How would you grade Mario Williams thus far?

TexanSam · Oct 24, 2006

If you had to give him a grade what would it be? I would give him a B, maybe a C+. He wasn't good his first few games, but lately he's been improving. He did pressure Leftwich on Sunday a few times, but I'd still like to see him pressure the QB more often. Who'd a thunk he'd have more sacks at this point than Reggie Bush had TDs though? That shows you ESPN!

AustinJB · Oct 24, 2006

I think I would give him a B- b/c he hasn't been spectacular, but he is showing continued improvement.

He is improving game by game and if he continues to do so, he'll be a force. He's already making a few plays here and there and will only get better. That's all you can ask for in a rookie IMO.

keyser · Oct 25, 2006

Right now, I think you'd have to give him a C. He hasn't been bad, overall, but he also hasn't done anything really spectacular yet. I don't think there's anything to make him stand out as more than an average DE so far. He clearly has a lot of potential, though, and he has been improving a lot, so I hope (and expect) that his "grade" will go up.

ledzeppelin229 · Oct 25, 2006

Put him around a C+, approaching a B though. By the end of the season he should be around a mid B I think as far as a rookie season goes. He's made a few nice plays, but the awareness and recognition still needs to improve. I also want to see a more effective rush move than just trying to bull rush everytime. His outside speed rush needs to be used more sparingly since most NFL OTs are just riding him out of the play, although I haven't noticed it as much as I did early on.

Cruuuuuuuz · Oct 25, 2006

He's in elementary....so grades arent that important....
I cant wait till he plays like he's in college!

David23 · Oct 25, 2006

I would give him a C+ but he is getting better as the season goes along. Could move up to a B soon.

texasguy346 · Oct 25, 2006

I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and grade him at about a B-. He's starting off slow like most rookies, but he does seem to be making progress as the game slows down for him. He's trusting his instincts more, and he's definately looked much better in the last two or three games than he did in the first three. He's had a few plays where he absolutely stonewalled the running back, and I think as he continues to grow and mature we'll see alot more of that type of play out of him. The main reason for the B- as opposed to a C+ is because of the amount of attention & pressure that's put on him. He's dealt with it well thus far, and I think that's represenative of his character. I look forward to seeing him develop further week after week.

powerfuldragon · Oct 25, 2006

B- if he sacks Vince, B+

phantom17 · Oct 25, 2006

I give him a B- bcuz he still has a learning curve & he's shown improvements as the season goes on!I believe he will be a force in the not so distant future!!! :redtowel:

Hulk75 · Oct 25, 2006

Every game he looks better, needs more sacks, but that will come and I am not worried about it. Doing good with preasure, and needs to protect the backside more when the ball is ran away from him.

Kaiser Toro · Oct 25, 2006

I voted a B but would rather have given a C+. Still needs to incorporate some moves and have a better balance of instinct and using his mind. It will come sooner than later if he would just stop bench pressing, running the 40 and vertical jumping. I hate workout warriors.

kingh99 · Oct 25, 2006

Dude disrupts. I stayed home and watched the first half on TV last Sunday. then I got down to the park and enjoyed the second half at the 50 yard line. That's the only cool thing about poor attendance. I can get front row seats for the price of my cheapies. anyway Mario scares QB's. They fall down when they see him barreling. He got great push in the Jags game in the first half. He was pushing his guy into the QB. Mario's going to be good. As good as Seymour? That would be awesome. Seymour was as important as the QB in those Patriot SB years.

thunderkyss · Oct 25, 2006

I'm grading Mario as an A-

Alot of the things being said is true, but we drafted Mario, not because he is an amazing pass rusher, but because he can be. & so far, everything I've seen shows me that he can.

He plays almost every snap, without actually counting, I'd bet he plays considerably more snaps than every other player. He shows plenty of energy, none of this "takes off some plays" stuff we were hearing.

He's definitely strong enough to bullrush everyone he's gone up against, and his speed is impressive........

but he plays like a rookie, and pass rushing doesn't look like his specialty..... but, he is a rookie, and I think he can totally dominate the running game, and still provide adequate pressure on the QB.

I think our game planning of rushing the QB on every down is hurting him more than anything.... we appear to play the QB first, and the run second, even against dominant running offenses like Washington, where too many times, we did exactly what the they wanted us to, leaving gaping holes in the middle of the line.

I think we should get back to basics, back to what we were told we were going to do when we payed Weaver $12 million. Stop the run, then get after the QB. Ever since we drafted Mario, all we talked about was getting after the QB, and it shows.

But I think Mario is doing great, and grades out as an A-....... our defensive coaching though grades much lower in my book.

edo783 · Oct 25, 2006

He is in the C+ to B- range IMO and as I had to pick B or C I gave him a B.

jerek · Oct 25, 2006

I voted B because he is progressing well according to my expectations. I knew he would take time to adjust to the NFL and I think he is noticably improving with every outing right now.

Soon enough he will be the beast that we all imagined him to be.

HOU-TEX · Oct 25, 2006

I'm grading him a "C" at this time. IMO, he has progressed nicely from the beginning of the season and will continue to broaden his NFL intelligence.

Texans Horror · Oct 25, 2006

I'm giving him a C, too. I'm grading him against Demeco, though, who I would give an A. It's not that Mario's doing a poor performance. He is causing disruption, and has some sacks and tackles. It's just that his performance is not accelerating as high as Demeco's, that's all. Both great players, though, and I think they will be a huge defensive machine in the NFL.

michaelm · Oct 25, 2006

I'll give him a C because, although I think he has played at a B level for a rookie, his ceiling is so much higher than any other rookie at his position.

So, a B compared to normal rookies, but a C compared to where he should/could be... and will be.

beerlover · Oct 25, 2006

a solid B because:

one- he does not have a strong supporting cast around him on the D-Line so he can be focused on.
two- just learning life in the NFL & speed of the game
three- has played every game & not gotten hurt
four- generally seems well liked and puts the team 1st without showing attitude
five- has no off field character issues
six- becoming more disruptive making big plays that will only increase intensity
seven- tries everything the coaches experiment with him without complaint
eight- as he improves the Texans defense seems to respond & play with better effort all around
nine- looking forward (DRAFT) I see NO ONE who approaches his talent level, meaning Mario Williams is a unique talent
ten- is learning in the NFL how to not take plays off showing a more consistant effort each & every play

FirstTexansFan · Oct 25, 2006

I was afraid to grade him. He seems pretty big on TV, and if I said something bad, he may be a computer nerd with the ability to look up my IP address and come grade ME in person. I'll pass

Sarg01 · Oct 25, 2006

Gotta go with a C for the moment, with clear expectations of it improving to a B before the end of the year.

Right now he's performed weakly in as many games as he's performed well. Given that he is a rookie, it's very plausible to assume that Mario's "floor" is rising and that he will no longer have those weak games. However, we need more data (i.e. more games need to be played) to actually improve his grade.

real · Oct 25, 2006

Im going to go with a B-...

If people are looking for sacks from Mario then you aren't really looking for the right thing...I think Mario will get his fair share of sacks during his career, but IMO, sacks aren't all that....

Mario has been disruptive and Im starting to see less and less of those rookie mistakes...Those running lanes he was opening up are now being plugged by mario standing up the lineman that is trying to block him.....Last game he looked real solid and I think we are going to eventually have a beast on our hands....

Trapped · Oct 25, 2006

C, our total defense is still 2nd to dead last as of now. that was where we were at last year.

if we can string some defensive games like we had vs. jacksonville and somehow get into the middle of the pack on total defense, i would grade him a B. but as of right now. a C.

thunderkyss · Oct 25, 2006

Trapped said:
C, our total defense is still 2nd to dead last as of now. that was where we were at last year.

if we can string some defensive games like we had vs. jacksonville and somehow get into the middle of the pack on total defense, i would grade him a B. but as of right now. a C.

I'm sorry to say, but you can't use those stats/rankings to describe our team. I can tell you for a fact that the team that played against Miami, Dallas, and Jacksonville isn't the same team that gave up 500 yards to Philly, Indy, and Washington.

We're still changing personel around, and learning how to play as a team. the team we've seen the last few weeks is already better than the team we had out there last year, and it will continue to get better.

joedinkle · Oct 25, 2006

I gave him a C. That being said, I am happy with the way he has been playing. He's only going to improve from where he is, and I have the feeling he is going to dominate once he gets settled. He's already got more sacks than Strahan did his first year.

bah007 · Oct 25, 2006

joedinkle said:
I gave him a C. That being said, I am happy with the way he has been playing. He's only going to improve from where he is, and I have the feeling he is going to dominate once he gets settled. He's already got more sacks than Strahan did his first year.

Were sacks even a statistic in Strahan's first year? That was a long time ago.

infantrycak · Oct 25, 2006

bah007 said:
Were sacks even a statistic in Strahan's first year? That was a long time ago.

Yes--they were not a stat in Lawrence Taylor's 1st year.

Vinny · Oct 25, 2006

I'll grade him a P for potential. He has a ton of it, but the P word also means, "you ain't done it yet".

Scooter · Oct 25, 2006

A. because he's where i expected him to be. he's still very raw but i see improvement each week. he's made some big plays and is full of hustle. he's also beginning to make an impact. this is what i expected, not for mario to come in and break the rookie sack record, but to contribute on defense before the half-way point and show significant improvement to lead us to believe he'll be a major factor next season and a cornerstone for the defense in the future.

Roughnecks · Oct 26, 2006

I gave him a B. He did not do to well till coach got on him and let him loose since he has gotten 2.5 sacks had a great game in Dallas but for me what put him over is the fact that now he is pushing back moving the pocket getting in the QB face and when teams plan for you, you must be doing something pretty good so I say a B. Here to hoping for a A in a few weeks.

joedinkle · Oct 26, 2006

bah007 said:
Were sacks even a statistic in Strahan's first year? That was a long time ago.

I'm not sure, I've only recently gotten into the sport, but like it or not, that's how he'll be judged. But as I said, I think he's performing well and will continue to improve. He just has a while to go.

texasguy346 · Oct 26, 2006

infantrycak said:
Yes--they were not a stat in Lawrence Taylor's 1st year.

Which is funny since I believe Strahan recently tied or passed LT for the Giants career record for sacks. The funny part is that LT had 9 sacks, I believe, his rookie season but since it wasn't a stat back then it doesn't add into his career total. So Strahan would need another 9 or 10 sacks to pass LT as the Giants all time sack leader.

beerlover · Oct 26, 2006

nice to see the fans come around on this poll (when I voted it was 60/40 voted C). I would not be surprised as well if Mario someday became the BP on the Texans (right now its going to hard with AJ set for the next few not to mention DeMeco) regardless Mario Williams is on track to become a outstanding defensive lineman, for a rookie to press the offense & be as disruptive is worthy of a B even at this early stage of his career :redtowel:

nunusguy · Oct 26, 2006

Clearly Mario will not be a bust in the NFL, assuming he doesn't get sidetracted with some personal problems that his sudden wealth and fame
might throw in his path. So the question is will he be just a reasonably good
NFL DLineman, or something better than that, perhaps much, much better ?
But he's still just 21 and came out as a junior, so were just getting started
here.
Looks like people rating him in the C+ to B- range, which seems about right at this
point in time.

real · Oct 26, 2006

[[Gary Kubiak]];479512 said:
D...

hrmmmmmmm....... he is improving every game.

Still ove the guy!

Im not sure how you say he's improving every game and then grade him a D....

You do realize that is a step above F....right ?

Double Barrel · Oct 26, 2006

I give him a C. Lots of potential, but not a whole lot of impact so far.

infantrycak · Oct 26, 2006

For those who were so engaged in the was it a good sack debate, try to catch all the ESPN coverage on the Leftwich vs. Garrard issue and you will see both Mario and Ryans lay out Gary Coleman on non-sacks. Add those hits to the stat and you can have your good sack.

real · Oct 26, 2006

infantrycak said:
For those who were so engaged in the was it a good sack debate, try to catch all the ESPN coverage on the Leftwich vs. Garrard issue and you will see both Mario and Ryans lay out Gary Coleman on non-sacks. Add those hits to the stat and you can have your good sack.

bigTEXan8 · Oct 26, 2006

i gave him a B because i have been really impressed with his sideline-to-sideline speed. i find that quite impressive. he's had his opportunities to have more sacks, been pushed around a lot, but i think he is steadily getting quite solid. jmo.

GuerillaBlack · Oct 26, 2006

I gave him a B. I think he has done some, but not enough so far (he is a rookie, though).

infantrycak · Oct 26, 2006

xtruroyaltyx said:

That was supposed to be a joke and to get you to watch a couple pretty good hits. Lighten up.

jerek · Oct 26, 2006

I count the sack that he got on Leftwich, just like every prolific sacker (and less than prolific) every once in awhile receives a gimme that's added to their count. In any event IIRC Williams had great position on the tackle by the time Leftwich fell and was in position to get a clear shot.

sleepwalker · Oct 27, 2006

I gave him a B, he's responding well *in my opinion*...This week I think he's going to rise up and have a great game against the Titans.

He's doing well for the situation, but lets keep the pressure on him and the entire D.

Bamaborn-Texasbred · Oct 27, 2006

PowerfulDragon said:
B- if he sacks Vince, B+

If he sacks VY, I'd give him another bye week.

GNTLEWOLF · Oct 28, 2006

So far, not worthy of the #1 pick. He is getting better, but still not #1 pick better. I give him a c-

MrMeToo · Oct 28, 2006

GNTLEWOLF said:
So far, not worthy of the #1 pick. He is getting better, but still not #1 pick better. I give him a c-

I agree. I don't know how someone could give him an A or B. He hasn't looked that impressive thus far, but I think he can improve.

The Pencil Neck · Oct 28, 2006

I graded him a C. He's played about as well as I expected. He looks like a very talented rookie that could develop into something very good. I haven't seen him do much more than bull rush. He's been taken advantage of by several offensive coordinators. You can fake inside and he'll lose contain. You can fake him outside and get a crease inside.

But he doesn't seem to give up. He's chased down a lot of plays and showed up near the ball when I didn't expect him to be anywhere close. When he reads correctly and doesn't get fooled, he's scary fast.

It also seems that a lot of guys are holding him and occasionally the refs are calling it. That's a good thing.

I'm hoping he'll step up and start putting things together. If he can do that, then his grade will improve.

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