Greg Rousseau has turned out to be a complete slug.

[Buffalo716]

4 minutes ago, Kirby Jackson said:

My brother has been saying the same thing. Hope that you guys are right. While I didn’t like the contract, he has had a knack for making big plays. 

I mean sure he's not absolutely horrible 

 

He's probably between 20 and 32 for an inside linebacker in the NFL 

 

Probably a 5 to 6 million a year player we gave him double because he had one good year... And we were pressing because we let our pro bowl middle linebacker walk who was actually top 10

 

He makes some plays... Not consistently anymore and he's always hurt and slower

Edited 17 hours ago by Buffalo716

[nedboy7]

1 minute ago, ***** said:

I am a firm believer that smaller players get injured more often.  I have no data to back this up but it makes sense.  We tend to prioritize small defenders with the idea being they would be faster.  Problem is our small defenders are also slow.  
 

small slow and injured is no way to build a D

We live in a time when you can research pretty much anything.  Hey I would have agreed with you but the human brain lies all the time. 
 

No, smaller NFL players do not necessarily have more injuries

; in fact, some research suggests larger players get hurt more often when controlling for position, though running back is a notable exception where smaller players are more injury-prone. Injury risk is more strongly linked to factors like playing time, usage, and position-specific demands rather than just body size. 

[Paup 1995MVP]

19 minutes ago, Simon said:

 

I know it wasn't sustainable but when Oliver went out he was on pace for 17 sacks and 40 tackles for loss 

That’s a Kyle Williams/Marcel Darrius Stat line combined from their best years.  👏👏

[Pecker]

Just now, nedboy7 said:

We live in a time when you can research pretty much anything.  Hey I would have agreed with you but the human brain lies all the time. 
 

No, smaller NFL players do not necessarily have more injuries

; in fact, some research suggests larger players get hurt more often when controlling for position, though running back is a notable exception where smaller players are more injury-prone. Injury risk is more strongly linked to factors like playing time, usage, and position-specific demands rather than just body size. 

Even still.  Two players who are both CBs and one is 210 and the other is 180, who holds up better to a full season of tackling and all that?  Who is more likely to have thinner ankles and roll them more? Or smaller bone structures? 
 

Milano has clearly carried too much muscle for his frame and had multiple muscle injuries.  

[Paup 1995MVP]

9 minutes ago, ***** said:

I am a firm believer that smaller players get injured more often.  I have no data to back this up but it makes sense.  We tend to prioritize small defenders with the idea being they would be faster.  Problem is our small defenders are also slow.  
 

small slow and injured is no way to build a D

Taron Johnson!!!  (Always dinged up)

 

Terell Bernard.  (Same)

 

Dalton Kincaid. (Will he play against Pittsburgh?)

 

At least Sam Franklin (who plays harder than anyone on the team) hasn’t gotten hurt.

 

An interesting fact and hypothesis.  He was signed right before the season started.  He did not have time to be indoctrinated into the Bills lackadaisical training camp and culture all offseason. Instead he just came in and balled out.  
 

McDermott has taken  the McNasty out of our team!!  A little more each and every year.  And this is what we are left with.  

[Kelly to Allen]

O sacks and 0 pressures in 22 pass rush attempts last night....

 

🤷

Edited 11 hours ago by Kelly to Allen

[KOKBILLS]

It's pretty beyond frustrating watching the Bills lose to inferior teams while their best players dominate only to see guys like Groot, Benford, and Bernard who got paid big time this past off season completely disappear... 

Very frustrating...

[GunnerBill]

20 hours ago, SoonerBillsFan said:

All of the re signings besides Cook are bad

 

I do think Benford has started to come around. He had a very rough start to the year, through five weeks he was one of the worst outside corners in football. But he is playing pretty well now. Not quite hit his 2024 peak form yet, but he is playing better. I still have hope for that contract I think Benford is a really good player.

 

I wasn't particularly a fan of the Bernard or Rousseau deals and while I understood Shakir and am fine with what we paid I am under no illusions about who and what he is. 

9 hours ago, Kelly to Allen said:

O sacks and 0 pressures in 22 pass rush attempts last night....

 

🤷

 

Well Ed Oliver and Hoecht are hurt and I made more effort from my Mexican sun lounger than Joey Bosa on Thursday. Once you take those guys out.... who do we have who rushes the passer well? 

[first_and_ten]

20 hours ago, Walking Tall said:

After Greg Rousseau’s 3 sack game against the Cardinals in the 2024 opener, he has played a total of 26 regular season games. In those games he has a total of 8 sacks, with only 6 of those being unassisted. He has 88 total tackles since the beginning of 2024. Last season he had 15 “stuff” tackles which are in the backfield. This year he only has 3 of those.

 

https://www.espn.com/nfl/player/gamelog/_/id/4362506/greg-rousseau

 

This guy is literally become the invisible

man of the defense and it has been going on for almost 2 full seasons. The bad part is they just signed this slug to a big contract and we are stuck with him.

 

On a day where a lot of people are taking deserved heat, Rousseau seems to be a forgotten man. He shouldn’t be. He IS a huge part of the problem on that side of the ball.

maybe one of the reporters can flat out ask McDermott about his lack of production. I’d like to hear an honest answer from the coach.

 

 

Another Brandon Beane bust. He got paid, and now he doesn't seem to care. 

[CirclnWagons]

When your interior D lineman are getting owned one on one and not ever warranting a double team, that spells trouble for the entire defense, mainly your middle backers and d ends 

[BananaB]

Rousseau, Bernard and Benford seem like a lot of wasted money right now. 

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

Rousseau is trash like the rest of Beanes DL picks 

 

 

[dave mcbride]

19 hours ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

 

The manner in which he collected sacks was basically about GPS......he is great at locating the QB and if that QB steps up into the pocket he is quick to disengage and a sure tackler.   That's what those sacks were like at Miami.  And he absolutely will be a 10 sack guy opposite a bendy pass rusher on the other side.   The Bills have just never had that for any sustained period with Rousseau here.   I mean, even a later-Bills-career Jerry Hughes who couldn't finish a sack to save his life would be enough opposite Rousseau to trigger a flurry of stats.   When Bosa and Epenesa were playing better during that NE to KC stretch Rousseau was more impactful but now that Joey is Venus de Bosa out there and Epenesa is playing like he's a afraid of contact the side opposite of Rousseau is a sieve and teams are attacking it.

Kind of strange for people to be attacking Rousseau after a game in which the defense gave up 17 points on the road (6 points came off of Bills’ turnovers deep in their own end and where the D prevented TDs), gave up only 261 yards (4.7 yards per play), and held their opponent to 2-12 on 3rd down. The defense gave up some points, as all NFL defenses do, but neither it nor Rousseau are the reason they lost that game. Anything under 20 points given up is a win in today’s NFL.

Edited 1 hour ago by dave mcbride

[SoCal Deek]

4 minutes ago, dave mcbride said:

Kind of strange for people to be attacking Rousseau after a game in which the defense gave up 17 points on the road (6 points came off of Bills’ turnovers deep in their own end and where the D prevented TDs), gave up only 261 yards (4.7 yards per play), and held their opponent to 2-12 on 3rd down. The defense gave up some points, as all NFL defenses do, but neither it nor Rousseau are the reason they lost that game. Anything under 20 points given up is a win in today’s NFL.

All good comments. But in the modern NFL games are won and lost with turnovers, negative plays and 4th down stops (now that everyone has decided that they're ‘going for it’ all the time). Unfortunately the Bills Defense has been lacking in all of those categories…and the Bills Offense has been beyond horrendous at  them at the same time. 

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

20 hours ago, T.E. said:

Ah yes, the old "Dont believe your lying eyes" line with McDermott defensive players.

 

"He was never mentioned during the entire broadcast and made no plays of note, but if you were smart enough, you'd see that he was actually fantastic." Okay.

Ed Oliver syndrome 

[GunnerBill]

I think Groot has had a decent season. It is just the Bills paid him like a player he is not. He is never going to be a big sack guy. He is a base end who plays the run and will have a big game as a pass rusher once or twice a year and otherwise he will get the odd clean up sack. 

[FireChans]

56 minutes ago, dave mcbride said:

Kind of strange for people to be attacking Rousseau after a game in which the defense gave up 17 points on the road (6 points came off of Bills’ turnovers deep in their own end and where the D prevented TDs), gave up only 261 yards (4.7 yards per play), and held their opponent to 2-12 on 3rd down. The defense gave up some points, as all NFL defenses do, but neither it nor Rousseau are the reason they lost that game. Anything under 20 points given up is a win in today’s NFL.

the 6 points don’t count because we turned it over?

 

We were playing Davis Mills. 
 

It would be nice to get a carry job by the defense playing against a backup QB on a short week when the offense can’t get it going for once. 
 

I guess we need to hand out a couple more $20M AAV extensions or spend a few more offseasons exclusively on the defense to expect them to perform above average against a career backup.

[HamptonBillsfan]

Forget getting no sacks, he doesn’t even bat down throws. Extending him, wishing and hoping he fills out and becomes a penetrating force is emblematic of Beane’s futility as a GM. Throw in Bernard, Benford  Rapp,Knox extensions and having Jones, Milano still on the roster playing injured or missing games. Beane takes the most expedient, low risk approach to management and that’s why we’re circling the drain, with no cap space, no receivers and a window that may be closing much sooner than expected.

[FireChans]

1 hour ago, GunnerBill said:

I think Groot has had a decent season. It is just the Bills paid him like a player he is not. He is never going to be a big sack guy. He is a base end who plays the run and will have a big game as a pass rusher once or twice a year and otherwise he will get the odd clean up sack. 

The Bills have really fundamentally failed at paying players for what they are going to provide in the future. 
 

Bernard had a great second year and was up and down since. Benford was coming off concussions x2 after a great year. Rousseau is a solid DE that hadn’t grown into an impact player at the EDGE.

 

And Beano paid them all AHEAD OF SCHEDULE, (to hilarious applause.) This is the obvious downside of the strategy. Basically none of these contracts look particularly good right now and we are locked into this crew for the next 2 years at least.
 

I said it at the time and I’ll say it again. If you are going to lock up these players and your future financial flexibility over the longer term as your “major” move of the offseason, you CAN’T be wrong. You hamstring the team otherwise.

Edited 30 minutes ago by FireChans

[TheyCallMeAndy]

Groot isn't a great pass rusher. He'll be a 5-8 sack guy.

 

He's an outstanding run defender. 
 

Do run defending DEs make as much as pass rushers? I don't know.