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Grading the Bills’ Defense Through 9 Games This Season

By Dennis Moody

Aug 20, 2016; Orchard Park, NY, USA; Buffalo Bills assistant head coach/defense Rob Ryan (left) and head coach Rex Ryan on the field before the game against the New York Giants at New Era Field. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 20, 2016; Orchard Park, NY, USA; Buffalo Bills assistant head coach/defense Rob Ryan (left) and head coach Rex Ryan on the field before the game against the New York Giants at New Era Field. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports /
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Sep 15, 2016; Orchard Park, NY, USA; Buffalo Bills defensive end Jerry Hughes (55) tackles New York Jets quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick (14) during the first half at New Era Field. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 15, 2016; Orchard Park, NY, USA; Buffalo Bills defensive end Jerry Hughes (55) tackles New York Jets quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick (14) during the first half at New Era Field. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports /

Jerry Hughes Defensive Grade Through Nine Games:

A. . Edge Rusher. Buffalo Bills. JERRY HUGHES

Jerry Hughes is as aggressive of a player as they come. It’s part of the reason why he has been so successful racking up sacks in his time with the Bills. It’s also part of the reason why he gets so many penalties. The guy is laser focused on one thing and one thing only. Getting to the quarterback no matter what it takes.

Pro Football Focus ranks him as the 9th best player at rushing the passer so far this season with a grade of 83.2. The Bills don’t ask Hughes to help against the run too often so his grade against the run of 41.4 is not that surprising. Part of that poor rating is because of how aggressively he pursues the quarterback which sometimes opens up rushing lanes for opposing running backs.

His aggressiveness can lead to a few offsides and an unnecessary roughness or roughing the passer penalty but on the whole, his aggression benefits the team. In his first two years with the team, he had 10 sacks and 9.5 sacks. Last season he trailed off a bit only managing five sacks although the team as a whole struggled in that department last year.

This season he is back on track with 5 sacks, 21 tackles, 8 assists, 3 pass deflections, 1 forced fumble and a blocked kick. He’s on pace to get around 9 or 10 sacks again. He has matched his total last year of five already and that is despite being double teamed consistently.

The extra attention that Jerry get’s on his side of the line is part of what has freed up Lorenzo Alexander to have a league leading 10 sacks. This is why he has earned an “A” grade in our book because he does many things on a play by play basis that don’t necessarily show up on the stat sheet, including beating double teams.

As teams shift their focus over to Lorenzo Alexander a bit more and as Shaq Lawson develops his game you can expect Hughes to become more productive as the season goes on.

On the next slide let’s see how middle linebacker Zach Brown has graded so far this season.

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