Mario Williams and the Texans Defensive Line

[marroncito]

Mario Williams on his own merits could certainly deserve to be the 1st overall pick. If he were to be taken #1 overall or as part of a trade down, where would he fit on the Texans Dline?

If he played RDE, Babin and Peek would sink down the depth charts.

If he played LDE would he compete with Weaver? Did we bring Weaver in to compete (i'm a fan of competition)?

If he played LDE would Weaver move inside? Haven't both Weaver and Williams played inside in college at times?

I'm having trouble seeing how he would fit. I don't think we'd take him in the 1st for depth. Any thoughts?

[gtexan02]

I imagine our line would look something like this:

LDE: Weaver, Kalu
DT: Smith, Payne, TJ
RDE: Williams, (Peek or Babin)

The other one, (whoever isn't #2) would get moved back to SS OLB

[tulexan]

Mario's inconsistency worries me. He had about 78% of his sacks in 3 games.

[mexican_texan]

Now you see why we aren't drafting him.

[tulexan]

I would have much rather had his 14.5 sacks be consistent where it would be 1 or 2 every game, not 1 sack in the first 5 games and 2 games with 4 sacks each.

[Bobo]

Originally Posted by gtexan02

I imagine our line would look something like this:

LDE: Weaver, Kalu
DT: Smith, Payne, TJ
RDE: Williams, (Peek or Babin)

The other one, (whoever isn't #2) would get moved back to SS OLB

I believe I already hear opposing offensive coordinators smacking their lips.

[Bobo]

Originally Posted by marroncito

Mario Williams on his own merits could certainly deserve to be the 1st overall pick. If he were to be taken #1 overall or as part of a trade down, where would he fit on the Texans Dline?

He would fit in as a darn good start anywhere in that tattered line. If the Texans ended up with him, at least they would be showing some semblance of intelligence by dealing with an obvious need and attempting to shore up that sieve of a defensive line that made opposing offensive coordinators drool the entire season. But, of course, this organization has already shown a propensity to defy logical common sense and go the exact opposite way when it comes to dealing with obvious problems and instead will probably opt for the third weedeater while the lawnmower is still in the garage, broken and unusable.

[el toro]

Originally Posted by Bobo

He would fit in as a darn good start anywhere in that tattered line. If the Texans ended up with him, at least they would be showing some semblance of intelligence iby dealing with an obvious need and attempting to shore up that sieve of a defensive line that made opposing offensive coordinators drool the entire season. But, of course, this organization has already shown a propensity to defy logical common sence and go the exact opposite way when it comes to dealing with obvious problems and instead will probably opt for the third weedeater while the lawnmower is still in the garage, broken and unusable.

You're right. They should've kept Capers so they could go 3-13 next season.

[Bobo]

Originally Posted by el toro

You're right. They should've kept Capers so they could go 3-13 next season.

I'll remember this statement when the Texans turn in that very record this season.

[Koolbrz]

Originally Posted by marroncito

Mario Williams on his own merits could certainly deserve to be the 1st overall pick. If he were to be taken #1 overall or as part of a trade down, where would he fit on the Texans Dline?

If he played RDE, Babin and Peek would sink down the depth charts.

If he played LDE would he compete with Weaver? Did we bring Weaver in to compete (i'm a fan of competition)?

If he played LDE would Weaver move inside? Haven't both Weaver and Williams played inside in college at times?

I'm having trouble seeing how he would fit. I don't think we'd take him in the 1st for depth. Any thoughts?

I hate to bring this up over and over, but it will be a huge mistake if we do not draft Reggie. Mario is a good player, but not a player worthy of the first pick in the draft. Have you seen what the scouting report is on Reggie. Looks pretty damn good too me. Like i said before i hate to beat a dead horse with a stick, but Reggie is the man. Click the link and see for yourself.http://www.nfl.com/draft/profiles/2006/bush_reggie

[Koolbrz]

Okay, now check out Mario's scouting report. You tell me who the better player is.

http://www.nfl.com/draft/profiles/2006/williams_mario

[Bobo]

Originally Posted by Koolbrz

I hate to bring this up over and over, but it will be a huge mistake if we do not draft Reggie. Mario is a good player, but not a player worthy of the first pick in the draft. Have you seen what the scouting report is on Reggie. Looks pretty damn good too me. Like i said before i hate to beat a dead horse with a stick, but Reggie is the man. Click the link and see for yourself.http://www.nfl.com/draft/profiles/2006/bush_reggie

In actuality, it will be a much bigger mistake if they don't trade down. It isn't too hard to understand: The Texans already have a good RB and a good QB. They don't need one of those guys. But they were 2-14 last year because their OL was bad as was their defense. Thus, they shouldn't waste a pick on a QB or a RB but should deal with their problem areas. If you have a steak to BBQ but don't have anything to drink, do you go to the store and buy another steak and then have to choke it down because you don't have a beverage to go with it? It's really that simple. Reggie is NOT the man for the Texans. And scouting reports were very glowing on Blair Thomas, Trung Canidate, Lawrence Phillips, Kianna Carter, Archie Griffin and J.J. Arrington.

[texan279]

link


Yet, in addition to trying to start up contract talks with USC running back Reggie Bush, the Houston Texans continue reaching out to North Carolina State defensive end Mario Williams to get him to try to negotiate on a contract. Williams is leery about being used as leverage, but the Texans insist it is not about that.

[nunusguy]

Originally Posted by tulexan

Mario's inconsistency worries me. He had about 78% of his sacks in 3 games.

Good point Tulexan. Could be a red flag as it might also mean he does not perform that well, might even struggle against some good OTs. As talent evaluators like to point out, the real test of the ability of college players and their chances to succeed in the NFL is how they perform in good matchups, i.e.
against strong opposition and not lesser opponents.

[PapaL]

Originally Posted by Bobo

In actuality, it will be a much bigger mistake if they don't trade down. It isn't too hard to understand: The Texans already have a good RB and a good QB. They don't need one of those guys. But they were 2-14 last year because their OL was bad as was their defense. Thus, they shouldn't waste a pick on a QB or a RB but should deal with their problem areas. If you have a steak to BBQ but don't have anything to drink, do you go to the store and buy another steak and then have to choke it down because you don't have a beverage to go with it? It's really that simple. Reggie is NOT the man for the Texans. And scouting reports were very glowing on Blair Thomas, Trung Canidate, Lawrence Phillips, Kianna Carter, Archie Griffin and J.J. Arrington.

The Colts had a pretty good RB (Faulk) when they traded him for the chance to draft Edge. We have a serviceable back in DD and a chance to get a special back in RB.

[Bobo]

Originally Posted by LCROD

The Colts had a pretty good RB (Faulk) when they traded him for the chance to draft Edge. We have a serviceable back in DD and a chance to get a special back in RB.

Davis is a tried and tested RB. Bush is untested and a crapshoot, just as are all RBs out of college. Why go for a throw of the dice when you've already got a good one whose only limit to greatness is the lack of a passing attack due to poor protection?

[PapaL]

Originally Posted by Bobo

Davis is a tried and tested RB. Bush is untested and a crapshoot, just as are all RBs out of college. Why go for a throw of the dice when you've already got a good one whose only limit to greatness is the lack of a passing attack due to poor protection?

That is not DD's only knock. The guy always misses a few whole games every year and parts of others. He does not have "take it to the house" speed. He is an ok back far from greatness. Misses blocks.

Lets compare him to Olandis Gary and whichever RB he shared time with in Denvers system. They did alright, put up 1000'ish yards. All that changed when Portis came around. All of a sudden they had a 1500 yard rusher. Which would you rather have; 1000 or 1500 yard rusher?

[Bobo]

Originally Posted by LCROD

That is not DD's only knock. The guy always misses a few whole games every year and parts of others. He does not have "take it to the house" speed. He is an ok back far from greatness. Misses blocks.

Lets compare him to Olandis Gary and whichever RB he shared time with in Denvers system. They did alright, put up 1000'ish yards. All that changed when Portis came around. All of a sudden they had a 1500 yard rusher. Which would you rather have; 1000 or 1500 yard rusher?

Umm, I'd rather have an offensive line that will make DD a 1500 yard rusher and then maybe he won't get so beaten up having to run behind a less than adequate offensive line. If he had that offensive line, he would have a chance to be great. And once again, Reggie Bush is a crapshoot. Lawrence Phillips had "house to house" speed too. Buf for some reason, that didn't translate to success in the NFL. D-Davis misses blocks -- oh, wow. So did Jimmy Brown. I think you are really, really straining to justify the Reggie Bush pick when the Texans already have a good RB who could be great with a good line. Reggie Bush is just a college kid. He is NOT a guarantee. I don't know why so many people think he is. Then again, they also thought that about Blair Thomas, Trung Canidate, Lawrence Phillips, Kianna Carter and Archie Griffin. Do you catch my drift? Bush has no NFL track record behind him. He played for an overpowering offensive line in college -- something he wouldn't have in Houston. Davis has proven -- and I repeat -- proven in the NFL that he is one of the best players on a very, very weak Houston team. Bush would be a good pick for a team that didn't already have a good RB and was halfway decent everywhere else. That is not the situation the Texans are in now. Bush is the wrong pick for this team at this time and that is very obvious.

[Coach C.]

First RB and Mario have the ability to be outstanding pros. Both should translate well and each has their own set of problems. Tulexan brought up that his inconsistency troubles him. I recommend looking at the FSU game were he consistently applied pressure and was one of the main reasons they beat them. NCST was not a very good team this year, there offense was abysmal, but their defense really stepped up and it was mainly because of Mario. Yes he does slow down on plays and will take some off, but every great DE in the league does the same thing, Carmelowitz's job will be to make sure that he is aggressive as often as possible, probably something like 6 out of 10 plays that will work quite nicely for us. Remember people that Williams will play more plays than Bush will.

If you look at his prospect profile on nfl.com you will see he is rated the same as Reggie, because they are both elite level players. Your choice is offense or defense when you make the pick. If you want a scary offense that is fun to watch and will put up stats, but struggle against teams such as Jacksonville, Steelers, and NE then we pick Bush. If you want a scary defense that punishes and intimidates, but struggles against teams like Seattle, Carolina, and Miami then you pick Williams.

Now not saying that either unit will not be adequate just because we pick one of these guys, because there are many more picks for us in the draft and we should come out of this draft with at least 3-4 solid players and possibly two starters.

Now as for the thread purpose Williams is the pick then we would move Weaver inside, and possibly play him on obvious running plays and goaline at DE. He is a penetrating 1 gap DT similar to Rocky Benard and likely would have his greatest success there. So the line would look like Williams, Payne, Weaver, Peek at LB Orr, Wong/Cowart/Rookie, Greenwood that is a very fast and aggressive front seven that can handle the run, pass, and create pressure very similar to the Seattle Seahawks or Carolina Panters.

[Kaiser Toro]

Originally Posted by Coach C.

Now as for the thread purpose Williams is the pick then we would move Weaver inside, and possibly play him on obvious running plays and goaline at DE. He is a penetrating 1 gap DT similar to Rocky Benard and likely would have his greatest success there. So the line would look like Williams, Payne, Weaver, Peek at LB Orr, Wong/Cowart/Rookie, Greenwood that is a very fast and aggressive front seven that can handle the run, pass, and create pressure very similar to the Seattle Seahawks or Carolina Panters.

You project Payne and Weaver over Smith and Johnson in the middle?