Mike Williams A Star In The Making
August 29th, 2010
Though Joe apologizes for bringing this slightly dated story, it’s still a good read.
Virtually everyone connected to the Bucs, from general manager Mark Dominik to beer-soaked fans, is raving about rookie receiver Mike Williams.
Jason Cole, of Yahoo! Sports, seemed intrigued and visited One Buc Palace to determine why. He came away with information that it isn’t just Williams’ physical tools that set him apart, but his football intelligence as well.
“I really got the sense of how bright he was when we were going over this one route he ran in college,” said Tampa Bay wide-receivers coach Eric Yarber, who added that Williams is one of the best young receivers he has ever had at understanding the technical side of plays from the moment they are shown on a Power Point presentation. “It was an option route, where he could run a post or corner route. The way the safety had him shaded, he should have run a post. But he ran a corner, so I asked him to explain why.”
Williams explained that the safety on the other side of the field was shaded to the middle of the field, meaning that if he ran the post, the pass was either going to get intercepted or Williams was going to get hit hard when the ball got there. Either way, the chance for success was limited.
So Williams improvised. Instead of one fake, he gave two, showing the corner route, showing the post and then finally committing to the corner route after the first safety covering him bought the second fake. Touchdown.
Considering the Bucs got Williams in the fourth round, this is an absolute steal for the Bucs and, if injury-free, may become one of the best wide receivers in Bucs history.
But Joe’s trying to temper his excitement. It’s still August after all.
August 29th, 2010 at 4:29 pm
BEEN high on this kid from day one..just order his jersey..ill be that the browns game with it…
August 29th, 2010 at 4:33 pm
Mike Williams is definitely the STEAL of the draft! I had a feeling that he would be a good WR for the Bucs, but I had no idea that he would be this damn good! I know it’s early yet, but right now I’m pretty excited about this guy!
Let’s hope he keeps it up!
Nice post Joe!
August 29th, 2010 at 4:47 pm
Referring back to the previous post, I feel like Mike Williams is part of why the receivers position IS pretty. Obviously, we don’t have the best corps in the league, but it just isn’t that bad.
We’re going to be fine, and these 2 new rookie receivers, along with Stroughter, will be really good.
Hell, I think Stovall is going to get 40+ catches this year. K2 will continue to look good, and the running game will be better with #5 under center, threatening the pass and keeping that 8th man out of the box.
You have to love this guy.
August 29th, 2010 at 5:06 pm
hey joe, is there a place for us poor folks who dont have local tampa tv to see the game?
August 29th, 2010 at 5:10 pm
Mike Williams is the lone shining light on a lousy offseason IMO.
The bucs were dominated statistically by the lowly Chiefs and Jags. Running game has been lousy, stopping the run lousy, and pass rush lousy.
Aside from Williams, looks a lot like 2009 so far.
August 29th, 2010 at 5:14 pm
speaking of wide receivers…we are looking pretty smart now…
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/trainingcamp10/news/story?id=5509631
August 29th, 2010 at 5:18 pm
Do we look smart for passing on BM to take Benn?
Williams/Marshall would look pretty damn good about now (+ Santonio Holmes for good measure) or Boldin who is having a good pre-season.
August 29th, 2010 at 5:25 pm
@raheem 😉 this is gonna be fun
The story about Ab, we already knew that. (I’d love to get 8 million dollars for signing a contract and then being released. Over the last two years, AB has accumulated nearly 20 million dollars, WITH A BAD KNEE! Wow. His agent is the REAL beast) Although, when he is all better, we should sign him to vet minimum.
Raheem, I like you as a person and all, but i don’t think you are cut out to be the Buccaneer’s head coach brother. You just don’t have what it takes to successfully coach an NFL team to be competitive and win.
My advice, when you get let go, if you can’t muster a defensive coordinator job in the NFL elsewhere, then you should leverage your opportunity and go be a head coach for a big college university. That has worked for Lane. It should work for you. Your skills gained for these two years as a HC in the NFL will be quite marketable in the college ranks. Enoy the opportunity man! You will have your chance yet again, maybe even before you turn 40. Good luck Raheem in your next job!
August 29th, 2010 at 5:51 pm
If we get Antonio Bryant on the cheap, we should bring him back!!
August 29th, 2010 at 5:51 pm
But crap, I didn’t know his knee problems were THAT serious
August 29th, 2010 at 6:06 pm
factoidboy:
NFL Network will likely rebroadcast yesterday’s game at some point and there’s always the preseason package you can buy for $40 on NFL.com.
August 29th, 2010 at 6:07 pm
Where would a Bucc fan in Iowa find a Mike Williams Jersey. I’ve looked all over online and can’t find one to save my life. Still rockin my Dunn n Caddy Jerseys but its just time to Re up haha. Oh and speaking of Dunn I think Ward should at least have to change his number if were not going to cut him. (I never post anything on here so I figure I’d finally throw that out there haha) but yeah about That Jersey. A website would be amazing to know.
August 29th, 2010 at 7:04 pm
Wonder if he’s be the next big name WR…
August 29th, 2010 at 7:05 pm
BTW…is it me or is this offense starting to shape up like the Vikings team with Cart, Moss and Dante way back when?
August 29th, 2010 at 7:18 pm
glad to see another iowa boy posting on the site. we are few and far between my friend.
August 29th, 2010 at 8:17 pm
patrick, did you really just post that they should resign him and then less than a minute later post about his knees being shot?
August 29th, 2010 at 8:42 pm
@gotbbucs
I’m saying only if we can get him on the cheap. Cheap because of his knee issues. But when healthy, he’s a dangerous downfield threat.
There’s still a lot of uncertainty about our receiver situation, so if Bryant is out there a while and we have an injury or if one of our receivers doesn’t pan out, we should at least consider it. I’m sure though that there will be teams interested in his services, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he was unemployed this year.
I like Mike Williams a lot and think he’ll have a lot of success. Sammie is good, but the jury is still out on him. Benn… he didn’t do much this preseason, but we’ll see what he has to offer during the regular season.
Clayton sucks like always and Reggie Brown has been garbage so far.
August 29th, 2010 at 8:45 pm
A shining star in the making for sure….spurlock is looking like he’s coming outta his shell this year too…hopefully that will help out with that spend on the WR that we havent had in quite awhile…williams,sammie,spurlock,and the forth is a toss…no big names yet but come later this season i think there going to be alot of talks about this offense..
August 29th, 2010 at 8:54 pm
Patrick, they won’t be touching Bryant with a ten foot pole, no matter the price. I feel fairly certain about that.
August 29th, 2010 at 9:46 pm
@Javier…Nice post! I hope you are wrong, but if you are not wrong about the pro position than a college program may scoop him up. I just hope he is not like Bill B, I am sure Cleveland wishes they waited his early years out. You never know I guess, but I really want to watch some wins soon.
August 29th, 2010 at 9:47 pm
Hey, any of you guys from NE? I am stuck here on business until Wed, and would love to know of a good place to drink…I mean eat…
August 29th, 2010 at 11:25 pm
@McBuc
Yeah seriously, I’d still follow Raheem and hope things work out for him when he moves on. I think he already is becoming a better public speaker. He even has admitted this himself.
I wonder if the Glazers are coaching his public speaking skills up, behind the scenes.
August 30th, 2010 at 5:32 am
Ive never seen so many “fans” write off a team based on a few preseason games. Bravo… I must commend you…
August 30th, 2010 at 5:34 am
I for one am just excited to be able to watch my Bucs go out there and play and grow as the young squad they are.
August 30th, 2010 at 7:30 am
That’s because this “fanbase” is a freaking joke……
August 30th, 2010 at 7:58 am
So now that we can declare Williams a “star” in the making , would it be fair to name Arrelious Bustilous , the Invisible “Z” , a bust in the making ??
COURSE NOT !!!!!!! HOW RIDICULOUS !!!!!
Ok then , I’ll continue to patiently await for Bennie to do something….anything…against the other team’s camp bodies and practice squaders…
August 30th, 2010 at 12:14 pm
It’s make it or break it time for Raheem and he knows it. SOS = Swim or Sink could turn into Save Our Ship. The story will be told over the next couple months. Who will it be? The time for talking is over. I think Rah needs 8 wins to keep his job. I don’t think 6 will do it. That may buy a little more time, but look for Bill Cowher to be our next coach, IMO.