“Super Mario” needs to start progressing in live action

By Connor Byrne  |   Wednesday, August 16, 2006  |  Comments( 1 )

Houston Texans
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In his NFL debut last Saturday against the Kansas City Chiefs, Houston Texans rookie defensive end Mario Williams was quiet. The No. 1 overall pick finished the evening with just one assisted tackle, and never got near Chiefs quarterbacks. After the 6-foot-7, 295-pounder's lackluster effort, many are already quick to call him a bust. While that may be ridiculous, it's the way some think in this "produce now" football world we live in.

Williams, a left end, had the opportunity of facing little-known right tackle Kevin Sampson in Houston's matchup with Kansas City. Sampson was thrown into the Chiefs' starting lineup only after left tackle Willie Roaf and right tackle John Welbourn abruptly retired this summer, leaving reserve right-side veteran Kyle Turley to move left, plugging Sampson in on the right. Thus, it's easy to understand why so many are disappointed in Williams' weak effort in his opening game, since Sampson's played in just 10 contests with only one start in his two-year career.

This Saturday the Texans will play their second exhibition game, this time against the St. Louis Rams. And when it comes to Williams, it's his chance to prove vast amounts of detractors wrong, many of whom are already questioning him as the top pick. When Saints running back Reggie Bush, the No. 2 choice, rushed for 59 yards in his debut last week, it only added fuel to the anti-Williams fire.

The right tackle matching up with Williams to start in this weekend's game will be Alex Barron, a second-year man out of Florida State. St. Louis used the 19th overall choice on Barron in the 2005 draft, but he left plenty to be desired in his rookie campaign. The 6-7, 320-pounder has all kinds of talent to go with his size; however, he took a whopping 16 penalties and allowed 5.75 sacks in 11 starts last year.

Much like Williams, Barron has more than enough to prove, leaving their duel this week as one worthy of keeping a close eye on. Williams is drawing ire in Texas, while Barron has taken the brunt of frustration from Rams fans when it comes to their offensive line. But since Williams was picked with the top choice in the entire draft, it's him who needs to step up most.

Given Williams' talent, size and speed, the odds of him becoming a relatively successful pass rusher in the pros are good. However, at some point in the near future the former North Carolina State superstar needs to develop confidence that he can take on big-league tackles. Saturday's a good place for him to start getting in the face of opposing QBs, mainly Marc Bulger.

"I have a lot to learn," Williams said after last Saturday's letdown. "I was moving up and down the ball. I'm used to just coming off the edge and it's a lot different here."

The learning period started last week, No. 90. It's probably a good time to start producing.

--Connor J. Byrne can be reached at cbyrne@realfootball365.com.

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