I think a lot of us owe Texans defensive end Mario Williams an apology. No one in professional sports was a bigger target for the "bust" label because he was selected ahead of two of the most dynamic players in the history of college football.
And quite honestly, he stunk up the joint his rookie season. Yes, I know he had a painful foot injury, but that's not what made him look so awkward and out of place on the field. Hashmarks supporter and Texans defensive coordinator Richard Smith now admits that he threw too much at Williams early in his career.
When he moved inside to play defensive tackle in some situations, Williams was a non-factor. Smith decided to simplify things for Williams and keep him at one spot.
Now, Williams is starting to resemble the dominating player he was rumored to be coming out of North Carolina State. He had 3 1/2 sacks against the Broncos last night to bring his season total to 13. Columnists in Houston are even talking Pro Bowl this morning.
Williams is learning to trust his instincts. When I arrived at the Texans' training camp last summer, a few of his teammates were still worried about him. In the middle of practice, veteran defensive end N.D. Kalu would look over and see Williams practicing his steps.
"You have to stop listening to so many people and just play," Kalu told him at the time.
I'm not ready to say the Texans made the right decision in selecting Williams, but the pick is looking less and less disastrous all the time.
