’s the one who stirs that drink. Let’s not forget how the defense fell apart against a shitty Oakland team after Dareus got hurt in the first quarter. That’s how much he means to this defense. No one has a more diverse game as #99 does on the DL when it comes to stopping the run and pressuring the QB. Pressure is something Dareus has dealt with since being the #3 pick in 2011, but the pressure he’s put on QBs is ultimately giving him a hefty payday in order to keep the Bills defense near the top of the NFL for years to come.
Stats:
- Marcell Dareus was 18th in most QB hurries for DTs in 2014.
- Marcell Dareus had 38 stops last year which were the 3rd most for DTs.
- Dareus was tied for 1st in sacks for DTs with 10 in 2014.
- Dareus had 11 tackles for losses last year which ranked 7th most for DTs in 2014.
- Dareus had 4 multi-sack games in the last two seasons.
- Dareus had the 6th most QB hurries for DTs in 2013 with 32.
- 5 of Dareus’ 10 sacks came in the 4th quarter last season.
- 9 of Dareus’ 10 sacks took place on shotgun snaps.
- Dareus went sackless in his final 6 games.
- Dareus has just 0.5 sacks against the AFC East over the last two seasons.
- Dareus is the first all-first team to be a Bill since Takeo Spikes in 2004.
- Dareus is the first Bills DT to make the all-pro first team since Tom Sestak in 1964.
Stats from ESPN/PFF
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