The Mario Manifesto - or, Prepare Yourself for Life Without Mario

Pancakes alluded to it. I'm saying it. Mario Williams will not be a Texan next season.

Now, this is neither a religious nor a political manifesto. That would not be tolerated here on BRB. It is more of a statement... a life stance, you could say, on facing reality; the departure of Mario Williams from our immediate NFL football interests, the Houston Texans. Banned, you say? Why? Because it is inevitable, you know. Mario is leaving for parts unknown. He is destined to not be a Houston Texan. Franchise Tag Day is coming up and for Mario, that ain't happening. He will officially be an Unrestricted Free Agent. That means he can negotiate with anyone he wants to. Mario Williams might as well be handed a blank check and given permission to write any number he so desires on it. Do I need to say more on this subject? Yes? Okay. This is a business. Mario is a professional football player. He is a one-man wrecking machine. Who doesn't want Mario Williams? Everyone wants Mario Williams. He is as good as gone. Wave goodbye to Mario!

Losing Mario leaves a void... on the bench. He played the first five games last season and went on IR. The Houston Texans had their best ever regular season. They made the playoffs and won a playoff game. Their defense did not falter. Did moving Conner Barwin to the other side and inserting Brooks Reed hurt the team? No. The defense actually performed like it has never performed before. The defense got better without Mario Williams. When Mario is gone, where is the void? Depth, I suppose. Because this defense, without Mario, is freakin' awesome! Putting Mario on the field puts either Conner Barwin or Brooks Reed on the bench. The defense elevated itself to #2 in the NFL with those two guys on the field and no Mario. Going into next year, where do they go? I don't see them going down. For all intents and purposes, Barwin and Reed are still growing into their own.

Barwin played more TE than DE or OLB in college. He virtually missed all of 2010 due to injury and last season he was coming off that injury. Is there anyone saying he can't get better? No way! Barwin is the real deal and he's getting better. Reed was a rookie, transitioning from DE in college to OLB in the NFL. Is anyone saying he can't get better? No way! Real deal, Reed is. Mario is still growing, but at what cost? Is it worth $20+ million to put Mario on the field and sit one of those guys? I think not, because when I say $20+ million, I mean perhaps $25 million or more.

Money in Mario's pocket... is that the only implication of signing Mario? Um, no....

If you sign Mario, there are other complications, me thinks. That is less money in other players' pockets, you see. If you sign Mario, there are other parts of the Houston Texans that will suffer. I have heard time and again that Mario makes the players around him better and I am not making an argument against that. When he is on the field, which we have already established is not an every-game occurrence, let's all agree that he is a better player than Barwin and/or Reed and let's all agree that the other players on the field are also better because Mario draws so much more attention from opposing offenses. Let's just say Mario is better. But, what does Mario do to the rest of the team relative to payroll?

Mario sucks the Houston Texans payroll dry, is what Mario does. If you pay Mario, where does the team find the money to sign Chris Myers, Arian Foster, Mike Brisiel and others? They don't. The Texans need those players, don't they? We are talking about the rest of the team. Mario is just one player in a defense that already works without him. Is that O-line working without Myers and Brisiel? Is the rush game working without Arian Foster? Do you want to find out the hard way if Kubiak's offense is plug-n-play like we all want to believe? There has to be some push and shove here, folks. Why would we expect Mario Williams to not want what is his, millions of dollars more than what fits into the Texans cap figure? I expect he wants that money, the prestige that comes with it, and the security of that guaranteed bonus he will get. He deserves it and he should take it. It isn't coming from the Texans.

The consequences of this reality is that Mario Williams will go somewhere else to get his millions. This is life in the NFL. This is one reality that has a probability of near 100% of happening. So, Pancakes skirted around the edges. He has prepared you for this news. Mario Williams will not be coming back to play for the Houston Texans. And, guess what.... life will go on for the Houston Texans.