Why would you trade down when you have 2 cant miss prospects and Mario Williams? Trading down would be a disaster, unless you are getting something ridiculous in return, which wasnt gonna happen.
Of course, but you dont pass on Hakeem to get a few pieces. You have to have your studs...and at the time, there were 3 studs to choose from.
different sport. I would have traded, taken vy then mario. Bush was way down on the list. The one argument against trading that I definitely can understand is that it would have just given casserly more picks to screw up. At least he didn't pick bush
Good find: http://sports.aol.com/fanhouse/2007...ologizes-to-mario-williams-for-irresponsible/ Lately, journalists have criticized bloggers for being overly emotional and non-factual (Bill Conlin) and for "wrecklessness" (Steven A. Smith's spelling, not mine). Ultimately, I believe that neither bloggers or journalists have a monopoly on truth and responsibility. We are all just humans, with our own biases and blindspots and emotions and often deadlines, and that you judge the quality of writing not based on what someone's profession is, but rather on the content of what they are saying. On a recent PTI, Tony Kornheiser and Mike Wilbon asked the question who deserves a bigger apology: Chargers head coach Norv Turner or Texans defensive end Mario Williams? And they came down on the side of Williams, noting that people called him a bust before he even had put on an NFL jersey: Ultimately, I don't know what type of career Mario Williams will ultimately have. But what I do know is that our society is subject to group think and hype. And that the mainstream media as a whole did Mario Williams and the fans a disservice when they didn't even provide even basic information about him when he was drafted. Certainly more people probably heard the criticism of the 2006 draft pick because he wasn't Reggie Bush or Vince Young, than will ever hear media types apologizing for calling him an instant bust. Personally, I find that some of the most irresponsible reporting of the 2006 draft came from the Houston Chronicle. Most national media sources rely on local media to get a feel for local teams. Houston is a one newspaper town, and that newspaper's staff was very angry that neither Vince Young or Reggie Bush were chosen by the Texans. It's fine for a columnist to dislike a draft pick. Columnists form opinions, that's what they do. What is irresponsible is for an entire newspaper not to provide even basic information about that pick so that fans can learn about a player they aren't familiar with and decide for themselves. The Chronicle didn't provide any history of Williams' college career, or talk with the players and coaches from his team and I am pretty certain that none of the columnists watched him play an entire game. Basically, all they discussed his physical size and freakish athletic ability, so most fans were left with the impression that he was just a combine wonder, even though he had a great college career coming out as a true junior and was likely going to be picked #2 by the Saints. If you want to know more about how incomplete and unfair the Chronicle reporting was on this issue, and would like to read the types of information that fans might have wanted to know about Mario Williams at the time, I suggest checking out this blog post I wrote after the draft entitled "The ultimate Mario Williams compendium." (My byline is no longer on the piece, but I wrote it. The pompous title was meant as a minor joke). In November 2007, after Gary Kubiak kept praising Mario Williams performances, Chronicle columnist Richard Justice suggested that Williams "is doing a great impersonation of a sixth rounder." This absurd opinion is no surprise given that after Williams' third game in the NFL, Justice invited his blog readers to come up with derogatory nicknames for the rookie. Richard Justice finally sorta-kinda-not really apologized this week--in a blog post and in two small paragraphs at the end of a column. Justice even admitted that he was wrong in stating that Williams couldn' t play in an email exchange with the blogger from the Texans-focused DGDB&D site who writes particularly nasty things about Justice (link vulgarity warning). Jerome Solomon of the Houston Chronicle recently discussed this roller coaster view of Mario Williams and Texans by "the media" (though the description of the Mario Williams talk as "he's a bust-he's a Pro Bowler" really fits the other Chronicle columnists more than the media in general). The local media wasn't alone in providing an incomplete picture of Williams as he came into the league and wanting to call him an immediate bust. ESPN had a cover story on Williams right after the draft that spent more time updating readers of what notorious draft busts of history were doing than it did talking about Williams' background. As this is a sports blog, it is worth stating that Mario Williams, now that he is healthy this season and understanding the game better, is having a really good 2007. It's clear that he is still learning, but with 9 1/2 sacks so far and being solid against the run, you can see how teams are game planning for him. But as to the bigger issue of trying to find reality through the hype, I don't want to bash Richard Justice or the media in general. If you write enough words, you are likely going to write a few you wish you could take back. I just think that the 2006 draft is a cautionary tale about how excessive hype can lead to people seeing what they want to see, ignoring what doesn't fit their thesis, and overhyping or dogpiling people depending on what the popular point of view is at that particular moment based on limited information. We as readers and viewers of news, sports or otherwise, from any source have to use our own judgment to figure out if we are getting the complete story, or just something silly to generate page views. (Or to tell tales on myself, this silly link). I like reading my newspapers and watching my ESPN SportsCenter and listening to my sports talk radio, so consider my minor media review of the 2006 draft as not just criticism for the sake of criticism. I think it can serve as an object lesson and plea for the mainstream media and for bloggers to keep looking for truth among all the hype, and for all of us to be critical viewers, readers and listeners.
Mario was considered a top 3 pick at the time. It would have been unlikely for the Texans to trade down and still be able to draft him.
I really don't think Mario was treated unfairly by the local media. The only thing that may have been unfair was the lack of reporting on his injury. as far as hype is concerned, what reggie bush and vince young did in college was real. vince young coming into the draft had arguably the best game ever by any player in a national championship game. Reggie's all around game in college was just ridiculous. I never bought into the bush hype but I do understand why it was there. so yeah there was a lot of hype but it was based in substance. Mario, as college player, was not as accomplished. that's not the chronicle's fault. and believe me, I don't defend the chronicle often.
There, fixed. Mario did a lot of "real" things in college. And let's face it. If Mario was on the UT or USC roster, he would be getting a lot of run in the media leading up to the draft, instead of going into the draft as a relative unknown.
That is not calling a spade a spade--that is homerism against him. He was a slam dunk OROY at the most difficult position to adjust to as a newby. He gave life to a Titans offense which had been lifeless for about 20 games before he took over. Because he isn't as impactfull this year does not diminish what he did last year. Without him they don't win at least 4 games they did win last year. To say otherwise means you payed more attention to stats than watching the course of games.
Today in Sportscenter they said that the Mario Williams pick, was a good one, and deserves to be no. 1, they were comparing with Reggie Bush. I cant believe that they give credit to Mario, above of Reggie. Good for them
If Vince Young had the bad stats but didnt have the help from the defensive and special teams scores with the same results more would share your sentiment. Look up Shaun King who quarterbacked the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the last 6 games of the 99 regular season, and into the play-offs. Some Buc fans thought he was "just a winner" but when you really broke it down, the Bucs could have won many of those games withOUT a QB. The defense was incredible back then. When he got a chance to start in 2000, he didnt win nearly as much, and was making similar bad plays to VY. Sure the Bucs were winning games(10-6), but there is a reason they went after a better QB in 2001. QB was a weakness that was covered up by the defense. Vince Young has a better arm than King, better feet than King, though the head is up for debate. The only thing they have in common is bad to average QB play on a team with a stifling defense and a better than average running game. Too bad King didnt have a team he could get up for that passed on him in the draft to pad his stats....
Jones-Drew wasn't a sentimental favorite who had a big game against the team that snubbed him. IMO he won ROY after that game.
You may very well be right, but that doesn't change the fact that an argument could be made that MJD was more deserving of the award.
My take falls along the lines of meh and pgabs on this ... Two factors: 1. The utter ridiculous National Championship game with Texas vs USC. VY because he played unlike anyone I have ever seen on the collegiate stage. Truly he looked like a man amongst boys. Bush because he showed flashes of brilliance and we became somewhat entranced by that. 2. Mario came from NC State? Not exactly a collegiate powerhouse. Not on ABC/ESPN week after week. Add in some questionable opinions saying Mario was overrated and had a questionable work ethic and everyone's thinking ... ****! Courtney Brown, Andre Wadsworth all over AGAIN! What? Who's Mario Williams? No one is asking this question anymore and frankly most QB's and OL's are NOW very concerned with the constant whereabouts of SUPERMARIO! Yeah, there I said it ... In conclusion, Mario was unfairly tried in the court of popular opinion by the media and the fans before we largely even let him play down a snap. Through all this, Mario has never whined to coaches, teammates, or the media. He's shown incredible poise and determination when all but his manhood was virtually put into question. Mario merits and deserves OUR respect! Mario is the embodiment of what it means to be a TEXAN!
