Mario Melt Down?

[Fox]

http://blogs.chron.com/sportsjustice..._schaub_e.html

In Justice's chron.com blog he says Mario basically had a melt down in wednesday's media session and that he's been pretty unapproachable in recent weeks. I've never seen him to be a very media friendly person since he's gotten here, but I thought this year might be easier for him than his rookie year when the draft results were still hot off the press. I haven't seen or heard anything from the near "melt down", anyone have any info?

In other news, VY has been testy lately as well apparently.

[stingray]

I think he has had alot of pressure since he came in and it might be affecting him. It's not his fault with what happened in the 06 draft. But he has to produce and he really hasn't. He's been ok but not the player he was supposed to be. He's on pace to record 8 sacks this year which isn't bad but I expected double digits.

[Vinny]

I don't perceive Mario as very smart. He put a lot of pressure on himself by predicting that he will break the NFL sack record.....I thought it was dumb then, and it looks even dumber now.

[stingray]

Originally Posted by Vinny

I don't perceive Mario as very smart. He put a lot of pressure on himself by predicting that he will break the NFL sack record.....I thought it was dumb then, and it looks even dumber now.

I think it's more of a maturity issue than inteligence or maybe both. But luckily, he is young and has time to become smarter and more mature.

[houstonhurricane]

Originally Posted by Vinny

I don't perceive Mario as very smart. He put a lot of pressure on himself by predicting that he will break the NFL sack record.....I thought it was dumb then, and it looks even dumber now.

Vinny,

I had never heard of that guarantee. When did Mario say that? Why in the world would any young kid come out and say something as ridiculous as that??

[YoungTexanFan]

Originally Posted by Vinny

I don't perceive Mario as very smart. He put a lot of pressure on himself by predicting that he will break the NFL sack record.....I thought it was dumb then, and it looks even dumber now.

In all fairness to him, he didn't predict that he would break it, he just said he would like to. Which is an admirable goal for any young DE.

[infantrycak]

Sure would be nice if Justice would up his journalistic standards and actually report what happened rather than just throwing out a provocative meltdown description.

Originally Posted by YoungTexanFan

In all fairness to him, he didn't predict that he would break it, he just said he would like to. Which is an admirable goal for any young DE.

That's the way I heard it as well.

[Yankee_In_TX]

Originally Posted by Fox

http://blogs.chron.com/sportsjustice..._schaub_e.html
In other news, VY has been testy lately as well apparently.

Off topic - I liked what VY said Wednesday. He said get over it (the passing on him returning to Houston, etc. thing) - he gave everyone what they wanted last year, this is just another division game.

[Texans_Chick]

Originally Posted by Fox

http://blogs.chron.com/sportsjustice..._schaub_e.html

In Justice's chron.com blog he says Mario basically had a melt down in wednesday's media session and that he's been pretty unapproachable in recent weeks. I've never seen him to be a very media friendly person since he's gotten here, but I thought this year might be easier for him than his rookie year when the draft results were still hot off the press. I haven't seen or heard anything from the near "melt down", anyone have any info?

In other news, VY has been testy lately as well apparently.

I saw the video of the VY thing. It was no big deal. And Justice makes it out to being a bigger thing than it was. Solomon had the exact quotes and didn't exaggerate it into something it wasn't.

He doesn't provide much info as far was what Williams has said or done so it is hard to judge if Justice is making something out of nothing.

I don't trust most of the Chronicle reporting on Williams because of their emotionality about his pick and the incomplete reporting that they do related to him. Basically, the only semi-rational stuff on Williams that I've read in the Chronicle comes from Solomon and Zierlein. I don't always agree with what they say, but I don't feel like they are trying to be deliberately misleading.

McClain thinks it is his role to get Mario mad. He's said that repeatedly. I would settle for accurate. If that's what he sees his role as, well then, the local media shouldn't be surprised if Mario gets a little terse. He has never had particularly fair coverage in the newspaper.

I think there are legitimate criticisms of Mario's play, but I think usually McClain and Justice miss the mark about what they say.

[Texans_Chick]

Originally Posted by houstonhurricane

Vinny,

I had never heard of that guarantee. When did Mario say that? Why in the world would any young kid come out and say something as ridiculous as that??

He said it was a goal of his. He said it in an interview with Matt Mosley of ESPN.

[Vinny]

Originally Posted by Texans_Chick

I saw the video of the VY thing. It was no big deal. And Justice makes it out to being a bigger thing than it was. Solomon had the exact quotes and didn't exaggerate it into something it wasn't.

If anyone wants to see the video of this they can just click here. Justice is pandering again.

[dtran04]

I would have a very hard time being nice/cordial to people that belittle you every chance they get. When he does have a good game, it's usually a backhanded compliment.

Vince is being a teamplayer and not putting himself above the team. Good move on his part. Of course he is lying but its a good thing to say.

[HoustonFrog]

I saw the VY interview last night and it wasn't bad at all. He basically said last year was different and he made his point and this year he just wanted to win a division game and that we had a different team now. Respect for that.

[Errant Hothy]

Originally Posted by Vinny

If anyone wants to see the video of this they can just click here. Justice is pandering again.

As evident by the following:

Why dont u guys jump on A. Weavers back? This guy has done nothing since we signed him!

It's a lot more fun to jump Mario.--
Richard]

Posted by: Ryan at October 18, 2007 04:06 PM

Dick has an agenda, and he will pursue that agenda...journalism and professionalism be damned.

[Texans_Chick]

BTW, I am thinking that Richard Justice might be a coward of the highest level.

I often make comments in Chronicle blogs. Up until recently, they all get published. Except for on Justice's blog. I guess I am on his bad list. It happened to me once before, I just blew it off as maybe a mistake. But it happened again, so I am guessing I am blackballed. Here's what I wrote that he or someone else there was too chicken to publish. (Which is amazing, because they publish all sorts of ugly irrational stuff):

I have to say that I read your report with some skepticism. I saw on video what Vince Young said to reporters, and it really didn't seem to be a big deal. Jerome Solomon didn't report what Young said with the prima donna spin the way you discussed it, and I wonder if you are exaggerating with the Williams stuff too.

Or maybe you are just sensitive. If so, please do not take the following as something meant to be mean to you. I am saying this because I love sports pages, and want to feel like I can trust the content of the sports page because of the access that you guys have to the players and because I like to read the paper during breakfast.

The Houston Chronicle, as a whole, doesn't have a particularly good track record of being honest and fair about Williams because of the emotion surrounding the pick.

When he was chosen, the front page of the Chronicle had him listed with the worst draft busts of all time. You said the choice of Williams "smacked of stupidity" and was "dumb."

The Chronicle provided very little information about his background as a player other than that he was a physical specimen. Most basic biographical information I know about him I had to look up from other places.

Some of the columnists have said repeatedly that they feel like their job is to "make Mario mad" so that he plays better. But I suppose if he actually gets mad at you guys, that's not okay.

I believe for some, he unfairly becomes the whipping boy for all the failures of the Texans defense. It doesn't matter if ND Kalu took responsibility for a missed assignment with the big Fred Taylor run at the beginning of the game, because it is more convenient to slag Mario because he isn't Vince.

Here's some fun facts that most fans wouldn't know about Mario Williams if they just read the Chronicle:

Unlike what McClain's pretend conversation with the late great Joel Buchsbaum implied, Mario Williams wasn't just a combine wonder. He had a great college career with career and junior year stats comparable to Julius Pepper a guy who played in the same conference. (I'm not saying he is the same sort of player, but instead I'm just pointing this out that he wasn't just a combine guy. He came out as a true junior and not a redshirt junior like Peppers. And he did this despite having three different defensive coaches in three years, each of them wanting him to have different roles. Williams was his team's MVP his junior year).

Or how about this, if you only want to judge line play by just looking at whether a guy got a sack. Amobi Okoye and Mario Williams have a combined sack total higher than any other line tandem in the AFC.

I think there is some legitimate criticism that can be made of Williams' play this year, but rarely do I read that in the paper. I haven't seen much evidence for example that he plays with no "mo-ta" as McClain imagined Buchsbaum saying, but rather sometimes he plays hard but not smart. I think as he plays more, his football IQ will increase, but that's something that we will be able to judge through time.

What the legacy of Joel Buchsbaum means is that you can't trust newspaper guys to tell you the truth about players. Buchsbaum researched things himself and watched the games himself and made up his own mind about player. (Of course, he probably needed to get more of a life, but that is a different story).

I like the Chronicle coverage on some things, but I don't particularly trust it as it relates to Williams because of the emotion with that pick. I think a lot of the coverage from the moment he was signed has been unfair and de-humanizing and that I had to look up stuff my ownself just to get basic information about him.

Maybe you are completely correct that Williams has been out of line with local reporters and has no reason to be distrustful with them. But you can also see why at least some of us wonder if what we are reading about him is the truth or a shade of the truth or just an exaggeration.

[hollywood_texan]

I have heard several times that when Mario gets mad or upset, he takes care of business.

Is he mad or upset this week?

If so, probably means a good thing!

Mario, go get'em!

[Vinny]

Originally Posted by Texans_Chick

BTW, I am thinking that Richard Justice might be a coward of the highest level.

I often make comments in Chronicle blogs. Up until recently, they all get published. Except for on Justice's blog. I guess I am on his bad list. It happened to me once before, I just blew it off as maybe a mistake. But it happened again, so I am guessing I am blackballed. Here's what I wrote that he or someone else there was too chicken to publish. (Which is amazing, because they publish all sorts of ugly irrational stuff):

LOL, Justice will only publish things that make him look good or when other fans look like idiots. I think Jack Nicholson said it best...."He can't handle the truth!" I hope he is reading this...lame stuff RJ.

[Fox]

About Mario's intelligence - I must agree. I remember seeing Mario on Rome is Burning and it seemed like the guy had trouble forming complete sentences. Judging from his lambo video and the interviews I've seen, Mario isn't the sharpest knife in the drawer nor does he enjoy giving interviews. Luckily football players don't have to be very academically smart to be good at their jobs.

I'm not sure why Justice couldn't atleast give us a quote or example of how/why he said Mario had a melt down. I can't help but feel like he and McClain love to stir the Mario/VY pot every time an opportunity arises.

[Vinny]

Originally Posted by Fox

About Mario's intelligence - I must agree. I remember seeing Mario on Rome is Burning and it seemed like the guy had trouble forming complete sentences. Judging from his lambo video and the interviews I've seen, Mario isn't the sharpest knife in the drawer nor does he enjoy giving interviews. Luckily football players don't have to be very academically smart to be good at their jobs.

I'm not sure why Justice couldn't atleast give us a quote or example of how/why he said Mario had a melt down. I can't help but feel like he and McClain love to stir the Mario/VY pot every time an opportunity arises.

Since we see that Young really wasn't portrayed correctly, I have no reason to assume Mario was either.

[DiehardChris]

Originally Posted by Fox

I'm not sure why Justice couldn't atleast give us a quote or example of how/why he said Mario had a melt down. I can't help but feel like he and McClain love to stir the Mario/VY pot every time an opportunity arises.

Exactly... I read what he said, and took him to task about not giving us any kind of quote, audio, video, or even a comment from someone who heard it. In my comment, I equated it to how he would continuously make reference to how lots of Astros do not like Craig Biggio - but he would never say more than that.

Texans Chick nailed it... I don't dislike McClain or Justice - but when it comes to "matters of Mario" they seem to be coming from the wrong place... and that place isn't a 'journalistic' one - that goes for their articles AND their blogs.