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Going into the 2015 season, if I told you that Mario Williams, Jerry Hughes, Marcell Dareus and Kyle Williams would combine for 13 sacks after averaging 40+ the last few years you’d say I was crazy. But that is what happened. Be it scheme, effort, or a lack of familiarity with the system the “Cold Front” had a cold spell rushing the passer. In terms of the run game, the Bills also struggled – leading to bigger busts by the the backs vs linebackers and giving Rex Ryan fits – both on the sideline and during post-game pressers.
Key Stats
21. That is the number of sacks the team had this year. Given the “Cold Front” had 13 of those sacks, there were 8 sacks by the rest of the defensive players.
EIGHT!
I’ve covered ad nauseum so I won’t belabor the point – but the transition to the Ryan defense was not the bed of roses I thought it would be. As a result, the Bills went from 1st to 31st in sacks, 11th to 16th vs the run and from 3rd to 18th in passing game. That’s enough to pull your hair out, but fortunately I keep the locks short…
Since Mario Williams is being shown the door, Jerry Hughes will have to step up as the main pass rusher. Tying Williams this year for the team lead in sacks (5), the Bills are going to be hard-pressed to find the room under the cap to sign another rusher, so acquiring one via the draft will be of the utmost importance.
Possible FA Fits
In an effort to make the defense “Rex-friendly”, as luck would have it a few of his old chargers are projected to be available. I’ll focus on three here:
Mike DeVito, Chiefs – DeVito may be 31 years old, but his game is similar to a man far younger. Playing the gaps and penetrating when allowed, he has been a boon to Kansas City since signing with them after his stint with the Jets. In Buffalo he’d be a great 5 tech to rotate with and would allow Marcell to get a breather every now and again. Also, he’d be another voice in the room that knows the Ryan system and can be productive while doing so.
Haloti Ngata, Lions – After a down year in Detroit, local reporters are not only banging the drum for not re-signing him, but alluding to retirement concerns as well. Enter Rex. Having a player like Ngata on the “cheap” that can operate in his defense and get spelled by Dareus or another NT body from FA/draft can work wonders for keeping Haloti fresh. And because of the aforementioned down year, you can bank on getting a bit of a discount bringing Ngata onto the Bills. To me, he’s NT / 1 tech only at this point in his career and that’s A-okay.
Damon “Snacks” Harrison, Jets – This one’ll cost a lot. Snacks is coming into his own, finishing as the top player in terms of run stop percentage via PFF in 2014 and has done nothing but continue to be a run-stopping menace this year. Putting the former undrafted free agent on the Bills defensive line would allow Dareus to roam and keep Kyle Williams’ snaps away from being a nose tackle, allowing him to penetrate and dominate as he had in the past. As I mentioned, all that comes at a high price tag. Will the Bills ante up?
Final Thoughts
With Mario Williams’ impending departure, the Bills will need to separate what it appears Rex wanted out of him via two players – a 5 technique that can play across the line and an edge rusher that can spell/compliment Hughes. With Kyle Williams’ focus on returning to the team, they’ll have a stalwart that can play 5-3-1 tech and with the monster that is Dareus that have a prototypical 5 technique. Now they just have to get a NT that can move a little and allow Marcell to do what he does best – wreck lines and amass fines*.
After this, we’ll be covering Linebackers on the roster.
*hopefully not fines.
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