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Alaina GetzenbergESPN
LAS VEGAS — Von Miller leaned to the side, looking poised to rush a quarterback. Next to him stood defensive end Greg Rousseau, the Buffalo Bills’ 2021 first-round pick, watching the future Hall of Fame linebacker’s movements, where Miller placed his feet and hands and listening to his new teammate explain his moves off the line.
Miller was demonstrating his skills on a high school turf field under the Las Vegas morning sun during his sixth pass-rush summit last week. The event featured the NFL’s top four active sack leaders — Miller (115.5 sacks), Chandler Jones (107.5), Cameron Jordan (107) and Justin Houston (102) — who shared tips with other defenders on how they’ve been successful.
Rousseau was one of three Bills pass-rushers there among 21 players, alongside teammates Boogie Basham (Round 2, 2021) and AJ Epenesa (Round 2, 2020). They took up Miller’s invitation to learn from the best ahead of a season of high expectations for them and the team.
“I’m an open book and I’m going to force some of my chapters on them,” Miller said of the Bills’ young pass-rushers. “I’m going to force some of the stuff I know on them. It’s just little things.”
Miller & Co. spent the day coaching their peers on how to handle various situations and offering details on how to approach the line of scrimmage before the snap. Several veterans went into detail on cut-ups of their own film as Rousseau, Basham and Epenesa sat at a table together taking notes.
“To have an opportunity to physically come out here and physically see it, get hands-on attention, I find to me, that was a big jump,” Basham told ESPN. “Definitely for me to take my game to the next level, but also learn from other guys around the league, too.”
The Bills want to improve at getting after opposing quarterbacks following consecutive playoff losses to Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs, so they invested big in Miller this offseason with a six-year, $120 million deal. But Miller won’t be able to do it all on his own and his impact on his teammates off the field could potentially be almost as important as his presence on it.
“Getting to know these guys, these guys getting to know me, on and off the football field, Vegas is the perfect place for that, we can hang out, chill,” Miller said. “… Being in the OTAs with all these guys, man, it’s building up that respect, earning their respect from them.
“I come out here, I work out, break my neck for these guys and you building their brotherhood now. So, when the season starts and it’s fourth-and-long and we need a play, everybody trusts each other.”
The Bills need more from Rousseau, Basham and Epenesa after spending high picks on them. The Bills finished the 2021 regular season with 42 sacks, tied for 11th and sixth in pass rush win rate (45.6%), but the team lacked a consistent dominant pass-rusher whom opponents needed to be aware of at all times. The young trio combined for eight of those sacks, with Rousseau leading the group with four.
“This is going to be a big offseason for those guys,” Bills coach Sean McDermott said. “They’re in a position where they have to, we need them to really, really grow and develop and make a mark on our defense — and not just in a supporting role, but in a primary role.”
Buffalo added to its defensive line in other ways this offseason, bringing back Shaq Lawson and defensive tackle Jordan Phillips, in addition to signing tackles DaQuan Jones and Tim Settle. They opted not to re-sign veterans Jerry Hughes and Mario Addison, who played the first- and third-most defensive snaps among Bills defensive ends last season.
The Bills also picked up the fifth-year option on defensive tackle Ed Oliver (four sacks in 2021) in May, linking the 2019 first-round pick to the team for at least the next two seasons.
What are the Bills looking for from their young pass-rushers?
“Probably the consistency piece, where you kind of know what you’re going to get every day, that’s important,” defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier said. “They’re past that point when they were rookies, and it was kind of up and down, lulls here, break out here.”
While the summit was valuable for learning from a variety of players and coaches, Miller has been helping his teammates during offseason practices as well. Going into his third year, Epenesa noted how he told Miller during the team’s OTAs that he was working on his rush angle. During practice, Miller made a point of noting reps where Epenesa had a good angle.
When Epenesa was interviewing with the Bills prior to the draft in 2020, he told the Bills he modeled his game after Miller.
“People are gonna see him, and they’re gonna wanna protect against him because of his reputation, and that kind of opens the door for other people,” Epenesa said. “If they’re gonna focus on him, we have to be able to execute ourselves and make plays whenever it’s needed as well.”
During the 40-plus minutes Miller spent breaking down his film at the summit, he lauded the efforts of former teammate
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Quick-hit thoughts and notes around the New England Patriots and NFL:
1. Mac’s edge: Patriots owner Robert Kraft said in March that quarterback Mac Jones was “respectful of coming in as a rookie” last season and that he believed Jones “has a little more edge that we’ve seen.”
It’s showing now.
The Patriots have two weeks remaining in their offseason program — with a three-day mandatory minicamp scheduled for Tuesday-Thursday this week — and Jones’ increased leadership has caught his teammates’ attention.
“It’s just at another level now,” receiver Kendrick Bourne told ESPN. “He’s more comfortable, more confident. He knows what’s going on, and the muscle memory is there [from having gone through it] — OTAs, then camp, and the season. He’s just more locked in, more secure in his position.”
As a result, Jones is positioned to become a team captain in just his second NFL season. If that’s the way it unfolds when players vote near the end of training camp, it would put him in rare company, joining Jerod Mayo and Devin McCourty as the only other Patriots to earn a second-year captaincy in Bill Belichick’s 23-year tenure as head coach.
“He connects with all the players really well. I’m proud of that dude, because it’s not easy,” said Bourne, who was among the visitors at Jones’ house for a hibachi party during the first night of the NFL draft. “Going into his second year after having a year like that, it’s going to be a challenge, but he’s a guy that likes challenges, like all of us in that Patriot building.”
Jones’ increased comfort level has manifested itself at practice when demonstrating to his pass-catchers what he’s looking for in their routes. At one point on Tuesday, he split out wide and ran a route as wide receivers watched intently.
Highlighting a top observation from Patriots practice: Mac Jones’ growing comfort level with WRs to express what he is looking for route-wise.
This video from Tuesday, after DeVante Parker takes a rep, shows one example.
Rolling the route, instead of a sharp cut, was emphasis. pic.twitter.com/miHqn728bH
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) June 1, 2022
“He’s a young guy but he’s developed as a leader. That’s what this team needs,” said receiver DeVante Parker, now in his eighth NFL season and first in New England after being acquired in a trade from Miami. “I’ve only been here a few weeks, but I still see it.”
Added veteran cornerback Malcolm Butler: “He has great energy on and off the field. His confidence, his swagger — I love that about him.”
2. Balancing act: Starting safety Adrian Phillips arrived in town last week to take part in the final couple of weeks of the team’s offseason program. He said he felt it was the right thing to do, even though it wasn’t easy leaving his wife, Camille, and their 8-month-old son, Dylan, back in Texas. Camille, a doctor, has a demanding job.
“I was at home being a dad and house husband,” Phillips said. “I’m sad that I’m away from him for an extended period of time, because this time is so pivotal. But I FaceTime with him every day and make sure he doesn’t forget my face.”
3. Post-McDaniels era: How has the transition been without Josh McDaniels at offensive coordinator? Spending time with Bourne last week at the 47th annual Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Massachusetts Golf Classic, he shared one player’s perspective.
“It’s been dope so far. Joe Judge, our newest member [of the staff], he’s doing a great job,” Bourne said. “Really just new terminology, new words. Football is football, so it’s just about learning the new words, and getting the old words out. And it’s applying my abilities to the new system.”
How much the Patriots’ system actually changes — versus how much the staff is focusing on experimentation — is one of the greatest areas of intrigue surrounding the team.
“I think [Judge is] putting us in position to be successful. I’m excited so far,” said Bourne, adding that his abilities as a rusher (12 carries, 125 yards, 10.4 average in 2021) have been among the personal highlights. “Hopefully we’ll have a great year. We’ll see how it goes.”
4. CB questions: If there’s one position that stands out when asking the question “Do the Patriots have enough?” it’s outside cornerback. Veterans Butler and
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The New York Giants defense will look different this season, which isn’t a bad thing considering it ranked 21st overall last year. When teams wanted — and needed — to score on them, they usually did.
The Giants were outscored 79-0 in the final two minutes of first halves in 2021. They were spared even more embarrassment because the opposition usually didn’t need to do it again in the final two minutes of the game during a 4-13 season that included 10 double-digit losses.
Defensive coordinator Don “Wink” Martindale inherits a group that pressured opposing quarterbacks on just 24.2% of dropbacks last season, fifth worst per NFL Next Gen Stats. General manager Joe Schoen addressed the issue, using the fifth overall pick in the 2022 NFL draft on edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux to headline what is expected to be an aggressive defense that relies on the perception of pressure from all over the formation to stress opposing offenses.
“You want to dictate to the offense instead of sitting there and letting them dictate to you,” Martindale said last week. “I think this is a game of adjustments and matchups and everything else, but I would rather them have the headache and stay up five nights before we play them figuring out what we’re going to do and [we will] try to present different looks every time we play, because pressure does break pipes. That’s our philosophy.”
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Marcel Louis-JacquesESPN
MIAMI — Former New England Patriots and Los Angeles Rams running back Sony Michel has signed with the Miami Dolphins, the team announced Tuesday.
The deal is for one year and worth $2.1 million, a league source told ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler on Monday.
Michel, 27, will be the third running back to sign with Miami this offseason, joining Raheem Mostert and Chase Edmonds. The Dolphins already have Myles Gaskin on their roster, and they tendered Salvon Ahmed as well.
The Dolphins could use a boost to their rushing offense after finishing 30th in rushing yards in 2021. They also finished with the third-fewest average yards before contact and the seventh-fewest average yards after contact in the league.
1 Related
Miami has spent a majority of its resources this offseason on improving its offense under first-year coach Mike McDaniel, including signing offensive tackle Terron Armstead and trading for wide receiver Tyreek Hill.
In five seasons as the San Francisco 49ers’ run game coordinator, McDaniel’s offenses ran for the 11th-most yards in the league. Last season, McDaniel’s first as offensive coordinator, the 49ers were seventh in the league in rushing and fifth in attempts.
Michel rushed for 845 yards and scored five touchdowns (four rushing, one receiving) for the Super Bowl champion Rams last season.
They acquired him from the Patriots in August for fifth- and sixth-round picks in the 2022 draft. He filled a major need for the Rams after Cam Akers tore an Achilles tendon before training camp.
Michel played sparingly until he moved into the starting lineup in December following an injury to Darrell Henderson Jr. Michel rushed for more than 100 yards twice that month and had another game in which he had 92 yards rushing. Michel’s role in the postseason diminished as Akers returned from his injury to reclaim his starting role.
The Patriots selected Michel with the 31st overall pick in the 2018 draft out of Georgia. They had declined the fifth-year option on his rookie contract last May.
In three seasons with the Patriots, he rushed for 2,292 yards and 14 touchdowns.
This will be a homecoming of sorts for Michel, who was a five-star running back at American Heritage School, roughly 20 miles from Hard Rock Stadium.