Mario Williams has matured this offseason, that much is obvious. However, it's not his reaction to the Lamborghini video that provides the best evidence of this growth; it's his reaction to himself.
But it's just one of those things that bring you back to reality and let's you know you can't even do any little thing now.
This
attitude is Manfull's underlying point of the article--that Mario is more
mature than last season and this wisdom should translate into better
play.
I don't disagree with that premise, I suppose, but I think
the most exciting part of the article for Texans fans should be this
throw-away line:
He
also is making strides in his technique. He is working on improving his
footwork and improving the way his hands work with his feet.
Now, I am already on record
as a Super Mario fan who thinks that the Williams draft pick was
completely justifiable. That said, I'll be the first to admit that he
relied too heavily on sheer athletic ability as a pass rusher. When his
foot got injured
and his athletic explosiveness was limited, his lack of a repertoire of
defensive moves made him almost non-existent in the pass rush. (His run
defense was still surprisingly good--teams actively ran away from him
for much of the second half of 2006--but that's not really what he's
here for, you know?)
One of the hardest things to do in life is
to admit that you are lacking in some area. This is doubly true in
sports, where machismo reigns, and probably even more
true when that deficit is a facet of the thing that you are expected to
do. That Mario can objectively look at his game and see a need for
technique improvement speaks more to me about his maturity than his
reaction to some YouTube video.
I already expected big things out of Mario this season; I'm thinking it might already be time to upgrade those expectations. Views: 1688 | Print | E-mail
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