Fake-Fat Sunny Posted December 27, 2005 Posted December 27, 2005 No, he doesn't totally lack hart (IMHO). However, he does fall short in the football heart category in that he is not tough and driven enough to become one of the best players at his position or to do even an adequate job with out a lot of help and guidance. I think folks have to wrong when they look to blame this ALL on MW if it means they are going to let the coaching staff off the hook completely on this. MW strikes me as having the physical ability as a player to be a good RT certainly and probably an adequate LT as well. He has shown with a good performance for a rookie his first year and when he turned things around from his near meltdown in "voluntary" camp last year that with proper leadership on the team (he was world's better with Villarial steadying him than us foolishly asking this troubled player to school Pacillo next to him). In addition, proper management by his position coach (JMac did a much better job managing him last year than Vinky or Ruel added to his game his first two years). However, I think folks have a not unreasonable expectation that a player who merits a #4 pick and who gets the huge contract this slot commands would be a bit more self-motvated than mW demonstrated. While I do not think that the real world occurences in fact do indicate he is more than a total loss as a player: A. He showed good achievement as a youth in college and this obviously does not guarantee success but does count for something. B. He showed good production and growth up to the level of being a pro rather than a "mere" college player as a rookie and this also is not near enough for a #4 choice but does count for something. C. Losing the Grammy who raised him as a Mom is a real world blow and it is more than understandable it was a set back for him. However, while understandable it is not condonable as he is an adult, he is paid the big bucks and the deal was his teammates and the city was depending upon hi. I don't fault him fpr having a hard time, but he can be easily and legitimatelly faulted for not dealing with this tough situation in a more professional manner which his teammates and the region deserved. D. He did make a nice comeback from this meltdown however as by the end of the season many felt he was the best lineman on the Bills (which may not be saying much given the quality of our OL players. E. Impressively, he appaently did report to camp this year in the best shape he had been in and showing the signs of a self-motivated workout regime this off-season. However, with the bad break of an injury marred initial start, MW simply did not produce well enough to maintain the fiath of the braintrust and his teammates in him. He has used up all his chits last year and when the situation did not go well for him with injuries this year and the team was in the middle of a meltdown itse;f, rather than take the time to help MW out and through his woes, his colleagues and Bills fans simply moved on to devote their time and attention to other problem. I don't think one has to worry about MW at all. With his #4 slotted contract the boy has already taken in enough cash that with reasonable prudent fiscal mamagement he will be set financially for like. In addition, he is still a young player at a premium NFL position who part of his problems were certainly poor training and development by his coahes (particularly Vinky and Ruel his first two years. I think the Bills will be forced to cut him this off-season rather than pay him the contract we agreed to pay him if he is a Bill next year. It appears to me that both CBA rules which restrict his pay from being cut to a reasonable level for a Guard (and it is no done deal he can make the switch successfully there for the Bills). It also looks like it would be dumb for the Bills to sign up for additinal years of MW by extending him in order to right size the payment due him in 2006. Thus, i think the most likely scenario is that: A. We cut him and the final amount of bonus he has already been paid accelerate into a one year cap hit for the Bills. This approximately $5.5 million in dead space is a bad thing, but it is better than the $10.+ million in cap space he takes up if we keep him. I don;t think he can even agree to a cap hit of less than $7,5 million if he took a simple pay cut and I cannot see it being intelligent for us to extend his contract and give him more money but prorate this bonus to lower his 3006 cap hit. B. MW hits the free market and probably gets evem more riches from his new team MW is a young player whose orginal position coaches were idiots (Vinky and Ruwl). With good breaks with injury as happened last year, he and the Bills demonstrate that with good management (the sticks and carrots of JMac) and a solid RG next to him (Villarial) he can be productive. My sense is that he should be able to shop for the right fit and can sign an incentive laden contract geared toward him commanding a starting job that will give him an NFL minimum cap hit (and nothing more if he fails) but reqards hium handsomely if he catches on and does the job for his new team. I blame MW a lot as ultimately each player is responsible for his play. However, i think it lets the Bills managment off the hook completely for piss-poor player development if one attempts to only blame MW and sites a lack of heart as the key reasons for him being an almost certain bust as a Bill. MW deserves a lot of the blame (not that you would notice him being blamed due to the huge contract he signed), but right up there with him is A. TD for hiring GW (over Fox or Lewis), B. GW for not having the offensive chops to be an HC and hiring the fired Sheppard to make up for his failings, GW for condemning MW and the whole OL to Vinky's not-ready-for-primetime OL coaching leadership. C. GW for advicating we take Kevin Killdrive as the Sheppard replacement. D. TD for letting GW have his choice (TD's reported choice at the time Clements has his own problems but I think he would have been better than Killdrive). TD seemed to be more interested in creating a world where he was protected from a firing like the one Cowher engineered in Pitts by him aceeding to GW failures as long as GW took the hit and not him. E. GW by not managing Killdrive effectively and forcing him to abandon his system in 2003 when the NFL clearly had gotten enough tape and a roadmap had been provided by BB/Crennel about how to demolish a Bledsoe led Killdrive O. Killdrive needed to diversify his attack as the team went into a multi quarter TD outage in mid 2003 and GW should have canned Killdrive (as NYG did with its OC in mid 2003 if he refused to change). Its too bad that TD, MM and the crew did not realize that MW needed some hand holding that an adult should not need in the 2004 off-season. With Ruben gone from the Bills because of his public fights with Killdrive (Ruben was correct actually but its tough for an employee to take on his boss and not get killed even if there is a new boss). Is MW a total failure in terms of heart? No, he is not a TOTAL failure as he has shown some signs of productivity on the field as a Bill (his rookie year where he was not great but did show great promise, last year when he came back from his near meltdown to earn a gameball). However, though he does not have a TOTAL lack of heart, his internal resolve is not strong enough for him to do consistently well without a lot of help. The Bills did not have the talent among the coaches to provide the hand holding he needed in his first two year. Even tougher, we have had other huge problems which has made impossible for the team to do the extra work needed to turn MW into a good (or possible great as he still has the tools) player. His contract next year will be to big for him unless he is a good player. He has not produced well enough on the field to make it even reasonable to extend him to lower his immediate cap hit. The CBA prevents a cut in size of his contract to a rational size (what an OK starting guarrd might command) for his production. He is gone.
MarkyMannn Posted December 27, 2005 Posted December 27, 2005 Until I forget about the episode where he wrecked his truck on Sunday morning in route to RWS, and then decided to sit out the game, YES HE HAS NO HEART.
slothrop Posted December 27, 2005 Posted December 27, 2005 I believe he has heart, but it is suffocated under the limitless depths of fat. In the future, MW should appear on the injury list as: T - Mike Williams (fat). That will sum up all the nagging injuries he has suffered.
HarkinBanks Posted December 27, 2005 Posted December 27, 2005 The guy does is injury prone and more importantly will not play hurt = lack of heart. I am looking forward to seeing more guys on this team with more desire.
Sound_n_Fury Posted December 27, 2005 Posted December 27, 2005 he is not tough and driven enough He is gone. 543487[/snapback] The cliff notes version....
OnTheRocks Posted December 27, 2005 Posted December 27, 2005 I was talking to Mike last week. I asked him, "do you have any Heart?" He said, "no...but I do have a Nancy Wilson solo disc."
cåblelady Posted December 27, 2005 Posted December 27, 2005 I was talking to Mike last week. I asked him, "do you have any Heart?"He said, "no...but I do have a Nancy Wilson solo disc." 543600[/snapback] booooooo
OnTheRocks Posted December 27, 2005 Posted December 27, 2005 booooooo 543602[/snapback] come onnnn! it's christmas!
cåblelady Posted December 27, 2005 Posted December 27, 2005 come onnnn! it's christmas! 543606[/snapback] Christmas was 2 days ago.
Mark VI Posted December 27, 2005 Posted December 27, 2005 Add him to along list of high Bills picks that lacked heart and talent... Earthquake Enyart Al Cowlings Walt Patalski Rueben Gant Tom Ruud Bob Nelson Glenn Lott Phil Dokes Terry Miller Dee Hardison Booker Moore Chris Williams Byron Franklin Perry Tuttle Matt Kofler Tony Hunter Eric Richardson Mark Traynowicz Ronnie Harmon Roland Mitchell James Williams Bucky Brooks Lonnie Johnson Todd Collins Eric Flowers Tavares Tillman All 1st and 2nd round picks of the Bills I painfully watched. All basically were huge failures with the Bills...some did absolutely nothing and were cut after a year or two. I didn't even include the last 5 years. Williams probably outplayed everyone on this list. Draft = a crapshoot. Lesson learned. You want to be confident ? Throw the $$ at proven Free Agents in March.
Nanker Posted December 27, 2005 Posted December 27, 2005 Add him to along list of high Bills picks that lacked heart and talent... Earthquake Enyart Al Cowlings Walt Patalski Rueben Gant Tom Ruud Bob Nelson Glenn Lott Phil Dokes Terry Miller Dee Hardison Booker Moore Chris Williams Byron Franklin Perry Tuttle Matt Kofler Tony Hunter Eric Richardson Mark Traynowicz Ronnie Harmon Roland Mitchell James Williams Bucky Brooks Lonnie Johnson Todd Collins Eric Flowers Tavares Tillman All 1st and 2nd round picks of the Bills I painfully watched. All basically were huge failures with the Bills...some did absolutely nothing and were cut after a year or two. I didn't even include the last 5 years. Williams probably outplayed everyone on this list. Draft = a crapshoot. Lesson learned. You want to be confident ? Throw the $$ at proven Free Agents in March. 543624[/snapback] That's a bigger list of Rubber Soul than Lennon & McCartney could ever have made.
OnTheRocks Posted December 28, 2005 Posted December 28, 2005 Add him to along list of high Bills picks that lacked heart and talent... Eric Flowers You want to be confident ? Throw the $$ at proven Free Agents in March. 543624[/snapback] Erik Flowers had heart...he was just a horrible player.
Buftex Posted December 28, 2005 Posted December 28, 2005 I guess it is impossible to be a Bills fan, and not be down on Williams. I have a job, where I deal with the University of Texas athletics department on a regular basis. I ran into Mike Williams prior to this past training camp. He looked cut, like he had been working out, and was pumped for this season... In general though, most UT guys from the Mack Brown era are not known for having "heart". See Roy Williams in Detroit. If Mike Williams wasn't making as much money as he was, would we still consider him a bust? I thought he played well last season, and really hasn't played much this season at all....
KD in CA Posted December 28, 2005 Posted December 28, 2005 You've gotta have heart All you really need is heart When JP asks if you've got his back That’s when we’ll take the sack When your wiffin on your blocks Gettin faked out of your socks That’s when you’ll be riding the pine Gettin’ splinters in your behind You've gotta have heart Miles 'n miles n' miles of heart Oh, it's fine for you to sometimes loaf Not everyone can be Willie Roaf So when the game is on the line And you just let your man come through Don’t be too surprised, Mike, when the fans yell “Boo” You're a bust ‘cause, you've got no heart You've got no heart- You've got no heart-
Adam Posted December 28, 2005 Posted December 28, 2005 The answer to your question is no- he'd do fine with a better center
2003Contenders Posted December 28, 2005 Posted December 28, 2005 I think part of the problem this year is that MW found himself in TD's and MM's doghouse for reportedly refusing to redo his contract to free up cap space. I am not one to say that a guy has no heart. But one of the qualifications to play OL in the NFL is the ability to play through pain. We all have a different threshold for pain. When I hear the things that guys like Mark Schlereth played through, I can't imagine EVER being so impervious to pain. While MW may have all of the talent in the world, clearly he misses the mark on the pain threshold requirement. Again, I know that is easy for me to say, but I'm also not the one making $5 - $10 M per year with the natural (and unnatural) abilities to play through an incredible amount of pain.
Fake-Fat Sunny Posted December 28, 2005 Author Posted December 28, 2005 I guess it is impossible to be a Bills fan, and not be down on Williams. I have a job, where I deal with the University of Texas athletics department on a regular basis. I ran into Mike Williams prior to this past training camp. He looked cut, like he had been working out, and was pumped for this season... In general though, most UT guys from the Mack Brown era are not known for having "heart". See Roy Williams in Detroit. If Mike Williams wasn't making as much money as he was, would we still consider him a bust? I thought he played well last season, and really hasn't played much this season at all.... 543783[/snapback] This read is correct regarding MW working out this past off-season and is part of the reason though I agree that while he did act unprofessionally and let his teammates and the Bills fans down when he melted down after his Grammy died (again understandable though not condonable for the Bills fans he pledged himself to by taking the big contract) he does not totally lack heart. A player completely lacking in heart would likely have went south just after signing his contract like Ryan Leaf did. MW had a good rookie year. A player completely lacking heart would not have bounced back from his near meltdown last pre-season but he reacted well to the sticks and carrots JMac applied last year to be considered by many observers to be the Bills' best OL player by the end of last season. He came back and played well enough tio get a game ball. A player completely lacking in heart would have replayed his eating himself into oblivion this off-season but many observers felt he came to camp in the best shape his considerable form has ever had. MW is not the bulldog we all want our players to be, but I think the indictment that he has no heart does not match events.
EndZoneCrew Posted December 28, 2005 Posted December 28, 2005 I was talking to Mike last week. I asked him, "do you have any Heart?"He said, "no...but I do have a Nancy Wilson solo disc." 543600[/snapback] thats some funny sh-it!
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