Pack Places Two on NFL’s All-Breakout Team

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From TSN

Seems to be a lot of Mario Williams talk in and around Houston right now. We ask that our community pitch in and share some links and information related to any of this.

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Alums General NCS Football

43 Responses to Pack Places Two on NFL’s All-Breakout Team

  1. noah 08/22/2007 at 9:23 AM #

    1) I didn’t bash Bush, I just don’t think he’s as good as everyone makes him out to be. 3.6 yards per carry?? He’s had one 100-yard-game. He’s only rushed for more than 50 yards in four games.

    Running backs in the NFL are cheap, plentiful and they don’t last. If you want to think he’s the greatest thing ever, go right ahead. I just think you’re wrong. He’s nothing special, he didn’t impress me in college, and he didn’t show me anything at all last year.

    I don’t have to list HOFers that are better than him. He’s probably….maybe in the top 20. On his own team. If I had to list all the RBs in the league better than him, I could probably name 50 before I’d even think about listing Bush.

    2) Brees didn’t throw for almost 5,000 yards, he threw for 4,400+ yards. That’s reasonably consistent with what he did in San Diego. His TDs and yards-per-attempt were almost the same, he just isn’t handing off to LT 30 times a game.

    3) Vince Young sucks. He only completed 51 percent of his passes (pathetic) threw more interceptions than touchdowns (deadly) and for all the crap I’ve heard about how god-awful Joey Harrington is, Young had a worse QB rating.

    When you get yourself thrown out of practice and suspended for a game (any game, preseason or not) when you’re a starting QB, you’re a thug and an idiot. This guy will be out of the league in two more years.

    The Titans coaching staff have already started grumbling about how idiotic the guy is. They had to teach him how to call a proper cadence, they’ve had to strip the entire playbook down to the simplest terms and he can’t read defenses to save his life. Now that teams have some tape to go on, he’s going to get killed this year.

    This has NOTHING to do with Mario Williams. I have no idea how Williams will do. He might spend his entire career on the injured list. He wouldn’t be the first DL to do so and he certainly won’t be the last.

  2. Dr. BadgerPack 08/22/2007 at 9:41 AM #

    What Noah said…

    With the addition that I don’t think comaring Bush to Jones-Drew is “putting Bush in elite company.” Jones-Drew killed Bush in total yards, yards per carry, touchdowns and I think even yards per catch. If one is in “elite company” by simple virtue of negative comparison, well, Jerry Rice is a better receiver than I am… sweet- I’m in elite company.

  3. RedTerror29 08/22/2007 at 9:56 AM #

    You can add Laurence Maroney and Joseph Addai to the list of rookie RB’s who had a better year than Bush.

    And, please, enough of the “Bush forces defenses to account for him any time he’s on the field” argument. Bush won’t force defenses to account for him until he starts making plays consistently. Right now defensive coordinators are more worried about Brees, Colston, and McAllister.

  4. RedTerror29 08/22/2007 at 9:59 AM #

    One more thing. I don’t mean to bash Bush (although he should lose his Heisman and USC their wins for the house), but as long as the debate is framed as Mario is a terrible pick because VY and Bush are the greatest thing since sliced bread, it should be pointed out that VY and Bush haven’t been all that great yet.

  5. RabidWolf 08/22/2007 at 10:01 AM #

    Does anyone else here hope that the Chargers coaching staff takes the leash off PR this season?

  6. noah 08/22/2007 at 10:04 AM #

    “And, please, enough of the “Bush forces defenses to account for him any time he’s on the field” argument.”

    I’m not aware of a single NFL player that doesn’t force defenses to account for them when they are on the field. Even poor, broken-down Ricky Proehl, in his 35th year in the NFL, with only one leg and half of one arm proved that in the Super Bowl. The Pats didn’t feel like it was necessary to guard a guy who was being administered last rites while lying comatose on the sidelines and he still ended up catching a long touchdown pass.

    NFL players are JUST_THAT_GOOD. : )

  7. McPete 08/22/2007 at 11:26 AM #

    the fact that LB Ryans had a better year than Mario makes it worse. the fact is, Williams had 4.5 sacks for the entire year and that’s what he gets paid to do. but i wonder if the texans coaching staff is ruining him. overcoaching. i read one of his teammates quotes that mario could be seen counting out his steps off the snap and overthinking what he’s supposed to be doing. he was moved all over the D line last year and that was not good for him either.

  8. lush 08/22/2007 at 11:32 AM #

    im with wulfpack, yall are crazy. bush only got back up time as a runnning back and third or fourth string time as a reciever, and still put up great numbers for both as a rookie. and you people dont think he is going to get better? from what i am reading here, from you nfl experts, it is ok for mario to have a learning curve but bush should be awesome right away? double standard anyone?

    and yes that Bush forces defenses to account for him any time he’s on the field” argument is valid. extremly valid. did any of you actually watch the saints play? they were a great offensive team last year. why? becasue the defenses were very much scared of letting bush get in the open field. anytime he was on the field they were worried about getting embarressed by him, so they focused on keeping him off the ball, which allowed duece to run it up the middle and brees to throw for 4000+ yards. if bush isnt on that team they would have an entirely different philosophy. and there is no way without their offense, and without bush, that they make the playoffs.

  9. BJD95 08/22/2007 at 11:38 AM #

    Bush is a great pass-catching RB, and since they have Duece to get the tough yards inside, he’s ideal for the Saints attack.

    I am impressed that somebody brought up MJ-D already, so I didn’t have to. Essentially, Bush is a poor man’s Jones- Drew, except that the latter was drafted towards the end of Round 2. Scarily enough, Jones-Drew is also the Jags’ goal-line back, because of his low center of gravity and strong lower body.

    If you get a chance to watch a Jags game this year, pay special attention to MJ-D’s carries. IMHO, he’s the closest thing we’ve seen to Barry Sanders since he left the game. Barry Sanders who can also run inside, that is.

  10. TNCSU 08/22/2007 at 12:17 PM #

    ^^^bush only got back up time as a runnning back and third or fourth string time as a reciever

    That should tell you something — although I agree, he’s a great talent, with tremendous natural ability, he’s not “outstanding” in any one area, but very versatile, and “good” in alot of areas, and I would agree that if I were a DB, I would not want to face him one on one in the open field.

  11. lush 08/22/2007 at 12:36 PM #

    tncsu,
    all that tells me is that he was a rookie. and i think that it makes his accomplishments last year look even better. he will get at least 150 more touches this year, and he will double his td total. mark it down.

    bjd,
    im with you on mjd, great player, but i wouldnt put him up with barry sanders. and he’s so small like 5’6 very unique

  12. BJD95 08/22/2007 at 1:08 PM #

    ^ There was one play in particular last year (think was against Ravens or Colts) that was vintage Sanders. Trapped behind the line, almost flat on his back, then sprung to his feet, changed direction, and popped off a 50+ yard gain.

  13. Wulfpack 08/22/2007 at 3:59 PM #

    If the argument is Mario vs. Bush – who ahd the better rookie year – it’s a no brainer. If you don’t see that then…well you aren’t paying attention. As for who has the greater upside, that remains to be seen. It doesn’t hep mario when his GM throws him under the bus. it also doesn’t help that he plays for one of the worst teams in the league. Bush plays for one of the best which limits his opportunities.

  14. lush 08/22/2007 at 4:46 PM #

    bjd,
    i just read the new espn the mag and dan patrick interviews mjd on the last page. guess who he idolized growing up? it rhymes with harry flanders. he also said he wished he had barry’s moves cause he thinks he is better at running over people with his low center of gravity.

  15. bTHEredterror 08/23/2007 at 2:04 AM #

    Yeah, Jones Drew said it himself. He isn’t Barry Sanders. He is more like Joe Morris. I don’t mean to be disparaging, JD is a versatile running back, and I like his game, but he doesn’t have Barry’s multidirectional quickness. He is more of a straight line power back. I’ll agree he does use his short stature to his advantage like Sanders, just in a different way.

    Noah, I disagree, Reggie Bush is a solid back, as a change of pace or a passing down specialist. I would say there are maybe 15-20 RBs I’d like as starters before him, but I would pick him sooner because he is a homerun hitter, and forces defenses to blitz less and focus secondary help or pay dearly. His numbers would have been similar to J-D if he got the opportunity to play six games against the Texans (20th Rush D last year) Titans (30) and Colts(32) like J-D did. NO’s division rivals were 9,11 and 17. I am sure you recall the disgraceful effort the Colts D mustered in J’ville.

  16. noah 08/23/2007 at 9:16 AM #

    “Solid” is a good adjective for him. We agree on that.

  17. Texpack 08/24/2007 at 9:26 AM #

    Like any self respecting Longhorn, my wife has her Vince Young shrine in the game room just opposite my NC State Basketball memorabilia, so I’ve had to listen to more crap about Mario vs. VY than most. (Our dog is even named Vince.)

    Mario has looked almost robotic during the pre-season so far. He showed flashes last year, but the lack of practice time really hurt his development. People in Houston are very much aware of his label from State as a selective effort type of player, so a lot of them assume that is his problem with the Texans. Kubiak has consistently had positive comments about Mario’s work ethic and intensity and he doesn’t just hand out compliments. He has also said that Mario has to play better for the Texans to be successful. He needs to make big plays this year pretty frequently, or at least force teams to double him to bring the fans around. As a Texans fan and Houston resident, I certainly hope he comes around this season.

    We certainly don’t see negative comments on VY in the Houston media. Noah may end up being right about VY, but after watching him at UT, I think he has all of the intangibles that make up a great QB. I also think he will develop as a passer under Norm Chow. Remember that he didn’t play under center much at all in college. If the Titans and VY have a very rough season this year, I wouldn’t be at all surprised. Their receivers are lousy as a group. Some speculate that VY is the reason they couldn’t attract any quality receivers through free agency.

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