Bonus Top 10 features Dareus
Tags: Marcell Dareus, Top 10 Performances of 2011
We’ve provided Bills fans with a bonus edition of the Top 10 Performances of 2011. With the NFL Combine fast approaching we thought it only appropriate to bring you the performance of a player that was one of the top prospects at last year’s Combine.
Marcell Dareus’ Week 8 performance against the Washington Redskins is our final installment with defensive line coach Giff Smith lending expert insight as to why Dareus was so successful in dismantling Washington’s defensive interior in what was his first game at nose tackle for the Bills.
We hope you enjoyed this year’s series and would like to take this time to again thank Coach Gailey and his staff for providing their expert analysis to you the fans.
AFC East player rankings
Tags: AFC East, Andy Levitre, Brian Moorman, C.J. Spiller, Eric Wood, Marcell Dareus, Ryan Fitzpatrick
ESPN AFC East blogger James Walker is listing his top 40 players in the division. So far he’s counted down from 40 to 21 and there are a handful of Bills players on the list.
Here’s the rundown of who has appeared on the AFC East Top 40 player list from the Bills.
Below is where the Bills are currently ranked from 21-40:
- No. 38 P Brian Moorman
- No. 32 RB C.J. Spiller
- No. 29 QB Ryan Fitzpatrick
- No. 27 C Eric Wood
- No. 25 DT Marcell Dareus
- No. 23 OL Andy Levitre
Dareus on leadership
Tags: Fred Jackson, Kyle Williams, Marcell Dareus, Ryan Fitzpatrick
While injuries were largely chalked up as a main reason for Buffalo’s slide out of playoff contention in 2011, Marcell Dareus said it was the leadership they lost to injury that perpetuated the slide which went seven games.
“The locker room felt different,” Dareus said in a SiriusXM NFL Radio appearance Thursday. ”I can’t even explain it because I had never been through it. We tried to keep that fire going, but without our leaders in there like Kyle Williams. When he got hurt he went back home and he wasn’t there and then Fred Jackson went down. Those are our two captains and when those guys were gone it made it harder.”
Ryan Fitzpatrick called Jackson the heart and soul of the team, so his loss took a lot out of the Bills in terms of talent on the field as well as emotional leadership. Sensing a void in leadership, Dareus became more vocal himself down the stretch including some pre-game speeches.
When asked about whether he intends to take on more of a leadership role in 2012, Dareus didn’t shy away from it.
“I’m going to try my best,” he said. ”I lead by example, but with our captains down I felt like we needed a voice of reason in the room. So I stepped up and did the best I could for whoever was willing to listen and whoever was willing to follow.”
Marcell eager to get 4-3 ‘D’ going
Marcell Dareus played in a 3-4 in college at Alabama, but is nonetheless excited about playing nose tackle in Buffalo’s new 4-3 scheme under new defensive coordinator Dave Wannstedt.
Appearing on SiriusXM NFL Radio at the Super Bowl in Indy, Dareus talked about the team’s new 4-3 front.
“I can’t wait to get back and get a feel for coach with the 4-3 scheme and see what they want me to run and what we’ll be doing,” he said.
Dareus believes the transition to Wannstedt as DC will be a smooth one since the veteran coach was on the staff last season.
“It’ll help because he knows our personnel and he knows what guys can do so he can piece us together the way he wants to,” said Dareus. ”I think we’ll be okay.”
Dareus: Brady cries to refs
Bills DL Marcell Dareus has only played against Tom Brady and the Patriots twice in his young NFL career, but he already has a handle on how in his opinion Brady influences officials.
Appearing on SiriusXM NFL Radio with Adam Schein and Rich Gannon, Dareus was asked how you stop Tom Brady with the Patriots poised to play the Giants in the Super Bowl. Dareus gave his opinion while also stating that as a defensive lineman you’ve got to stay cool knowing Brady is going to get some calls.
“You really have to find a way to isolate an offensive lineman and any way you can get a one-on-one that defensive lineman has to win and you have to get after Tom Brady some type of way,” Dareus said. ”Getting a hand in his face, knocking his arm down. Don’t go too crazy because Brady has the referees on his side. He cries to referees as soon as he gets a chance and it always goes his way. So don’t go too crazy, just play the game safe and just get in his face. Get him to throw bad passes, throw when he doesn’t want to.”
Dareus was in radio row at the Super Bowl in Indy Thursday pumping up his new affiliation with New Era for their new line of hats for the NFL draft, which will be released on April 2nd.
Dareus rates his rookie year
Tags: Marcell Dareus
Bills DL Marcell Dareus is on radio row at the Super Bowl in Indianapolis today and just appeared on SiriusXM NFL Radio with Adam Schein and Rich Gannon and gave a rating for his rookie year performance.
“I think I had an okay year,” Dareus said. ”On a scale of one to 10 I think I was like a seven and a half or an eight. I feel like I can do so much more. I can’t wait for this next season to start so I can really open it up. Me and a lot of the rookies we came into our own in 2011 so we’ll be ready to play this year.”
Dareus admitted that his first time playing a 16-game schedule was a grind both physically and mentally, but said he learned how to take care of his body this season and believes it will allow him to finish even stronger in 2012.
Dareus on ESPN2 Monday night
Tags: Marcell Dareus
Bills DL Marcell Dareus will be featured in the ESPN series ‘Hey Rookie’ tonight (Monday) on ESPN2.
Dareus along with other members of the 2011 NFL draft class will be profiled in the program as film crews followed several of the rookies around during parts of their first NFL season. The program airs at 11 pm ET on ESPN2.
All-Rookie honor for Dareus
Tags: Marcell Dareus
It’s yet another All-Rookie honor for Marcell Dareus. This one coming from Pro Football Weekly.
In releasing their All-Rookie team Pro Football Weekly listed Bills DL Marcell Dareus as one of their defensive tackles. Here’s their entire All-Rookie team.
Pro Football Weekly/Professional Football Writers of America
2011 All-Rookie Team
Offense
Quarterback
Cam Newton / Panthers
Running backs
DeMarco Murray / Cowboys
Roy Helu / Redskins
Wide receivers
A.J. Green / Bengals
Julio Jones / Falcons
Tight end
Kyle Rudolph / Vikings
Center
Mike Pouncey / Dolphins
Offensive guards
Stefen Wisniewski / Raiders
Danny Watkins / Eagles
Offensive tackles
Tyron Smith / Cowboys
Nate Solder / Patriots
Defense
Defensive ends
J.J. Watt / Texans
Jabaal Sheard / Browns
Defensive tackles
Marcell Dareus / Bills
Phil Taylor / Browns
Linebackers
Aldon Smith / 49ers
Von Miller / Broncos
Ryan Kerrigan / Redskins
Cornerbacks
Patrick Peterson / Cardinals
Richard Sherman / Seahawks
Safeties
Chris Conte / Bears
Chris Harris / Broncos
Specialists
Placekicker
Dan Bailey / Cowboys
Punter
Matt Bosher / Falcons
Punt returner
Patrick Peterson / Cardinals
Kickoff returner
Randall Cobb / Packers
Special-teamer
Akeem Dent / Falcons
More All-Rookie honors
Kelvin Sheppard joined Marcell Dareus in earning some more All-Rookie honors.
This time from Pro Football Focus. The film reviewers and stat crunchers wrote the following about two members of Buffalo’s 2011 draft class.
Defensive Tackles: Marcell Dareus, BUF & Jurrell Casey, TEN
For the hybrid scheme we’re using the flexibility of Dareus (who played far more 4-3 than 3-4), while having a disruptor like Casey is never a bad thing. The third overall pick of the 2011 draft, Dareus looked dominant at times and invisible at others so the best is likely yet to come from him. Casey went a long way to helping the Titans transition to a new style of defensive line and it be a success. Only three players made more defensive stops in the run game from the DT spot.
Middle Linebacker: Kelvin Sheppard, BUF
The MLB lacks a little depth but Sheppard had success in Buffalo as a two down player, particularly in run defense. Owes a lot of that to solid tackling where his Tackle Efficiency rating of 44 was the highest of all inside linebackers in the league.
Dareus on NFP All-Rookie Team
Tags: Marcell Dareus
Bills DL Marcell Dareus received all rookie honors this week.
Dareus was named to the National Football Post All-Rookie Team. Here’s what they wrote about Dareus’ first season in the NFL.
Marcell Dareus – Buffalo
Dareus started off the season playing as a 5-technique defensive end in Buffalo’s 3-4 scheme. When nose tackle Kyle Williams went down with an injury, Dareus was moved inside to play on the nose. He played more than 75 percent of the defensive snaps and put up some good numbers for an inside guy. He finished with 43 tackles and 5.5 sacks. He is best as a run stuffer, but 5.5 sacks is an excellent number for a rookie inside player. He was a great pickup for the Bills.
Dareus & Shep give BCS Champ preview
Tags: BCS National Championship, Kelvin Sheppard, Marcell Dareus
Check out Marcell Dareus and Kelvin Sheppard as they put their analyst hats on and preview the BCS National Championship game between their two schools Alabama and LSU.
Dareus and Sheppard take a look back at the first meeting won by LSU 9-6 and then assess the advantages for each squad, make their picks for the game. Both plan to head down to New Orleans to be there to watch it Tuesday. The part they didn’t figure out yet is if they’ll actually sit together or not.
Kelsay awarded 3rd sack
Tags: Chris Kelsay, Marcell Dareus, Spencer Johnson
Chris Kelsay, who arguably had his best game in a Bills uniform last Saturday, was awarded a third sack in the game.
His hit on Tim Tebow that led to the 17-yard interception return for a touchdown was originally ruled a quarterback hit and INT. The league has since changed it to a sack and forced fumble. So Kelsay’s stat line now reads 9 tackles, 3 sacks, 3 tackles for loss.
Kelsay (5) is now just a half sack behind Marcell Dareus (5.5) on the season for the team lead.
Spencer Johnson now has a fumble return for a touchdown instead of an interception return for a touchdown.
More importantly the Bills defense, which had set a new record with five interception returns for touchdowns in a season, are now tied with the original team record of four set back in 1960.
Dareus relishes facing Tebow
Bills DL Marcell Dareus has been on the winning side of the ledger when facing Tim Tebow in his past, most notably in the 2009 SEC Championship game en route to Alabama’s most recent national title. As we profiled on the home page at Buffalobills.com, Dareus has other motives against Denver this week, but facing Tebow again is a bonus.
“I enjoy beating Tim Tebow,” he said smiling. “He’s a good dude and everything, but it’s always good to knock somebody off the throne.”
Dareus was almost disappointed that New England beat the Broncos last week. He sounded as if he wanted to face Tebow on a seven-game win streak to try to break the run.
Dareus says he’s playing
Tags: Marcell Dareus
Bills DL Marcell Dareus was limited in practice on Wednesday with a hand injury that’s been around for a while.
Dareus re-aggravated the hand injury in last week’s game, came out, re-entered the game briefly and then sat out and did not return for most of the second half.
“It’s good,” said Dareus of the hand. “It’s coming along. It’s a middle of the season injury that had happened, the little nicks and bruises. I’m not really too worried about it. I’m going to play. I’ve got some great defensive linemen around me that are going to support me and we’re going to battle it out.”
Dareus assured that he’s playing on Saturday.
Dareus limited
Tags: Marcell Dareus
Bills DL Marcell Dareus is participating in practice, but he’s not full go.
His hand injury has him limited in individual positions drills with respect to hand technique work.
Also not practicing are Stevie Johnson, Johnny White and Lee Smith.
Dareus to practice
Bills head coach Chan Gailey said that Marcell Dareus will practice today (Tuesday), despite the fact that he has a painful left hand injury.
Dareus left last week’s game with a left hand injury, was eventually re-inserted into the game but then exited for good last Sunday against the Dolphins in the second half. He initially tweaked the hand in the San Diego game two weeks ago.
“Marcell will be out there (practicing),” said Gailey. ”We really have to protect that hand to make sure it doesn’t get damaged any further.”
With that in mind Dareus could be limited in practice for most of the week.
Dareus update
Tags: Marcell Dareus
At the conclusion of the Bills game against the Dolphins Sunday there was no official update on DL Marcell Dareus.
Dareus left the game with an apparent left hand/wrist injury and then returned to the game. He then left the game a second time and did not return. The defensive lineman was not available for comment after the game as he was having x-rays done on his hand/wrist.
He’ll be re-evaluated on Monday. Dareus had a minor hand injury last week against San Diego. No word on whether it’s the same hand.
Rinehart, Dareus earn Wk 14 props
Bills RG Chad Rinehart and DL Marcell Dareus both earned recognition as members of the All-Pro Football Focus team for Week 14.
Here’s what the folks at PFF wrote about the two linemen and their individual performances in the Week 14 loss to San Diego.
Guards: Nate Livings, CIN (+3.8) and Chad Rineheart, BUF (+3.4)
Yes you read that right, Nate Livings on the Team of the Week. He did a number on Antonio Smith, something that is far easier said than done. Rineheart edges out Cooper Carlisle to continue his mostly impressive year.
Defensive Tackle: Brodrick Bunkley, DEN (+4.3) and Marcell Dareus, BUF (+4.1)
For all those GMs paying attention, I believe Bunkley is a free agent at the end of the year. If you don’t think he won’t make your run defense better, you’re just plain wrong. After weeks of doing nothing, Dareus returned with a sack, hit, and four-pressure display. Can we get some more of that?
Rooks trying to clear wall
It’s the time in the NFL season where the rookies find out what being a professional is all about. NFL clubs have four games to play, when the college season has a three week layoff until the bowl seasons begins. It’s an adjustment physically for most rookies.
“I can’t speak for the other rookies, but I’m feeling that wall getting close,” said Marcell Dareus. ”The regular season in college is over with and it’s Week 14 in the NFL and oh man it’s taking a toll. Trying to stay fresh is tough. Old injuries just keep recurring and your body just hurts.”
A lot of players take on the mantra of rise and grind, but in the NFL it takes on a whole new meaning for young players.
“Oh my gosh,” said Dareus. ”That’s an understatement.”
Head coach Chan Gailey however, doesn’t believe it’s even an issue.
“I’ve never really given that much thought because we don’t really have as many reps in practice as they did in college,” he said. ”I think when you combine the reps in the games and practice in college to the reps in practice and games in the pros I’m not sure it doesn’t come out pretty close for a whole year.”
Who’s left for the nose?
With both of Buffalo’s top two nose tackles on injured reserve in Kyle Williams and Torell Troup, the Bills have just a couple of options left to man that demanding spot when they go to their 3-4 front.
Of late the Bills have played a lot more 4-3 looks against the Dolphins and Jets the past two weeks. Whether that continues remain to be seen. But if they do go to their 3-4 front, Chan Gailey shed some light on how things would shape up personnel-wise at the nose.
“It’ll be a mix,” Gailey told Buffalobills.com. ”Kellen (Heard) will probably play the first snap in there, but it will be a mix. We’ll roll all those guys in there to keep everybody fresh. Our defensive line coach Giff Smith does a great job with that group and has them ready to be interchangeable.”
Gailey also said that Marcell Dareus would be part of that mix.
