[positional grouping] Bills Defensive Line

[Alaska Darin]

 

[Ann]

Bills Defensive End Shaq Lawson addresses the media following the Bills 42-15 preseason victory over the Denver Broncos. Topics include: how he feels the Bills have given him a shot at redemption by signing him this offseason, why he feels so comfortable playing for this team and coaching staff, how he feels like himself for the first time in a long time, and how the Bills Coaching Staff has encouraged him to be himself.
 

Emotional Shaq Lawson Talks Rebounding Career With The Bills | “It Felt Great Today” | Buffalo Bills

 

 

[Alaska Darin]

"Whatchu talkin' 'bout, Von?"

 

 

[Fansince88]

3 hours ago, Alaska Darin said:

"Whatchu talkin' 'bout, Von?"

 

 

Drink it in big guy....DRINK IT IN!

[Alaska Darin]

 

[Spartacus]

1 hour ago, Alaska Darin said:

 

wow-

imagine how high his score would be if he actually sacked the QB

[Spartacus]

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/09/12/saquon-barkley-giants-peter-king-fmia-week-1/

 

Let’s examine one of the seven sacks through the Next Gen Stats lens. It’s the sack I found the most significant — Buffalo up 10-7, 34 seconds left, second quarter, Rams’ ball first-and-10 at the Bills’ 29-yard line—and you can follow it through one of the features of NGS, one of the football diagrams I’ll call a Dot Play:

 

 

NGS has a cool device, pass-rush get-off time, that, through the tracking devices secured in player jerseys, clocks how long it takes the shoulder pads of rushers to cross the line of scrimmage after the snap of the ball. The best rushers combine snap anticipation and acceleration at the snap, and the fastest/quickest players average about 0.8 seconds. Here’s where the four Bills were on this rush:

Miller, 0.62 seconds.

Epenesa, 0.62 seconds.

Jones, 0.92 seconds

Phillips, 1.02 seconds.

 

Collectively, that’s very strong. On the edge, it’s absolutely superior. The Rams needed every bit of their two blockers to neutralize the speed of Miller on the offensive right. On the left, the quick get-off of Epenesa worked well; he ducked inside the block of Noteboom while Phillips ran an outside stunt around Noteboom. Jones bullrushed Allen. All three rushers met at Stafford, enveloping him for a nine-yard sack. This will be an embarrassing play to review inside the Rams’ offensive film room. The left tackle, left guard and center all got beaten badly. Instead of Stafford having the time to find a totally uncovered Cooper Kupp on a nine-yard curl, he took a nine-yard loss. Instead of the Rams charging toward a go-ahead touchdown before the half, they had to settle for a 57-yard field goal that was their final score of a frustrating game. Frustrating, really, because of the suffocating Bills rush that had an outsized impact on the game.

 

On Stafford’s 48 pass-drops, he had an average of 2.70 seconds to throw, per NGS. That’s worse, but not a lot worse, than Stafford’s 2021 average of 2.80 seconds to throw. But the story of his night was the pressure coming from the Bills’ front. One Ram (Aaron Donald, three) had three or more pressures in the game. Five Bills did. Those players, with the percentage of pressures to pass-rushes, per NGS figures: Phillips six (26.1 percent), Miller five (20.8 percent), Epenesa five (18.5 percent), Jones four (12.9 percent), Rousseau three (9.4 percent).

 

Two other notes, not necessarily in the Next Gen Stats realm. On the Dot Play I highlighted, the one with pressures by Jones, Epenesa and Phillips, I noted the combined salary-cap number of those three playmakers is $8.69 million…just 4.2 percent of this year’s NFL cap. Epenesa was the 54^th pick of the 2020 draft, and Jones and Phillips were free-agent signings this year. That’s great production with great value generated by Beane.

 

Then there’s the conservation of resources. Buffalo’s eight leading defensive linemen/edge players played between 17 and 46 snaps in the game. No one played 70 percent of the 66 defensive snaps. Miller, who the Bills are trying to keep fresh, averaged 49.5 snaps in 19 games played last year. He played 35 snaps in this one. “We got Von to close games,” Beane told me in training camp. Miller might be able to for a long season if the Bills keep him to that number. Overall, the platooning is a way to keep players fresh, or to try to, for 17 games.

[Alaska Darin]

2 hours ago, Spartacus said:

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/09/12/saquon-barkley-giants-peter-king-fmia-week-1/

 

Let’s examine one of the seven sacks through the Next Gen Stats lens. It’s the sack I found the most significant — Buffalo up 10-7, 34 seconds left, second quarter, Rams’ ball first-and-10 at the Bills’ 29-yard line—and you can follow it through one of the features of NGS, one of the football diagrams I’ll call a Dot Play:

 

 

NGS has a cool device, pass-rush get-off time, that, through the tracking devices secured in player jerseys, clocks how long it takes the shoulder pads of rushers to cross the line of scrimmage after the snap of the ball. The best rushers combine snap anticipation and acceleration at the snap, and the fastest/quickest players average about 0.8 seconds. Here’s where the four Bills were on this rush:

Miller, 0.62 seconds.

Epenesa, 0.62 seconds.

Jones, 0.92 seconds

Phillips, 1.02 seconds.

 

Collectively, that’s very strong. On the edge, it’s absolutely superior. The Rams needed every bit of their two blockers to neutralize the speed of Miller on the offensive right. On the left, the quick get-off of Epenesa worked well; he ducked inside the block of Noteboom while Phillips ran an outside stunt around Noteboom. Jones bullrushed Allen. All three rushers met at Stafford, enveloping him for a nine-yard sack. This will be an embarrassing play to review inside the Rams’ offensive film room. The left tackle, left guard and center all got beaten badly. Instead of Stafford having the time to find a totally uncovered Cooper Kupp on a nine-yard curl, he took a nine-yard loss. Instead of the Rams charging toward a go-ahead touchdown before the half, they had to settle for a 57-yard field goal that was their final score of a frustrating game. Frustrating, really, because of the suffocating Bills rush that had an outsized impact on the game.

 

 

One of the byproducts of that sack...Stafford got physically rattled on the play and that led to them deciding not to try another offensive play and just let the clock run down to try the last second FG. 

[Alaska Darin]

 

[Alaska Darin]

 

[Alaska Darin]

 

[Nanker]

That was some of the best D-Line play we've seen in some time. I just hope it continues, because they looked like they have a nasty attitude.

 

[Alaska Darin]

 

[Alaska Darin]

 

[Ann]

Bills Defensive Lineman Greg Rousseau spoke to the media on Thursday following practice. Topics included: How great it is having Von Miller in the Defensive Lineman room, what it felt like to actual compete against another team and not his teammates like at practice, how reps during games help him get better, what it'll take to stop Derrick Henry, and the excitement around Monday Night Football. 
 

Greg Rousseau: "You Learn From Every Situation" | Buffalo Bills (full interview)
 

 

[Alaska Darin]

 

[KD in CA]

^ Nice article.  I knew there had been weight issues but didn't have a grasp on how the how/why of the problem.  Great example of how the pandemic really screwed things up for a young player.  If he and others on the DL can consistently play like they did vs the Rams, that's a huge key to a deep playoff run.

[Alaska Darin]

2 hours ago, KD in CA said:

^ Nice article.  I knew there had been weight issues but didn't have a grasp on how the how/why of the problem.  Great example of how the pandemic really screwed things up for a young player.  If he and others on the DL can consistently play like they did vs the Rams, that's a huge key to a deep playoff run.

I said it a few months ago - this is a huge season for AJ and I think the addition of VM40 helps him as much as anyone on the roster.  He was REALLY noticeable in game 1 and not just the sacks.

[Alaska Darin]

I was sad to see him go but he had to get that money.  Glad he's back.  Dude wreaks havoc. 

 

https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/buffalo/news/2022/09/17/phillips-embracing-return-to-the-bills?cid=share_clip

[Alaska Darin]

AJ is just oozing confidence now.