Inside The Bills

How Mario & Jerry work off each other

Pro Football Focus has put together a wonderful in depth look at the effectiveness of Mario Williams and Jerry Hughes as a pass rushing tandem. Suffice to say the two work off one another extraordinarily well, not dismissing how much Marcell Dareus and Kyle Williams assist in that effort too.

Here’s a look at some of the main points the PFF’s extensive analysis revealed.

1 – Hughes and Williams combined for no less than five QB pressures in all by three games last season.
2 – Both were more effective pass rushers in blitz situations last season with Hughes seeing close to a five percent increase in pass rush effectiveness.
3 – Mario was most effective on pass rushes in which the center slid away from Williams in the protection.
4 – Hughes was most effective on pass rushes in which the center stayed home in the protection.
5 – Hughes was at his best as a pass rusher on first and second down, while Williams was most effective on third down.

Perhaps most encouraging is knowing that Rex Ryan and Dennis Thurman will be blitzing a whole lot more than Jim Schwartz did last season, both Hughes and Williams figure to see their production increase even more when it comes to bringing the heat.