Mario Improving

Mario Williams earned his second sack of the season this weekend in the Texans throbbing of the Jacksonville Jaguars. Mario also recovered a fumble and was in on other tackles.

Williams now has 2.5 sacks for the year. Hall of Famer and the greatest player in the history of the game, Reggie Bush, has one touchdown.

We were going to share some thoughts on the media’s ridiculously premature crticisms of Williams performance in the first couple of games of his career. But, there was no need to re-create what our friends over at Red & White have shared, so we thought that it was appropriate to send you to this entry.

Click here for a flashback to Mario’s selection as the first pick in the 2006 NFL Draft.

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21 Responses to Mario Improving

  1. choppack1 10/24/2006 at 8:02 AM #

    Excellent point on Bush. As someone who follows both the college game and the pro game a lot, I have never seen anyone get the “kudos” this kid is getting for serving the majority of his plays as a decoy, averaging 3 yards a carry and 7.5 yards per reception and 1 TD on a punt return.

    Lawrence Malroney is average 4.2 yards per carry and has 3 TDs, he must be better than the best ever…

  2. richdail 10/24/2006 at 8:36 AM #

    If you saw the Fox Pregame show on Sunday, Reggie was the featured guest. They first introduced him as “NFL star”, then for the rest of the show they tagged him “Saint Reggie”. I almost couldn’t watch it.

    Meanwhile, on the other network, when showing Mario get his fumble recovery, Crissy Collinsworth says something like (to Sterling Sharpe) “there’s your guy”.

    So Reggie has already been annointed—and Mario is “Sharpe’s guy”.

  3. Wulfpack 10/24/2006 at 8:39 AM #

    ^I’m sorry but I don’t agree. All of these Mario/Reggie comparisons are completely unfair. Two totally different positions, two totally different situations with the teams involved. The Saints are up-and-coming and have some talent, the Texans just miserable. But Reggie is legit. There’s not many that are faster than him and he did have the game-winning punt return against the Bucs. Not bad for a rook. He will only get better and post huge numbers as Sean Peyton is an offensive mastermind. The other thing is he’s part of a truly great story in New Orleans. The rebuilding of a region, the rebuilding of a franchise. And they aren’t disappointing. On a side note, Reggie is also pouring loads of his own money into philanthropy, and delivering face-to-face to Katrina victims. I just think the media thrive on this sort of story and Bush is reeping its rewards.

  4. Mr O 10/24/2006 at 8:59 AM #

    Mario has 2.5 sacks…right?

  5. RAWFS 10/24/2006 at 9:09 AM #

    He does now, O. That article was written a couple of games ago.

  6. choppack1 10/24/2006 at 9:14 AM #

    “But Reggie is legit. There’s not many that are faster than him and he did have the game-winning punt return against the Bucs. Not bad for a rook. He will only get better and post huge numbers as Sean Peyton is an offensive mastermind.”

    Define legit – Yes, he’s a legitimate NFL player, but he’s not the second coming of Christ as he has been potrayed in the media. As a matter of fact, he’s not even the rookie of the year….
    Joseph Addai – 354 yards, 5 ypc, 1 TD, 107 yds receiving 7.4 ypc, 1 TD
    Mike Bell – 141 yards, 3.7 ypc, 1 TD
    Jerious Norwood – 290 yards, 7.8 ypc, 1 TD
    Wali Lundy – 150 yards, 4.2 ypc, 1 TD
    DeAngelo Williams – 139 yards, 5.3 ypc, 1 TD, 5.9 ypc…

    He hasn’t exactly seperated himself from the rest of the crop in spite of all of the accolades. Right now, I don’t see huge differences between the players I compared him to – Rocket Ismael and Desmond Howard…

    Don’t get me wrong, I think he’s very fast, and his prescence makes it easier for the Saints. However, I think there’s a lot of players w/ his speed AT HIS SIZE in the NFL.

    The jury is still out on both Mario and Reggie, and the media were worth it’s salt, they wouldn’t judge either…

  7. Mr O 10/24/2006 at 9:35 AM #

    Reggie has separated himself from those guys listed because he is also a WR and punt returner. I don’t like all the crap talked about Mario either, but Reggie is a damn good football player and watching you can definitely see that he will be a dominate player in the NFL.

  8. Dexter 10/24/2006 at 9:37 AM #

    If you are talking about it over there, then why are you over here?

  9. Wulfpack 10/24/2006 at 9:39 AM #

    ^Very well said. I do think he’ll be the rookie of the year. He’s still finding his way in the offense, it’s just a matter of time before he really blows up, both on the ground and receiving. No, not the second coming of Christ, but a darn good football player with unlimited talent, playing for a resurgent team with legitimate playoff hopes at this stage — and he’s a big reason why. As for Mario, he’s still going through the same growing pains, he just happens to play for a lousy team. It goes without saying both players have tremendous upsides.

  10. partialqualifier 10/24/2006 at 10:11 AM #

    Yeah, well the Media hypes sooo many people it is really hard to keep up with this weeks guy. I think Reggie Bush is a good kid doing great things for New Orleans. I also think he is a pretty good football player. I do agree that he isn’t the best rookie in the league, but we still have a lot of football to play and he is improving.

    As for Mario…he has taken far too much criticism from the “talking heads.” I watched a lot of the game on Sunday and I thought he played OK. Now he isnt as polished as Julius Peppers when he was a rookie, but who is? The one thing no one ever focuses on in the Media is the life expectancy in the NFL of a player like Bush. The average playing career of an NFL running back is extremely short. See Terrell Davis & Jamal Anderson. Plus for the ones that do play for several years the years of peak production are limited. Look at Jamal Lewis…2000 yard rusher a few years back and now he’s getting less than 3 a carry. As great as Marhall Faulk or Priest Holmes were how many truely great seasons did they have? 5….6 at most. The league is peppered with 2nd, 3rd, 4th, or lower round draft picks who flourish at RB. It is stupid to draft a RB with the first pick. Defensive Ends high production years are endless. Look at Michael Strayhan, Bruce Smith, and others who have played very productive football in their 9, 10, or 11th seasons.

    Finally….great point above about Wally Lundy. That kid played a very good game on Sunday against a very good Jags D. What if the Texans turn things around with Mario at end and Lundy gaining 1200 yards next season? Do you think the critics will brag about the “great draft” of 2006? That would be great if the Texans got a back the caliber of Bush to go along with Williams…without having to take Bush! Let’s see.

  11. Texpack 10/24/2006 at 10:29 AM #

    Everyone should read John McClain’s post game report on the Houston Chronicle web site. John Lopez also had a nice column featuring Mario and Demico Ryans. Mario had several nice QB pressures from the tackle position. All of the media here has softened their criticism of Mario after the last two weeks. It should also be noted that the Texans defense got three regulars back in the line up on Sunday. Lundy is the Texans best back right now. The Ron Dayne experiment was a disaster. This week vs. Vince Young will generate a fair amount of negative press if the Texans don’t win, so be prepared for it.

  12. Wulfpack 10/24/2006 at 10:30 AM #

    ^Keep in mind Bush isn’t your average “running back”. He’s more of a flex back that is a threat catching the ball. I doubt we’ll be seeing him get 25+ carries throughout his career, more like 25+ “touches” both on the ground and split out wide. Very good points all the way around, and yes, of course the media has been unfair to Mario. The modes of comparison just aren’t fair in any way shape or form. He’ll be a great d-end in time, but he has to have some help from his team. I mean, once you’re down two scores, how many NFL teams are going to continue to air it out once the game is in hand?

  13. packbackr04 10/24/2006 at 10:30 AM #

    lawrence maroney is rook of the year so far

  14. ncsu96 10/24/2006 at 10:38 AM #

    didn’t Kubiak or Texans pass on Julius Peppers in the draft?

    SFN: Kubiak has only been in Houston for a few month. Texans drafted a quarterback – David Carr – with their organization’s first draft pick in 2002. Panthers selected Peppers 2nd. I guess they “passed” on Peppers…but, they were starting a franchise and chose to get a hard-to-come-by stud QB at the time. Nobody can argue with that. It was an extremely weak year for QBs from a depth perspective. Extremely.

  15. Mike 10/24/2006 at 10:47 AM #

    The media is the media, and it is not a slight on NC State. If Mario had attended UNC the bashing would be the same. Two different positions, two totally different roles. Long term Mario will be the better player. Look at Peppers – as many are comparing Mario to. Peppers is now in his 4th year I think, and he is turning into a monster. Teams were able to control him earlier in his career but not now. That guy is all over the field, amazing some of the plays he is making now. Give Mario 3 more years. Also, Mario does not have much help is usually double teamed. Give the man time, and in that time, do what we always do, ignore the talking heads that have no clue what they are saying.

  16. choppack1 10/24/2006 at 11:08 AM #

    Oh, and I left out perhaps the most impressive rookie of them all. Maurice Jones-Drew, from USC’s rival UCLA.

    All he’s done is score 5 TDs, 3 rushing, 2 receiving, average 4.5 ypc, 9.3 ypr, and 25 yard per kick off return.

    Also, another thing to think of, what happens to Bush when he pulls that hammy or blows out a knee? How much pounding can he take. Is Reggie still a “great player” if he can’t cut on a dime?

  17. westwolf 10/24/2006 at 12:13 PM #

    By next year, when the media has crowned their next greatest ever college running back, and the year after that when they do the same, Bush will be just another servicable running back in the NFL.

    And the fans who swallowed the hype about him now will be parroting whatever the media tells them to think then as well.

  18. GoldenChain 10/24/2006 at 9:55 PM #

    Funny, as a senior Bush had 187 carries for 1658 yards and 31 catches for 383 yards, yet you all are telling me that he’s a utility back (aka Faulk).
    Looks to me like he’s a running back that’s finding real estate hard to come by in the NFL so being the ‘safety valve’ for the blitz has become his role, at least at this stage.
    When the draft took place I looked back at the previous 20 #1 picks and out of those only 2 or 3 really had distinguished careers.
    The really problem is 6 channels of ESPN, FOXSS, NFLNetwork, CBS, NBC, Verses, Sporting News radio, plus all the print, web, and local crap. In other words too many commentators attempting to create a story.

  19. westwolf 10/25/2006 at 11:29 AM #

    ^Excellent analysis.

  20. bTHEredterror 11/07/2006 at 1:58 AM #

    I don’t even think Bush is Rookie of the Year on his own team. Marques Colston, a 7th round pick by the way, has 44 rec. 700 yds, and 7 TD’s. Dwarfing the Messiah quite drastically. Reggie is a solid player with great speed, but I fear his style will lend itself to injury on this level.
    I see improvement in the Texans D, commensurate with a young unit learning on the job. And Mario is making plays, let the hucksters spend ten years saying “there’s your guy”. Cuz they will!

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