PUT YOUR NAME ON IT: Will Mario Williams Be A Texan Come September 2012?

but there’s probably a large wishful thinking component in that opinion. There appears to be considerable sympathy in South Oklahoma for the idea of signing Mario.

Would I like him to be a Texan? Hell yes. However, one thing the 2011 season taught us is that we are capable of fielding a formidable defense (#2) without Mario. I cannot think about Mario’s contract without thinking about Arian, Meyers and Dressen. Next year, we get to have this discussion about Barwin.

As I understand it, the cap under the new CBA is much more fudge-able. Still, in order for Mario to stay there will need to be a strong element of him wanting to stay and putting on the horse-blinders to some of the other big checks that other teams may be willing to offer. Since this will be his last shot at that big pay-day (No Carlos Lee, not that kind of Pay-Day) I just dont see it happening.

I am curious to see if Super Mario would accept less money to stay in Houston, where he is family, or simply go to the highest bidder. To the argument that our defense somehow proved they don’t need him, I say, “Hah!” Our D would be even better with him, like #1 better. Ultimately, I think it is up to him whether he wants to stay or not. The Texans would be crazy to let him go.

Otherwise I need to get some new Jerseys

Would the Texans compete for the best pass rushing Defense ever?

The FO and Mario have all said the right things.“we want mario back he is high on our list” “I want to come back love this city.” We all knew vonta deserved to get paid and wished him good luck. Why i don’t think Mario should get paid crazy money, simply is what has he done to really earn it? Yes we know he plays hurt and i appluad him for that, but he has never won DPOY, never led the NFL in sacks. I think for a deal to get done that will have to be one of the fine line things. You get this amount if you get this many sacks a season and so on.

But I voted “no”. It’s a complex situation, and a lot has to happen a certain way for him to stay.

I want him back, but I think he will be too expensive.

Think that Smith needs to add a lot of bonuses

500K for 14 sacks
500K for 18
1m for 20
1m for leading AFC
1m for leading NFL

Bonuses aren’t cap hits, so this could work. If he reaches all of these, another 4 mil on top of his yearly. Hoping this is the way that they go.

Also want to believe that Mario is out to show that the greatest game changers VD and Bust, VY and Bush, weren’t needed in Houston and then finish what the Texans started this year. Super Bowl next year????

My mind says no. I am going with the ol’ brain on this one, unfortunately.

If Mario leaves it is going to clear up a fair amount of cash. Do you at least entertain the idea of making a run at Peyton if the Colts cut him? I am a Schaub fan and am perfectly fine with him being our QB next year, but Peyton is an upgrade without a doubt. Our running game + our defense + Peyton is a pretty interesting scenario.

And yes, I am well aware the idea of signing Peyton feels dirty as a Texan fan.

There is enough money for a long term deal, and he’s more important on our team than playing against us.

That said, if he leaves, and we get two rookies sharing the WR2 position, we have a ton of cap space to get another quality OLB to fill his role in the rotation.

I’m hoping for a cap friendly deal. As a fan, I just want to believe that the Texans find a way to keep Mario, Arian, Chris & Joel….

I think someone is going to throw crazy money at him. I think that team will be Tampa. They are WAY UNDER the cap, and when they were at their best, they had a dominant DL. Adrian Claiborne, Mario Williams, Albert Haynesworth, and Gerald McCoy would be a really good DL, with Daquan Bowers, Michael Bennet and Brian Price rotating in.

but that’s the homer fan in me hoping that Rick structures the money with performance incentives (to protect the budget from a non-producing and/or injured star) and Mario wants a ring more than money. That’s really the two key metrics in play right now:

1. Rick et al have to weigh the investment vs the past performance / future potential, and then consider to what magnitude it improves an already dominant unit.

2. Mario has to choose to stay for a shot at a championship (no guarantees obviously) or go where the money is.

southpaw70 mentioned how this already feels like the Vonta Leach situation, and it really does only bigger. I could easily see Tampa backing the dump truck full of money into Mario’s driveway.

On the other hand, Mario may want to be remembered in history for not chasing the coin and having his legacy play out by sticking with a once fledgling team on the brink of greatness.

I simply feel like he’ll garner more money elsewhere and won’t sign a cap friendly deal here because of it.

meaning retaining Foster, Mario, and Myers, the “team” will need to make sacrifices. At least a few players will need to walk in the FO and say, “Rick, put my name down for restructuring my contract to help keep those guys on this team. Do whatever necessary to keep this team together. Next year is SB or bust.”

can anyone say the same for next season outside of winning the Super Bowl (outside of catastrophic injuries of course)? There simply isn’t anyone I don’t think we can’t beat, so there’s no reason we can’t win the Super Bowl if relatively healthy.

I don’t really think he takes less money but I think it gets done.

While I hope he stays, with Foster and Myers this year and Schaub in 2013. I think that without him accepting an incentive laden contract he will have a new home next year.

If we don’t resign Mario we better Damn well use that money to sign one of the stud free agent wr’s (Wayne, Colston, Bowe).

i really feel like mario doesn’t wanna play anywhere else, and he’s gonna tell his agent to find a way to make it work. i’ve been hearing that arian could command upwards of 10mil a year over 3years (similar to the CJ contract) and since we really dont have any other really big names, i figure we may wind up franchising someone like Chris Myers and paying out Arian and Mario. fingers crossed on that, anyway.

Will Peyton Manning remain a Colt?

Things change….

too much money, too many other needs.

Carolina, Detroit, Tampa, and J’ville(ugh) will be high bidders.

He’s a proven elite 4-3 DE in terrible schemes. He was well on his way to proving himself as an elite pass-rushing OLB in a 3-4. 4-3 DEs get paid a lot more than 3-4 OLBs. For comparison sake, we have two guys that fit that scenario extremely well and signed recent 6-year deals in Peppers & Suggs. While the guaranteed money was nearly the same ($42MM vs $38MM), Peppers’ contract is for over $15MM/season and Suggs is just over $10MM. And recall, Suggs had a battle with Baltimore when they tagged him as to whether he was effectively a DE or a LB.

The point is, Mario can get paid in a 4-3 system as a 4-3 DE like Peppers did because he’s proven that skill set. He doesn’t have that value in Houston as a 3-4 OLB based on current NFL contracts. I think to retain him, he’ll have to accept a deal somewhere in between the two annually, with a large chunk guaranteed (>$40MM). Say a 6-year, $75MM deal with $45MM guaranteed. His agent will advise him to walk and pull Peppers money on the market, but if he wants to win, he’ll accept a smaller contract to stay in Houston.

I have always loved this team, despite obvious shortcomings. But now, we have a team so full of talent and with new found successes, that we are beginning to have the kind of issues winning teams normally have.

As someone who only got into football once we got the Texans, this is absolutely foreign to me. It’s amazing how success has its own set of issues. This is going to be a long and difficult offseason.

I voted yes.

"Death is a natural part of life. Rejoice for those around you who transform into the Force. Mourn them do not. Miss them do not. Attachment leads to jealously. The shadow of greed, that is."

I’d love to see him back, but if not, we got this.

No.

But not at the expense of losing Arian Foster.

Make Foster happy first, Mario can have whatever is left.

he really doesn’t fit the 3-4

Yeah, he got only 5 sacks in <5 games. Just think what he would have done if he DID fit the 3-4.