[Chron] Mario Williams making move to outside linebacker

this sounds kinda badass

 

"After we talked about it and looked at everything again, we decided Mario's got to be the guy," Phillips said. "Once we determined that, it changed what our thinking was in the draft."

J.J. Watt explained?

 

Love this move. This is the kind of impact move our defense needed!

 

Good luck with that. Mario stinks from a stand-up position. At least he is saying all the right things. Oh and Mario is no Demarcus Ware. At least the draft picks make more sense now. Screams desperation move to me which I guess after 9 years of no playoffs, they are desperate. As much as Mario gets ripped for not living up to his potential, he is the only sure thing on the defense, and you are immediately making him uncomfortable. That makes no sense to me.

 

Why are you presuming that Mario is uncomfortable right after acknowledging that Mario himself is fine with it? We finally have a real Defensive Coordinator but we give no faith in him. Obviously Kubiak has no say in the defensive schemes. Lets give Phillips the benefit of the doubt. He has a track record of success as a DC.

 

On the brightside, the defense cannot get any worse. I think he will be great at it. It's not like Ware is asked to cover Dallas Clark. That's what a decent strong safety, with competent coverage skills, will be used for.
Mario will still get in his old stance more than half the time.

I haven't seen people freak out this much since YAO was going to be reduced to being vlade divac status when Rick go the job. Oh my how time flies.

 

Cornerback is the most urgent position of need, why don't we start Mario at CB?

 

Because Mario said as much at the end of last season. I still have the audio. Mario is saying the right things because he is in a contract season. I'm glad he's not whining, but that doesn't mean I think it's a great idea.

 

Conclusion 1: Wade and his guys had a long look at the tape and determined Mario would not work at 3-4 end.

Conclusion 2: Mario is too good of a player to simply get rid of because he doesn't fit the scheme.

Conclusion 3: Wade decided to try him out as a rushing LB, because if he can't do that, then he probably can't start for this team. Who wants a 50+ million-dollar player who only comes in for 3rd downs?

If you want to criticize the move, then realize that among all the statements above, probably #2 is least true. Meaning we might have to trade Mario sometime down the line due to lack of fit. Before that time, however, it may be worth it to see if he does have some utility at the Ware position. He may not be fast enough, but he sure as hell could bull rush just about anyone he'd be lining up against.

 

Mario can play the 3-4 DE. He won't like it though. Mario is too good a player to lose when you can play him in a position he likes.

 

Conclusion 4: Wade thinks he's an awesome coach and can make anyone good at their position. AKA The Gary Kubiak argument to resign David Carr.

 

My observation... since drafting Mario, we moved him around on the front line (and that experiment failed, so they stopped it), we reduced the number of stunts, and now that we started to get at least more consistent production from him, we are now moving him to OLB and having him stand up most of the time.

The earlier moves seemed to be focused on simplifying things for him, but hopefully he has matured so that changes don't overcomplicate what he needs to do (and this move seems to address that by saying "95% of the time he will simply speed rush the passer").

Hopefully this move also helps on Mario's other problem... durability. And the draft picks seem to suggest the Texans are hedging their bets a bit (Watts filling his previous role, and Reed protecting his new role).

 

I don't understand this at all. Mario Williams would be very good weakside DE in a 3-4. He's a better natural fit for a 4-3, but he'll still be great. He'll be a serviceable pass rusher from the WOLB position, but that's the only part of the position he'll be able to play well. Now, if he's going to be down on the line 80% of the time and keyed in on the quarterback, why even run a 3-4?

 

Phillips has admitted that his 3-4 plays more like a 4-3, and that he has actually played 4-3 in the past when it better fit his personnel, due to LB injuries and such. I'd say the reason we are still calling it a "3-4" is because of the added versatility it can bring on passing downs. (ie Drop Mario to DE, Watt to NT, bring in Reed who can either rush or cover)

 

This is starting the end of Mario's career...Mario doesnt have the motor to be that kind of OLB...

 

If that's all it is, I'm okay with it. I'm all for more packages and versatility. Many of the great defenses do that. I've seen the Patriots run everything from 0 - 7 linemen. But Mario Williams in coverage would be a bad idea generally.

 

It's a shame that that is so true. The middle of the field is WIDE OPEN now. Bobby better open up for a decent Safety.

 

We'll get eaten alive in the short passing game.

But what else is new?

 

I like it. Dude is 6'7". Watts is close to the same height. That's a lot of height and athleticism to have to throw screen passes over.