Praise For Mario Williams

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It is really great reading various media members praise Mario Williams:

Peter King: Texans got it right; Williams vindicates Houston for risky No. 1 pick in ’06

SportingNews: Texans’ Williams looks better than ever

As a fantastic reminder, Jeff went “On the Record” on SFN before the NFL draft as a response to ESPN’s resident dunce, Skip Bayless. You’ve got to check it out for fun. But, Bayless isn’t the only ESPN back-tracker on Mario. Check out the former Boston Sports Guy’s comments that we have chronicled for you.

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30 Responses to Praise For Mario Williams

  1. Noah 12/11/2007 at 9:43 PM #

    I actually thought the best pick for the Texans would have been D’Brickshaw Ferguson. I thought they should have traded down and taken Ferguson since the Texans O-Line has been notoriously horrid since Day One of the franchise.

    Reggie Bush has been exposed as a situational, third-down back. Vince Young is medicore AT BEST.

  2. Trip 12/11/2007 at 9:45 PM #

    About time Mario gets some praise, he’s a an outstanding player. I miss seeing his huge truck go through campus. I shook the guys hand one time, if you could call it that… it was more like his hand completely swallowed mine and if he had squeezed I would have a hand cast for a year.

  3. LRM 12/11/2007 at 9:45 PM #

    Mario’s nine sacks and handful of forced fumbles and deflected passes have been lost in those incredible stats of Young (7 TDs, 16 INTs, 66.9 rating) and Bush (4 TDs, 7 fumbles).

  4. Noah 12/11/2007 at 10:17 PM #

    Everybody talks about how old Greg Odom looks. I remember seeing Mario when he’d come to games as a high school senior. He was the oldest 17 year old I’d ever seen. I remember standing by the old field house and pointing him out to a guy. The guy wouldn’t believe that Williams wasn’t the FATHER of one of our recruits.

  5. wufpup76 12/11/2007 at 10:28 PM #

    who are we to criticize the WWL – (that’s WORLD WIDE LEADER for us common folk) – ESPN’s minions?

    ESPN, a true bastion of journalistic integrity (ahem, Herbstriet – “Listen to me! I’M IMPORTANT! Miles is leaving after this game!)

    from Day 1, all Chris Berman and his cronies did was impugn Mario for not being Bush; assail Williams for the following:

    “When we brought all those guys in for interviews before the draft, Mario was the most impressive. He was smart, he had a good work ethic, and he was going to do what it took to get better at this level.” – Charley Casserly from the Peter King article … Yeah Charley, but he isn’t REGGIE FREAKING BUSH so you’re fired …

    even when the Texans played New Orleans a few weeks back the ESPN NFL Countdown piece on the game was centered around whether Bush would “have his revenge” for not being the overall top pick … disgusting

    ESPN – “We’ll tell you how things should be and when they don’t work out that way we’ll take biased and slanted views in a vain and contrived effort to convince you that we were right anyway.”

    ok, stepping off the soapbox now … GOOOO MARIO!

  6. choppack1 12/11/2007 at 10:28 PM #

    These guys were wrong before and they’ll be wrong again.

    This is exactly what Rush talks about when he mentions the “media template”. These guys lack an individual thought.

    Mario is doing well this year, next year he may be the one who blows out a knee.

    I did think that the comment on Mario’s intelligence was interesting. He did come to NC State in what should have been the spring semester of his senior year in high school. No words about him ever having any kind of academic trouble. I would think that he’d interview very well – and probably better than Young or Bush.

  7. wufpup76 12/11/2007 at 10:31 PM #

    ^sorry – forgot to add that sadly, Bush did not get his revenge against the Texans as NO lost 23-10

  8. cooldrip 12/11/2007 at 10:53 PM #

    Mario was always the smart pick at #1. Name a running quarterback who’s had sustained, Pro Bowl level sucess in the NFL. I can’t think of one. And the thing everyone always conveniently forgot about Bush is he had Lendale White to get the tough yards, Jarret and Byrd and Williams to keep the secondary honest, and some guy named Leinart taking snaps. Not to mention one hell of a dominant OL. Makes it a tad easier to look like Superman when you’re surrounded by All-Americans.

    Meanwhile, Mario came into the draft at 6’7″, I think about 290. If I remember right, his 40 time was in the 4.7 range, his vertical was like 33″, can’t remember his reps in the strength test, but it was well above average. You got a DE with measurables like that, you gotta take him. Especially over a non-prototypical QB who would rather run than pass, or a fragile RB with an oversized ego and an undersized physique.

    Chop, I hope you’re not holding up Rush Limbaugh as a model of independent thinking? LOL

  9. haze 12/12/2007 at 7:48 AM #

    Yesterday’s PTI threw out an apology to Mario (vs. an apology to Norv Turner). They basically said that he was validating his pick with his sacks and the fact that he is the anchor for the Houston D. The lackluster numbers from Bush and Young helped reenforce that interpretation.

    Last year, PTI dissed Mario too, but they are respecting the data, which is all you can ask of a pundit.

  10. waxhaw 12/12/2007 at 8:08 AM #

    Tied for 10th in the NFL in sacks and 2nd or 3rd in the AFC. Not too shabby.

    Mario is a great guy also. If I were an owner, he is one guy that I wouldn’t mind writing a big fat paycheck.

  11. Noah 12/12/2007 at 8:22 AM #

    “Name a running quarterback who’s had sustained, Pro Bowl level sucess in the NFL.”

    Steve Young.

    The problem with Young isn’t that he’s a running QB. The problem is that he has an average arm, has zero accuracy and has the IQ of a squirrel.

    Couple that with a mediocre offense with one of the worst WR corps in the history of football and you’ve got a recipe for disaster.

    The problem with Reggie Bush is that he’s an undersized running back and he plays a position where the average lifespan is only about three and a half years. Running backs are CHEAP and PLENTIFUL. You can find them anywhere.

    But they take a pounding and they don’t last. Just plan on building up your OL and plan on rotating the backs in an out every couple of years.

    “Chop, I hope you’re not holding up Rush Limbaugh as a model of independent thinking? LOL”

    I thought he was quoting the prog band from Canada.

  12. PackerInRussia 12/12/2007 at 9:09 AM #

    This is one reason why I hate the way sports people write/talk today. I have nothing against someone giving an opinion (i.e. “I think/In my opinion/it seems to me that Mario Williams is going to stink, therefore the Texans should pick Vince Young or Reggie Bush”). However, people don’t talk like that anymore. They talk about it as if it already happened: Mario Williams IS be the biggest bust ever and Reggie Bush IS the best player to come around in 50 years (please ignore the fact that no football has been played yet). This seems to be the way things are talked about far too often and it annoys me. To be heard these days you have to make bold statements; truth is not necessary.

  13. Texpack 12/12/2007 at 9:10 AM #

    I have lived under daily assault in my house for being a Texans fan since the 2006 draft. There is so much to the Mario story that the national media is too lazy to look into and/or report. Mario went without practicing virtually all of last season because of a foot injury. The lack of practice time hurt him as much in his mental adaptation to the NFL game as the physical problem slowed him down on the field.

    I wouldn’t have argued at all with Ferguson as the Texans top pick after trading back, but i think Schaub has shown this year that most of the sack problems the Texans had were the result of David Carr’s ineptitude. I feel the pain of those of you who’ve had to watch him with the Panthers this year.

    Please don’t ever give Charlie Casserly credit for the Williams pick. I know he’s out there running around now saying “look at my #1 pick.” Kubiak is the reason the Texans didn’t take Bush along with the character concerns generated by the agent scandal from USC. Casserly’s inability to evaluate talent is the reason the Texans have taken so long to become a decent football team. Kubiak and Rick Smith have turned over 80% of the roster in just two years and without 17 players on IR this year, not to mention Andre Johnson missing 7-8 games, this team would have a real shot at the playoffs in AFC no less.

    Mario has a legitimate shot at the Pro Bowl since he is second in sacks among AFC defensive ends. Hammering Jay Cutler a few time on Thursday night would probably nail it down.

  14. Noah 12/12/2007 at 9:13 AM #

    “I wouldn’t have argued at all with Ferguson as the Texans top pick after trading back, but i think Schaub has shown this year that most of the sack problems the Texans had were the result of David Carr’s ineptitude. I feel the pain of those of you who’ve had to watch him with the Panthers this year.”

    That’s one where I was completely wrong. I thought Carr would be okay and that it was Houston, not him.

    Whoops.

    (Not that the Panthers aren’t a total trainwreck with or without Carr, but he ain’t helping)

  15. RAWFS 12/12/2007 at 9:23 AM #

    ^ Ding ding ding, Noah has the winner.

    And I think (not completely sure though) that Steve-O is still collecting USFL and deferred 49ers checks. The guy was a star from start to finish.

  16. Noah 12/12/2007 at 9:35 AM #

    Steve Young’s contract with the USFL was a ten-year deal. However, he was smart (he’s a lawyer and negotiated his own deal) and took deferred compensation in the form of an annuity. So instead of getting $4 million for 10 years, he took $1 million for 40 years.

    I’m not a lawyer, so someone help me out here if this is wrong, but I’ve been told that because he agreed to defer the compensation, it basically prevented the Express from defaulting on the deal when the USFL went belly-up. Young should still be getting checks through 2024.

  17. Stoner 12/12/2007 at 9:40 AM #

    One thing I find funny about the Mario v. Reggie debate is the fact lineman usually take longer to develop, in the NFL, than RB’s do.

    Really shocked people were writing Mario off, when the season started last year knowing this.

  18. bTHEredterror 12/12/2007 at 9:52 AM #

    Williams isn’t in the same neighborhood as Peppers. He’s in a better neighborhood. He has more tackles, more sacks, more tipped balls, and his defensive is higher ranked.

    Bayless is a classic sophist. He has no clue, but he forces his opinions with volume and venom. I’ll give him more credit than most, he will admit he’s been wrong.

    As far as sports media go, they are similar to CEOs and others in postions of power in America. They will never, perhaps cannot, admit they ever held an incorrect assumption or made a mistake.

    I had to stop and think a minute Noah, because in the comparison above, I thought you were still talking about STEVE Young and not Vince. You should apologize to the next squirrel you see for insulting their collective intelligence.

    I would say Fran Tarkenton and Donovan McNabb as well.

    I think the reason most mobile QBs fail is more to do with how the organizations they are a part of are handled than anything else. As an Eagles fan, I have been disappointed year in and year out with the dirth of viable receivers. VY is not in the same class, but his WR corps has almost as many drops as Falcons WRs have. Vick was left with Algee Crumpler and Warrick Dunn for the most part his whole career.

  19. TTandB74 12/12/2007 at 12:29 PM #

    Glad to see Mario is turning it up. I saw him in an early game this year on TV (maybe the Falcons?), and he wasn’t impressive. Always seemed to get blocked one-on-one with ease.
    I can tell you w/o reservation that Vick would have been a spectacularly successful QB if he had just a pair of receivers who could do what receivers should do: Catch the frickin’ ball. In Georgia, the Falcons were on TV every week when Vick played (no non-sellout blackouts). So many times during a critical series, Vick would deliver the ball on time, on target. When the receivers caught the ball, the Falcons would win. When they dropped it, the birds would lose.
    He never had to complete 60-65 percent of his passes to be one of the top QBs in the game. With his playmaking ability via his feet, he just had to complete 3-5 more passes a game. Roddy White, Michael Jenkins and Brian Finneran (at least until the year before he was injured) couldn’t catch death in a Siberian gulag.

  20. Noah 12/12/2007 at 12:54 PM #

    The most overrated player in the HISTORY of the word “overrated” is Joe Namath. Go look at his stats. Then go look at Ken O’Brien’s stats. And then tell me why Joe Namath is in the HOF. Dude had 15 good seconds of a career…when he said, “I guarantee you we’ll beat (the Dolphins).” That was it. That was the ONLY thing he ever did…he called his shot. He didn’t even have a good game in the SB. The star for the Jets was their running back.

    The second most overrated player is M. Vick. That Gatorade commercial with him throwing the ball 350 yards and putting it in the parking lot is actually closer to the truth than real game footage. He can throw it a mile, but he can’t hit anything with it.

    #3 on the most overrated list is R. Bush. He averages about 3.5 yards per carry for his CAREER. He averages SEVEN yards a completion for that same career. He averages 41 yards a game in rushing.

    And this is the guy that some people were talking about being the single GREATEST running back prospect EVER?

    What???

    The problem isn’t Skip Bayless. The problem isn’t “the media.” The problem is that we’ve 900 channels with about 15 channels worth of content. So in order to get people to listen or watch, the people putting the shows together have to be bolder and more audacious every single day.

    Your typical TV viewer is like your typical crack addict. They don’t know why they’re watching the show. It’s what they did yesterday and they don’t know how to cope without it. And they require more and more and more and more to get their fix.

    I used to joke about how the next big game show was going to be called, “Who Wants To Drink From The Toilet?” Yeah, we’re about two seasons away from that being reality.

  21. Big Worm 12/12/2007 at 1:10 PM #

    cooldrip wrote:

    “Meanwhile, Mario came into the draft at 6′7″, I think about 290. If I remember right, his 40 time was in the 4.7 range, his vertical was like 33″, can’t remember his reps in the strength test, but it was well above average.”

    Mario’s strength and speed at his weight was far better than above average. They were likely the best numbers in the history of the league for a player weighing 290 lbs. They were noticably better then Peppers’ 40 time, vertical and bench, and Peppers is widely regaded as the gold standard for speed and strength at that size.

    Peppers is a better basketball player, though. 😉

  22. wufpup76 12/12/2007 at 2:01 PM #

    Noah says:

    “The problem isn’t Skip Bayless. The problem isn’t “the media.” The problem is that we’ve 900 channels with about 15 channels worth of content. So in order to get people to listen or watch, the people putting the shows together have to be bolder and more audacious every single day.

    Your typical TV viewer is like your typical crack addict. They don’t know why they’re watching the show. It’s what they did yesterday and they don’t know how to cope without it. And they require more and more and more and more to get their fix.

    I used to joke about how the next big game show was going to be called, “Who Wants To Drink From The Toilet?” Yeah, we’re about two seasons away from that being reality.”

    This is precisely why I don’t really watch hardly any TV anymore, save for live sports programming (which the production crews do their best to make it infuriating to watch). Every channel is trying to be the next MTV (become hugely successful and then dumb-down your entire audience). I believe the networks (ESPN, et al.) THINK that the typical modern viewer is like you described above Noah, but I know a lot of people who hate on TV about like I do (of course, these people have brain cells though). I don’t think the networks really anticipate having or even respect intelligent viewers – they’re just after your “crack TV” viewers. So, people with the ability to reason suffer through BAD TV. I’m being a bit broad there, but you know the point I’m making 🙂

    You should check out the movie “Idiocracy” that’s been coming on HBO lately. Not the greatest movie at all, but the central theme revolved around a future society that had been dumbed-down so much that everyone used curse words as their primary communication skills and they were all addicted to the FOX Violence Channel. Soceity may just be headed that way …

  23. Noah 12/12/2007 at 2:09 PM #

    “save for live sports programming (which the production crews do their best to make it infuriating to watch).”

    I grabbed a torrent of the Vikings game where Adrian Peterson ran for 300+ yards. Something was wrong with the TV feed on the guy who posted it because it didn’t have the commentators on it. It had the stadium noise and the basic CBS noise (the theme song, etc), but no commentary.

    IT WAS GREAT!!! So much more enjoyable to watch.

    Had it been a Fox feed, it would have been intolerable. It’s amazing how every single graphic on Fox requires it’s own sound effect.

    The score? Zoom! Rushing yards! DING! The time? WHAMMO!

  24. bTHEredterror 12/12/2007 at 2:51 PM #

    Do you recall those few, maybe even a couple games back in the early 80’s that were a test for network games without announcers? I don’t know why it isn’t done, must not appeal to the average fan.

    Mute button serves well, I typically resort to playing music while watching games after I realize its not Musberger or Nantz, maybe Buck if its a big game.

    TV is a wasteland, I’m particularly insulted by the fact I have to purchase so many crap channels to get the expansive sports coverage I require. You’d think one provider would have the stones to fight the conglomerates and separate sports programming.

  25. Wulfpack 12/12/2007 at 5:36 PM #

    I was one that thought Reggie would be a better bet but I am beginning to see the light. I thought his rookie season was really good, but this year has been a big disappointment as he has taken a few steps back. He is not a go to guy in the NFL. Mario clearly has the greater upside a season later.

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