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Grantland: All-22 All-Stars


mannc

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ESPN/Grantland's Robert Mays is doing a series of excellent, in-depth profiles on 22 under-the-radar stars of the NFL, one at each position. So far, he's profiled Eric Weddle (Chargers, S), Muhammad Wilkerson (Jets, DL), Cameron Wake, Evan Mathis (Eagles, G), and John Sullivan (Vikings, C). I particularly enjoyed the profiles of Weddle and Sullivan, two guys I had heard of but knew nothing about. No Bills so far, but each of the players is asked to nominate another player for the All-22 team and two Bills were "nominated": Byrd (by Weddle) and Kyle Williams (by Mathis). It was a little sickening reading about Wilkerson, another Class of 2011 draftee who has vastly outperformed Dareus. He has been called "a young Richard Seymour"--great, just what we need. If you are an NFL fan, you should definitely check out this series.

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ESPN/Grantland's Robert Mays is doing a series of excellent, in-depth profiles on 22 under-the-radar stars of the NFL, one at each position. So far, he's profiled Eric Weddle (Chargers, S), Muhammad Wilkerson (Jets, DL), Cameron Wake, Evan Mathis (Eagles, G), and John Sullivan (Vikings, C). I particularly enjoyed the profiles of Weddle and Sullivan, two guys I had heard of but knew nothing about. No Bills so far, but each of the players is asked to nominate another player for the All-22 team and two Bills were "nominated": Byrd (by Weddle) and Kyle Williams (by Mathis). It was a little sickening reading about Wilkerson, another Class of 2011 draftee who has vastly outperformed Dareus. He has been called "a young Richard Seymour"--great, just what we need. If you are an NFL fan, you should definitely check out this series.

 

I do agree its a good list. But I do find it funny that it has turned into another way to bash Dareus. MD has more sacks through 2 years than MW. And as fat & annoying as he is, Rex Ryan is a top 3 DC. MD has played for a 1st time NFL DC & a DC who was 10 years removed from the game. Dareus is also a year younger & I'm pretty sure Wilkerson didnt have his brother murdered last year.

 

Fans need to get of this kid's back. Any team would take him in a second. Hopefully he has someone made peace with all the tragedies in his life & with a DC with recent success in the NFL, his game will take off this year. But the fact is that this 22 yo kid has gone through more death & heartache than most people will their entire lives.

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I do agree its a good list. But I do find it funny that it has turned into another way to bash Dareus. MD has more sacks through 2 years than MW. And as fat & annoying as he is, Rex Ryan is a top 3 DC. MD has played for a 1st time NFL DC & a DC who was 10 years removed from the game. Dareus is also a year younger & I'm pretty sure Wilkerson didnt have his brother murdered last year.

 

Fans need to get of this kid's back. Any team would take him in a second. Hopefully he has someone made peace with all the tragedies in his life & with a DC with recent success in the NFL, his game will take off this year. But the fact is that this 22 yo kid has gone through more death & heartache than most people will their entire lives.

 

 

Yep. This!

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I do agree its a good list. But I do find it funny that it has turned into another way to bash Dareus. MD has more sacks through 2 years than MW. And as fat & annoying as he is, Rex Ryan is a top 3 DC. MD has played for a 1st time NFL DC & a DC who was 10 years removed from the game. Dareus is also a year younger & I'm pretty sure Wilkerson didnt have his brother murdered last year.

 

Fans need to get of this kid's back. Any team would take him in a second. Hopefully he has someone made peace with all the tragedies in his life & with a DC with recent success in the NFL, his game will take off this year. But the fact is that this 22 yo kid has gone through more death & heartache than most people will their entire lives.

The excuses for this guy are endless. What can't be denied is that, in the most talent-laden draft in the last decade, Dareus was picked third overall and he has been a big disappointment so far. Does that mean he will never be any good? No, of course not. But the early returns are not promising, especially when his performance is compared with other players taken later in the first round that year. My intent was not to trash Dareus, but to point out that, as a Bills fan, it is painful to read about the exploits of players on other teams drafted after Dareus. Heck, Wilkerson was taken only three picks before Aaron Williams.

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The excuses for this guy are endless. What can't be denied is that, in the most talent-laden draft in the last decade, Dareus was picked third overall and he has been a big disappointment so far. Does that mean he will never be any good? No, of course not. But the early returns are not promising, especially when his performance is compared with other players taken later in the first round that year. My intent was not to trash Dareus, but to point out that, as a Bills fan, it is painful to read about the exploits of players on other teams drafted after Dareus. Heck, Wilkerson was taken only three picks before Aaron Williams.

 

I'm not sure how he's been a "big disappointment". Has he lived up to #3 overall billing? No. He played very well his rookie season, and fell off considerably last year (and yes, it's understandable--if not forgivable--given the circumstances).

 

Would I rather have J.J. Watt, the way he's played up to this point? Absolutely. Am I writing off Dareus? Heck no.

 

At this point, however, I shall now brag--as I always do--that, prior to the 2011 draft, I was one of the guys banging the drum for Watt. Hey, everyone's right once in a while.

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The excuses for this guy are endless. What can't be denied is that, in the most talent-laden draft in the last decade, Dareus was picked third overall and he has been a big disappointment so far. Does that mean he will never be any good? No, of course not. But the early returns are not promising, especially when his performance is compared with other players taken later in the first round that year. My intent was not to trash Dareus, but to point out that, as a Bills fan, it is painful to read about the exploits of players on other teams drafted after Dareus. Heck, Wilkerson was taken only three picks before Aaron Williams.

How many other DT's/interior rushers get 11 sacks their first two seasons? Come on.

 

Sapp had 12, Suh had 14, Cortez Kennedy had 7.5.

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How many other DT's/interior rushers get 11 sacks their first two seasons? Come on.

 

Sapp had 12, Suh had 14, Cortez Kennedy had 7.5.

Although hardly irrelevant, number of sacks is not really a great performance measurement for interior linemen. If you are trying to say that those numbers show that Dareus has lived up to expectations as the number three pick in an absolutely loaded draft, I'd have to strongly disagree. Again, I didn't say the Bills should kick this guy to the curb, but if they had it to do all over again (and of course they don't) there is no way the Bills would take Dareus. In fact, I doubt he would even go in the first round.

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Although hardly irrelevant, number of sacks is not really a great performance measurement for interior linemen. If you are trying to say that those numbers show that Dareus has lived up to expectations as the number three pick in an absolutely loaded draft, I'd have to strongly disagree. Again, I didn't say the Bills should kick this guy to the curb, but if they had it to do all over again (and of course they don't) there is no way the Bills would take Dareus. In fact, I doubt he would even go in the first round.

 

You are riding a guy pretty hard who changed from a 3-4 DE to a hybrid DT position, meanwhile covering nose when KW was out. I hate to say it, but he was the most consistent rusher the last 2 seasons, namely because Mario hurt himself on Capn Crunch, and Kyle can't keep his feet healthy. With all of this in mind, he did have a lot of off the field disturbances that would throw most other men towards either a shrink or a bender.

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Dareus has put on a decent amount of weight since leaving Alabama. I figured he's shed some going into camp this year, but he doesn't look any smaller. Oddly enough, he seemed more effective against the pass last year versus the run.

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The excuses for this guy are endless. What can't be denied is that, in the most talent-laden draft in the last decade, Dareus was picked third overall and he has been a big disappointment so far. Does that mean he will never be any good? No, of course not. But the early returns are not promising, especially when his performance is compared with other players taken later in the first round that year. My intent was not to trash Dareus, but to point out that, as a Bills fan, it is painful to read about the exploits of players on other teams drafted after Dareus. Heck, Wilkerson was taken only three picks before Aaron Williams.

 

You say excuses. I say empathy & not being a heartless Richard. http://m.thepostgame.com/features/201104/marcell-dareus-alabama-crimson-tide-defensive-tackle-nfl-draft

 

Quick breakdown: this 22 year old had his father died at 6; his mother who was in a wheelchair died, his mentor die in a car crash, and just had his brother murdered. On too if that he was dirt poor, his mother couldn't work, & he had 7 siblings. This would have broken many people.

 

And answer this question, if Wilkerson had Edwards & Wanny and Dareus had Ryan & Pettine, would is more likely to benefit? The kid has show great flashes but to not acknowledge what he has grown through personally makes you a very cold person.

 

 

 

How many other DT's/interior rushers get 11 sacks their first two seasons? Come on.

 

Sapp had 12, Suh had 14, Cortez Kennedy had 7.5.

 

According to the OP, sacks for DTs don't count.

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Dareus has put on a decent amount of weight since leaving Alabama. I figured he's shed some going into camp this year, but he doesn't look any smaller. Oddly enough, he seemed more effective against the pass last year versus the run.

 

I agree that his weight has been an issue. My opinion is that he's always been better as a pass rusher than a run defender, which I'm hoping gets rectified this year.

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You say excuses. I say empathy & not being a heartless Richard. http://m.thepostgame...ackle-nfl-draft

 

Quick breakdown: this 22 year old had his father died at 6; his mother who was in a wheelchair died, his mentor die in a car crash, and just had his brother murdered. On too if that he was dirt poor, his mother couldn't work, & he had 7 siblings. This would have broken many people.

 

And answer this question, if Wilkerson had Edwards & Wanny and Dareus had Ryan & Pettine, would is more likely to benefit? The kid has show great flashes but to not acknowledge what he has grown through personally makes you a very cold person.

 

 

 

 

According to the OP, sacks for DTs don't count.

Your reading comprehension leaves much to be desired. Apparently, criticizing Dareus (or the Bills' front office that drafted him) is off limits. We'll see how he performs this year.
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Your reading comprehension leaves much to be desired. Apparently, criticizing Dareus (or the Bills' front office that drafted him) is off limits. We'll see how he performs this year.

 

Not at all. I do think that you over-stated it in your OP, and that your subsequent posts have been more reasonable.

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Not at all. I do think that you over-stated it in your OP, and that your subsequent posts have been more reasonable.

Fair enough. Now, I would love to read some comments from posters who have read the Grantland series.

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According to the OP, sacks for DTs don't count.

 

Yeah, I disagree with that notion. John Randle wouldn't be in the hall and considered one of the greatest if he had mediocre ability to rush the QB. If you have an interior rusher that can get pressure on a QB consistently, he is a game changer. That is part of what made Bruce so valuable in a 3-4 setup. This is akin to having a TE that can stretch the field up the middle, and the amount of scheming that must be done to compensate for said weapon.

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The 2011 draft was probably the best draft for defensive linemen in NFL history.

 

This was obvious before the draft took place. It was commonly mentioned that the Bills might be best served by trading down however this was one year before Nix dipped his toe in the water with the TJ Graham trade (and two years before he traded back for EJ Manuel).

 

As you all recall, Nix stated that he didn't like trading his picks and that he would rather take the player he liked at his pick. Clearly he learned his lesson sometime after 2011.

 

Anyways, that 2011 draft featured the following D-linemen besides Dareus:

 

DEs JJ Watt, Robert Quinn, Ryan Kerrigan, Adrian Clayborne, Cam Jordan, Wilkerson, Cam Heyward, Jabaal Sheard, Brooks Reed, DaQuan Bowers, Justin Houston, and Sam Acho. At DT, the draft gave us Nick Fairley, Corey Liuget, Phil Taylor, Jarvis Jenkins, Marvin Austin, Stephen Paea, Sione Fua, Jerrell Powe, Kenrick Ellis, and Jurrell Casey.

 

That is a ridiculous amount of premier D-line talent and lots of these guys are going to have great careers.

 

I'm happy we took Marcel and I think he'll have a great career. But as I was saying before the draft, the Bills could have traded down and gotten a good D-lineman and another player or two.

 

Bottom line, Marcel has an incredible amount of upside and some of his critics could very well end up eating their words.

Edited by San Jose Bills Fan
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Can't wait till Dareus takes the field and starts destroying people. The guy looked like a beast his first year but regressed his second year but I chalk that up to a combo of personal issues and just a outdated and terrible defensive scheme. The team has a defensive scheme that is much more modern and he seems to be in the right place mentally. I think we see the leap we all thought he would make last season.

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Fair enough. Now, I would love to read some comments from posters who have read the Grantland series.

 

Had a chance to read the series...I like the format and that they seem to be putting a good amount of study to it.

 

They've made some interesting player selections, although some of them (Wake, Mathis) are hardly secrets.

 

Good linkage.

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The excuses for this guy are endless. What can't be denied is that, in the most talent-laden draft in the last decade, Dareus was picked third overall and he has been a big disappointment so far. Does that mean he will never be any good? No, of course not. But the early returns are not promising, especially when his performance is compared with other players taken later in the first round that year. My intent was not to trash Dareus, but to point out that, as a Bills fan, it is painful to read about the exploits of players on other teams drafted after Dareus. Heck, Wilkerson was taken only three picks before Aaron Williams.

 

... if we only drafted JJ Watt :wub: :wub:

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