I forget if it was this message board or another, but four years ago I came and told you guys that you'd regret it if you didn't take Julius Peppers because he was clearly the best player in the draft, and that rumors about him taking plays off were complete nonsense forwarded by people who didn't know anything about football (people mistook Peppers being stoned at the line due to bad technique for a lack of effort, but lazy guys don't chase RBs down and tackle them 40 yards downfield). Anyway, I'm sorry to tell you that you made another huge mistake (even more sorry because the Panthers will have to play Bush twice a year).
Basically, if you had to pick any player in the draft based on his measureables and workout numbers, that guy would be Mario Williams. In those terms, he is on the level of Julius Peppers (or a little higher for that matter). In all other terms, he mostly certainly isn't. I can tell you that Manny Lawson and not Mario Williams was the N.C. State DE who made the most plays, and the one opposing teams worried more about. Williams plays upright (not surprising for someone 6'7"), and usually tries to hold and shed rather than using his strength or quickness to advance upfield and make plays. Then if you'll care to watch the ESPN highlights, you'll see that almost all of Williams' sacks actually came when he was unblocked, when the QB rolled outside of the pocket, or when teams tried to block him with a RB or TE. And quite frankly, the ACC doesn't have the best offensive tackles in the world either, especially at RT. Maybe some of you have already noticed that despite being a three year starter, this was the first year Williams had more than 6 sacks.
Look, I love Domanick Davis and I even think David Carr will be a quality quarterback if you guys give him some protection. For some reason I like the Texans and want you guys to do well, but you should have called for Casserly's head a long time ago. The guy has royally screwed your franchise time and time again, and this will definitely go down as the dumbest move of them all. Mario Williams won't be a bust per say, but he'll never be an elite player either. Meanwhile you'll have to watch Reggie Bush shred defenses for the next decade.
Basically, if you had to pick any player in the draft based on his measureables and workout numbers, that guy would be Mario Williams. In those terms, he is on the level of Julius Peppers (or a little higher for that matter). In all other terms, he mostly certainly isn't. I can tell you that Manny Lawson and not Mario Williams was the N.C. State DE who made the most plays, and the one opposing teams worried more about. Williams plays upright (not surprising for someone 6'7"), and usually tries to hold and shed rather than using his strength or quickness to advance upfield and make plays. Then if you'll care to watch the ESPN highlights, you'll see that almost all of Williams' sacks actually came when he was unblocked, when the QB rolled outside of the pocket, or when teams tried to block him with a RB or TE. And quite frankly, the ACC doesn't have the best offensive tackles in the world either, especially at RT. Maybe some of you have already noticed that despite being a three year starter, this was the first year Williams had more than 6 sacks.
Look, I love Domanick Davis and I even think David Carr will be a quality quarterback if you guys give him some protection. For some reason I like the Texans and want you guys to do well, but you should have called for Casserly's head a long time ago. The guy has royally screwed your franchise time and time again, and this will definitely go down as the dumbest move of them all. Mario Williams won't be a bust per say, but he'll never be an elite player either. Meanwhile you'll have to watch Reggie Bush shred defenses for the next decade.
