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April 26, 2006

Mario Williams = Super Freak?

Mario Williams was an excellent player at NC State. A big, gifted defensive lineman who was among the best players in the league at his position.

But was he this good? A better athlete than Vince Young? A better prospect than Julius Peppers was? A talent not seen "in years?"

Wow. I guess that explains why he was the ACC Defensive Player of the Year, right? And why he led the All-ACC voting for defensive lineman, right? It makes sense that Williams, who shared the line with fellow studs John McCargo and Manny Lawson (as well as Stephen Tulloch and Marcus Hudson in the backfield), led NC State to the nation's #1 defense, right?

If you followed those links above, you'll see (as if you couldn't guess) that was being a bit sarcastic. As good as Williams was in college, he wasn't that good. He wasn't as good as other guys in the ACC this year and he wasn't nearly the player that Julius Peppers was at UNC. Super Mario may well have a fantastic NFL career, but teams would do well to look more closely at actual on-field performance than at measurements and times at the combine.

Comments
 
(1) by acchalfbreed (unregistered) on 04/29/2006 08:42 pm
"Should we be praising N.C. State coach Chuck Amato as a defensive genius or cirticizing him as a guy who's team really under-achieved? Think about it — N.C. State barely made a bowl game last year, and yet, they have three of the top 27 picks in the draft. Something doesn't add up. Chuck Amato's Oakley sunglasses look, though, erases any doubts about him as a man. Those shades are the best accessory worn on an adult not named Flavor Flav." - Comment made by one of the Fox sportscasters keeping a Draft blogg.

Despite your sarcasm, maybe the point is valid. Could the players at NCSU be this good and the coach this bad? Maybe you need to be preparing your next post entitled "The Following People Are Better Coaches and ARE Available for NC State Football Next Year".

 
(2) by Dave on 04/29/2006 10:45 pm
acchalfbreed wrote:
"Should we be praising N.C. State coach Chuck Amato as a defensive genius or cirticizing him as a guy who's team really under-achieved? Think about it — N.C. State barely made a bowl game last year, and yet, they have three of the top 27 picks in the draft. Something doesn't add up. Chuck Amato's Oakley sunglasses look, though, erases any doubts about him as a man. Those shades are the best accessory worn on an adult not named Flavor Flav." - Comment made by one of the Fox sportscasters keeping a Draft blogg.

Despite your sarcasm, maybe the point is valid. Could the players at NCSU be this good and the coach this bad? Maybe you need to be preparing your next post entitled "The Following People Are Better Coaches and ARE Available for NC State Football Next Year".


Honestly, I've been trying to not write too many negative NC State posts recently. It's just that with the way their basketball season ended, the overhyped bravado about the basketball position after Sendek left, the endless steam of coaches passing on the job and now this curious draft day, it just seems very easy to write stuff that pokes fun at the Pack. I guess it's just their turn.

 
(3) Tell the truth by acchalfbreed (unregistered) on 04/30/2006 08:14 am
I can appreciate your reluctance, but you've got to call a herring a herring. Especially Wolfpack Red ones. And I think it might be time to start a new thread dealing with the topic of Wolfpack expectations. Our bretheren at NC State have a great fan base, but are they seeing their version of life through "red" colored glasses? It seems to me a peculiarly slanted pair at that...

Herb Sendeck -- strong winning record... "He's keeping us from achieving our potential"
Chuck Amato -- strongly questioned record... "He's such a great coach"

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Posted by Dave at April 26, 2006 12:20 PM | TrackBack

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