Mario Williams turns in record-breaking performance

Perhaps reports of Mario Williams' demise were greatly exaggerated?

Yesterday, Mario Williams came out of nowhere for the Buffalo Bills and recorded 4.5 sacks, setting a Buffalo Bills record. That's right, more single game sacks than Hall of Famer Bruce Smith ever had. Smith recorded a high of 4 in 1994. 

Williams, in the second year of a a six-year deal that could be worth up to $100 million (50 million guaranteed), struggled early last season, recording only 4.5 sacks over the first eight games. He ended with 10.5, and has carried over the late season momentum with strong play over the first two games for Buffalo. There were reports Williams played injured in 2012, but did manage to appear in all 16 games. A feat becoming less and less common in the NFL.

Williams may never be worth the money the Bills sunk into him, but if he can continue to rush the QB in the manner he did on Sunday against Carolina, the rest of the Bills talented line that includes Kyle Williams and Marcel Dareus, will receive less attention and be more effective in their own pass rush, but also in stopping the run.

Following his Sunday performance, Williams leads the NFL in sacks and will be tasked with chasing down another speedy QB in Geno Smith in Week 3.

Mario Williams will be a Huge Addition to the Bills' New 4-3 Defense

In 2011, the Buffalo Bills’ defense was abysmal. It ranked 28th out of 32 in stopping the run and 29th in sacking the quarterback. The 2011 Bills allowed their opponents to score 434 points, and rush for 4.9 yards per attempt. Rookie defensive tackle Marcel Dareus had a solid year, but did not have enough talent around him as Kyle Williams missed much of the year with an injury. The Bills’ offense averaging a paltry 10 points a game did not help either as Buffalo limped to a 6-10 record ahead of only the lowly Miami Dolphins in the AFC East. 

The Bills this year have changed their defense from the 3-4 to a 4-3. What’s going to help them even more than that is the Bills went out and made a rare splash in the free agent pool by signing one of the best players in the NFL, Mario Williams. In a move to shore up their weak front seven, the Bills inked Williams, who is arguably one of the five best defensive ends in the game. Williams is a rare “big-ticket” player for the Bills, who prefer to build their teams through the draft.

Mario Williams has a 6-year-long contract that is worth at the very least $50 million and at the most, upwards of $100 million. $50 million guaranteed is the most any defensive player has ever earned, but Williams is worth every penny. He is still only in his 20s, was a former No. 1 overall draft pick and is a freakish athlete. At the NFL scouting combine before the draft, Williams was measured at 6’6” and 297 pounds and ran a blistering 4.65 second 40-yard dash. He’s big, quick, relentless, and probably can’t wait to line up against the likes of Tim Tebow, Tom Brady and Ryan Tannehill six times a year.

Williams brings a legitimizing presence to the Bills. Also in the offseason, the Bills added former Bears and Patriots defensive end Mark Anderson to mix. Luckily for Anderson and the Bills, Williams is sure to draw at least two and as many as three blockers every snap. This will surely free up Marcel Dareus to get some one-on-one match-ups to rush the passer up the middle. Anderson is not a very good anchor against the run, but has a great speed rush and can work a few moves to turn the corner and terrorize opposing quarterbacks.

As good as Dareus was last season, and as good as Anderson could be in this defense, Mario Williams is the determining factor as to how well the front seven can perform this year. Williams sat out almost all of last season with a pectoral injury, so it will be interesting to see if he is 100% healthy. If he is, the rest of the AFC should be very worried. All the pieces are in place for the Bills’ to field a much more formidable defense this season. Middle linebacker Nick Barnett had a great season last year, Dareus made lots of strides in his rookie year and the Williams-Anderson tag-team will be a force to be reckoned with in the AFC East.