Bills' defense will miss early-season unsung hero after veteran 'popped a calf'
His name was one of the first mentioned by the experts as a potential offseason salary cap casualty.
After the Buffalo Bills drafted defensive tackles in Rounds 2 and 4, the speculation increased with some proclaiming that the days were numbered for veteran DaQuan Jones. As it turns out, however, Bills' brass was following a different line of thinking, and it paid dividends over the season's first five weeks.
"Probably our most proven or consistent defensive lineman to this point in the season," said Bills' head coach Sean McDermott after Jones was forced to miss the Week 6 loss due to an injury suffered in pregame warmups.
One of only four defensive tackles on Buffalo's 53-man roster, Jones, who showed plenty of juice running with the first team throughout training camp, effectively handled a heavy workload from the start. The versatile interior lineman logged 64 percent of defensive snaps through five games.
While working out prior to the October 13 primetime matchup against the Atlanta Falcons, however, Jones "popped a calf" and has been subsequently labeled as "week to week."
Jones's presence became especially important after fellow starter Ed Oliver sprained his ankle in practice and proceeded to miss four games in a row. With Oliver returning in Week 6, Jones went down before the two could play a snap together again.
Set to turn 34 years old in December, Jones will be a free agent at the end of the season. The 2014 fourth-round draft pick, out of Penn State, has eight tackles and 2.0 sacks thus far in what is his 12th NFL season.
Althouigh the bye week should help his recovery, Jones seems likely to miss at least one game due to the injury, and the Bills' defense, which is already down second-round rookie DT TJ Sanders, is certainly going to miss him.
Kendre Miller will EXPOSE the Bears' biggest defensive deficiency
There is a lot of emphasis on the story of Kendre Miller seeking revenge against Dennis Allen in the New Orleans Saints' Week 7 contest versus the Chicago Bears. That extra motivation isn't the only reason to think a big game is on the way for Miller. Stylistically, this is a favorable matchup as well.
The conversation has been a focal point this week, with good reason. The third year running back has more momentum right now than he's ever had, and he's with a coach that believes in him.
That seemingly wasn't the case with Allen at the helm. Miller's obviously had his injury concerns, but for all intents and purposes, Miller's final injury last year was handled too harshly. He was put on injured reserve when that was reportedly far from the case. That sounds like a coach saying, "I'm done with you," and is definitely a reason for Miller to hold a grudge.
The Bears can't tackle and Kendre Miller can't be tackled
Let's look beyond the juiciness of the storyline, and see why a Kendre Miller revenge game is plausible. Per NextGen Stats
Football has its complexities, but sometimes it truly is that simple. Miller is a hard player to tackle, and the Bears have allowed consistent yards after contact. They also have one of the worst run defenses, in terms of pure rushing totals, and the Saints have two talented rushers. Run the ball.
Also, Alvin Kamara is still working through an ankle injury. Because of this, you could see more of Miller. As long as Kamara still plays, the two running backs seeing around the same amount of touches is likely.
On Wednesday’s episode of the Saints Squad Show, three of the analysts’ bold prediction centered around Miller. Whether it was 100 yards, Miller scoring the first touchdown or 100 rushing yards and two touchdowns, the expectation is for a big game out of Miller. The Bears struggles against the run open the door for Miller to deliver on that expectation.
Revenge is a motivating factor on top of all of that. Motivation doesn’t suddenly give you super powers, but it will make the eventual explosion even sweeter.
