Reflecting on the 2006 Draft: Williams was the Right Choice

by TheRant on Mar 24, 2009 8:29 PM CDT

Looking back at the 2006 Draft the Houston Texans were heavily criticized for taking Defensive End Mario Williams over the famous Reggie Bush. Todd McShay said the Texans worst pick was, of course, Mario Williams. McShay's explanation was "Williams is cheaper and fits a much bigger position of need, but passing on USC running back Reggie Bush with the No. 1 overall selection was a mistake that the Texans might never live down".

Gene Wojciechowski of ESPN was quoted as saying. "Houston could have chosen USC tailback Reggie Bush, but instead got sloppy drunk on "measureables" and potential rather than actual production. Hel-lo, did you see how many contrails and broken ankles Bush left behind this season?". Looking back Gene, I think the Texans may have been sober making the decision. Maybe the Texans should have drafted QB Vince Young?

If I'm the Texans, I'm laughing at the Saints and Titans right now. Reggie Bush has been a great slash player but as a starting #1 running back, he cant carry the load. He has more yards receiving than yards rushing with a 3.7 yards per carry average over his career. Not bad for a backup running back, slot receiver and kick returner but for the #2 pick in the draft who was supposed to be this All-Mighty Player who will revolutionize the NFL. Looking at statists Reggie Bush has 7 carries over 20 yards and 1 over 40 yards as compared to DeAngelo Williams, who has 25 carries over 20 yards and 6 over 40 yards and went 25 picks later. If I'm a general manager today and had the choice I'm taking Williams at #27 over Bush at #2 in a heartbeat.

The drunk sloppy decision of Mario Williams has produced 14 and 12 sacks the last two years since his disappointing rookie season. In 2008 his stats were comparable to Julius Peppers of the Panthers and Jared Allen of the Vikings, both of whom are two of the best DEs in the NFL.

Williams has been one of the most scrutinized #1 draft picks in the last decade. After a disappointing rookie season, that showed few signs of superstar and more signs of bust, Williams has come into his own. At 6-6 283 and 24 years old, Williams will look to continue his path to being a dominant force in the NFL.

The Texans took a lot of head for making the decision but looking back at it, it was the right decision HANDS DOWN.

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Right decision? that's an understatement!

Mario Williams is questionably the best defensive player in the LEAGUE more or less that draft. I was a GIANT proponent of Williams as soon as he got drafted. Being a Longhorn, I would have been ok w/ Young, but bush? BUSH? are u kidding me? So what, he’s fast, and may return a punt return for a td every now and then, so can Jacoby Jones, and he was a 3rd rounder. Bush in all reality, is actually a bust. He’s injury prone, got jacked up by Sheldon Brown in a playoff game, and is not a featured back to any offense. EVEN TODAY, I’d take Slaton over Bush w/o any hesitation. Williams is a monster, freak, sickness manifest. I LOVE Mario Williams. Very rarely does a team hit a swish w/ their #1 pick, we CLEARLY got the best player in that draft. Oh, and not to mention the 2nd best player as well: Demeco. 2006 draft: the masterpiece of the Smithiak regime.

by wiseonekms on Mar 24, 2009 7:39 PM CDT reply actions

Mcshay?

what the hell does he know?

by wiseonekms on Mar 24, 2009 7:40 PM CDT reply actions

Hair Gel

and hatred for Mel Kiper Jr.

Let's get the Texans a better fight song.

by Jake on Mar 25, 2009 6:25 PM CDT up reply actions

i

was one of a few that agreed with pick from day one…

by EveryHoustonTeamRox! on Mar 24, 2009 7:48 PM CDT reply actions

Was on Board with decision from Day One

Was not impressed with Bush, I remember seeing him in 4th quarter of National Championship ON SIDELINE when team needed him. As to Vince Young, I remember reading how Texas had to dumb down playbook for him. Neither one was impressive as a #1 Mario Willams has shut up NFL geniuses and most of so-called sportswriters.

Super Mario RULES!!!!!

Calling Battle Red on Dallas Cowgirls in 2010

by Texans_00 on Mar 25, 2009 8:02 AM CDT reply actions

Quite frankly, it's not even close

And even Dickie Justice has conceded, for the most part.

Look again at the McShay quote:

Williams is cheaper and fits a much bigger position of need, but passing on USC running back Reggie Bush with the No. 1 overall selection was a mistake that the Texans might never live down

This is a classic case of why people (pundits included) are stupid. If McShay had actually been capable of logical thought, he would have realized that his own quote gave a perfectly logical, rational explanation for why the Texans should have drafted Mario: he’s cheaper and fits the needs of the team better. Instead, McShay, like most of America, was blinded by Reggie Bush’s apparent athletic blessings and overlooked his very obvious weaknesses, namely the lack of desire to run between the tackles. Of course, Reggie’s hesitance to run between the tackles is probably a function of the fact that he’s small for a running back. It seems pretty logical to see that all the flashy moves in the world aren’t going to help you in tight spaces. But once again, people get blinded by flashy moves and athletic ability (the irony, of course, is that Mario is himself a freakish athlete — only he’s also freakishly huge).

Of course, McShay predicted that the Texans were going to draft Mark Sanchez. As if you needed further confirmation that he’s stupid.

When I'm on the mic, I'm like global warming, you can't ignore me.

by tehGrindCrusher on Mar 25, 2009 9:29 AM CDT reply actions

To Be Completely Honest

I was half on the bandwagon. I was cool with Mario because of several reasons:

1) I’m a defensive guy so I always lean that way
2) I hate USC and therefore hted Reggie Bush, but i was also concerned about his size and ability to run between the tackles
3) As much as I love that Longhorns, you only needed to hear VY talk a couple of times to realize that he was not a mental giant.

I was half off the bandwagon though because I thought someone would have been willing to trade up to get the phenomenal talent that everyone saw in Bush, so I was pissed they didn’t trade down. Now that I know that no one was willing to trade up with us, I’ll eat my humble pie.

Let's get the Texans a better fight song.

by Jake on Mar 25, 2009 6:31 PM CDT reply actions

Trading Down In 2006

I was completely with you. I wanted to send the No. 1 overall to the Jets so we could move down a few spots to take D’Brickashaw.

Let’s call this Reason No. 15,482 Why Tim Is Not Running An NFL Team.

Looking forward to a day when being a Texans fan doesn't mean that April is the highlight of my season...

by Tim on Mar 25, 2009 8:39 PM CDT up reply actions

I'm not GM material either Tim

I’m man enough to admit that I was on the VY bandwagon. The Texans last 2005 regular season game at SF was called the Bush Bowl, or the Reggie Bowl with the loser of the game winning the rights to the player of their choice in the ‘06 draft. Mario wasn’t even in the debate that followed for the next 4 months. I naively thought VY could do for the Texans what he made look so easy for the Horns. At the time we had David Carr and I still think VY is (or will be) miles ahead of Carr when it is all said and done.

I was shocked when the Mario news broke on the eve of the draft, but his awesome play the last 2 seasons has more than validated Smith’s selection. I refuse to believe that Casserly had anything to do with that decision. I will fondly remember Casserly for Jason Babin and Phillip Buchanan.

by oiler-texan diehard on Mar 25, 2009 9:37 PM CDT up reply actions

Hine Sight is 20/20

I didn’t want VY but I wouldn’t have been devestated if they had taken him, so I can’t hate on you OTD. That was my biggest lesson that as soon as a college player becomes a draft prospect, you let go of all ties you had with him during his collegiate career. I love Vince for what he did for Texas, but obviously it’s a good thing that Kubiak didn’t get caught up in the hype.

Can you just imagine though, how much of a mess our team would be if we had taken VY? The vision in my mind is something you would probably expect to see in either a Mad Max or Kevin Costner post-apocolyptic movie. Not Pretty.

Let's get the Texans a better fight song.

by Jake on Mar 26, 2009 6:13 AM CDT up reply actions

I was sure they were going to take Reggie Bush

But when they chose Mario, I wasn’t exactly surprised. I figured they’d just committed to Carr and they had Domanick Davis at RB. So, relatively speaking, based on the information available at the time, they made the right choice. Oddly enough, if they knew what was going to happen to those two, they might have chosen differently. So in a way, we actually owe David Carr a debt of gratitude for conning McNair out of another year’s salary so that we didn’t need (or think we needed) a qb in the draft. Thanks Dave!

Since I didn’t go to UT, I wasn’t particularly bent about drafting Radio. I respected him as a college player and was pleased when he won the national championship, but I never had him pegged as a sure thing in the pros. And once he went to the Tits, well, fuck him.

I didn’t know too much about Williams, but I can say that (and remember, this was in the days before I discovered BRB, DGDB&D and Houston Diehards), the more I saw the Chron and it’s mouth-breathing readers pile on to Mario, the more I wanted him to succeed, and the more I’ve loved watching Dickie attempt verbal yoga to try to justify his actions. I’ve never wished for anyone on any team I support to fail (and that includes Zoolander), and I certainly wasn’t going to give up on Mario. I’ll never forget hearing the crowd chant his name at the Denver game a couple of years ago. Eat that, Dickie!

When I'm on the mic, I'm like global warming, you can't ignore me.

by tehGrindCrusher on Mar 26, 2009 8:33 AM CDT up reply actions

How's this for irony...

As soon as Kubiak was announced as the Texans’ 2nd HC he was faced with a big QB decision. Who better than Kubes, a former QB himself and longtime NFL OC, to evaluate whether or not the Texans could move forward with Carr as their QB. Carr had just completed his 4th season and was due an $8 million roster bonus in March and a $5.5 million dollar salary for ‘06. I’m sure Bob McNair wanted to know if he should show Carr the money or the door. Kubiak gave Carr a thorough review and came to the conclusion that he could win with Carr as his QB. He publicly stated so. That was the key factor in deciding not to invest in a QB in the 2006 draft. VY was not the only highly rated QB; Matt Leinart and Jay Cutler were picked 10th and 11th respectively that year. So because Kubiak could not recognize what many of us already knew, that Carr was never going to be a winner here, we select Mario with the 1st pick. That’s like slicing your drive into the woods on a par 3 and getting an ace on the deflection. Pure Genius :)

by oiler-texan diehard on Mar 26, 2009 10:17 PM CDT up reply actions

I'd heard

…that Kubes felt he had to agree to use Carr in order to get the Texans job. Could just be a rumor, I don’t know.

When I'm on the mic, I'm like global warming, you can't ignore me.

by tehGrindCrusher on Mar 26, 2009 10:28 PM CDT up reply actions

Yup

I remember hearing/reading the same thing…that McNair was a big Carr fan and wanted to be told by interviewees that he could be turned into a playoff-caliber QB.

Looking forward to a day when being a Texans fan doesn't mean that April is the highlight of my season...

by Tim on Mar 27, 2009 9:16 AM CDT up reply actions

Cripes, that makes Bob McNair sound like a Jerry Jones clone

I had never heard those rumblings. I guess the upside of that is I shouldn’t feel so badly about Kubiak’s opinion of Carr, but McNair forcing a QB down a prospective coaches throat? Now that spells trouble. Up until now I had the impression that Bob McNair was smart enough to hire the right people and then get out of the way and let them do their jobs. Owners are all very successful business tycoons. I don’t know of one who is a good NFL talent evaluator. Al Davis, Daniel Snyder and Jerry Jones come to mind as owners who make too many personnel decisions to the detriment of their teams. On a personal level I sympathize with them feeling like they have a right to be part of the process. After all it is THEIR team. BUT, I wonder why they can’t see the folly of their ways. All owners want to win. After years of failure, one would think Davis et al would learn to not micromanage.

by oiler-texan diehard on Mar 27, 2009 11:11 AM CDT up reply actions

Well, I think the source was Pancakes

…so you should take it with a grain of salt.

When I'm on the mic, I'm like global warming, you can't ignore me.

by tehGrindCrusher on Mar 27, 2009 3:03 PM CDT up reply actions

Or a tablespoon of maple syrup

So you're saying that now I have to think of some witty Sig that will be applicable across all the SBN sites? Go Texan Horn Stros!

by Shake on Mar 28, 2009 7:00 AM CDT up reply actions

Mario Williams Will Stop the Beast Called Manning (my mantra)

I like seeing Mario’s name mentioned with other great ones (Jared Allen and Julius Peppers). Among the best and he’s playin for us – it brings a warm, fuzzy feeling come over me. Reggie Bush – like alot of players that come from USC are mostly hype anyway and as far as VY is concerned: call me a moron but I kinda liked David Carr for a moment or 2. Now I love Matt Schaub like everone else, but I think questionable offensive protection should share some of the blame as far as Carr goes. Yeah his mechanics were a bit iffy, but when a QB is on is way on becoming the NFL’s most sacked player (cmon hes gotta be, right?) I dont think the answer was 5 + step drops! Now the guy is makin 1 year/1 mil contracts backin up the Other Manning in NY…that is some bad karma! But this thread is about Mario so I digress…
Williams is a monster powerhouse of a player and now that Antonio Smith will be on the other side to take some pressure off him we are headed to the top of our division and (gulp) the playoffs!

by GodBlessSteveSlaton on Mar 26, 2009 6:46 PM CDT reply actions