Greg Rousseau has turned out to be a complete slug.

[FireChans]

10 hours ago, Simon said:

But Rousseau's cap hit is currently 53rd among NFL DE's; that's near the bottom end of 64 starting NFL DE's.

And people are bitching about it while I sit here and watch him beating the dogsnot out of Tackles and Guards every week. 

His cap hit is low because we just extended him.

 

it doubles in 2026 and doubles again in 27.

 

If you want to compare apples to apples, Micah Parsons has a cap hit of $4M more than Greg this year, $8M next year, and $5M more in 2027

[Ga boy]

1 hour ago, FireChans said:

Well he was under contract this year so he was never walking in 2025.

Wasn’t the idea that extending him resulted in a fair contract based on the market?  I think we got a good deal.

[harmonkillebrew]

11 hours ago, BeastMaster said:

Just saw a Cover 1 breakdown of his play vs Houston and it was pretty good

 

There's much bigger problems than Greg on this defense

Rosseau is solid and he does a lot of the dirty work. He's not getting sacks or making some of the splash plays he did the last few years, which is too bad, but I think as much a product of the DT play and what he's asked to do. Of the newly extended guys, Benford and Bernard are bigger concerns.

[dave mcbride]

15 hours ago, Johnny Hammersticks said:

Yeah.  Complete slug.  Sacks aren’t the only stat that matter for DEs.  🤦🏾‍♂️ 

Proof positive that the OP in this thread is one of the worst takes in some time on this board.

[Avisan]

5 minutes ago, dave mcbride said:

Proof positive that the OP in this thread is one of the worst takes in some time on this board.

Just fantasy football/gambling mentality imo

 

Pretty much every time I say Groot is good and worth his contract here and on other boards I get a nice wave of negative reactions from all of the very smart and stable football geniuses that are "fans" of this team

 

If there isn't a big box score the player must be terrible

[C.Biscuit97]

9 minutes ago, harmonkillebrew said:

Rosseau is solid and he does a lot of the dirty work. He's not getting sacks or making some of the splash plays he did the last few years, which is too bad, but I think as much a product of the DT play and what he's asked to do. Of the newly extended guys, Benford and Bernard are bigger concerns.

Best way to describe him - solid. He is not a game changing pass rusher (dare I call him high motor). He would be much better if they had a legit pass rushing threat across from him (Bosa has been solid but he’s not one of those special guys). 
 

next to receiver, Beane sucks the most at scouting pass rushing. Groot is far from a bust but he’s will never be a guy teams need to really game plan for and we badly need one of those guys. 

[Ga boy]

5 minutes ago, C.Biscuit97 said:

Best way to describe him - solid. He is not a game changing pass rusher (dare I call him high motor). He would be much better if they had a legit pass rushing threat across from him (Bosa has been solid but he’s not one of those special guys). 
 

next to receiver, Beane sucks the most at scouting pass rushing. Groot is far from a bust but he’s will never be a guy teams need to really game plan for and we badly need one of those guys. 

Makes me appreciate Bruce even more!

[Fleezoid]

12 hours ago, Simon said:

 

He's doing exactly what McDermott wants.

He's had a 1000lb anchor chain attached to him since he got here because that's how McDermott wants his Ends to play it up front.

I tried to explain that same thing to somebody recently and I think they called me a Communist!

 

Yes. And I think that's the problem. He's playing good, but the big plays just aren't there. It reminds me of Cornelius Bennett. After several years, the Bills D moved him from outside LB to inside. A buddy mentioned his tackle numbers went way up. But that's what MLBs do...make tackles. Problem was, it took away the Biscuit's big play abilities; sacks, tackles for loss, tipped balls and interceptions.

 

For a number of reasons, the Bills D just doesn't have the inside help. Perhaps if they did Rousseau would be in a position to make some splash plays. It's just not there, but it is sorely needed. 

[Mikie2times]

19 minutes ago, Avisan said:

Just fantasy football/gambling mentality imo

 

Pretty much every time I say Groot is good and worth his contract here and on other boards I get a nice wave of negative reactions from all of the very smart and stable football geniuses that are "fans" of this team

 

If there isn't a big box score the player must be terrible

It's crazy to expect a top 20 DE to have one year with 10 or more sacks or generate even 5 sacks this year? Give me a break. It's like everything else with this team. 

 

"our offense is going to be sneaky good"

"We have quietly improved the WR room"

"This player is actually good, but he doesn't do what other good players do at his position"

 

Nothing with this team just is. At the end of the day a top 20 DE needs to generate sacks. Not almost sacks, actual sacks. He needs to make splash plays. If you have to ask the question if a player is making an impact, he's not.  

 

[Avisan]

5 minutes ago, Mikie2times said:

It's crazy to expect a top 20 DE to have one year with 10 or more sacks or generate even 5 sacks this year? Give me a break. It's like everything else with this team. 

 

"our offense is going to be sneaky good"

"We have quietly improved the WR room"

"This player is actually good, but he doesn't do what other good players do at his position"

 

Nothing with this team just is. At the end of the day a top 20 DE needs to generate sacks. Not almost sacks, actual sacks. He needs to make splash plays. If you have to ask the question if a player is making an impact, he's not.  

 

This is exactly what I'm talking about

 

He's objectively a good and impactful player, but his impact doesn't show up specifically in sacks, so he must not actually be good.

 

If he were the high-octane pass-rusher you want him to be, he would have re-signed for 40mil+. He makes half of that, because he's merely adequate as a pass-rusher while doing everything else exceptionally well.

 

 

[Simon]

2 hours ago, FireChans said:

His cap hit is low because we just extended him.

 

it doubles in 2026 and doubles again in 27.

 

So despite the fact that he's beating people up on the regular, Greg Rousseau is a problem because 2 years from now the Bills might want to restructure his contract?

Good grief man, talk about borrowing trouble..... 

 

16 minutes ago, Mikie2times said:

If you have to ask the question if a player is making an impact, he's not.  

 

If you question whether Greg Rousseau is making an impact, you're not paying attention.

[Mikie2times]

9 minutes ago, Avisan said:

This is exactly what I'm talking about

 

He's objectively a good and impactful player, but his impact doesn't show up specifically in sacks, so he must not actually be good.

 

If he were the high-octane pass-rusher you want him to be, he would have re-signed for 40mil+. He makes half of that, because he's merely adequate as a pass-rusher while doing everything else exceptionally well.

 

 

 

3 minutes ago, Simon said:

 

So despite the fact that he's beating people up on the regular, Greg Rousseau is a problem because 2 years from now the Bills might want to restructure his contract?

Good grief man, talk about borrowing trouble..... 

 

 

If you question whether Greg Rousseau is making an impact, you're not paying attention.

This team needs to get sacks from somewhere right? Actually putting an offense in a long situation is meaningful in this game? A sack itself is one of the biggest negative EPA events an offense has short of a holding call or turnover. He is not a bad player, I'm not suggesting that. But he will be the highest paid DE on this team for the foreseeable future and is representative of how this team invests as a whole. We won't get splash plays, sacks, and turnovers from his contributions. We will get sound football. I think it's fair to ask more for the investment. 

[Simon]

4 minutes ago, Mikie2times said:

We won't get splash plays, sacks, and turnovers from his contributions.

 

5 days ago I watched him make two splash plays in the 4th qrtr that forced punts and literally gave the Bills a chance to win the game.

But because they weren't on your stat sheet, you disregard them. 

[Mikie2times]

3 minutes ago, Simon said:

 

5 days ago I watched him make two splash plays in the 4th qrtr that forced punts and literally gave the Bills a chance to win the game.

But because they weren't on your stat sheet, you disregard them. 

You might even say Greg Rousseau is sneaky good. 

[Simon]

1 minute ago, Mikie2times said:

You might even say Greg Rousseau is sneaky good. 

 

You might... 

 

[GoBills808]

We used to do this w Edmunds iirc

[Simon]

14 hours ago, Buffalo716 said:

I want Gregg to keep beefing up

 

He's never gonna be a bend a rip defensive end winning with speed and bend around the corner

 

But he does win with strength and leverage 

 

Calais Campbell is 6'7 and played at the U around 260-280

 

Then beefed up his frame to like 290 before the draft and finished at like 6'7 310 pound monster who could play along any front 

 

I think Rousseau at 280-290 will only improve his game since it's based on power and he has the frame and that will allow him to play every technique along the line 

 

I could see him transitioning later in his career like Aaron Schobel did and becoming even more of a power rusher.

[BADOLBILZ]

17 hours ago, Buffalo716 said:

 

 

He's very good but has never taken that giant step to perennial pro bowler which would really help the bills

 

 

 

Yeah and not being positioned to take a giant first step is largely why.

 

When he came out there were 3 things that made him such a productive pass rusher at Miami:

 

1. A very long first stride that caused OT's to have to make a big leverage choice(see the first play in that clip)

2. His ability to never lose sight of the QB

3. His sure tackling due to the Wilt Chamberlin sized hands

 

He has never really been able to use that long stride to cut OT's from the herd because he is needed to play in tighter alignments and move horizontally so much.  

 

In order to do that the Bills needed to be stouter inside and have an "over" rusher to complement his "under".   When he's had his moments it's usually when they are getting that from the opposite side.   

 

I get that Bills fans want him to be an edge bender but that was never likely to happen.   Just not that body type.

 

Now maybe you are right and he'd be better off bulking up but he's really good right now.   He's just not GREAT like Josh Allen so shining despite a poor supporting cast isn't nearly as easy.

Edited 1 hour ago by BADOLBILZ

[billsintaiwan]

3 hours ago, Fleezoid said:

 

Yes. And I think that's the problem. He's playing good, but the big plays just aren't there. It reminds me of Cornelius Bennett. After several years, the Bills D moved him from outside LB to inside. A buddy mentioned his tackle numbers went way up. But that's what MLBs do...make tackles. Problem was, it took away the Biscuit's big play abilities; sacks, tackles for loss, tipped balls and interceptions.

 

For a number of reasons, the Bills D just doesn't have the inside help. Perhaps if they did Rousseau would be in a position to make some splash plays. It's just not there, but it is sorely needed. 

I remember when they did that. And they did it because, outside of Bruce Smith, he was the most talented guy on defense and they needed him there. I really think he would have put up LT numbers or somewhere in the ball park if he was used the same. 

 

I get that he allegedly did some bad ahit to women, but he was amazingly talented. 

LT was, of course, a saint.

[Buffalo716]

1 hour ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

Yeah and not being positioned to take a giant first step is largely why.

 

When he came out there were 3 things that made him such a productive pass rusher at Miami:

 

1. A very long first stride that caused OT's to have to make a big leverage choice(see the first play in that clip)

2. His ability to never lose sight of the QB

3. His sure tackling due to the Wilt Chamberlin sized hands

 

He has never really been able to use that long stride to cut OT's from the herd because he is needed to play in tighter alignments and move horizontally so much.  

 

In order to do that the Bills needed to be stouter inside and have an "over" rusher to complement his "under".   When he's had his moments it's usually when they are getting that from the opposite side.   

 

I get that Bills fans want him to be an edge bender but that was never likely to happen.   Just not that body type.

 

Now maybe you are right and he'd be better off bulking up but he's really good right now.   He's just not GREAT like Josh Allen so shining despite a poor supporting cast isn't nearly as easy.

I do think the absence of Ed Oliver is hurting his statistics 

 

I think Gregg still has room to grow in his technique and get even better ... He does  have a straight arm power move which is great .. with his length and leverage he literally takes OTs off their feet and you are right his bear paws for hands do stop players and QBs when he gets his hands on them

 

As to the bolded maybe on some third and eights he can get more wide nine alignments than we usually give him to use his stride and get more leverage advantages... He does play very tight alignments a lot not out in wide space all the time 

 

The bills need him to play A+ football down the stretch 

Edited 13 minutes ago by Buffalo716