Thread: Pat Willliams named TMQ's All-Unwanted Player of the Year

[size=18pt]Tuesday Morning Quarterback 2007 All-Unwanted Player of the Year: Defensive Tackle Pat Williams, Minnesota[/size]

A juco transfer, Williams started only 15 games in college, then went undrafted. In his rookie season, he was waived twice from the Buffalo practice squad. Williams did not start a game until his fourth season, and few (non-quarterback) players who are struggling are kept around so long, even at the league-minimum salary. Williams became a starter midway through 2002, when Buffalo was ranked 29th against the rush. The next season, the first full year for Williams, the Bills jumped to eighth against the rush. The following season, Buffalo jumped to seventh. Williams' contract was up, and his agent offered to re-sign him with the Bills for a $5 million bonus, low for a quality NFL starter. But crafty, canny, cagey Tom Donahoe, then Buffalo's general manager, declared Williams washed up and made no offer. Williams signed with Minnesota, where he often is confused with fellow Vikings defensive tackle Kevin Williams.

The season before Pat Williams arrived, Minnesota was No. 21 against the run. The next season, it rose to 19th, then rose to first, where the Vikings have remained for two seasons, with Pat Williams anchoring the run defense and earning two consecutive Pro Bowl trips to Honolulu. Oh, and the year after Buffalo, then seventh against the run, let Williams go? The Bills fell to 29th against the run, and they have remained near the bottom since. With Buffalo posting consecutive 7-9 seasons in which the Bills haven't been able to stop the run, had everything about the Bills been the same in 2006 and 2007 except they had not given Pat Williams the boot, Buffalo might have made a couple of playoff appearances.

Note: According to the Vikings' official roster, Williams weighs 317 pounds. And if you believe that, I have some securitized subprime mortgages I'd like to sell you.

Very nice drop......

This shows that the Randy Moss trade wasn't all for naught. It freed up a considerable amount of money and our defense is way better because of it, with Williams being a great find. People so often say "we got Williamson, Napo, and Chandler Williams, horrible trade!" but one of the reasons to get rid of a guy like that is to free up cap room to make the team better off as a whole. Skol!

"Marrdro" wrote:

Very nice drop......

Kluwe also makes the 1st team.

=Z=

"audioghost" wrote:

This shows that the Randy Moss trade wasn't all for naught. It freed up a considerable amount of money and our defense is way better because of it, with Williams being a great find. People so often say "we got Williamson, Napo, and Chandler Williams, horrible trade!" but one of the reasons to get rid of a guy like that is to free up cap room to make the team better off as a whole. Skol!

Have the vikings been close to the cap in recent years? It seems like they are always 20 million under, anyone know where to find that info?

washed up indeed.