Wearing Red, Williams nabs 3.5 sacks vs Broncos

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Mario WilliamsYou can click on this link to see one of Mario’s 3.5 sacks last night. Super Mario is starting to receive praise from media members who had been critical of the former number one pick.

Williams is now second in the NFL with 13 sacks on the season.

The Texans usually wear what they call their “Battle Red” jerseys once a year for a special game, but I have never seen them wear red pants with the jerseys. Obviously, Wolfpack fans will find it fitting that Williams had such a big game decked in all red.

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30 Responses to Wearing Red, Williams nabs 3.5 sacks vs Broncos

  1. LRM 12/14/2007 at 6:25 AM #

    It’s also important to note that Mario is now the Texans’ franchise leader in sacks, as well. What were the Texan’s thinking, drafting him over Young and Bush? Idiots, obviously.

    Although, Mario apparently didn’t know the game was on the NFL Network, broadcast into 312 homes nationwide: “This is our first big-stage game,” Williams said. “Everybody was watching. We were the only game on…”

  2. Par Shooter 12/14/2007 at 6:51 AM #

    Trying to block him with a RB? You may want to consider a different strategy.

  3. Dr. BadgerPack 12/14/2007 at 7:50 AM #

    I watched that game and Mario was absolutely dominant. He was shedding blocks like they were non-existant and one one particular sack he shed a blocker and got Cutler from behind.

    Reggie Bush and Vince Young have to be dissappointed that now they aren’t even going to be “better” than Mario on the Bush-Network… um, I mean ESPN.

  4. packbackr04 12/14/2007 at 7:59 AM #

    reggie bush is garbage. he is even more exposed without Deuce grinding out the tough yardage for him. The saints are better w/o Bush, imo. they have to practice all the gimmicky crap when he is in the lineup. w/o Bush, it allows Brees to really control the O and they are much more efficient, again, imo.

    Young can still be a decent qb in the league but drafting Mario 1st was a no brainer, how could “the worldwide leader” NOT understand that? as far as longevity, production, and the Texans needs, Mario was without a doubt the only way to go.

  5. Noah 12/14/2007 at 8:08 AM #

    Mario’s healthy and that’s a big part. But I’m betting that the presence of the kid from Louisville (the DT) is helping a lot as well.

    This isn’t a knock on Williams, it’s just that no single player can carry a team in the NFL. You gotta have 11 guys working together.

    As far as whom should you take with the #1 pick, I’m a big fan of building up the lines on either side of the ball. I think it’s a waste to get skill position players if you can’t control the line of scrimmage.

    So Williams made sense to me and trading down and taking D’Brickshaw Ferguson made sense to me. I can’t remember if I posted it here or on the Panthers forum, but before the draft, I thought the Texans should have gone after Ferguson (because their OL was so terrible) and with the extra picks from trading down, they could have grabbed a good guard in the second round and a good center in the third. Someone like Max Jean-Giles or Winston Justice (I THINK they were in that draft). In hindsight, Marcus McNeil would have been a good pick.

    They chose to address their defense (which was also terrible) and got Williams and then grabbed the MLB out of Alabama (D’amico Ryans or something like that?). That works too. 🙂

  6. wufpup76 12/14/2007 at 8:49 AM #

    i’ve said it before and i’ll say it again: F espn

  7. pakfanistan 12/14/2007 at 9:38 AM #

    I know he’s big, but he looks truly monstrous in that picture.

  8. Carnot 12/14/2007 at 9:44 AM #

    I’m glad to see Mario showing what he’s capable of. I live in Alabama and I was getting tired of all the ‘Bama fans giving me grief about him being a “bust” while Demeco Ryans is the second coming of Singletary.

  9. Stoner 12/14/2007 at 9:44 AM #

    Glad he’s finally playing better. Saw a Texans game earlier in the year and Mario was pretty ineffectual. Hope he can keep this level of play up.

  10. Zomby Woof 12/14/2007 at 10:20 AM #

    Reminds me of his last year at State in which he really didn’t come alive statistically until the end of the season. The thing is, with a player of Mario’s caliber, he becomes a factor even if he’s not on the ball.

  11. RAWFS 12/14/2007 at 10:56 AM #

    Any of y’all catch Tysiac’s blog entry today? He’s saying that we’ll be begging for Sendek’s return.

  12. RegularExpression 12/14/2007 at 10:59 AM #

    That picture looks Photoshopped where Cutler has been shrunk to about 75% of his actual size.

    Mario now has 13 sacks on the year. Julius Pepper’s career high for sacks in a season: 13. Just thought I’d point that out.

  13. burnbarn 12/14/2007 at 11:00 AM #

    ^ regardless of the results we will never beg for his return… We may want someone else, but not him.

  14. Mr O 12/14/2007 at 12:07 PM #

    RAWFS: Link?

  15. RAWFS 12/14/2007 at 12:30 PM #

    O – two links:

    Tysiac: http://aboverim.blogspot.com/ … entry is towards the bottom.

    My rebuttal: http://www.redandwhitefromstate.com/?p=1283

  16. bTHEredterror 12/14/2007 at 1:09 PM #

    Dr., Mario dominated both the run and the pass. The move to RE was a good one for him. Not every great pass rusher has to come from the blind side. In the @nd half last night Cutler was looking for him every play and it reduced the Broncos effectiveness.

    Noah, Mario was interviewed after the game and he said Okoye was big for him both on and off the field, it seems they are tight. And both Justice and Jean-gilles were available, though even if the texans traded down and got both I think they fared better twith Mario. The Eagles got Justice in the 2nd and Jean-Gilles in the 4th. Justice got abused by Umenyora (7 sacks) in his only start this year and Jean-Gilles rarely plays.

    I understand the POV that Reggie was overrated, to this point I have no basis to argue that. But its early to call him a bust, he is still fairly effective when healthy and teamed with a solid everydown back. Just like it was too early to call Mario a bust last year, it’s too early to say Reggie is this year. Recall he has been playing with a torn a knee ligament half the year.

  17. Big Worm 12/14/2007 at 1:25 PM #

    “The move to RE was a good one for him. Not every great pass rusher has to come from the blind side. ”

    Ummm…aren’t right ends paired against left tackles, who protect a QB’s blind side (assuming he’s right-handed)?

  18. wolfmans brother 12/14/2007 at 1:45 PM #

    We’ve addressed before the reason why Bush will not achieve any modicum of success in the NFL (undersized, more a WR than a RB, etc.). I would tend to agree that it would be unfair to call him a bust of Leaf-like proportions IF there were not the unprecedented hype as he came out. Before he had his first carry he was being touted as the second coming of Barry Sanders and Jim Brown’s love child. We’ve also talked about what idiots the talking heads are, so no need to go down what route. With all of this unwarranted praise and premature credit it is easy to find yourself disliking Bush and not even knowing why. I know I did. However, I heard directly from someone who played with him on the Saints, that he is a genuinely nice guy, fairly modest (at least by NFL player standards), and a good guy in the locker room. That speaks a lot in my opinion coming from a fellow non-superstar player.
    All that being said, I can’t help but get giddy when reality vindicates what most of us knew before hand, that Mario had more NFL potential and would be a better pick than Bush. I truly think that Mario can and will be a very dominant D-lineman for several years in the NFL. That the Texans are committed to giving him some help only aids the cause. It’s not that Mario underperformed last year, he was often double teamed and focused on because he was the only real threat. Bringing Okoye on board was a big help in opening things up for Mario, because Okoye is going to be a hell of a player in his own right.

  19. cWOhLFrPAiCKs 12/14/2007 at 2:19 PM #

    Here’s a link to a another video highlighting Jay Cutler’s performance, but you get to see all of Mario’s sacks so enjoy!

    http://www.nfl.com/videos?videoId=09000d5d805157f7

  20. STLPACK 12/14/2007 at 2:21 PM #

    I was watching Sportscenter this morning and I heard the anchor utter the words, “maybe houston made the right pick afterall…”

    I know that many of you are like me who felt that the national sports media was very biased in their lambasting of the Texans for drafting Williams over bush. It’s nice now to have some vindication, but I know from experience not to expect anyone to admit fault, even though there were some pretty emphatic comments from many talking heads re: the williams pick.

    However, the tide seems to be turning in the Williams vs. bush debate. I have heard several times on ESPN this week that bush is simply not big or strong enough to be a feature back, that he hamstrings his team when he is in the line up because they have to create junk plays for them, and that the Saints are BETTER OFF with Bush injured because they can actually focus on their offense. That coupled with Williams absolutely going off right now, and the pundits are likely to jump on the Super Mario train.

    Don’t expect them to eat crow though.

  21. Mike 12/14/2007 at 2:22 PM #

    Mario has come on strong lately, good for him. Last year he was hurt and I truly think that helped perpetuate the bust myth. Early this year, he was also struggling, and the talk continued. So glad to see him ocming on strong, and i hope for his sake he continues. He also did that at State – remember some games where he was non-existant, and others where he would get 3 or 4 sacks, and by the end of the year the numners are there.

    On another intersting note, article in the N&O comes out the same day as the Mitchell report. All of a sudden Pep’s numbers are down, and is being blocked by only one player. Even said 5’7″ Maurice Jones Drew was able to stop him one on one. Couple years ago Pep got busted for roids, and several Panthers did also. They made the Super Bowl that year – have not sniffed it since. Just a needle for thought.

  22. tcthdi-tgsf-twhwtnc 12/14/2007 at 2:52 PM #

    Reggie Bush
    581 Rushing Yards
    48.7 Avg Game
    3.7 Avg Per
    4 TD
    7 Fumbles
    3 Fumbles Lost

    Who is laughing now?

  23. Dr. BadgerPack 12/14/2007 at 3:00 PM #

    Bush would have a fine career if he is used as he should be. Basically, he’s souped up Dave Meggett. If he’s a return man and a slot receiver in expanded packages, that plays to his strengths. Anything else they try to do is just plain, well, lunacy based on the #s to this point. Heck, even if he is strictly used as a return man– Desmond Howard made a great career out of this job, and as I recall he was drafted rather high (probably not #2, but high).

    Of course, that’s off the top of my head, so I could be way off.

    Still, close the book on 2007. Mario > Young > Bush. We’ll see how 2008 plays out.

  24. Texpack 12/14/2007 at 3:00 PM #

    As a combination Wolfpack Alum/Texans Fan, last night was awesome. The game ball presentation by Gary Kubiak in the locker room, the NFL Network post game interviews, Ron freaking Dayne rumbling through the Broncos defense and the rest of the country finally getting to see what is happening in Houston. Unless you’ve lived through the debacle that was the Texans first four years and lived in a home with a Vince Young shrine in the game room you have no idea how great that game felt last night. Gary Kubiak has said over and over that Mario Williams was doing everything he needed to do to be successful in the NFL. It was great to see him rewarded on the big stage last night. Hopefully he gets to go to the Pro Bowl because he has really earned the trip.

    Note: The Texans normally play two Battle Red games/year. Last night was the debut of the all red uniforms.

  25. bTHEredterror 12/14/2007 at 3:22 PM #

    “Ummm…aren’t right ends paired against left tackles, who protect a QB’s blind side (assuming he’s right-handed)?”

    Touche’. I’ve a tendency to look at everything from the offense’s perspective. Really he is weak side end as I think they flip flop based on where the TE is, but I should’ve referred to him as a LE in my comments.

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