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It wasn't a perfect game by any means, but one area of the Bills dominated that contest. Many have waited for the defensive line to be as potent as they were on Sunday, but they finally lived up to the billing against one of the worst offensive lines in the NFL.
Who stood out the most? Who struggled? Let's take a look at how the individual players graded out on the offensive and defensive lines.
Defensive Line
Mario Williams
Time on Field: 88.7% snaps played; 63 total
Stats: 3 tackles (solo), 2 sacks
Plus/Minus: +6
Observations: It was the most dominant effort of the season for Mario Williams. Not only was he potent in bringing down the passer twice, he had three other pressures and was consistent for much of the game in containing the edge and even making stops in the run game. There were only a pair of times where he failed to disengage from his blocker on plays, but by and large this was the type of game the Bills had been waiting for from their big ticket free agent signing.
Grade: A-
Season GPA: 2.75
Marcell Dareus
Time on Field: 85.9% snaps played; 61 total
Stats: 3 tackles (1 solo)
Plus/Minus: +7
Observations: After a couple of games that showed Marcell Dareus regressing, the former third-overall pick had his most dominant performance in 2012. He blew up both run and pass plays when facing a one-on-one matchup, clearing the way for his teammates to make plays at the line of scrimmage or even getting sacks of their own. It was a winnable matchup, and he came away victorious time and time again.
Grade: A-
Season GPA: 2.69
Kyle Williams
Time on Field: 70.4% snaps played; 50 total
Stats: None
Plus/Minus: +6
Observations: It's somewhat shocking that Kyle Williams didn't even register a tackle. If you watched Williams on a play-to-play basis, you'll see the same thing that has been commonplace for much of the season. Williams knifes through the offensive line and changes the course of a play. He forced a holding call and blew up a play that went for a tackle-for-loss for Jairus Byrd. It's a common theme for the defensive line, but Williams dominated a weak Arizona offensive line.
Grade: A-
Season GPA: 3.20
Chris Kelsay
Time on Field: 66.2% snaps played; 47 total
Stats: 7 tackles (6 solo), sack, TFL
Plus/Minus: +2
Observations: Chris Kelsay, while having his moments for the Bills, didn't have quite as good a game as the other four players that rotated in most frequently. Kelsay struggled in containing the edge and got caught rushing inside, allowing the running back to bust outside for a solid gain on the ground. However, Kelsay did bring down Kolb on the safety early in the contest and had a nice tackle in the backfield during overtime on a run play. He mixed in a pressure or two along with his day as well.
Grade: B
Season GPA: 2.67
Kyle Moore
Time on Field: 43.7% snaps played; 31 total
Stats: None
Plus/Minus: +6
Observations: In his first game where he got legitimate snaps, Kyle Moore might have been the best pass rusher on the field. Now, he wasn't the best total player on the defensive line because of his rather poor skills in defending the run. However, when he was allowed to pin his ears back and get after the quarterback, there wasn't a more disruptive force for the Bills along the defensive line. Late in the game when the Cardinals were trying to throw to tie and win the game, Moore dominated left tackle D'Anthony Batiste. If it weren't for a holding call, Moore would have had his first career sack. It was an impressive effort to say the least. However, he is a liability on run plays. He does not contain the edge well and he missed a would-be tackle down the field. It's tough to really discredit his day, though, because of how dominant he was in getting after the quarterbacks.
Grade: A-
Season GPA: 3.42
Alex Carrington
Time on Field: 32.4% snaps played; 23 total
Stats: 1 tackle
Plus/Minus: +2
Observations: Alex Carrington continues to get snaps for the Bills in their defensive tackle rotation and isn't overly impressive, but he's able to show enough consistency to warrant his play time. His biggest contribution on the game was getting a piece of Jay Feely's game-winning field goal try. Carrington also held a would-be Kevin Kolb scramble at the line of scrimmage in the fourth quarter.
Grade: B
Season GPA: 2.77
Jay Ross
Time on Field: 11.3% snaps played; 8 total
Stats: None
Plus/Minus: +1
Observations: In the few snaps that he had for the Bills, Jay Ross showed a nice fire off the line of scrimmage and tracked down a ball carrier to contribute to a tackle. However, Ross was released on the Monday following the game.
Grade: B-
Season GPA: 2.67
Offensive Line
Andy Levitre
Time on Field: 100% snaps played; 68 total
Plus/Minus: +5
Observations: The only player to take every snap on offense for the Buffalo Bills continued his impressive ways against Arizona. Andy Levitre has struggled some to get out in front on pull attempts at times, but that wasn't a problem at all for the fourth-year player against Arizona. He had some huge blocks to spring both Fred Jackson and C.J. Spiller through the hole for big gains. His only negative play came early on in the contest when Daryl Washington bounced off his block and brought down Jackson at the line of scrimmage.
Grade: A-
Season GPA: 3.24
Eric Wood
Time on Field: 100% snaps played; 68 total
Plus/Minus: +3
Observations: Eric Wood didn't have his best outing against the San Francisco 49ers, and bounced back with his abilities in pass blocking against Arizona. He controlled Dan Williams for much of the day and opened up some big runs for the Bills in the second half and overtime.
Grade: B+
Season GPA: 3.02
Chris Hairston
Time on Field: 100% snaps played; 68 total
Plus/Minus: -1
Observations: Chris Hairston showed a lot of ability in pass protection against Arizona. He wasn't challenged all that much by the somewhat underwhelming Sam Acho, but to Hairston's credit he was efficient at it all game. In run blocking, though, Hairston lost his man on a few different occasions, allowing the run play to get snuffed out at the line of scrimmage. He's been solid since Cordy Glenn suffered his injury, but there is little doubt that Glenn is the better player.
Grade: B-
Season GPA: 2.57
Erik Pears
Time on Field: 100% snaps played; 68 total
Plus/Minus: -5
Observations: The struggles for Erik Pears in 2012 continued against Arizona. During a game when most of the offensive line excelled, Pears could not do the same. He was beat for a sack by O'Brien Schofield twice in the game and allowed his assignments to stuff the run on two other plays throughout the game. Right tackle remains one of the weakest positions on the Bills' roster.
Grade: C-
Season GPA: 2.03
Chad Rinehart
Time on Field: 70.6% snaps played; 48 total
Plus/Minus: Even
Observations: Playing through a calf injury, Chad Rinehart had a quality contest against the Arizona Cardinals. He struggles to get out in space ahead of screens, but Rinehart was efficient in pass blocking and was a good helping blocker for most of the run plays. He's an average fill-in for the impressive Kraig Urbik.
Grade: B-
Season GPA: 2.59
Sam Young
Time on Field: 29.4% snaps played; 20 total
Plus/Minus: Even
Observations: Not playing at his natural position, Sam Young did well considering he's had about two weeks of practice at right guard. He made a key block on Darnell Dockett on a 3rd-and-2 early in the game. He also missed Kerry Rhodes on a run block that would have kept a play alive, and it was instead broken up in the backfield. Just an average day for Young.
Grade: B-
Season GPA: 2.60
- Those that did not appear in the game on offense or defense were not graded.
- For obvious reasons, this is a report that highlights my findings and opinions from the individual games.
- The GPA's attached at the bottom are an overall grade of how I felt that player performed, basing it all on the play-by-play film review done throughout the week. B- is considered average on my scale, not C.
- Plus/minus scores and GPAs will be tracked as the season goes along. An individual game's GPA will be weighted with how many snaps that player has on the field in the contest when figuring out a season long average.
Twitter: @JoeBuscaglia