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Any reason to believe Mario will bust?

phan1

Rookie
Well, not to be negative. I want Mario to succeed as much as the next Texans fan. But I just want to ask that now that we've drafted him and seen him in some minicamps, are there any reasons why Mario will bust at the moment? Without seeing him play a game, I can only say 2 reasons why he won't. 1) He's an athletic freak of nature. 2) He's shown very good character. That alone should be well enough, but you never know what's going to happen. And I can't think of any reasons right now why he wouldn't. I have heard nothing but good things from other players since he's been in Houston.

But what worries me are past sure-fire DE picks a la Courtney Brown. WTF happened to him and other DEs? Courney Brown had to be incredibly physically gifted to be picked #1 right? Unfortunately, I haven't followed football long enough to have any clue to what happened to previous busted draft picks. I have yet to read any article on why Mario will bust like other top drafted DEs other than the typical "Why didn't you pick Reggie" articles.
 

MorKnolle

All Pro
phan1 said:
Well, not to be negative. I want Mario to succeed as much as the next Texans fan. But I just want to ask that now that we've drafted him and seen him in some minicamps, are there any reasons why Mario will bust at the moment? Without seeing him play a game, I can only say 2 reasons why he won't. 1) He's an athletic freak of nature. 2) He's shown very good character. That alone should be well enough, but you never know what's going to happen. And I can't think of any reasons right now why he wouldn't. I have heard nothing but good things from other players since he's been in Houston.

But what worries me are past sure-fire DE picks a la Courtney Brown. WTF happened to him and other DEs? Courney Brown had to be incredibly physically gifted to be picked #1 right? Unfortunately, I haven't followed football long enough to have any clue to what happened to previous busted draft picks. I have yet to read any article on why Mario will bust like other top drafted DEs other than the typical "Why didn't you pick Reggie" articles.
The only way I see Mario not being very successful is if he catches a bad string of injuries. Courtney Brown is also more of a strongside DE and a run stopper than a pass rusher, so he never put up sack numbers like Julius Peppers or Jevon Kearse, plus he was pretty lazy and allegedly didn't ever have a very good attitude. Mario doesn't have any of those negative traits, plus he is more of a physical freak than even Peppers was, and Courtney Brown was never that type of DE.
 

The Pencil Neck

Hall of Fame
It's a crapshoot. Anybody can be a bust. Sometimes the player just isn't as good as everyone thinks. Sometimes the player just gets drafted into the wrong place at the wrong time. Sometimes the player stops working because they've "made" it. Sometimes they just get injured and never can quite recover.

OJ Simpson was a "bust" until they got a coach who knew how to use him. Bradshaw was a bust his first few years. There was a huge debate on whether Peyton Manning or Ryan Leaf. Lots of people thought that Leaf was going to be better than Manning but he turned out to be a total bust.
 

Wolf

100% Texan
I am not sure, I guess it depends on your definition of "bust".. Bruce Smith like(lots of probowls), Ray Childress like (few less probowls), (honestly went blank on who hasn't went to probowl,yet was a very solid linemen)

For me time, as the #1 pick overall, I want him to be dominate and change the way the game is played, but that is a hard thing to do (Lawrence Taylor like) and few people do it. I want offensives to game plan around what Mario is doing, yet I know very few people can do that.

I am not doubting what Mario can or cannot do, I just haven't figured out what my realistic expectations are.. Mayby a combination of Ray childress and Bruce smith with a smudge (sentimental talk) or mixture of Sean Jones and William fuller) :francis:
 

beerlover

Hall of Fame
he is what he is.............:fireball: but here is a question, who was rated even close to Mario at his position? and when was there a DE rated this highly? thats right about 5 years ago and his name was Peppers. But yes, there is always a possibility, just not very likely.

Mario Williams is gonna be a player, give MorKnolle credit he was way ahead of the curve on this one :mario:
 

nunusguy

Hall of Fame
Even at this level, Mario is so gifted that it would seem it would be difficult for him to fail. TE freak Vernon Davis is probably the only other player in this Draft that has the kind of raw athletic qualities that Mario does.
And given that he is a young man of alledged high character, it seems even
more improbable that he could wash out.
 

Hardcore Texan

Magnet Man
MorKnolle said:
The only way I see Mario not being very successful is if he catches a bad string of injuries. Courtney Brown is also more of a strongside DE and a run stopper than a pass rusher, so he never put up sack numbers like Julius Peppers or Jevon Kearse, plus he was pretty lazy and allegedly didn't ever have a very good attitude. Mario doesn't have any of those negative traits, plus he is more of a physical freak than even Peppers was, and Courtney Brown was never that type of DE.

Nice post, droppin' some knowledge, thanks. I think Mario will have a huge impact right away. He has got good intangibles on top of his physical abilities.
 

Texansfan36

Waterboy
Theres plenty of reasons to believe Mario will be a bust, but then again that holds true for all college athletes making the transition to the pro's, until we see what he can do in a game, theres no way to be sure. But if he lives up to the hype (and I'm sure he will) its going to be a really good year for the Texans. But we all knew that already:francis:
 

Texans_Chick

Utopian Dreamer
MorKnolle said:
The only way I see Mario not being very successful is if he catches a bad string of injuries. Courtney Brown is also more of a strongside DE and a run stopper than a pass rusher, so he never put up sack numbers like Julius Peppers or Jevon Kearse, plus he was pretty lazy and allegedly didn't ever have a very good attitude. Mario doesn't have any of those negative traits, plus he is more of a physical freak than even Peppers was, and Courtney Brown was never that type of DE.

Courtney Brown's first year was non-great. All the rest of his years have been injury riddled.
 

South Texan

Waterboy
Yep... I suspect there will be a bust of him in the Hall of Fame somewhere down the road! (Or do they just have pictures of the Hall of Famers??)

Going into the pros he seems very focused, has good values. and is eager to prove he was worth the #1 pick. The only way I see him having problems would be through injuries or "falling in the wrong crowd." I don't think there is any doubt the talent is there for him to be one of the best ever if he can keep his head on straight.

McNair seems to attract class, let's hope Mario can live up to that both on and off the field.
 
i have no reason to believe that mario will be a bust but it can happen. i wish mario the best and hope he break the sack single season record but only time will tell. i mean honestly how many of us looking back would of tought david carr would of been the bust he has been so *far* not many.
 

threetoedpete

Hall of Fame
How about squaty, HOFer Elvin Beatha, Wolf. His book is a pretty good read btw.


I said it in an early thread, the first time we see the guy set up an OT with a double move, we'll know we got the goods. I always got problems with someone who has a motor problem...give me John Randle/ Jerry Rice types every time. I don't love Seth Payne. But give a coach 21 more of them, and we make the play offs every year. Over acheivers and believers always have a chance to be great. But Mario is the face of our defense now. His run at the HOF begins September. We'll see . He has all the tools physically. All he has to do is want it.... bad. I have no problem with the pick. VY & RB were not worth 2600 points. Neither is signed as of today. We pulled the best DL by all draft pundits off the board. Someone who has the potential to be truly great. I can live with that.

Kuddos Morknole. Nice call.
 

infantrycak

Hall of Fame
threetoedpete said:
I don't love Seth Payne. But give a coach 21 more of them, and we make the play offs every year.
Funny, I will take 22 smart, hard working, non-elite players making the play-offs every year from here on out.

JMO--but winning tends to transform smart hard working non-elite players into pro-bowlers.
 

Texansfan36

Waterboy
infantrycak said:
Funny, I will take 22 smart, hard working, non-elite players making the play-offs every year from here on out.

JMO--but winning tends to transform smart hard working non-elite players into pro-bowlers.
I couldn't agree more, LETS GO TEXANS!!!!:fans: :texflag: :highfive:
 
Mario actually appears to have all of the qualities not to be a bust. Now since the practics so far this year were no pads they aren't really worth much except that you can judge effort, and from all that I have heard, Mario has an abundance of it. Whenyou add his physical attributes, he looks like he could be great. Hurry up season, Hurry up.
 

texan279

Hall of Fame
IMO, anyone in the top 10-15 could end up being a disappointment, not necesarilly a bust, and I also have a feeling several players taken in the later rounds could turn out to be steals of this draft. As far as Mario probably too early to tell.
 

DocBar

Hall of Fame
Contributor's Club
Wolf said:
I am not sure, I guess it depends on your definition of "bust".. Bruce Smith like(lots of probowls), Ray Childress like (few less probowls), (honestly went blank on who hasn't went to probowl,yet was a very solid linemen)

For me time, as the #1 pick overall, I want him to be dominate and change the way the game is played, but that is a hard thing to do (Lawrence Taylor like) and few people do it. I want offensives to game plan around what Mario is doing, yet I know very few people can do that.

I am not doubting what Mario can or cannot do, I just haven't figured out what my realistic expectations are.. Mayby a combination of Ray childress and Bruce smith with a smudge (sentimental talk) or mixture of Sean Jones and William fuller) :francis:
Everyone leaves out Elvin Bethea!!! That dude was a monster. The defense we had in the late 70's should be our yardstick. They were,imo, much better than the House of Pain era D.Maybe Mario will play with that "thumb in your eye, bite your ankle at the bottom of the pile" intensity that makes great linemen immortal.
 

El Tejano

Hall of Fame
I think only Texan fans that watch games will know this answer at the end of the season because since noone really watches DEs and since they aren't always catching, running or throwing he is not going to have the stand out numbers that make you say "WOW he is the best pick in the draft"

What I mean is, imo, if he gets around 6 sacks during his rookie year then he had a solid rookie season and to me that is not a bust. However outsiders, because of the Bush thing, will consider that a bust.
 
nunusguy said:
Even at this level, Mario is so gifted that it would seem it would be difficult for him to fail. TE freak Vernon Davis is probably the only other player in this Draft that has the kind of raw athletic qualities that Mario does.
And given that he is a young man of alledged high character, it seems even
more improbable that he could wash out.
Ever heard of Vince Young?
 

El Tejano

Hall of Fame
No, I think we are pretty much now going based on the facts that Mario has cooperated with everything management has asked of him and the fact that we know we are going to see him in camp now.
 
xtruroyaltyx said:
What about Reggie Bush ?
Him too.


Mario is a bad***** but he wasn't incredible like Bush or Young. I mean there's a reason he wasn't nominated for Heisman.........

And having Manny Lawson on the other end didn't hurt things...
 

El Tejano

Hall of Fame
Manny Lawson himself stated that teams always went to the other side because they were scared to death of Mario Williams.
 
R

real

Guest
BroussardSaint said:
I think Ya'll are putting a JINX on him by worrying too much about what Reggie Bush will do and wishing bad things and ill will agianst Reggie. I've seen more people on this board worrying about players on other teams and putting them down. seems like alot of Ya'll (NOT EVERYONE) are jealous and pissed he isn't on you're team so you try to act like you wouldn't want him.
I hear ya...But thats just how some people are...I wish all of the players well that I have seen in college...Reggie and VY especially..
 
I'm jealous that Houston has Mario, I'm jealous that N.O. has Reggie, and I'm jealous that GB has A.J.

But for people to not admit they are jealous we have VY is just dumb. If you watched him in college and have an IQ over 60 you would want VY on your team.
 
Physically neither Young or Bush are in Mario's league. First off they had more time to prepare for their pro-days whereas Mario's performance came at the combine. Even with the extra time they who were smaller didn't do much better than Mario did. He matched Reggie Bush's vert. with an extra 100 lbs. on his frame. Was eight tenths of a second slower than Vince Young and all these things without the extra month(s) of conditioning for those events. No disrespect to either of those two guys, but when you also look at his strength, he's just on a higher level. I look at the athletes coming out and Williams, Bush, and Davis are the freaks of the class. Young is talented and whathaveyou, but he's not on those guys level.
 
Titan "Tack" Fan said:
I'm jealous that Houston has Mario, I'm jealous that N.O. has Reggie, and I'm jealous that GB has A.J.

But for people to not admit they are jealous we have VY is just dumb. If you watched him in college and have an IQ over 60 you would want VY on your team.
There was a time during the off-season, the few short weeks after the national championship where I really did want VY. But atm, I really do want to see what Carr can do, not VY, in this offense. As usual, the off-season fluff pieces have captivated my interest in Carr's abilities that earned him the first overall selection in the draft. I would love to have VY backing him up at this point, and maybe 5 weeks into the season I'll be wishing we had taken VY, who knows. All I'm saying is that right now I'm quite content with Carr heading into the season.

I really look forward to seeing VY and Lendale White 2x a year, they should be a good tandem and I can't wait to see how they stack up to McNair and Eddie George.
 

powerfuldragon

Enchilada Aficionado.
Mario, Reggie, and Vince are going to be good players, that's a given. They just won't be as mind-blowing as they were in college, in the NFL everybody's faster, stronger, and smarter.
 

DocBar

Hall of Fame
Contributor's Club
Titan "Tack" Fan said:
Him too.


Mario is a bad***** but he wasn't incredible like Bush or Young. I mean there's a reason he wasn't nominated for Heisman.........

And having Manny Lawson on the other end didn't hurt things...
um...Mario wasn't nominated for the Heisman BECAUSE HE PLAYS DE!!!!!!! I love how fans of other teams have to come to our MB's to tell us how much we want their players...Especially Tack fans. Almost Freudian...
 
R

real

Guest
DocBar said:
um...Mario wasn't nominated for the Heisman BECAUSE HE PLAYS DE!!!!!!! I love how fans of other teams have to come to our MB's to tell us how much we want their players...Especially Tack fans. Almost Freudian...
I think anybody can win the heisman...It wasn't because he played DE, It was because he didn't play well enough to be nominated for a heisman...Not taking anything away from from Mario...But there have been o-lineman and defensive player nominated for the heisman...
 

Coach C.

Veteran
My return to the boards was prompted by this post and many like it since the draft. Mario, RB, and VY should all be quality starters who you know what you should be getting. As far as rare athletics Mario simply blows them out of the water. VY and RB are pure athletes that the league has seen before and will see again. Mario on the other hand is the type of rare blend of speed, size, strength, and power that comes along only every 5-10 years. Better DEs exist in the league, but you have to compare his blend of God-given talents to the likes of Reggie White, LT, Ju. Pep, Kellen Winslow SR., Elvin Bethea, and Ed "Too Tall" Jones just to name a few.

Now everyone that loves RB and VY do not get pissed because you have phenominal athletes on your team, but to compare them with Mario is a bit short sighted.
 

infantrycak

Hall of Fame
BroussardSaint said:
If the Texans would have picked Vince or Reggie.. then Marrio would be nothing but a piece of s**t to ya'll RIGHT?
#1 Saying you think player A will be better period or better for the team is not the same as saying players B and C suck.

#2 It's y'all not ya'll--the apostrophe doesn't go in the middle of one of the two words being contracted.
 

infantrycak

Hall of Fame
xtruroyaltyx said:
I think anybody can win the heisman...It wasn't because he played DE, It was because he didn't play well enough to be nominated for a heisman...Not taking anything away from from Mario...But there have been o-lineman and defensive player nominated for the heisman...
Theoretically yes anyone can win but as a practical matter it is basically a QB/RB competition with some WR's nominated and the very rare D player. Since 1950 it has been won every year by a QB or RB except a WR in 1972 and Woodson (as a DB/WR) in 1997.
 

Runner

Hubcap Diamond
Staff member
infantrycak said:
Theoretically yes anyone can win but as a practical matter it is basically a QB/RB competition with some WR's nominated and the very rare D player. Since 1950 it has been won every year by a QB or RB except a WR in 1972 and Woodson (as a DB/WR) in 1997.
I still think Orlando Pace should have won it.
 

DocBar

Hall of Fame
Contributor's Club
If a QB threw a lot of interceptions and got the tackle on each one, would he be considered for the Butkus award? Yeah, I know it's for Linebackers.
 
DocBar said:
How many of them were on the DL??
Doesn't say. But even if there are 0 it doesn't mean that if Mario Williams is the best thing since sliced bread then he should have been nominated for a Heisman.

Look all I am saying is you are drafting a guy based on his raw athleticism/strength. It's not like he was a overly dominating force like VY and Bush. But yes he is a bada s s and you are taking just as much of a chance as we are (e.g. Courtney Brown)
 
I'm not talking about winning. I'm talking about being nominated. I'm glad you guys got him though, Peyton needs to be put on his @$$ more
 

infantrycak

Hall of Fame
Titan "Tack" Fan said:
I'm not talking about winning. I'm talking about being nominated. I'm glad you guys got him though, Peyton needs to be put on his @$$ more
Great, from your top 5 example then there have been 20 top 5 D players out of a total of 355 or 5% in the history of the Heisman. Are you seriously going to say (and thereby destroy any shred of credibility) a D player is the best college football player only 5% of the time? It is absurd to argue D players get any serious consideration for the Heisman.
 

DocBar

Hall of Fame
Contributor's Club
infantrycak said:
Great, from your top 5 example then there have been 20 top 5 D players out of a total of 355 or 5% in the history of the Heisman. Are you seriously going to say (and thereby destroy any shred of credibility) a D player is the best college football player only 5% of the time? It is absurd to argue D players get any serious consideration for the Heisman.
Yeah...Sending in the Infantry!!!!!! Said it better than I could have this late in the evening.
 

ATX_Texan

Waterboy
Mario wasn't nominated for the Heisman BECAUSE HE PLAYS DE!!!!!!!
It might also have been because he only had 1/2 half of stellar play in college. Most Heisman winners were at the top of the game for longer than that.

I have to confess that I have my doubts about Mario. No, I am not a Bush or Young homer either. It just bothers me that he did not perform until the last half of his junior year and based on this limited production he is now supposed to be the next Reggie White. The other part of his sudden rise is because of his great work out numbers at the combine. It seems like there have been ample examples of NFL busts who parlayed one season (or half) in college and a great showing at the workouts into big bucks.
 

DocBar

Hall of Fame
Contributor's Club
ATX_Texan said:
It might also have been because he only had 1/2 half of stellar play in college. Most Heisman winners were at the top of the game for longer than that.

I have to confess that I have my doubts about Mario. No, I am not a Bush or Young homer either. It just bothers me that he did not perform until the last half of his junior year and based on this limited production he is now supposed to be the next Reggie White. The other part of his sudden rise is because of his great work out numbers at the combine. It seems like there have been ample examples of NFL busts who parlayed one season (or half) in college and a great showing at the workouts into big bucks.
Couldn't be cuz he played defensive end. :lightbulb:
 
DocBar said:
Couldn't be cuz he played defensive end. :lightbulb:
It's going to be interesting to come and talk to you guys after the season. What if one team sweeps the other? What if Mario gets less than 5 sacks? What if Vince goes 0-5? What if LenDale has 1 yard/carry?

There will be a lot of smack talk.
 
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