In his trip around all 32 NFL teams, NFL.com's Gregg Rosenthal examines one player from each team that is poised to breakout this season. When it comes to the Bills, Rosenthal says that defensive tackle Marcell Dareus is set to be a star. Ranked by NFL analyst Mike Mayock as the top player available in the 2011 NFL Draft, Dareus quietly experienced a wealth of success for the Bills last year. He played in all 16 games, starting 15, and recorded 5.5 sacks as a nose tackle on a 3-4 defense that primarily asked him to swallow up blockers.
This season, it appears as though the sky is the limit for Dareus, not only does he have a full off-season under his belt (the lockout prohibited such in 2011), but the Bills have made massive improvements along their defensive line. This, as Rosenthal points out, will cause a lot of teams to have to dedicate only one blocker to Dareus, who has the size and agility to create problems for even the best of offensive linemen. Additionally, the Bills have returned to a 4-3 front under new defensive coordinator Dave Wannstedt, which means that Dareus won't be asked simply to eat up blockers anymore. He'll be chasing the ball on every play.
Dareus figures to start alongside the returning Kyle Williams in the middle of superstar Mario Williams, Mark Anderson, and others such as former Pro Bowler Shawne Merriman and Chris Kelsay. That's right, the Bills five-man pass rush could consist of Mario Williams, Mark Anderson, Marcell Dareus, Kyle Williams, and Shawne Merriman, who have combined for 151 career sacks. The wealth of talent along the line could vault the Bills from worst to first in terms of their pass rush, and as we've seen across the league, the success of your pass rush has a trickle-down effect to the rest of your defense.
Follow me on Twitter at: GTorlone
No comments:
Post a Comment