Greg Rousseau has turned out to be a complete slug.

[Brand J]

1 hour ago, BADOLBILZ said:

The following year when the extension began Oliver's play dropped off dramatically and he will barely play at all this season.  

 

So far his extension has been a large financial failure.

 

Oliver played very well the year immediately following the agreed upon extension and then had a step back year, that’s correct. He has wrecked havoc in every game this year where he was healthy. We cannot predict injuries, he’s largely been durable. In no way was his contract extension at $17M or $18M/yr a large financial failure given his overall play. He’s arguably our best defender and makes half of what other premium DTs make. Good contract.

[gobills404]

How did Rousseau get a thread ripping on him before Benford?

[nedboy7]

My god. This board has become a bigger embarrassment than the actual defense.  Just pick a name each day and cry about it.  

[Kelly to Allen]

2 minutes ago, nedboy7 said:

My god. This board has become a bigger embarrassment than the actual defense.  Just pick a name each day and cry about it.  

 Fire McDermott 

[nedboy7]

Just now, Kelly to Allen said:

 Fire McDermott 

 

Greg Rousseau's 2025 PFF grades vary by week, but recent performances show an 

83.2 overall grade, a 79.3 pass-rush grade, and a strong 87.9 run-defense grade. He is ranked as the highest-graded edge defender against the run so far this season

[Bangarang]

The Groot extension made sense for the right price given proper expectations. 

 

He was never going to be a guy that consistently wins off the edge and gets to the QB. 

 

He was always someone that plays the run and gets you about 6-8 sacks a year. 

 

He wasn't a hard player to project. When he got to the QB in college it was mainly from playing inside but unfortunately that was never going to be where he would play in the NFL. 

 

Me thinks we're going to hate his contract in 2 years when he's making $23mil. 

 

Another overpay from Beane.

 

[Paup 1995MVP]

4 hours ago, DCOrange said:

Okay I feel less crazy now. Despite our horrendous run defense, Rousseau has been the bright spot there IMO.

 

In terms of pass rushing, he is what he's always been; he sets the edge and generally does a good job of seeing how the QB slides up or out of the pocket and then he reacts and finishes the play. Even dating back to college, basically all of his sacks were plays where someone else got the initial pressure and Rousseau finished the play. It's a valuable skill to have but not really the kind of skill that will dominate games and put fear in the QB.

 

He's a good player, but his skillset is one that lends itself to him being dependent on his teammates to really shine and as we've lost guys like Oliver, Hoecht, etc., and Bosa's play has slipped, that's eroded Rousseau's ability to be a difference maker too.

That’s a great summary of who Rousseau is.  He is strong against the run.  He just can’t get to the QB very much because he isn’t twitchy or a physical freak.  
 

The problem is that Epenesa or Bosa are pretty much the same guy as Rousseau at this points in their careers.  But not as good against the run.  Salomon is good on special teams.  And I don’t know if Landon Jackson is good at anything on a football field.  (We won’t know until next year) Our DE situation is terrible for rushing the passer.  We so needed Hoecht.  That and Kincaid’s injury are the losses that really hurt. 

[JoshAllin]

I think I saw or pretty sure I saw him line up inside for a couple of snaps in the 2nd half. I wouldn't mind giving him a few more looks there and actually help out the pass rush

[BADOLBILZ]

18 minutes ago, Brand J said:

Oliver played very well the year immediately following the agreed upon extension and then had a step back year, that’s correct. He has wrecked havoc in every game this year where he was healthy. We cannot predict injuries, he’s largely been durable. In no way was his contract extension at $17M or $18M/yr a large financial failure given his overall play. He’s arguably our best defender and makes half of what other premium DTs make. Good contract.

 

I think the disconnect here is your opinion is about your "feels" about whether they should have extended him.

 

That's irrelevant at this point.   I was OK with extending him too and loved the timing because I knew he had already prepared his body for a contract run.

 

But he was a big disappointment last year.   He got pushed around and was one of the worst starting DT's against the run in the entire NFL in 2024.  Hence the criticism.   

 

This year he looked like he had responded to that bad first year of his extension........but ultimately he's probably only going to play around 8% of the Bills defensive snaps this season.

 

So, thus far his extension consists of a bad year and a lost year.   

 

Thus far it has objectively NOT been a good contract.

 

[Simon]

8 minutes ago, Paup 1995MVP said:

We so needed Hoecht.  That and Kincaid’s injury are the losses that really hurt. 

 

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

[KHAN]

Groot hasn't elevated to greatness, but he's pretty far down the list of "bad" signings on this team.

[BADOLBILZ]

Just now, 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 

 

 

Yeah I was thinking he might be an NFLDPOY candidate after that opener.    But then he gets mysteriously injured in the next practice on a play nobody associated with the team seems to be able to remember.

[BillsShredder83]

3 hours ago, Kirby Jackson said:

My post magically disappeared. Let’s try this again. It’s a bad idea to pay role players as if they are high end starters. The Bills did it with Rousseau and Bernard. They did it with Knox before that. Those are the guys that you let walk and find role players much cheaper. 

Im holding out hope on Bernard.  Hes been hampered and i think its been something lingering more than the 'hurt  many different times' type of injuries.

 

Could be full copium, but im 100% hes not anywhere close to healthy right now.

[Pecker]

No one mentioned intensity. The Houston defenders and the Atlanta defenders absolutely explode off the ball with such power and fury it’s amazing to see.  Our guys are slow and meek in comparison.  That to me is coaching.  We must practice at a slow and cerebral pace which translates poorly to games.  That would explain why our DL has been a problem for ten years.

 

lastly, did you see those DEs arms last night? They were JACKED! Rousso is skinny and weak next to those guys.  They looked like roided out body builders.  No one on our team trains that hard 

[Kelly to Allen]

25 minutes ago, nedboy7 said:

 

Greg Rousseau's 2025 PFF grades vary by week, but recent performances show an 

83.2 overall grade, a 79.3 pass-rush grade, and a strong 87.9 run-defense grade. He is ranked as the highest-graded edge defender against the run so far this season

 

Cool how many sacks and ff or pressures did he get last night?

 

 

[Simon]

3 minutes ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

 

Yeah I was thinking he might be an NFLDPOY candidate after that opener.    But then he gets mysteriously injured in the next practice on a play nobody associated with the team seems to be able to remember.

 

It's a giant conundrum with him.

The previous year he tip-toed through the bulk of the regular season in an effort to keep himself healthy for when games really counted (a strategy I was 100% on board with) then started playing like he meant it in mid-December and was effective down the stretch.

This year he came out playing like a wild man and predictably got hurt less than a month in and is now lost for the year (anybody who thinks he's suddenly going to show up for a playoff game and tear it up in his first game back from a surgically repaired bicep is kidding themselves, imo).

A guy that size needs to play the season like a marathon, not a sprint, if he wants to be available when shlt gets real.

[GoBills808]

10 minutes ago, KHAN said:

Groot hasn't elevated to greatness, but he's pretty far down the list of "bad" signings on this team.

that's the point tho, isn't it

 

one average signing, in a vacuum, is neutral

 

a bunch of average signings in aggregate is bad

[Kirby Jackson]

6 minutes ago, BillsShredder83 said:

Im holding out hope on Bernard.  Hes been hampered and i think its been something lingering more than the 'hurt  many different times' type of injuries.

 

Could be full copium, but im 100% hes not anywhere close to healthy right now.

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. 

[BillsShredder83]

44 minutes ago, Brand J said:

Oliver played very well the year immediately following the agreed upon extension and then had a step back year, that’s correct. He has wrecked havoc in every game this year where he was healthy. We cannot predict injuries, he’s largely been durable. In no way was his contract extension at $17M or $18M/yr a large financial failure given his overall play. He’s arguably our best defender and makes half of what other premium DTs make. Good contract.

Literally 2 ?  Thats our sample pool, 2?  And will certainly not see another snap this year.  We need him to blow us away with a historic all timer next year

[Pecker]

1 minute ago, Simon said:

 

 

A guy (Oliver)that size needs to play the season like a marathon, not a sprint, if he wants to be available when shlt gets real.

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