DGDB&D: a Texans blog.

Sure, but what does Anna-Megan think?

Aug 1, 2007 Houston Chronicle, Preview, Super Mario, Training camp 2007

I’ve made no secret of (and taken plenty of flak for) my support of the Mario Williams pick. From real-life friends telling me I was a fool¹ to internet strangers emailing me to ask if I was being paid by the Texans to say that Mario was double-teamed last year², I often feel like I have a harder PR job than Tony Snow.

Of course, unlike Snow³, there is still time for my subject to carve out a positive place in history.⁴ If the preseason talk is to be believed, that’s exactly what Mario is trying to do.

According to Richard Justice, Mario showed up to camp 10 pounds lighter and ready to play one position–right defensive end. Based on how he worked through the offseason, Kubiak and Co. have high hopes for this year and beyond.

‘It was extremely important what he did this offseason,’ Kubiak said. ‘If he wasn’t our best worker, he was up at the top. He has done everything he needs to do. If he keeps working the way he’s working, I think the sky’s the limit. The key to him being a Pro Bowler is how good we get this football team around him. I think we’re headed in the right direction.’

Of course, in typical Justice fashion, Dick also gets in a dig, saying “[t]he Texans surely understand they blew the pick. They’ve essentially admitted that with the change at quarterback.”

But what if they didn’t blow the pick? What if Mario really is as good as we all think (hope?) he can be? He has certainly shown flashes already this preseason. (Bonus: If you watch the video in that link, you get to hear some of Morlon Greenwood’s Jamaican accent near the end. Awesome.)

But although Williams may be lean, he was not mean enough on Monday, according to coach Gary Kubiak.

‘We need to get him mad more often, because he made some progress today,’ Kubiak said. ‘I know Jethro (Franklin) and them were disappointed with his practice yesterday, and they let him know that. He came out here this morning, and he was a different guy.’

As for Franklin, the team’s defensive line coach, he certainly knows that an angry Williams is one scary sight for opposing offenses.

‘I wouldn’t want to mess with him when he’s on the field, that’s for sure, and I get after him every day,’ Franklin said.

Then again, just like Steph said, we tend to look for what we want to see in life. This goes double in camp, I would imagine. John McClain took time away from touching himself on camera to chime in with this entry in the training camp blog.

One day after he looked like Reggie White for a few plays in practice, defensive end Mario Williams suffered a hamstring injury. The coaches pulled him out of practice. Coach Gary Kubiak wanted to make sure that everyone knew it was the Texans’ decision to take out Williams — not Super Mario asking to come out. [...]

The one thing we do know about Williams — other than God gifted him like few others — is that he’ll play hurt. He played the second half of last season with a painful foot injury, despite not being able to practice.

The truth is that Williams is still inconsistent. To get him angry as the coaches did in Tuesday’s practice, perhaps they should play that YouTube video over and over.

Oh, John… you are a funny, funny man. And so full of insight into “the truth.” Of course, if I am guilty of looking only to the silver linings, then McClain is just as guilty of finding the surrounding storm clouds. I mean, he says himself that Mario looked good yesterday and then got banged up today. Getting a tight hamstring has nothing to do with consistency on the field, at least not in the manner McClain suggests. (I realize that preaching logic and cause-effect to Chron writers is likely a fool’s errand.)

So… what now? Well, we are week into camp. Mario has shown flashes of pure dominance. He’s shown moments of lapse. He has been nicked up, just like all the other players at this point. So, I suppose the only conclusion we can reach is that we still have no more insight into how good Mario will be.

What we are starting to see, though, is how good he can be. The good news is that both he and the coaches are working double-time to make “will” and “can” meet, starting September 9, 2007.⁵

¹ Thanks, Ren.
² This actually happened two days ago.
³ Still talking about the White House Press Secretary and not the Informer…a licky boom-boom down guy.
⁴ This ends any semblance of political discussion on DGDB&D. Seriously.
⁵ To make things easier for Mario, let’s also hope that Reggie Bush starts hanging out with Odell Thurman and Vince falls victim to the Madden Curse. Call it hedging our bets.