NFL
Von Miller is Mentoring Bills Teammate Gregory Rousseau: ‘Been Feeding Him Gun Powder and Gasoline’
Tim Crean started writing about sports in 2016 and joined Sportscasting in 2021. He excels with his versatile coverage of the NFL and soccer landscape, as well as his expertise breaking down sports media, which stems from his many years downloading podcasts before they were even cool and countless hours spent listening to Mike & The Mad Dog and The Dan Patrick Show, among other programs. As a longtime self-professed sports junkie who even played DII lacrosse at LeMoyne College in Syracuse, New York, Tim loves reading about all the latest sports news every day and considers it a dream to write about sports professionally. He's a lifelong Buffalo Bills fan from Western New York who mistakenly thought, back in the early '90s, that his team would be in the Super Bowl every year. He started following European soccer — with a Manchester City focus — in the early 2000s after spending far too much time playing FIFA. When he's not enjoying a round of golf or coaching youth soccer and flag football, Tim likes reading the work of Bill Simmons, Tony Kornheiser, Chuck Klosterman, and Tom Wolfe.
Get to know Tim Crean betterPublished05 Aug 2022
This offseason, the Buffalo Bills added future Hall of Fame pass-rusher and 2021 Super Bowl champ Von Miller. Having a superstar like Miller — even an aging one at 33 — adds a lot to a roster that is already one of the best in the NFL. Having two elite pass-rushers on the Bills defensive line would take the team to yet another level. And that might be what the Bills have in 2022 as Miller is mentoring second-year player Gregory Rousseau.
Von Miller is mentoring Gregory Rousseau and the young Bills D-line
Outside of an injury-plagued 2013, Von Miller produced double-digit sack totals for the first eight years of his career. Even last year, playing for two different teams, Miller took down the quarterback 9.5 times.
He also was a key piece of the Los Angeles Rams Super Bowl run. Miller had four sacks (including two in the Super Bowl) and six tackles for a loss in last year’s postseason.
Now, Miller is a member of the Buffalo Bills, signing a massive six-year, $120 million contract (with $51.4 million guaranteed) this offseason.
As exciting as having Miller in Western New York is for Bills fans, coaches, and players is, the idea of this legend mentoring Buffalo’s young pass-rushers is just as exciting.
One player that Miller has already taken a shine to is former University of Miami standout and 2021 first-round pick Gregory Rousseau.
The No. 30 overall pick last year had a nice freshman season. He had three sacks in his first five games. However, he did tail off as the season went along, adding just one more sack in the final 12 contests.
In Bills training camp, Rousseau has impressed Miller, and the veteran is taking the youngster under his wing. Miller recently told reporters about Rousseau, “He’s a demon. And I’m gonna bring it out of him. Been feeding him gun powder and gasoline. Gun powder and gasoline.”
It’s not just Rousseau either who Miller can mentor to create a fearsome pass-rush in Orchard Park. In addition to Rousseau, Miller, and veteran defensive end Shaq Lawson, the Bills DEs include 2021 second-round pick Carlos “Boogie” Basham and 2020 second-rounder A.J. Epenesa.
Despite having the No. 1 defense in the league last season, the Bills were only 11th in sacks (42) and fifth in QB pressures.
If Von Miller, Gregory Rousseau, and the rest of the Buffalo pass-rushers can improve on those numbers in 2022, the Bills D will be just as scary as the Bills O, and that would be a terrifying thing for the rest of the NFL.
All stats courtesy of Pro Football Reference
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