ORCHARD PARK — Signing an extension doesn’t just mean a bigger paycheck. It also means increased expectations.
Greg Rousseau signed a four-year, $80 million extension with the Buffalo Bills in March and there is an expectation that his play should not only match, but exceed that contract. Even general manager Brandon Beane said at the NFL scouting combine that he would like to see Rousseau become a double-digit sack player.
Through four games, Rousseau has ½ sack and no tackles for a loss.
It comes after a season in which he set career-highs in tackles (53), pressures (35), quarterback hits (24) and tackles for a loss (16), while tying a career-best eight sacks. So good was Rousseau — especially against the run — that he joined Giants edge rusher Brian Burns as the only players to finish in the top-10 in TFLs and not get a vote for NFL Defensive Player of the Year.
Rousseau knows his numbers have to improve, but he also knows his sacks tend to come in bunches. He has four multi-sack games during his career and he’s recorded sacks in consecutive games five times.
“I want to obviously have more sacks, but I’m not going to really chase it,” Rousseau told GNN Sports. “You can go from having ½-sack to having four sacks. I’ve had three sacks in a game before. So it could change so quick. I’m not really getting down. I’m just going to keep going. I know my time’s going to come.”
Rousseau’s coaches were also left wanting for more. They, particularly defensive coordinator Bobby Babich, challenged Rousseau ahead of last week’s game against the New Orleans Saints.
Although Rousseau’s individual numbers were down, the coaches have trust in Rousseau and know they can challenge him. Because Rousseau isn’t the only player failing to record sacks this season.
The Bills rank fourth in the NFL in pressure percentage (28.5) and second in hurries (20), per Pro Football Reference. But they are 19th in sacks (9) and 27th in quarterback knock down percentage (5.8). That means the Bills are doing everything but hitting opposing quarterbacks.
“Trust has been built over the number of years he’s been here, but everybody needs reminders once in a while,” Bills coach Sean McDermott said. “… We coach them, which means we love them, which means we tell them the truth. That’s important in terms of growth. … If there’s an area we need to improve, then we’re going to improve it.”
Rousseau is a microcosm of Buffalo’s pass rushing dilemma. He has five pressures this season and a pressure rate of 6.7%, which might seem low. But Rousseau had a 6.5% pressure rate last season and he ranked 11th in the league in total pressures.
Long has Rousseau dismissed the idea of sacks being the defining statistic for a pass rusher, instead putting heavier stock than most outsiders on pushing the pocket and and pocket contain. But he still recognizes that he needs to find an extra gear to haul down quarterbacks at a more frequent rate.
And Rousseau is looking at his get-off, which is 0.88 seconds, according to NFL Next Gen Stats. His get-off is 0.07 seconds slower than last year, which tied for 10th in the league among defensive linemen.
“If I had six pressures, I’ve got to have eight or got to have nine,” Rousseau said. “The more you’re back there, the more good things are going to happen. I just have to focus on — even if I played good — how I can get whatever’s hidden in the grass. That step or two, how can I get there so I can get there a little bit faster? So I can get the hit instead of the pressure, so I can get the sack instead of the hit.”
Rousseau’s understanding of what needs to improve and willingness to take criticism is also part of why the Bills knew they could challenge him. Babich was ultimately pleased with the final result, even if it didn’t lead to a sack.
And Rousseau not only didn’t pout when challenged, but he didn’t show any displeasure upon learning Babich made it public, albeit without revealing details of the conversation.
“You can either take it like, ‘Oh, man. They don’t like me,’ or you can take it like, ‘I’m going to go harder,’” Rousseau said. “I’m going to take areas of my game and try to improve. So I took it in stride. I was like, ‘Bet. I’m going to go harder.’”
NOTES: RT Spencer Brown (calf), LB Matt Milano (pectoral) and DT Ed Oliver (ankle) all returned to practice Wednesday in a limited capacity. … TE Jackson Hawes (ankle) was also limited. … LB Dorian Williams (knee) did not practice.