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Texans_Chick

Texans_Chick

Utopian Dreamer
Some evening reading to try to get folks off of the ledge:

Link: MSN

Texans should pick Mario, not Reggie
RBs are routine, while impact DEs can carry teams to Super Bowl....

But when you build your team on great running back, you're building on quicksand. No runner taken at the top of the draft has ever taken his team to the Super Bowl, let alone won it. And, when you look back at the college season that was, you may remember that Bush couldn't take his team to a second consecutive BCS championship against Texas.

Defense isn't nearly as exciting as offense, and it's hard for fans on draft day to get cranked up about getting a defensive player with the first pick in the draft. But defense wins championships, and great defensive ends who are big, strong, fast, agile, athletic and genuine difference makers are one of the rarest commodities out there.

Think about it. Think about having someone like Reggie White anchoring your D-line for the next football generation. Think about all the Super Bowl teams and all the great defenders who defined them, from Bob Lilly to Mean Joe Greene to Lawrence Taylor to Ray Lewis to Richard Seymour.

N.C. State’s Mario Williams, the scouts agree, could be that kind of player. He's huge - 6-7 and a Happy Meal short of 300 pounds. He's fast - turns the 40 in less than 4.7 seconds. He's strong - 35 reps at the combine with 225 pounds in the bench press. He's athletic - a 40 1/2-inch vertical jump.
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Link: Wisconsin State Journal

"I don't know if you had a chance to see him (in person), but he looks like what you draw up," Thompson said after meeting with the 6-foot-7, 295-pound Williams at the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis. "You want him to get off the bus first."

You see, back in the day, when the team bus arrived right at the field before the game, you wanted your most impressive physical specimen to exit first, ostensibly to strike fear into the hearts of the opponent.
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Link: Mercury News

Obscured amid the rest of the hoopla, Williams very well could be the best player of all. If the 6-foot-7-inch, 295-pound defensive end from North Carolina State plays as well as he did last season and as well as he projects in his workouts, he could be the draft's biggest difference-maker because, as Brett Favre will attest in Green Bay, great defensive ends can be more valuable than running backs or even quarterbacks.

The Packers haven't been the same since Reggie White left town. For a while, they thought they might have a chance for Williams with their fifth pick on April 29. Then word got out.

If the Houston Texans select Williams instead of Bush, no football expert could fault them.
.......

Williams is at the top of the list because he never missed a game, had 14.5 sacks last season, benched-pressed 225 pounds 35 times at the combine, had a vertical leap of 40 inches and ran his 40-yard dash in the low 4.7s. These numbers put him ahead of Carolina Panthers defensive end Julius Peppers, a former North Carolina basketball player heretofore considered the NFL's reigning genetic wonder at his position.

"God didn't make too many guys like that," Titans defensive line coach Jim Washburn said about Williams.
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Link: KS Collegian

The Texans will take Bush with the first overall pick of the draft, and they will make a huge mistake in doing so.

My reason has nothing to do with the recent report that his family allegedly accepted extra benefits during Bush's junior season. I am basing my argument on the sole fact that there is one player who is a better long-term fit for that franchise.

Let me introduce you to North Carolina State's defensive end Mario Williams. The man is 6-foot-7, 290 pounds and growing. He's amazingly strong (35 reps of 225 on the bench press), runs a 4.6 second 40-yard dash and has a 40+ inch vertical jump.

Think about this: the Texans recently hired Gary Kubiak as their new head coach. Kubiak is the former offensive coordinator for the Denver Broncos, and, along with Bronco coach Mike Shanahan, has made a living out of turning no-name running backs into 1,000-yard rushers (see Reuben Droughns and Olandis Gary).

I say this because the Texans already have a multiple 1,000-yard rusher in Domanick Davis, and Kubiak will only make him better and more productive, which means they don't necessarily need a running back.

One thing they don't have is a pass-rushing defensive end.

Numerous scouts have been quoted saying Williams is like a Richard Seymour and Julius Peppers rolled into one.

That is saying something, considering these men are arguably two of the best defensive ends in the league.

ESPN analyst Michael Smith said in a recent column that nobody holds a flame to this guy.

"I've never seen anybody like him," Smith said.

Tennessee Titans coach Jeff Fisher told The Nashville Tennessean that he hopes Williams falls to its No. 3 pick, because it would be a steal.

"I've seen solid players, impact players," Fisher told the Tennessean. "But nobody that has a potential to impact a defense like Williams."
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Please feel free to add more positive stuff here to help keep people's heads up.
 
Here's another one:

Link: Herald Sun

On Saturday, the 2006 NFL Draft will hit your television screens and the Houston Texans, who have the No. 1 pick, can take Williams or Southern California running back Reggie Bush.

The Texans finished 2-14 last season, 1-11 in the AFC, 0-6 in the South Division. They allowed an NFL-high 431 points, 184 more than the 14-2 Indianapolis Colts.

At the NFL Combine on the RCA Dome's FieldTurf, Williams ran a 4.71 and 4.72 dashes. Williams had a 40½-inch vertical jump and did 35 reps on the bench press (at 225 pounds).

Williams, who turned 21 in January, has the reach, the muscular build and the wingspan of a 7-footer. Put him on your defensive line and you may as well have the next Julius Peppers or Bruce Smith or Reggie White.

The Texans are terrible defensively and not very good offensively but don't you build a bad franchise first with defense?

As a junior last season, Williams had 62 tackles, 24 for losses and 14 and a half sacks. He broke up two passes, forced a fumble and played in all 12 games. Oh yes, word is he is durable, a very valuable word to have on your résumé this week if the NFL Draft is including your name among its marquee ones.

Williams leaving N.C. State is a smart thing, considering his stock cannot possibly get much, if any, higher next season. NFL scouts like to be quoted as long as you don't use their names, so here's a statement that shouldn't surprise you from a person who prefers not to be identified:

"Mario Williams is the best defensive player in the draft," the scout says. "And he's very young, so what we've seen of him is just the tip of the iceberg."

What NFL teams most like about Williams, other than his reach and stamina, is his disposition. Listen to Super Mario talk and you don't get that big ego coming through his phrases about playing for the Wolfpack and about his future in the NFL.

Comparing him to White and Peppers isn't a bad idea. Williams has the talent to one day play in the Pro Bowl and become a dominating force.
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Link: ESPN

History teaches us that you don't need to draft a star running back as much as you need a running game to win a Super Bowl. The Steelers were the latest example, having won February's Super Bowl with a running back tandem of undrafted Willie Parker and 33-year-old Jerome Bettis.

Consider what happened (or didn't) this offseason with regard to several high-profile running backs. Indianapolis let Edgerrin James go as a free agent (the same James general manager Bill Polian drafted after he dealt Marshall Faulk to St. Louis, and the same Polian who, when he was in charge of the Bills, picked Thurman Thomas in Round 2). Shaun Alexander re-signed early with Seattle because the money was with the Seahawks and not on the open market. Free agents Jamal Lewis (Baltimore) and Ahman Green (Green Bay) ended up re-signing with their old clubs for short money.

The Texans should take Williams because he plays the position with more impact, D-end. Good running backs come in all sizes, shapes and rounds. Great pass rushers are rare. That's why backs don't get paid what ends do. Look, money talks: The highest franchise and transition numbers (the average salaries of, respectively, the top five and 10 highest-paid players at each position) belong to quarterbacks, followed by ends, linebackers, offensive linemen, wide receivers and then running backs.
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Foxsports blog


But there is no doubt that Mario Williams is a better pick for the Texans than Reggie Bush. No doubt. Not one. Zero. Not one little, insignificant doubt. They have a lot more at running-back than they do at defensive end. Williams is very talented and he will win games for the Texans.

So now I'll get the criticism of people who will say that Reggie Bush will sell more tickets -- and this is true. I don't deny it. Reggie Bush is a one-man-ticket-selling machine. But the Texans need to win games, not sell tickets. It's Texas, my friends, the tickets will sell -- especially if Mario Williams starts winning games for them -- but the games aren't going to be won if they draft Reggie Bush and are intending on starting him at running-back.

Winning should be at the front of every GM's mind, and Mario Williams gives the Texans a better chance to win.
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Thanks for Posting the Articles!

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Now that I've had time to digest this a while, I'm thrilled the Texans didn't cave to what must have been unreasonable terms from the Bush camp. And at a cap hit of only $2.9 mil. I am now on board with swtbound007, reggie-bust...reggie-bust.:yahoo:
 
Link: NOLA

The 6-foot-7, 295-pound defensive end from North Carolina State has drawn comparisons to Julius Peppers as potentially the best at his position in the past decade, perhaps down the road on the level with Reggie White.

"He's the complete package," NFL.com senior analyst Pat Kirwan said. "He's a great closer on the quarterback, he can come underneath on a three-step drop and he can get pressure that affects the throwing lanes.

"Against the run, he can squeeze the play and gobble up two blockers. This is the rare type of athlete you look for your whole career because you cannot win in the NFL without a dominant pass rusher who can deliver double-digit sacks."

"Incredible," St. Louis Rams general manager Charley Armey said after watching Williams' NFL combine workout, in which he ran 4.71 in the 40-yard dash, bench pressed 225 pounds 35 times and had a 40-inch vertical leap, all better marks than Peppers, an inch shorter and 13 pounds lighter, had at the 2002 combine. "He's everything you're looking for.

"The athletic ability, the mental toughness. There's not much negative on this kid."

......

"I want to be Rookie of the Year and break Jevon Kearse's (rookie) sack record (14 ½). A hundred years from now, I want to be remembered as one of the best defensive players of all time."
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All the BOF [Bush Only Fans] are freaking out right now, but the Texans got a very very good player.


That being said I will be shocked if Reliant Stadium isn't burned to the ground by sunrise. ;)
 
Link: Suntimes

"I'll do that wherever I go. Whatever they want me to do -- play defensive tackle, lose weight, gain weight -- it really doesn't matter. It's all about the team.''

It's also all about the money positions come draft time, and few are as valued as a pass rusher. The 6-7, 295-pound Williams is the rare physical specimen who not only can rush the passer, but also holds up well against the run. He's a large man with a nasty attitude, and while he might not be the pure speed rusher some imagine him to be after he ran a 4.7-second 40-yard dash at the Indianapolis scouting combine, he remains as solid a prospect as there is on the draft board.

"I just do what I do,'' Williams said. "I'm out there and come off the ball -- it's second nature. I can't say I do this or do that, besides maybe knowing the down and distances and being prepared and having an idea in your mind and just coming off and executing what I planned on doing.''

NFL teams value pass rushers the same way they do quarterbacks, left tackles, wide receivers and running backs. It's a skill position to some teams.

"You never have enough of them,'' Carolina Panthers coach John Fox said. "You never stop looking for them.''

Fox knows something about the position. He drafted Julius Peppers with the No. 2 selection in 2002 despite pressure to take quarterback Joey Harrington. The Panthers never have looked back.

Williams is regarded as the best end to come out since Peppers and even has been compared to the late Reggie White by some scouts.

"Look at his skills and the other players at the position, and you can easily make an argument that he's the best player on the board,'' one AFC personnel man said.
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OH MY GOD. Yeah...Lets put this guy next that other #1 pick Travis Johnson. that worked out great, didn't it. Teams will have to game plan to go against whoever has Reggie Bush. You think they will be game planning to run away from this guy? HELL NO. This is a horse***** pick. Look for another 2 win season. Don't know about you guys, but if this IS the pick, my tickets will be sold. I AM NOT GOING TO SIT THROUGH ANOTHER ANEMIC OFFENSIVE SEASON.
 
kbourda said:
Do you people believe everything you read? Cause if so, read this: http://www.rauzulusstreet.com/football/college/collegeawards.htm

You notice something? Mario the #1 pick not winning any, none, nada, zitch in end of year awards. Say what you will but this is telling. Even more so than beat writers going at a different angle in an attempt to gain some readers.
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So what you are telling me is that you watched game film, interviewed the players, are are working on the Texans offensive and defensive schemes?

I only posted these articles so that people who might have very little familiarity with Mario Williams might get more information. And BTW, a number of these articles quote various NFL sources.

Including a coach I admire is John Fox. A coach who has an appreciation of what a dominant DE can do for an entire team.

In the era of the salary cap, you have to allocate your resources in a way that make sense. In the league these days, you don't want too much of your money tied up in running backs because many running backs can get you to a Super Bowl. Though we have already spent money on the D line, line players are hard to find, and they tend to last longer in the league.

By drafting a DE, we have instantly improved our secondary without drafting another player there. A real pass rush and run defense makes a difference.
 
Texans_Chick said:
So what you are telling me is that you watched game film, interviewed the players, are are working on the Texans offensive and defensive schemes?

I only posted these articles so that people who might have very little familiarity with Mario Williams might get more information. And BTW, a number of these articles quote various NFL sources.

Including a coach I admire is John Fox. A coach who has an appreciation of what a dominant DE can do for an entire team.

In the era of the salary cap, you have to allocate your resources in a way that make sense. In the league these days, you don't want too much of your money tied up in running backs because many running backs can get you to a Super Bowl. Though we have already spent money on the D line, line players are hard to find, and they tend to last longer in the league.

By drafting a DE, we have instantly improved our secondary without drafting another player there. A real pass rush and run defense makes a difference.
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Texans_Chick, I like you and your takes. I think you are a cool person as well. I'm saying if he is getting all of this praise and accolades you would tend to believe it would be recognized. I think you know i'm no RB fan (i'm a VY guy). I'm just not too big on articles by sports writers these days.
 
T. Chick, you're a googling machine. Thanks for all the links / posts. I especially dig the
I'll do that wherever I go. Whatever they want me to do -- play defensive tackle, lose weight, gain weight -- it really doesn't matter. It's all about the team.
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I think VY came close a few times mentioning something along the "team" lines a few times. Reggie, I seemed to see more "wanna be the #1 pick" and "would like to be in NY" or something like that.
 
kbourda said:
Texans_Chick, I like you and your takes. I think you are a cool person as well. I'm saying if he is getting all of this praise and accolades you would tend to believe it would be recognized. I think you know i'm no RB fan (i'm a VY guy). I'm just not too big on articles by sports writers these days.
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Thank you.

Sometimes I think the hype machines get caught up in the flashy offensive side of the ball, or sometimes under appreciates players who do the dirty work, get double teamed etc.

I was just trying to get a little more info out so people could wrap their brains around the pick.

I think that what people are experiencing is cognitive dissonance

That the general public expectation was that Bush was the best player available.

And most people thought we would pick him.

So when that didn't happen, people's world view was challenged. It takes a while for people's brains to adjust to the new reality and it freaks them out in the meantime.

I am just trying to ease the transition somewhat. And I really like to try to think why teams do what they do. I don't pretend to know more than the coaches or draft staff. So part of my speed googling was trying to figure out why the team did what they did. And I can see why it can make sense.

Go Super Mario!!! :superman:
 
kbourda said:
You notice something? Mario the #1 pick not winning any, none, nada, zitch in end of year awards. Say what you will but this is telling. Even more so than beat writers going at a different angle in an attempt to gain some readers.
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Here's a litle somethin better than a swift kick:

Link

Mario Williams has been named an All-American by Sports Illustrated after an outstanding junior season. Williams, a junior from Richlands, N.C., led the ACC and ranked fourth nationally in sacks with 13, including nine in the last five contests. He helped lead NC State to a convincing win over Maryland to become bowl eligible, notching a school record four sacks in the game. His 20 tackles for loss rank second in the conference and sixth nationally in 2005.

Williams hold nearly every sack and tackle for loss record for NC State, including season (13 sacks, 20 TFL in 2005) and career (48 TFL). He is tied for first in the school record books in career sacks with 24.
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Link: Washington Post

"The rush guys, they don't make very many of them, the real good ones," Kansas City Chiefs Coach Herman Edwards said at the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis in late February. "If you find one, you probably need to get him."

.......

In their quest to find speedy pass rushers, NFL teams regularly have found themselves plugging in comparatively smaller players at defensive end. The league's talent evaluators love Williams because he's big -- at 6 feet 6 and 291 pounds -- as well as quick, meaning that he won't get shoved around by offensive tackles on running plays.


"If it's the first pick, it would be an honor," he said. "But I'm not hung up on that. I want to go to a team that really wants me and be a valuable member of the team for a long time. [Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback] Ben Roethlisberger is the perfect example. He didn't go first, but he's already won the Super Bowl. You can be the number one pick and be a bust. To me, it's not just about right now. It's about getting on a team and contributing in 2007 and 2008 and after that, not just about where you get drafted now and what you do in 2006."
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