Mario Williams officially gone

[NY2Katy]

Originally Posted by David Dollar

I know this is gonna be an unpopular statement, but I would like to get rid of Andre Johnson and pick up a pair of good receivers. He has missed parts of 3 out of the past 5 seasons.

Yeah very unpopular, Andre Johnson is a special player.

[MIBS98]

Originally Posted by NY2Katy

Before he got injured, didn't he have something like 6 sacks in 5 games? When healthy he is arguably the best defensive player in the game. And the 'best defense ever' comment was due to a new scheme not necessarily personnel.

5 sacks in 5 games. As always, however, stats only tell part of the story. He had two sacks against a horrid Colts team in the opener. He then went two straight games with no sacks (against Miami and New Orleans). Finally, he racked up 2 sacks against the Steelers and 1 against Oakland.

To be honest, I was surprised that he had 5 sacks. In the 3-4 system, lining up at OLB I found him to be pretty quiet for long stretches. I didn't even think he had that many sacks.

Anyway, it is a big loss. However, the defense performed without him. Whether it was down to system or personnel is largely irrelevant. If the defense plays as well this coming season as it did last season, then he won't really be missed. The way I look at it is it was either Foster or Williams. Couldn't keep them both. Coming off of last season I'd take Foster over Williams.

[DiverTodd62]

Originally Posted by NY2Katy

Before he got injured, didn't he have something like 6 sacks in 5 games? When healthy he is arguably the best defensive player in the game. And the 'best defense ever' comment was due to a new scheme not necessarily personnel.

When you get down to it, what exactly is a sack worth? Unless it results in a turnover it is essentially a 5-10 yard loss, about on par with a holding penalty. You can make up for the sacks by playing smarter. Besides, it doesn't really matter *who* gets the sack. Did the Texans average fewer sacks per game with him out?

[David Dollar]

Originally Posted by NY2Katy

Before he got injured, didn't he have something like 6 sacks in 5 games? When healthy he is arguably the best defensive player in the game. And the 'best defense ever' comment was due to a new scheme not necessarily personnel.

Really? He isn't even arguably the best defensive player in the game. You can argue top 10 maybe. He is even only a 2 time pro bowler. His production has declined every year since the 2007 season.

[14Bricks]

Originally Posted by MIBS98

5 sacks in 5 games. As always, however, stats only tell part of the story. He had two sacks against a horrid Colts team in the opener. He then went two straight games with no sacks (against Miami and New Orleans). Finally, he racked up 2 sacks against the Steelers and 1 against Oakland.

To be honest, I was surprised that he had 5 sacks. In the 3-4 system, lining up at OLB I found him to be pretty quiet for long stretches. I didn't even think he had that many sacks.

Anyway, it is a big loss. However, the defense performed without him. Whether it was down to system or personnel is largely irrelevant. If the defense plays as well this coming season as it did last season, then he won't really be missed. The way I look at it is it was either Foster or Williams. Couldn't keep them both. Coming off of last season I'd take Foster over Williams.

Originally Posted by David Dollar

Really? He isn't even arguably the best defensive player in the game. You can argue top 10 maybe. He is even only a 2 time pro bowler. His production has declined every year since the 2007 season.

I was going to respond, but they pretty much said what I was going to say. Mario is lazy player. He's had a reputation ever since college as a player who takes plays off. Buffalo can have him. Some of you people are acting like this guy was the next Reggie white.