Vikings' Pat Williams: Coming soon to a backfield near you
[size=10pt]Vikings' Pat Williams: Coming soon to a backfield near you[/size]
http://www.startribune.com/510/story/701458.html
Thomas Jones couldn't possibly have seen it coming. Otherwise, he would have ducked. Right? After all, if you saw Pat Williams running at you, his right arm locked and loaded, wouldn't you dive to the turf, safely and happily, with your 2-yard gain?
Jones was not so lucky; the Chicago tailback absorbed a brutish clothesline tackle in the fourth quarter Sunday at the Metrodome. Although the Vikings ended the afternoon with a 19-16 loss, the play marked another example of Williams' successful transition to a new defensive scheme that some NFL observers had suggested would not match his strengths.
Williams once again is a force along the defensive line, helping the Vikings hold opponents to 87 yards rushing per game -- good for 11th-best in the NFL. He continues to overpower centers and guards, ranking second among Vikings linemen with 13 tackles. And a month before his 34th birthday, Williams even was credited with two quarterback hurries against the Bears.
As he prepares for his return Sunday to Buffalo, where he played his first eight seasons, Williams has never played better.
"I think everybody is playing good," Williams said Monday. "This defense, we just get upfield all the time. That's all we do. Just get into the backfield. I love the defense we're playing. It's basically, 'Go get them.' "
Williams could not always express such unmitigated enthusiasm while playing in Buffalo, which had five losing seasons and no playoff victories in his tenure there. He grew disgusted with the team's direction under former General Manager Tom Donohoe, in essence telling the Bills midway through 2004 that he planned to leave via free agency after the season.
The Bills did not make the playoffs under Donohoe, compiling the fourth-worst record in the NFL (31-49) during his tenure.
"They did everything wrong there," Williams said. "They got rid of all their good players. That's the same reason why [Donohoe] got fired by the Steelers. He would never sign his guys back down there, either. He was doing the same thing he did in Pittsburgh when he was up in Buffalo, messing everything up. He spent five years there, and messed it up for five years more.
"They were trying to sign me during the season, but it was just hot garbage," Williams added. "I told them, 'Don't worry about it.' I'm just going to play this out and see what happens."
The Bills fired Donohoe and coach Mike Mularkey after the season, replacing them with Marv Levy and Dick Jauron, respectively. Levy's return has softened Williams' feelings about the organization, however; Levy was Williams' first coach when he signed with Buffalo as an undrafted free agent in 1997.
"It's just going to be another game for me," Williams said. "I won't have any hard feelings there. If those other guys were there still, I'd have hard feelings. Donohoe and all those guys. It was a joke there. That's why none of those guys are still there.
"They've got Marv Levy there now, and I respect Marv. He was my coach when I first got there. I love Marv. He's trying to change stuff up there, and their main focus is trying to get everything back rolling down there."
Williams, meanwhile, never stopped rolling after producing an All-Pro caliber performance in 2005. This season, Williams has proved he can play the Vikings' new one-gap defensive scheme as well as he played their two-gap in 2005.
The Bills figure to challenge that strength with running back Willis McGahee, who ran for 150 yards in their 28-20 loss to the N.Y. Jets and leads the NFL with 311 rushing yards.
"It looks like they're trying to run the ball and get it up in there," Williams said. "But we're just going to go out there and play smash-mouth football. It doesn't matter what scheme you're going against. I don't listen to any of that. It doesn't matter what they're doing or who they're playing. I go out there and go straight ahead. I don't worry about anything else."
Re: Vikings' Pat Williams: Coming soon to a backfield near you
"ultravikingfan" wrote:
Quote:
[size=10pt]Vikings' Pat Williams: Coming soon to a backfield near you[/size]
http://www.startribune.com/510/story/701458.html
The Bills fired Donohoe and coach Mike Mularkey after the season, replacing them with Marv Levy and slick willy Jauron, respectively. Levy's return has softened Williams' feelings about the organization, however; Levy was Williams' first coach when he signed with Buffalo as an undrafted free agent in 1997.
did anybody else laugh when they saw that? or am i just rediculously immature?
Re: Vikings' Pat Williams: Coming soon to a backfield near you
I know this article was posted Sunday night or I would have posted it yesterday when I saw it, but I can't find the other one now.
Re: Vikings' Pat Williams: Coming soon to a backfield near you
"olson_10" wrote:
Quote:
"ultravikingfan" wrote:
Quote:
[size=10pt]Vikings' Pat Williams: Coming soon to a backfield near you[/size]
http://www.startribune.com/510/story/701458.html
The Bills fired Donohoe and coach Mike Mularkey after the season, replacing them with Marv Levy and slick willy Jauron, respectively. Levy's return has softened Williams' feelings about the organization, however; Levy was Williams' first coach when he signed with Buffalo as an undrafted free agent in 1997.
did anybody else laugh when they saw that? or am i just rediculously immature?
No, I laughed myself.. I thought at first they were giving him a nickname, then I realized it was the profanity filter..
Slick Willy Jauron.. that is priceless..
