Everyone Freaking Relax

by Tim on Aug 22, 2007 5:51 PM CDT in News Comment 43 comments

I understand that Texans fans are eager to see Mario Williams "prove" that he was worthy of the No. 1 pick (or, more to the point, worthy of being picked ahead of Vince Young and Reggie Bush) in last year's draft. Really, I get it. But I'm getting a bit perturbed at all of the gum-flapping that's going on regarding how Mario is already a bust and/or that he REALLY needs to get it in gear after what observers deem to be two (2) below-average PRESEASON efforts. Seriously, the Chronicle may want to consider adding a section to the daily paper for this subject. It seems like the topic is beaten to death every day, and that Mario is a failure for not sacking the QB three times every snap. See Exhibits "A", "B", "C", and "D", all written in the last couple of days. If you didn't know better, you'd think Mario was picking dandelions and/or wearing his helmet backward instead of putting forth even the slightest of efforts.

People...Rome wasn't built in a day. As Matt eloquently pointed out in this post over at DGDB&D (albeit with regard to Jason Babin), the vast majority of pass rushers have a learning curve as they transition from the college ranks to the NFL. Battling the starting left tackle of any NFL team is going to be a significant step up from, say, going against the LT from Duke. It's going to take some time to adjust. And I've said it a million times, but I'll say it again: Mario was playing on a bum foot for the second half of last year. He wasn't physically right.

What's more, sacks alone are not the sole determining statistic of productivity for a defensive end. I know Mario was drafted to sack the QB. But his other contributions (tying up a second blocker, causing a play to be run to the other side, etc.) should not be discounted in assessing what he's done or what he's capable of doing. In other words, we shouldn't use his sack total at the end of the year as the be-all and end-all of his worth. Dwight Freeney only had 5.5 sacks (one more than Super Mario) last year. Think Indy is ready to question his talent? Of course not.

Mario Williams has played one season of professional football. Let's permit him to play one, two, or even three more before we label him a bust, shall we? I guess, however, it could be worse. Mario could be getting the Amobi Okoye Treatment:

ANOTHER WHIFF BY THE TEXANS?

"There's already talk in league circles that defensive tackle Amobi Okoye, the No. 10 overall pick in the draft, could be a bust.

The 20-year-old rookie from Louisville received plenty of hype in the run up to the draft. But the opinion of some is that he is undersized and not strong. As one source said, he's the "creation of a good P.R. campaign," and "there's no way he's a first-round pick."

Okoye already has been overshadowed in training camp and the preseason by Rams nose tackle Adam Carriker, the 13th overall selection. Carriker appears to be poised to make an instant impact at this level.

In our view, the biggest red flag regarding Okoye was raised when his college coach, Bobby Petrino, drafted defensive end Jamaal Anderson instead of Okoye. If Petrino, who had prior NFL experience, believed that Okoye could excel as a pro, Petrino surely would have taken the known commodity over the unknown quantity.

If Okoye falters, he'll be the third first-round pick on the Texans defensive line that has underachieved, including defensive tackle Travis Johnson and defensive end Mario Williams."

If that doesn't make your blood boil, I don't know what will. Okoye has yet to play a single regular season game, and he's already been labeled a failure. Here's hoping both Mario Williams and Amobi Okoye each notch thirty sacks apiece this season.

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4th

Jason Babin, now that he's a DE.

by Scott on Aug 22, 2007 7:33 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Everyone Freaking Relax

This is why most of us can never be coaches. We want our draft pick to progress from an 85 to a 93 by mid-season (that's how it works in Madden right?). The truth is, there are a ton of guys who were drafted last year who still haven't found there stride yet. That is why they have coaches, to develop them into mature players. And as you said, the real reason for the bitterness is not so much Mario's lack of production (there are three other guys on the line with no sacks either) but who we could have had in his place. If Babin had been the sack master we hoped for, we never would have picked Mario. So I think the anger is a bit misplaced. They may both get there some day but Babin has yet to play a full season at DE and Mario has exactly one year as a DE in the pros. Give them a couple of years and then we'll see.

Every day is a good day whether it wants to be or not.

by cseafous on Aug 22, 2007 10:27 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

How many times...

...are these "experts" wrong, though they never admit it. Let Okoye and Williams be a huge part of what is becoming a very solid defense, and the same people will be singing their praises as if they always knew they were great. It gets old.

Okoye is good money, believe that.

by coltsfanawalt on Aug 23, 2007 1:49 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

I wish Mario well, but

I just don't see anything in his game that would suggest to me that he will become an elite DE in the NFL. I am no expert, but most #1 overall picks show at least flashes of greatness in their first season. Mario did manage to get a few sacks, and he obviously has the physical tools for the job, but isn't showing the instincts that the great ones have. If not for the foot injury last year, I would have already labeled him a bust. If Mario is healthy through the first three games of the regular season, and he looks like the same old Stupor Mario, he will have earned that title as far as I am concerned. As a Texans die-hard, I hope I'm totally wrong, but I have watched Mario in every game, and I'm not encouraged by what I see.
As for the coverage in the Chron, I think there should be a separate Mario Williams section to follow his progress (or lack thereof). Maybe this will motivate him, since the endless amount of guaranteed money and a prominent position in the greatest pro sports league in the world obviously doesn't.

...and the Cowboys suck.

by chillcharley on Aug 23, 2007 9:24 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Kind of missing the point there...

playing on a bum foot, Mario managed 4.5 sacks (more than Jason Taylor had as a rookie). The point is, allow him to get through the learning curve before you start saying you are unimpressed. Calling ANYONE a bust after one season is borderline retarded.

Also, if you could point me to these flashes of greatness that you have seen in a large sample size of other DEs, I would appreciate it.

by MDC on Aug 23, 2007 10:50 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Great post

Thanks for tackling this. I was getting too pissed off every time I sat down to write something similar that I gave up. I've also stopped reading the Chronicle until the season starts. This Mario thing is apparently our answer to "what can we talk about other than Mike Vick."

by MDC on Aug 23, 2007 10:51 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

The heat is rightly on.

Apparently $60 million just doesn't buy as much as it used to. I believe the Texans management deserves every spitball of disdain which is currently being ejected at them over the performance of their draft pick Williams. Professional sports, and especially the NFL, is about more than just the game, it's a huge media hyped business. It was clearly obvious to all the "know nothing" fans that there was a big problem with the Texas offense after the 2005 season. So when the coach/owner professionals selected the likes of Williams over home town favorites Vince Young or Reggie Bush, there was a major expectation that this person would deliver an all star defensive performance. Mario has not lived up to the hype yet, and thus Kubiak and company are rightly feeling the heat from a skeptical press and fan base.

by Viper on Aug 23, 2007 12:12 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Sunday, November 18th

At approximately 2:20PM, Super Mario will tear off Reggie's right leg, and proceed to beat him unconscious with it. It will, of course, cost the team a 15-yarder....but that would definitely show a flash of greatness.

Don't try to argue with me, you can't prove me wrong for at least another 87 days, 2 hours, 6 minutes.

You will all treat me like C-3PO in the Ewok Village if my prediction holds true.

We can be critical of the draft picks, but in the end we always support the new Texan.

by Shake on Aug 23, 2007 12:15 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

And Tim...

we better hear that one in the next interview you give...

We can be critical of the draft picks, but in the end we always support the new Texan.

by Shake on Aug 23, 2007 12:19 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I was with you...

until the dork reference.

by MDC on Aug 23, 2007 2:06 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

This

from the guy who was put in the hospital by allergies?

...putting the fun in disfunctional

We can be critical of the draft picks, but in the end we always support the new Texan.

by Shake on Aug 23, 2007 2:28 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Sinus Infection / Migraine

Jerk.

by MDC on Aug 23, 2007 6:20 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

heh

Shake kicked your @ss, Matt :-)

by bigfatdrunk on Aug 24, 2007 4:57 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I will not be taunted...

by a man who lacks functioning testes.

by MDC on Aug 24, 2007 9:20 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

wow!

oh.

Damnz.

by bigfatdrunk on Aug 24, 2007 9:37 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

When is Opening Day?

We really need the actual football season to get here quick, cause it's just getting ugly now.

At least it's only 8 days til CFB gets rolling.

We can be critical of the draft picks, but in the end we always support the new Texan.

by Shake on Aug 24, 2007 10:24 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Agreed.

We're all getting punchy. BFD knows I still love him, though.

I loves me some CFB. I was going to make fun of my own team (Michigan) for playing a nobody week 1. Then I looked at the Horns schedule.

by MDC on Aug 24, 2007 11:04 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

It was you who opened this can...

Seriously? The Indians of Arkansas State are no powerhouse, but App. St. is I-AA.
{end argument}

We can be critical of the draft picks, but in the end we always support the new Texan.

by Shake on Aug 24, 2007 11:41 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

how about weeks 2,3, and 4

Your schedule doesn't exactly approach 'hard' until the OU game.

by MDC on Aug 24, 2007 12:39 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Nice trickery there, master-debator

I thought you were discussing Week 1?

But hey, I make mistakes sometimes. Let me go back and see what was typed.

"I was going to make fun of my own team (Michigan) for playing a nobody week 1. Then I looked at the Horns schedule."

Yeah, I could see how that is interpreted as all 4 OOC games.

We can be critical of the draft picks, but in the end we always support the new Texan.

by Shake on Aug 24, 2007 12:55 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

re:

sorry, shake, but our schedule is horrible. comparing the scrub-erines and ours is like comparing a 1973 Pinto to a Soviet-made car of any era. Yes, they both suck, but the degrees of their sucky suckiness is arguable.

Personally, I am starting to hope those Miami rumors are true. I need payback from 1990. Payback, with a vengeance.

by bigfatdrunk on Aug 24, 2007 1:01 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

No Argument

I just like messing with MDC, since he pulled a reverse on me......or was that an end-around?

We can be critical of the draft picks, but in the end we always support the new Texan.

by Shake on Aug 24, 2007 1:55 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

You've backed me into a corner

so I have no choice but to scream "FRANK REICH" and run away.

by MDC on Aug 24, 2007 1:54 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Also...

TCU -- ranked team in week 2, who had one of the best defenses in the nation last year.

Looks like both UT & Michigan will have to show up for week 2.

In all seriousness, I am looking forward to Week 3, with the Mich-ND game. I won't be in Austin, so I'll get to watch that contest. I am truly rooting for a Wolverine to do to Jimmy-C, what I predicted Mario do to Reggie.

We can be critical of the draft picks, but in the end we always support the new Texan.

by Shake on Aug 24, 2007 12:58 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

no kidding, Shake

Matt just won't let go of my testicles.

by bigfatdrunk on Aug 24, 2007 12:17 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Please be careful...

that this doesn't happen

We can be critical of the draft picks, but in the end we always support the new Texan.

by Shake on Aug 24, 2007 1:00 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

YES!

Shake, I knew if I set you up, you would knock it down. Well played!

I guess the only difference, and it's a huge difference, is that Matt is considerably more loving with his touch. Fawning, even.

by bigfatdrunk on Aug 24, 2007 1:03 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Someone has to be...

it's not like your wife is touching them.

by MDC on Aug 24, 2007 1:53 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

true that

Though I do think the waiter I had tonight was more than a little interested. Male chubby chasers? Who knew!?!

BTW, if you have read this far and still know what the original post was about, give yourself a pat on the back. You....you deserve it.

/hijack (for now!)

by bigfatdrunk on Aug 24, 2007 2:23 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

heh

BTW, Tim and Scott:
I am pretty sure that if anybody googles "mario williams okoye chubby chasers testicles," this will be first on the list. So you've got that going for you.

by bigfatdrunk on Aug 24, 2007 2:31 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Superb

Just when I think this blog can't get any better, you guys prove me wrong. Well done, gentlemen.

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

by Tim on Aug 24, 2007 2:35 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

You know me too well

I love tee-ball. That fast-pitch stuff is freakin' hard.

We can be critical of the draft picks, but in the end we always support the new Texan.

by Shake on Aug 24, 2007 1:54 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

This article should make our blood boil?...

Overreact much? Come on, dude. Dont you realize that when you call out the chron all the time about their articles (and do so with a good deal of hyperbole and distortion: after all, the chron didnt say okoye was a bust, just raised the possibility that he may not be the player we think he is; they used the word bust in the article to grab the reader's attention-all periodicals do that; and for what it's worth i've read similar evlauations of okoye on footballoutsiders.com)you engage in the very sort of lowest-common-denominator journalism that you accuse them of engaging in? As for mario, I agree with others who have said that the scrutiny is justified. The chron guys are just doing their job. Instead of chron-bashing, how about filling space with more original analysis and insights.

by mello on Aug 24, 2007 3:04 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Scrutiny

Labeling Mario Williams as anything other than a second-year defensive end is not "just." I don't give a damn if he was taken first overall--there is still a learning curve. After his third year, we can start talking about whether he is what we thought he would be.

As for the Chron, if every one of their writers hadn't offered at least one "Mario sucks" piece in the past fortnight, I don't think Scott, Tim, or I would be so annoyed with their brand of mediocre "journalism."

by MDC on Aug 24, 2007 3:13 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

if you read my actual post...

i said the "scrutiny is justified." And sorry to break it to you (in case you havent been following pro football for very long), but draft position and size of contract are critical factors in how closely a player is scrutinized on and off the field. Is this not manifestly obvious?

by mello on Aug 24, 2007 9:01 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Oh, you caught me!

I typed "just" when you said "justified."

Of course, you conveniently ignore the whole point about there being a learning curve, which should also be "manifestly obvious" to anyone with an ounce of common sense.

Or, perhaps you think Jason Taylor and Michael Strahan are busts.

by MDC on Aug 25, 2007 9:14 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Re: Chron

First off, let me be clear: The Okoye article was from PFT, not the Chronicle. With regard to your assertion that I "call out the chron all the time," I would ask that you take the time to review my posts. Search by "author" and "Tim." After doing so, please let me know how many of the nearly 170 posts I've written "call out" the Chronicle. Are there a few? Sure. I don't agree with everything that the Chronicle's columnists pen. But "all the time?" That seems a bit "mello-dramatic" to me.

Nevertheless, thanks for reading and taking the time to offer constructive criticism.

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

by Tim on Aug 24, 2007 3:22 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Easy there...

take some deep breaths and get your blood down to a nice simmer. If it keeps boiling off, who would we have left to accuse the big bad "old media" (the chron, espn) of maligning the poor texans. Reading and article on okoye makes your blood boil, yet Im the one who is melodramatic? Interesting.

by mello on Aug 24, 2007 9:09 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

BP Is Okay

Thank you for your concern. While I certainly appreciate your contrarian viewpoint, I notice that you did not mention anything about my alleged non-stop Chronicle bashing. Is that because you read my posts and realize that I'm not nearly the media-hater you labeled me to be?

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

by Tim on Aug 25, 2007 10:54 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I'll take the blame

stupid media...

We can be critical of the draft picks, but in the end we always support the new Texan.

by Shake on Aug 25, 2007 2:36 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

By the way...

I hope the following irony is not lost: a post that begins imploring everyone to relax ends with the author saying that this makes his blood boil. Reminds me of a great line fron the simpsons:
"They say I have an anger management problem-that makes me soooo maaaaad!!!"

by mello on Aug 24, 2007 3:13 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

blogs

Mello,

I think you make some good points. Yes, it is funny that Tim wants people to relax and it makes his blood boil. Heh, I didn't catch that the first time.

But, I think there are two primary things that differentiate the traditional media (TM) and blogs. First, we can have a two-way conversation on a blog. While it's true that the Chron now allows comments, I think the only person I've actually seen reply to said comments is Justice. The other is that the TM seems to cover sports from an angle of privileged knower to us little people. I hate that. Sincerely hate that. I've hated it for years, and it's a big reason why I almost entirely opt for non-traditional media formats. There are a couple of areas of this attitude that especially upset me, not only just in sports. But, needless to say, I would be happy to debate the "experts" in numerous fields on the very subject they are allegedly an "expert" in. And, I would win.

I know, a lot of words so far, but bear with me. My point is that blogs play a different role, and one of those roles is calling out the idiocy of the TM. Part of that is using fact-based, rather than subjective, analysis. This I believe MDC does well with his post. And then, calling someone a bust before he has even played a game is ridiculous. Patently. Rare is the DE, DT, or OL who steps into the league and instantly becomes a top 5 at their position. For those who do, don't they normally suffer a sophomore slump? As in, regression to the mean?

I do agree with you (and Viper and ChillCharley) that Mario will be under more intense scrutiny, as if he wasn't last year. But I think, if he doesn't get 10 sacks this year, that it would be fair to label him a bust, either. I mean, in all my years, really the only guy I considered to be a bust after one year was Ryan Leaf.

by bigfatdrunk on Aug 27, 2007 2:53 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Comments at the Chronic

True, they do allow us little people (dwarfs) to make comments on their columns. But it should also be noted that they probably would not have added this function, were it not for the many blogs already doing it.

We can be critical of the draft picks, but in the end we always support the new Texan.

by Shake on Aug 27, 2007 7:48 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs