Inside The Bills

RGIII already thinking about Dareus

Washington QB Robert Griffin III was asked about wanting to get his first NFL hits from defensive players out of the way in his first preseason game against the Bills. If Griffin had it his way he wouldn’t take any hits.

“To be honest, if I don’t get hit in the preseason, I would be very OK with that,” Griffin III told the DC Examiner. ”It’s football, you play it and hits are going to hurt. Sometimes guys are going to unload on you. You just have to be ready for that. I am not going to go in the game saying, ‘I hope Marcell Dareus hits me as hard as he possibly can.’ That’s not going to come out of my mouth. I look forward to going out there and playing. If I get hit, I get hit. If I don’t, thank God.”

Someone might want to remind the Heisman trophy winner that there are few other guys to worry about on that Bills defensive line besides just Dareus.

Good vibe on D-line

At the outset of camp Kyle Williams talked about guys along the defensive line pushing one another to be better. And while the Bills’ defensive linemen certainly are serious about their business they try to make sure they enjoy their work as well.

“A lot of guys are busting their butts now and that feeling is there,” said Marcell Dareus. ”The feeling of wanting to win and wanting to be around these guys and having fun at practice. I can’t express to you how good that is and playing football how much fun that is. As far as having a good feeling with each other that’s just the start of a new life for the Buffalo Bills.”

I guess with a Pro Bowl end on one side of him and a Pro Bowl defensive tackle on the other side, you understand why Dareus is enjoying himself so much.

Dareus feeling fortunate

Bills DT Marcell Dareus played on a championship caliber defense in college, but as he enters season two of his NFL career he feels blessed to be surrounded by the talent he has now on Buffalo’s D-line for a number of reasons.

“Honestly I look at it as a blessing. I never really played with a group of guys as talented as this group of guys,” said Dareus. “We come from different backgrounds and different ethnicities. We can come together and I can learn so much from this guy, that guy, that guy, this guy.

“I can get from a big small man perspective who can play like one of the biggest men on the field but so compact. He can show you different types of things playing with leverage. I can learn from Mario just dominating off the edge. Mark (Anderson) with his technique and just being so sweet with it. I get so much from different players and I can only take in so much. I’m like a sponge right now really just trying to learn as much as I can.”

Sapp likes Bills D-line

I guess we shouldn’t be shocked that a former perennial Pro Bowl defensive tackle in Warren Sapp really likes the Bills defensive line, but when asked for his biggest story line in the AFC East this offseason, Sapp picked Buffalo’s defensive coordinator and what he’s got to work with up front.

An NFL Network studio analyst, Sapp pointed chiefly to Mario Williams, Marcell Dareus and Kyle Williams as the main reason for him believing that Buffalo’s defense will be able to do some damage, and right now there’s no arguing with that point.

Fellow analyst concurred with Sapp’s assessment saying the way you make headway in the AFC East is by neutralizing Tom Brady, and he believes the Bills went a long way in arming themselves with the ability to do that.

Lobbying for former teammates?

Bills players are in town this week for the start of Buffalo’s offseason conditioning program. With their arrival running in concert with the start of the NFL draft, one wonders do players lobby the personnel department on behalf of their former college teammates? Bills head coach Chan Gailey provided me with the answer.

I specifically asked Chan if Marcell Dareus lobbied for any of his former Alabama teammates in an exclusive one-on-one interview today knowing up to five prospects from Nick Saban’s squad could come off the board tonight.

“Those Alabama guys are pretty loyal to each other they are, but there’s not much lobbying going on,” said Gailey. ”I think they probably realize that it doesn’t make a difference what they say. They’re pretty good about it. They tell you the truth about the guys when you ask them and we appreciate that. There’s not a lot of lobbying going on.”

Five Alabama players did make pre-draft visits to One Bills Drive. Mark Barron, Dont’a Hightower, De’quan Menzie, Dre’ Kirkpatrick and Trent Richardson.

Bonus Top 10 features Dareus

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.