Another Richard Justice fiasco on Mario!!

[chaptexan]

Please somebody take care of him.
http://blogs.chron.com/sportsjustice...mario_has.html

[TexansBlood]

August 09, 2010
Super Mario still trying to achieve greatness, but the Texans need him
To write about Mario Williams is to invite trouble. There are still many fans who believe the Texans took the wrong guy. Some still think Vince Young would have been a better pick. Or Reggie Bush.

Let's begin with that part of the story. The Texans got it right. Mario hasn't been the dominant pass rusher the Texans envisioned him being, but they're far better off with him than they would have been with any of the other top picks.

His selection forced them to go after a quarterback a year later, and Rick Smith and Gary Kubiak got it right again by trading for Matt Schaub. How many quarterbacks would you rather have than Schaub? Peyton Manning? Tom Brady? Drew Brees? There aren't many.

Schaub has been absolutely everything the Texans hoped he'd be, from production on the field to work ethic and leadership off it. If he goes the distance again this season, the Texans have a very good chance of making the playoffs.

Now about Mario Williams. It's the first significant bump in the road that his sore hip has forced him to the sideline, and it has prompted him to seek the opinion of a specialist. Kubiak said this morning that Williams got good news and should be back on the field soon. That's exactly what the Texans wanted to hear.

If the Texans don't have either Mario Williams or Brian Cushing on the field for the opener against the Colts, it would make the challenge way more difficult, and the challenge was difficult enough even with those two.

But the harsh truth is that losing Williams isn't as critical as losing Cushing or perhaps even DeMeco Ryans or Antonio Smith. As Williams begins his fifth season, the Texans are still waiting for him to become a game-wrecking pass rusher.

There have been flashes of greatness along the way. Late last season when I wrote that he didn't deserve to play in the Pro Bowl, someone whispered, ''You just guaranteed he'll get two sacks this week.''

Almost. He broke a two-week shutout streak with a sack that helped the Texans upset the Patriots and finish with their first winning season.

His peers respect him enough to have voted him to a pair of Pro Bowls. Since finishing third in the league with 14 sacks his second season, he has fallen off to 12 in 2008 and nine last season.

He doesn't play in a vacuum. Until Smith emerged last season, the Texans didn't have another real dominant pass-rushing threat. Also, Williams was slowed by a shoulder issue last season.

For Williams, being a No. 1 overall pick puts the bar in a different place. Aaron Schobel had just one more sack than Williams last season. In the last three seasons when both have been on the field — Schobel missed 11 games in 2008 — Williams had 27.5 sacks, Schobel 30.5

Let's not mistake him for a dog. Even in a 2009 season when he wasn't great, his numbers were still impressive: 9.0 sacks, 13 tackles for loss, 20 quarterback hits, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.

Still, the Texans want more. Gary Kubiak said it at the end of last season, and Bob McNair said it a few weeks ago.

He has never consistently attracted the double-team blocks that Reggie White and Lawrence Taylor got in their prime. He has never been instinctive in his pass-rushing moves.

There's plenty of time for him to get there. He has physical skills most other players can only dream of. He works hard and seems to be a good teammate. But the Texans keep hoping there's more there.

Now there are concerns about his health. He was limited by a shoulder injury last year. Now it's the hip.

The Texans have spent so much time and money trying to find a presence on the other side of the defensive line. Now the guy they thought they could count on is questionable.

NFL seasons are journeys of attrition. The Texans would have hoped the attrition would begin once the real contact started.

August 09, 2010

[chaptexan]

Wish Justice was QB for single play and Mario could sack him!!

[Mari-OWNED!]

Normally I don't agree with Richard Justice, but in this case I do.

I don't see what's the big deal. Mario has high expectations, and he's not meeting them.

Mario is great for the Texans, but you would think he could be greater. That's all RJ is saying.

[Texan_Bill]

Originally Posted by Mari-OWNED!

Normally I don't agree with Richard Justice, but in this case I do.

I don't see what's the big deal. Mario has high expectations, and he's not meeting them.

Mario is great for the Texans, but you would think he could be greater. That's all RJ is saying.

I'm with you. I normally take what Dickie has to say with a grain of salt. As far as this particular article, I don't disagree wtih him.

[Ole Miss Texan]

Originally Posted by Mari-OWNED!

Normally I don't agree with Richard Justice, but in this case I do.

I don't see what's the big deal. Mario has high expectations, and he's not meeting them.

Mario is great for the Texans, but you would think he could be greater. That's all RJ is saying.

I'm of similar thinking. But this "piece" by Justice is pretty insignificant, I mean what he said was true but... what did he say? That probably took him 2 minutes to write. That is if he didn't just see some 8th grader's summer homework due yesterday.

Okay so he writes this:

Since finishing third in the league with 14 sacks his second season, he has fallen off to 12 in 2008 and nine last season.

And then follows it up with this:

Let's not mistake him for a dog. Even in a 2009 season when he wasn't great, his numbers were still impressive: 9.0 sacks, 13 tackles for loss, 20 quarterback hits, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.

Mario has "fallen off" to 12 sacks! "Fallen off" to 9 sacks? But but let's not mistake... his "fallen off" seasons are still GREAT! lol, hack.

Even though Mario isn't the Sack Artist we all wish and thought he would be, here is how he ranks against other DE's in the league (and AFC) during his career:

2009: 9 Sacks = 9th in NFL (4th in AFC)
2008: 12 Sacks = T-4th in NFL (1st in AFC)
2007: 14 Sacks = 3rd in NFL (2nd in AFC)
2006: 4.5 Sacks = "Not Ranked"

In my opinion, I was "on board" with the pick after it was announced the night before and have rooted for him ever since. I think he is one of the best all around DE's in the league right now. If I could pick any DE to build my defense around, Mario would be near the top of the list. Do I want him to be better? Of course. After all the "hype" and comparisons to Reggie White and Lawrence Taylor, did I expect more of a pass rusher? Yes I did. Do I expect more out of him than what he's produced? Yes I do. But I still stand by my feeling that he is one of the best DE's in the league. And I sure as hell would rather him over VY and RB.

[buddyboy]

Decent write-up. Mario really does need to step it up to catapult us into real contenders. Surprisingly decent from Justice.

[Texanmike02]

He plays Manning, the hardest QB to sack in the league. Keep in mind that teams don't run to his side successfully. When people say "he doesn't just attack the QB" they are exactly right. He's not a sack specialist. Kudos to him for NOT attacking the QB on every play. I'll take 10-15 sacks and excellent run support over 21 sacks and a bunch of wiffs on stretch plays any day. He definitely has room for improvement but the man doesn't have a real weakness in his game.

Sure I'd love to see him with a little more agression but lets keep in mind that we aren't collapsing the pocket forcing the QB out like some teams do....

There are essentially two ways to increase his sacks. Teach him to think pass 80% of the time and live with 8-12 yard runs to his side of the field OR get pressure up the middle in the QB's lap...

Overall, he's bruce matthews on the DL. A phenominal player who nobody will notice how good he is until we start winning over and over. He does things nobody really notices or pays attention to, but there is no real reason to anticipate his career will slow down for the next 8-10 years. At some point we'll look back and think wow... he statistically he wasn't out of this world but he held down the DE position for over a decade. Ok so maybe not quite bruce matthews... but that man wasn't appreciated till well into his second decade in the league.

Mike

His run defence is kind of the equivelant to pass blocking for a RB. It gets talked about a lot, but nobody notices when he does it and so it gets over looked.

[m5kwatts]

I can't read any Justice slop without thinking its another VY stroke.

[Goldensilence]

You want Dickie "taken care of"?

Stop giving his "write ups" or blogs traffic.

Does Mario need to step up his game this year? For sure. Long as he's healthy I think he'll be a force.

One thing I'd keep in mind about his numbers is that he hasn't gotten a whole lot of help from the rest of the line. When you take that into account his numbers are pretty good.

[Showtime100]

Originally Posted by m5kwatts

I can't read any Justice slop without thinking its another VY stroke.

I can't read him without thinking he's Alice The Goon.



I mean, c'mon.

[HuttoKarl]

I can't stand people who judge a DE on sack numbers alone. Mario does so much on the field that doesn't always show up on a stat sheet. Given some nice secondary help he could get stupid sack numbers to finally shut the haters up.

(Kareem Jackson...ball's in your court, rook.)

[m5kwatts]

Originally Posted by HuttoKarl

I can't stand people who judge a DE on sack numbers alone. Mario does so much on the field that doesn't always show up on a stat sheet. Given some nice secondary help he could get stupid sack numbers to finally shut the haters up.

(Kareem Jackson...ball's in your court, rook.)

Mario could have a 20 sack season it still won't change Justice. Mario will always be the guy who stood in the way of Richard Justice covering Vince Young's NFL career.

[Ole Miss Texan]

Originally Posted by HuttoKarl

I can't stand people who judge a DE on sack numbers alone. Mario does so much on the field that doesn't always show up on a stat sheet. Given some nice secondary help he could get stupid sack numbers to finally shut the haters up.

(Kareem Jackson...ball's in your court, rook.)

Yup. Nnamdi Asomugha has only gotten 1 interception in each of the past 3 seasons.
It's a shame that guy isn't any good...

[Goldensilence]

Originally Posted by Ole Miss Texan

Yup. Nnamdi Asomugha has only gotten 1 interception in each of the past 3 seasons.
It's a shame that guy isn't any good...

Yep that guy sucks.

I'd give Oakland a 5th just to take that bit of trash off their hands.

[76Texan]

Originally Posted by Texanmike

He plays Manning, the hardest QB to sack in the league. Keep in mind that teams don't run to his side successfully. When people say "he doesn't just attack the QB" they are exactly right. He's not a sack specialist. Kudos to him for NOT attacking the QB on every play. I'll take 10-15 sacks and excellent run support over 21 sacks and a bunch of wiffs on stretch plays any day. He definitely has room for improvement but the man doesn't have a real weakness in his game.

Sure I'd love to see him with a little more agression but lets keep in mind that we aren't collapsing the pocket forcing the QB out like some teams do....

There are essentially two ways to increase his sacks. Teach him to think pass 80% of the time and live with 8-12 yard runs to his side of the field OR get pressure up the middle in the QB's lap...

Overall, he's bruce matthews on the DL. A phenominal player who nobody will notice how good he is until we start winning over and over. He does things nobody really notices or pays attention to, but there is no real reason to anticipate his career will slow down for the next 8-10 years. At some point we'll look back and think wow... he statistically he wasn't out of this world but he held down the DE position for over a decade. Ok so maybe not quite bruce matthews... but that man wasn't appreciated till well into his second decade in the league.

Mike

His run defence is kind of the equivelant to pass blocking for a RB. It gets talked about a lot, but nobody notices when he does it and so it gets over looked.

I would take Mario over any DE in the league right now!
The guy has become a very consistent all-around DE.
If only he can be at 100%... He will be a monster.
If he continues o be bothered by injuries, then that's what we will have to live with.

But, hey, it's always fun for fans to want their top players to reach the sky.
Never satisified!
It's nothing bad (unless somebody goes overboard).

[chaptexan]

@ certain plays Mario gets double teamed creating enough opportunities for the LB's to create pressure!! What else do you expect from a DE.. I believe he and Jarred Allen are the best available in their position in the league.

[b0ng]

Originally Posted by chaptexan

@ certain plays Mario gets double teamed creating enough opportunities for the LB's to create pressure!! What else do you expect from a DE.. I believe he and Jarred Allen are the best available in their position in the league.

Dwight Freeney has to be right there in the conversation.

[TimeKiller]

Remember that time Mario picked up Jamal Lewis and threw him on the ground? That was awesome.

I guess I just want to see more of that.

[HoustonFrog]

Agree with many above...the article was actually spot on. He was the right pick. Getting Schaub later was great. Mario has been off and on..hot and cold. I'm more in the "who cares" faction due to the fact that this has been hashed out before.