Don't Shoot The Messenger... [:-o>

[Luv_ya_blue]

I want to start off by saying that I like Mario and HONESTLY hope that he improves and that he has improved. But IMO, no where nearly enough!!!

I realize that stats aren't everything...but I think that it's time to stop making excuses for MW. He is NOT where any of us had hoped that he would be by this time. I think that we can be honest about his performance WITHOUT BRINGING ANYONE ELSE INTO THE MIX!!! (ie: VY, RB, etc.)

Don't misunderstand this thread...this IS NOT another Mario Sucks thread! NOT MY INTENTION AT ALL!!!

But let shoot straight guys...I did some checking into the stats and MW isn't even in the TOP 60 in the league in sacks!
http://www.nfl.com/stats/leaders/AFC/SCKS/2006/regular
http://www.nfl.com/stats/leaders/NFC/SCKS/2006/regular
http://www.nfl.com/stats/leaders/NFL/SCKS/2006/regular

And compared to a League Leading 50 tackles by Zach Thomas...Mario is sitting at 7 tackles! And before somebody jumps on the "But He's ONLY A Rookie" bologna...he's not in the top 5 in sacks and is NOWHERE NEAR the top of the list in tackles. Mark Anderson DE w/Chicago is leading the sack list with 5.5. And Ernie Sims with DETROIT is leading the tackle list with 43 tackles...followed up by Demeco with 38 tackles!
http://www.nfl.com/rookies/stats

I realize that taking up for MW is more an issue of "saving face" than ANYTHING else...but IMO, it makes us look like we're just riding the ship down. IMO, it makes us look like we simply can't admit that MW was a poor decision (at least at this point). I can't wait to see how many people will say, "You can't judge MW after ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR, FIVE, OR SIX games...it's ONLY been six games!" Come on guys. MW hasn't done well at all! He's been a HUGE disappointment, IMO.

Let's compare him to other DE's in the draft:

First Round:
#1--Mario Williams
7 T's, 3 A's, 1.5 S's
#13--Kamerion Wimbley (drafted as DE, moved to OLB)
11 T's, 3 A's, 3 S's (in 5 games)
#20--Tamba Hali
11 T's, 2 A's, 2.5 S's (in 4 games)
#32--Mathias Kiwanuku
4 T's, 1 A's, 0 S's (in 4 games)

Second Round:
#63--Darryl Tapp
5 T's, 2 A's, 2 S's (in 4 games)

Third Round:
#71--Chris Gocong
(Played 0 games)
#91--Frostee Rucker
(Played 0 games)
#92--Jason Hatcher
2 T's, 2 A's, .5 S's (4 games)

Fourth Round:
#113--Victor Adeyanju
12 T's, 1 A's, 0 S's (5 games)
#126--Elvis Dumervil
0 T's, 0 A's, 0 S's (1 game)
#127--Ray Edwards
5 T's, 0 A's, 2 S's (5 games)

Fifth Round:
#135--Rob Ninkovich
2 T's, 2 A's, 0 S's (3 games)
#140--Parys Haralson
1 T's, 0 A's, 0 S's (4 games)
#156--Julian Jenkins
1 T's, 0 A's, 0 S's (3 games)
#159--Mark Anderson
7 T's, 2 A's, 5.5 S's (5 games)
#160--Brent Hawkins
4 T's, 1 A's, 0 S's (3 games)

Sixth Round:
#191--Jeremy Mincey
(0 games played)
#197--Melvin Oliver
7 T's, 3 A's, 0 S's (5 games)

Seventh Round:
#213--James Wyche
(0 games played)
#237--Stanley McClover
(0 games played)
#253--Dave Tollefson
(0 games played)

http://www.nfl.com/draft/drafttracker/round/round1
http://www.nfl.com/players

I'd like to have some honest dialogue about MW.
There is NOTHING about Mario that even comes CLOSE to being #1 & First round pick "worthy." I don't want to get into an "I told you so...Mario sucks...we should've taken ___?___." thread. I just don't feel that MW has lived up to his expectation as a #1 pick.

I just think that it's about time to be honest with ourselves and not be so -like with Mario. MW has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO WITH RB, VY, ML, DF, or anyone else.

WE'RE JUST TALKING MARIO!!!!

Thoughts?

 

[swtbound07]

There is a reason he isn't on any top lists as a tackle....defensive linemen don't usually accumulate a lot of tackles. Its just not in the job description. If your expecting him to come in and be higher on the list than demeco ryans in tackles thats unrealistic. Lineman to a linebacker=apples to oranges.

He has a sack and a half. in 5 games. Not stellar, but not a shutout. He is a rookie, and if the theorum about it taking a whole year for a d-lineman to adjust is true, then we are really ahead of the curve. Has he gotten more sacks? No. But he is getting closer. I think he's learning the little tricks to get past the line now. I saw him blow up the tackle and drop julius jones perfectly in the backfield. That is what i believe he can do.

Finally, the sacks to me aren't as important as the amount of times he PRESSURES the opposing qb. If he doesn't get a sack out of the play, but he makes the qb throw it out of bounds im ecstatic. What more could you want but pressure up front?

 

[Kaiser Toro]

Mario is ramping nicely. Stats that are kept for NFL record keeping are only one type of measurement. We ain't winning games and it is easy to get 100 people in a virtual room and see something 77 different ways, but I would bet that most would agree that our rookie DE is incrementally improving. However, the impact and velocity of that improvement is certainly debatable.

 

[TPIMP]

Good post. Mario has shown some flashes but for the most part he has been a dissapiontment. But I think of Yao Ming when I see Mario. Yao was a project his first season and not ready for the big lights of the NBA. But he has developed every season since and now is one of the two best centers in the league. Yao now has the skills and confidence to dominate games. I hope Mario's develops as well. We all knew Mario was young and inexperienced. Hopefully we will see improvement as the seson progresses and as each season passes.

 

[Porky]

In my view, Mario had his best game today. Despite no sacks, I thought he played better overall than in the Miami game, and is beginning to also wreak havoc against the run. He still has a LONG ways to go to justify his draft position, but today he looked like he has at least some potential to become an impact player. I thought he made some strides today, and I hope that improvement continues. If so, he might yet justify the selection.

 

[swtbound07]

Im not much for research, so i understand if you don't want to, but it would be interesting to see how those stats of mario's compare to dwight freeneys, or michael strahans, or julius peppers...just to give us a gauge of where his stats put him on a plane with his peers. /two cents.

 

[HJam72]

Mario is ramping nicely. Stats that are kept for NFL record keeping are only one type of measurement. We ain't winning games and it is easy to get 100 people in a virtual room and see something 77 different ways, but I would bet that most would agree that our rookie DE is incrementally improving. However, the impact and velocity of that improvement is certainly debatable.

We're talking Texans fans here. You take 100 people and you get 334 opinions on the exact same topic.

Oh, and then you get 1302 offshoot opinions.

 

[Mysteryhunt]

i agree with the yao comparison completely. he's a physical freak whose game is a little behind his body, like yao was. he's basically the exact opposite of demarco who has been fantastic since his game is so polished.

i look at the first couple of games and see confused mario standing around. i look at the last few games and see super mario looking for a fire flower

 

[Texans_Chick]

Off the top of my head, it appears you are using the first four game stats.

He actually had one of his statistically better games today (no sacks), but if you are just watching his play, it appears that he is improving each game.

Holding the Cowboy defense to 3 points in the first half is an accomplishment. (One that doesn't add up to much in the end, but it shows signs of life). The defense is not talented enough to stay on the field after three turnovers in the second half.

Also, I would suggest that you can't look at players without looking at the surrounding players. For example, Julius Peppers plays on the Dline that is very talented and very deep. With Seth Payne going down for the year, our line is gonna be hating it even more.

 

[YoungTexanFan]

I as well have been disappointed with his performance thus far. I have seen marked improvement, but I do not feel that he has shown enough flashes of greatness to warrent his pick. I was a strong advocate for trading down, and I really felt that Ray Edwards who is also a similar athletic freak would be able to produce just as much at a much better price and draft slot. Mario shows good effort chasing plays down, but I don't feel he should be in that position very often. He needs to be hitting the QB more, even if it's not a sack, just knock him down. He needs to pursure the QB more than the WR's at this point.

 

[swtbound07]

thanks for the stats blue.

 

[dat_boy_yec]

What I think alot of us are forgetting is the time lost having Mario try to learn two positions. Meaning all off-season and pre-season and the first game against Philly. He couldn't focus on one position and improve on it. I don't think I began seeing improvement until he was left alone at DE. I think had we allowed him to focus on just one position he would be where he is now in the Redskins game. Each game after the Philly game he seems to have calmed down and become more aware of what's going on around him. This game Parcells focused in on Mario, in the first few minutes I saw him split a double team, even though he didn't get the tackle I thought that it was well done. Parcells focused on Mario, because honestly he didn't really have to worry about the rest of our line. Weaver and Babin should have had better games considering the Cowboys were lining up up to four people on Mario's side. I'm not saying they sucked, they did alright, but they IMO should have done better. Even with them focusing on Mario he still had an impact and this gives me hope that he will improve.

 

[TexansLucky13]

There is a reason he isn't on any top lists as a tackle....defensive linemen don't usually accumulate a lot of tackles. Its just not in the job description. If your expecting him to come in and be higher on the list than demeco ryans in tackles thats unrealistic. Lineman to a linebacker=apples to oranges.

He has a sack and a half. in 5 games. Not stellar, but not a shutout. He is a rookie, and if the theorum about it taking a whole year for a d-lineman to adjust is true, then we are really ahead of the curve. Has he gotten more sacks? No. But he is getting closer. I think he's learning the little tricks to get past the line now. I saw him blow up the tackle and drop julius jones perfectly in the backfield. That is what i believe he can do.

Finally, the sacks to me aren't as important as the amount of times he PRESSURES the opposing qb. If he doesn't get a sack out of the play, but he makes the qb throw it out of bounds im ecstatic. What more could you want but pressure up front?

Agreed.

 

[blockhead83]

Is he meeting the fans expectations? No. Was how his impact was sold to us, or the fans expectations themselves realistic or fair to Mario? Nope.

The guy's shown that he can be a difference maker, and he's steadily improving. I'm happy with him at this point, I was nervous after the first 2 games, but he's turned around considerably since then, IMO. The 1st pick in the draft always gets held under the magnifying glass due to their draft position, and with all of the variability of situations to get drafted into, how the media perceives you, and what position you play, it's REALLY difficult to outshine every other player taken in the draft. You're competing with hundreds of rookies, most of which are in better situations than you, and the fans/media expect you to out-highlight all of them. That's a tall order. Mario got drafted onto a team coming off a 2-14 season, with a new coach and a defensive unit largely devoid of a talented nucleus of players to add to. Alot of the other rookies he's competing with to woo your interests are playing in more stable situations and with better support. Guys like Mario, Anthony Weaver, Demeco Ryans, maybe Dunta...that's the start of our nucleus on that side of the ball IMO. Mario's a great player to build from and I'm still very glad we drafted him. This year's draft looks to be very solid, and if we can have similar drafts the next 2 years we'll be pretty close to making a deep playoff run.

 

[blockhead83]

Ignore this post...

 

[swtbound07]

OK...before this turns into ANOTHER MW "lovefest" can we at least recognize the fact that he's hardly lived up to the same numbers as 5 or 6 others drafted to do EXACTLY the same thing as him? Including 2 first rounders, a fourth, fifth and sixth rounder.

I mean, you guys are sort of acting as if "hustle" and "improvement" and "breaking double teams" should be recorded stats too. Come on! If he progresses at the same pace as everyone else in this draft class (on average) at DE, then is THAT really good enough for what we were told MW was supposed to do, and be for us?

It has to be. when his number was called cant change the fact that it takes time to progress. Travis johnson was a non-entity his first year, but is a solid contributor this year. give him 2 seasons.

 

[thunderkyss]

I realize that taking up for MW is more an issue of "saving face" than ANYTHING else...but IMO, it makes us look like we're just riding the ship down. IMO, it makes us look like we simply can't admit that MW was a poor decision (at least at this point). I can't wait to see how many people will say, "You can't judge MW after ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR, FIVE, OR SIX games...it's ONLY been six games!" Come on guys. MW hasn't done well at all! He's been a HUGE disappointment, IMO.

Sorry Blue, it ain't about saving face It was a good decision at the time, and I personally stand by it. I also think Mario had a very good game today.

The thing you've got to understand, is that Mario & Demeco are the first pieces of our defense. These other guys you mention are the final piece, big, big difference. We suck, & have very little talent other than Mario & Demeco on defense.

And it would be hard for any pure DE (not an OLB in a 3-4) to match even a rookie LB in tackles....

 

[Scooter]

an average day for a DE in this league is 2.5 tackles, no sacks, and 1-2 pressures. a great day is 1 sack, 3 tackles, and 3 pressures. mario had 5 tackles, 3+ pressures, and an unaccounted for tackle behind the LOS (jones bounced off the right side that mario stood up, ending up in a tackle for loss when he was forced to bounce back inside). seriously, find another scapegoat, mario had a great day for an NFL DE, let alone a 5 game rookie.

if you want to criticize mario to me, break down the preseason, and first 3 games, and compare his play throughout the process. "mario is a #1 pick and didnt get get 12 sacks by game 5" doesnt fly with football fans.

LYB, i know damn well that you're not new and that you're well versed. which means you know damn well that statistics dont mean anything to defensive linemen unless you're talking to someone from espn. if mario forced 30 turnovers and had 500 pressures and qb hits ... he's a bust if his 1.5 sacks dont compare to ware's 10 sacks and no other contributions. (i'm exaggerating to make a point). mario had his best game to date, but because he didnt get the sack, his contributions go unnoticed by the uninformed.

as for being "an immediate impact". i never heard that, i think the phrase was created by fans. mario is a physical phenom, but a project as a football player. his developement has actually been very impressive considering the low base mentally (football-wise) that he came from and by this time next year should be the major impact. where it was said that he'd come into the league as the best player ever, i never saw.

i always appreciate your threads and opinions LYB so here's my basic response to your intent. mario williams is exactly what i hoped he'd be and i'd pick him again. at 21 year's old without much of a training program he's shown that he can overpower tackles. he's able to outrun runningbacks. he hasnt given up on plays and will chase until the whistle blows which puts the "lazy" remarks to rest. his mental progress is blatently obvious. his technique leaves plenty to be desired but it's exactly as i expected. again, i'd take him first overall. i dont say that as a texans' fan, i say it as a football fan. leinert, cutler, bush, & young arent on my draft radar. without trading down (which was obviously impossible), mario & d'brick are the only ones i look at in the top 5.

 

[Texans_Chick]

an average day for a DE in this league is 2.5 tackles, no sacks, and 1-2 pressures. a great day is 1 sack, 3 tackles, and 3 pressures. mario had 5 tackles, 3+ pressures, and an unaccounted for tackle behind the LOS (jones bounced off the right side that mario stood up, ending up in a tackle for loss when he was forced to bounce back inside). seriously, find another scapegoat, mario had a great day for an NFL DE, let alone a 5 game rookie.

Well said.

There are so many more serious concerns with the team, without cracking on one of the few bright spots of the day.

The Texans held the Cowboys to 3 points in the first half. They are not good enough of a defense to deal with the short fields that come with not taking care of the football and staying of the field after repeated 3 and outs.

And it ain't going to be any easier with Seth Payne out given our DT situation.

 

[thunderkyss]

OK...before this turns into ANOTHER MW "lovefest" can we at least recognize the fact that he's hardly lived up to the same numbers as 5 or 6 others drafted to do EXACTLY the same thing as him? Including 2 first rounders, a fourth, fifth and sixth rounder.

I mean, you guys are sort of acting as if "hustle" and "improvement" and "breaking double teams" should be recorded stats too. Come on! If he progresses at the same pace as everyone else in this draft class (on average) at DE, then is THAT really good enough for what we were told MW was supposed to do, and be for us?

He now has 12 Solo tackles, 4 assists, (16 total), and 1.5 sacks....

that's not bad at all.

 

[TreWardTxn]

Once we get at least one safety who doesn't get disoriented in open space, and a legitmate corner opposite Dunta (Sanders plays hard, but it ain't happenin') that can give the D the extra 1.5 seconds of coverage the D-line needs to get consistent QB pressure...

 

[Texans_Chick]

I heard it mentioned earlier (on the boards) that something happened to Seth...

What happened to him?

Torn ACL. It was hard to see him in that much pain on the field.

Given his age, it is probably the end of his NFL career. Sad. You wish you could clone the effort and energy and leadership he put into his position.

 

[edo783]

I heard it mentioned earlier (on the boards) that something happened to Seth...

What happened to him?

Torn ACL. Most likely out for the season and might be a career ender given his age (32) and the fact he had the same thing to his left knee two years ago.

 

[thunderkyss]

I understand what you're saying Thunder, and agree with you...which brings to mind the next logical question (at least in my mind):

Was Mario REALLY the best choice at THAT (#1) pick?
(((And NO this has NOTHING to do with Reggie Bush!)))

Am I the only one that gets TOTALLY bummed out at the idea of it taking two years to see something from Mario??? Don't we draft people in the first round to make the BIGGEST IMPACT NOW??? If that's not the case, then why didn't we draft Demeco first? He's certainly made a MUCH greater impact than MW has. Am I wrong?

I don't think you're hearing me. Mario is without a doubt making the rest of our guys better. I don't imagine our line doing as well as they are, had we not picked Mario, and we had to start Weaver, Robaire, Payne, and Babin. I mean was Babin & Weaver even at the game?? I didn't see them.

It's more along the can't polish a turd line of thinking.

I don't mean to rag on TJ, but imagine if we'd have drafted ChrisCanty last year in the 6th round.... Now alot of what Canty is doing, is because he plays for Bill, so Capers may very well have ruined him as well. But if we had Mario on one end, and Canty on the other...... man this line would be awesome.

 

[thunderkyss]

Honestly Scooter...when it comes to "Houston Texans football knowledge," I can't hold a candle to most of you guys. I just can't follow it like you guys can. I don't get HT football up here in Montana and I don't have the Fieldpass or whatever it's called(radio). So all I've got to go on are stats and what is said on the boards and ESPN.

That's the reason I asked the question and posted the thread with all I had to go on...stats and info I've heard from the boards. That's why I'm not my normal "hostile" self. LOL

You should be able to stream the games off 610AM's website....

 

[tex2theend]

I went to the opening day game and to the game today and it appears Mario is starting to get it. All day I had to listen to "that Bush Guy could have helped ya'll today" from the Cowboy fans. But, I'm still glad we took Mario. He is disruptive and is a force at the point of attack. He has a ways to go on his technique but you can tell he is going to be a future star. Maybe if we would have taken Welkers from Miami, as an undrafted FA (Who happens to have better stats than Bush), no one would be talking about Reggie Bush as a Texan.

 

[Mr teX]

I think he has shown considerable improvement since Kubes has ripped him. But the guy can't do it alone, Teams have to fear someone else other than him & Demeco. He's still a little tentative coming off the edge, but that goes with learning how teams are going to play you. I am happy with his progression thus far & Unlike others I HOPED he could come in & be Deacon Jones-like immediately but i was realistic with myself.

I figure if he can at least get 5-6 sacks this season I'd be satisfied. Someone else on the D-line just has to step up. We need a Tommy Harris/Ted Washington type in the middle to command double teams to plug up that middle. I think that's why Kubes wanted to Play him in the middle as well b/c he knew we were weak there.

 

[thunderkyss]

I went to the opening day game and to the game today and it appears Mario is starting to get it. All day I had to listen to "that Bush Guy could have helped ya'll today" from the Cowboy fans. But, I'm still glad we took Mario. He is disruptive and is a force at the point of attack. He has a ways to go on his technique but you can tell he is going to be a future star. Maybe if we would have taken Welkers from Miami, as an undrafted FA (Who happens to have better stats than Bush), no one would be talking about Reggie Bush as a Texan.

Man I wish Reggie was getting avg'ing 70 ypg rushing the ball, and another 50 catching the ball, then it would make sense for people to say this.

I mean Reggie doing jackSquat in N.O., and people still saying this is really starting to bug me.

 

[Scooter]

Honestly Scooter...when it comes to "Houston Texans football knowledge," I can't hold a candle to most of you guys. I just can't follow it like you guys can. I don't get HT football up here in Montana and I don't have the Fieldpass or whatever it's called(radio). So all I've got to go on are stats and what is said on the boards and ESPN.

That's the reason I asked the question and posted the thread with all I had to go on...stats and info I've heard from the boards. That's why I'm not my normal "hostile" self. LOL

hell dude i didnt know you were in montana. i'd be hostile too living up there lol. mario's penetration, pressures, persuit, and tying up blockers was his best to date. he got his tackles, but most importantly, he spent most snaps immediately in the backfield. what got him called out on is tight ends side-swiping him. he's shutting off his brain and focusing on the backfield which is good, but it allows the outside TE or tackle to wall him off and open up outside runs. that's the area that's simply going to come with experience ... in a year or two he's going to feel that tight end and react, much like with most plays. he's still relying heavily on the bull-rush also, but now he's using leverage to his advantage and throwing the lineman off the instant he recognizes the play. real good day, both statistically & technically, especially for a rookie.

 

[dat_boy_yec]

Here's a stat that's not mentioned. How many of those other guys tried to learn two position's as rookie's? Last I checked everybody else focused solely on one position. It's like let's ignore that time and judge him as if he's been coached like everybody else.

 

[kbourda]

I believe I have a few posters on here to say i'm no Mario fan but he played well today. The only play I didn't like from him today was him getting locked up with a TE to spring a very long run for Julius Jones. Mario can't allow that to happen. But saying that he played a good game today. I was very pleased with his effort.

 

[Scooter]

Here's a stat that's not mentioned. How many of those other guys tried to learn two position's as rookie's? Last I checked everybody else focused solely on one position. It's like let's ignore that time and judge him as if he's been coached like everybody else.

agreed. mario's a singular case because of this. noone's making excuses for him, what's being said are legitimate reasons for expected results. you dont take the worst pass rush over the last 4 years, throw reggie white in, and go to the superbowl. those guys bring white down until the talent level is up to snuff. mario's a rookie, he's on a bad team, he's on an experimental line, he's playing 4 positions, his offense is struggling, his coaching is subpar, they've got new coaches/systems, his linebackers & secondary are extremely weak. seriously ... the fact that mario isnt the worst player ever simply by circumstance is a testament to his talents. infact he's progressing very well and looks to be a great talent inspite of surrounding flaws.

 

[phan1]

Dude, F your numbers. Seriously. Last time I checked, Dwight Freeny is having about the same kind of numbers as Mario Williams. So I guess they're just as good? We are grading a DE here, not an offensive player. DLineman are graded on what they do on film, not on the freakin stat sheet. I don't want to sound like a jerk, but I'm frustrated over losing and frustrated of players getting called out when they really shouldn't be. MW had a solid game. There's a whole list of reasons why we were blown out today, and MW is not anywhere near the top.

Here's some stats for you: When MW has a sack, we are undefeated. When we play against the Cowboys at Relian, we are undefeated. When David Carr outruns our RBs, we are winless. Do any of these stats make sense? I DON'T THINK SO, and neither do yours!

 

[TPIMP]

Dude, F your numbers. Seriously. Last time I checked, Dwight Freeny is having about the same kind of numbers as Mario Williams. So I guess they're just as good? We are grading a DE here, not an offensive player. DLineman are graded on what they do on film, not on the freakin stat sheet. I don't want to sound like a jerk, but I'm frustrated over losing and frustrated of players getting called out when they really shouldn't be. MW had a solid game. There's a whole list of reasons why we were blown out today, and MW is not anywhere near the top.

Here's some stats for you: When MW has a sack, we are undefeated. When we play against the Cowboys at Relian, we are undefeated. When David Carr outruns our RBs, we are winless. Do any of these stats make sense? I DON'T THINK SO, and neither do yours!

Dude, check yourself!

 

[thunderkyss]

I believe I have a few posters on here to say i'm no Mario fan but he played well today. The only play I didn't like from him today was him getting locked up with a TE to spring a very long run for Julius Jones. Mario can't allow that to happen. But saying that he played a good game today. I was very pleased with his effort.

you can't blame Mario for that, that was a good call by Parcells. They caught Mario playing on the RT, and at the snap, the TE crashed in on him.

It's not like he went one on one with JasonWitten, and got owned.

 

[run-david-run]

Umm, he had 5 tackles tonight and 3 in his first game, thats already 1 more then the 7 you have listed for him. Minor detail, but i dont feel like mounting a spirited defense right now. Rookie, learing, get better..etc.

 

[Scooter]

you can't blame Mario for that, that was a good call by Parcells. They caught Mario playing on the RT, and at the snap, the TE crashed in on him.

It's not like he went one on one with JasonWitten, and got owned.

very true. mario didnt get stood up by the TE, he got blindsided (more than once). this, as i said in my post, is because kubiak's letting mario play on instinct and focus on getting into the backfield. this is what we want. make mario's job as simple as possible. in a year or two, football experience and the instinct that developes with it will let him feel the TE or outside wall being setup and he can react to it. for now, it's a good thing that mario's got one focus and is playing hard in as simple a game as possible.

 

[run-david-run]

I understand what you're saying Thunder, and agree with you...which brings to mind the next logical question (at least in my mind):

Was Mario REALLY the best choice at THAT (#1) pick?
(((And NO this has NOTHING to do with Reggie Bush!)))

Am I the only one that gets TOTALLY bummed out at the idea of it taking two years to see something from Mario??? Don't we draft people in the first round to make the BIGGEST IMPACT NOW??? If that's not the case, then why didn't we draft Demeco first? He's certainly made a MUCH greater impact than MW has. Am I wrong?[/QUOT

We gave up 34 points today. 43 a couple weeks ago, 32 the week after that. We are a bad team with a couple good players and some potential. We arnt going anywhere and Mario's development is not holding back some impending playoff run. If he burst into the league like Peppers (12 sacks) he would just get double teamed and probably contained resulting in the exact same thing we have seen already. We are not a good team but we have some good players. Give it a season or two and it will come together both in getting better players and developing the talent we have right now. Patience.

Also, Mario has a far greater cealling then DeMeco, who I expect to be a consistant and dependable linebacker to ancor the D. However, te sheer physical tools make Mario special and give him the opportunity to be great. Unfortunatley he didnt have DeMeco's coaches at Alabama and is still very raw and young. We drafted on that magical word: potential/

 

[dat_boy_yec]

Well you're in Montana and didn't see the game, but if you had you would see a huge improvement. It speaks volumes about Mario's talent and lack thereof of the rest of our front seven. There was this one play where J. Jones ran the ball away from Mario yet Mario blew past the line and brought him down on the other side of the field. I think it was for a gain of one or something like that, but that said alot to me. Mario did amazingly on that play, but it made me wonder, why was he the first one there, where was everybody else at. He had another tackle about fifteen yds. upfield. There are alot of things you can't see on the statline, Mario did a great job yesterday. If he keeps improving at this rate, he'll dominate whatever side he plays on. Alot of people can't wait until yrs. down the road to see how far he's come. Dude I can't wait til' next week. Leftwhich isn't gonna be as lucky.

 

[texflex513]

MW's stats per nfl.com ARE based on 4 games. I did notice that some players were based on 4 games and some on 5 games...not sure why?

probably because of the some teams bye week.