“They’re Not Stupid; They Do Their Homework”
October 2nd, 2011
Joe thought this Mike Williams non-issue was history last week after reporting Josh Freeman’s take on Williams drawing heavy coverage and even getting triple-teamed at times this season.
But it seems that Pat Yasinskas, NFC South blogger for ESPN.com, doesn’t have Joe on his daily reading list. During a live chat Friday, Yaskinskas wrote he buys in to the notion that Williams is somehow experiencing a bit of a sophomore slump.
redzonejones (New York): Is it safe to say Mike Williams is experiencing a sophomore slump?
Pat Yasinskas: Somewhat, but I think part of it can be blamed on them not having a lot else at WR. He’s been drawing a lot of coverage.
Joe’s not on board with Williams slumping at all. The Bucs finally decided throw slant passes to Williams last week, which were a big part of his game in 2010. A motion penalty by Arrellious Benn also nullified a Williams touchdown on a deep throw in Minnesota. For Joe, there’s no evidence of Williams falling off.
Wednesday on The Josh Freeman Show, on WDAE-AM 620, Freeman took issue with the whole topic.
“They rotated coverage to Mike. They ran a coverage where they doubled Mike and doubled Kellen. … They’re not stupid. They do their homework,” Freeman said of the Falcons and other teams. “They know where we’re trying to go with the ball. They know who are playmakers are. They’re going to do everthing they can to limit the amount of touches that our gamechangers can get.”
Expect plenty more smothering coverage of Williams from the Colts. Unless Benn can prove reliable and consistently dangerous downfield, it’ll be that way all season.
October 2nd, 2011 at 9:25 am
Totally agree that Williams is getting a lot of attention this year.
Somehow some way the good ones still go out there and get theirs.
Olson is the one to point the finger at for me. He needs to call some better
October 2nd, 2011 at 9:26 am
Totally agree that Williams is getting a lot of attention this year.
Somehow some way the good ones still go out there and get theirs.
Olson is the one to point the finger at for me. He needs to call some better plays and then the pieces will come together.
To Greg: do what let you retain your job, feed and keep feeding Blount. Then, feed him some more. After that go to the air.
October 2nd, 2011 at 9:36 am
@SteveK
I look at things a bit differently. I think because Williams and Winslow are being double covered, other guys are getting opportunities and not showing up.
I believe Benn, for example, is going to be great…but he needs to focus oin catching the ball instead of dropping it. He’s giving a little too much attention to the guy coming to make the tackle. If he’s going to be successful, he’s going to have to have hands like a Keyshawn.
Stocker may end up being really good as well. I already like him better than the previous guys at TE (except for Kellen).
Olson is doing fine. We just have some players that need to step up and make the plays.
I still think the offensive line needs to do better. They are protecting Freeman better, which is great, but they still are not opening up running lanes.
October 2nd, 2011 at 9:37 am
When they double team Winslow & Williams, either Benn should be open or put in someone that will get open and, oh yah, catch the ball.
October 2nd, 2011 at 9:49 am
You can’t hold a guy like Mike Will in check forever with double teams. Indy doesnt have the talent in their backer core and secondary to be able to double team one guy all day. That will leave other parts of their secondary horribly exposed. This will be Mike’s breakout game for this year.
October 2nd, 2011 at 11:22 am
Call out Benn for needing to step up in place of Williams when he gets double teams, cuz he needs to. But don’t call out everyone else. Briscoe has picked up the productivity where Williams has been getting the double teams. Simply put, Freeman is spreading the ball around more and checks down often on 3rd down to Grahm who falls for 3 yard gains.
I can’t put any blame on Williams, but certainly his “stats and production” are slumping compared to last year, and we all know that the box score is all that Pat Yastinkas pays attention to anyway.
October 2nd, 2011 at 11:27 am
What about putting him in the slot. I don’t think he is in a slump I think benn is
October 2nd, 2011 at 11:35 am
Williams is fine where he is. If he and Kellen are double teamed, we run the ball. We still have other pass catching threats as well…if they don’t drop them.
I can understand Stocker dropping a couple since he’s just starting out.
Our defense is going to be huge this week though. So huge that the talk of the town will be that Raheem rebuilt the defense so fast. But it’s and illusion this week. It WILL be great, but regardless of how well they do this week, they are not quite ready to be considered good. YET.
October 2nd, 2011 at 3:02 pm
Im kinda disappointed in Benn so far this year. I was expecting him to have a big season and he has looked pretty average.
October 2nd, 2011 at 5:26 pm
Benn has looked like our future slot receiver so far this year. If we cannot draft a solid first round linebacker (Burfict, Teo, Kuechly) then Dominik should seriously look at the receivers available. A lot of talent at that position this year. Floyd, Alshon Jeffrey, or Justin Blackmon would look great here.
October 3rd, 2011 at 12:22 am
Great ones do some how some way get theirs. I agree with that. BUT, I don’t think Raheem and Olson are even concerned with it. I believe they feel they have more then 1 number 1 receiver. So there is no need to force feed Williams the ball at this stage in the game. Benn, Winslow, Parker, and Briscoe are all very capable receivers and allows Freeman to spread the ball around. Ontop of the coaching staff trying to stick with the run game. So that is 2 simple reason for the lack of production on William’s stat sheet.
I like him tho and he has the right attitude. AS he said, ” I would rather catch 1 ball and win the game then catch 20 and loose”. He is still playing a Big part. Just more as a decoy for right now. Which isn’t a bad thing. It allows us to not be predictable on who we will throw to. Everyone has a shot at catching the ball. Try and cover 4-5 Receivers who are all very capable of breaking out. Most teams don’t have 4-5 really good DB’s
October 3rd, 2011 at 12:30 am
I would like to see Benn step up a bit better also.
I think they got it backwards with him and Williams this year. Last year Williams ran a bunch of slants, dig and corner routes. While Benn ran more Fade, Post, and Go routes. This seemed to be a better formula for how the players produced.
Williams is a YAC receiver and should be aimed for open space and give him a chance to make the play. Benn was excelling at the straight down the side line plays for HUGE chunks of Yardage.
Benn may not be super fast. But i definitely think he is our deep threat while Mike plays the game like Desean Jackson.
On a side note. I really really miss Sammie Stroughter in the slot. Hope he comes back soon.
October 3rd, 2011 at 2:25 am
The truth is we need someone to step up at wide receiver. If they’re doubling Williams and Winslow, basic math leaves everyone else in man coverage. It is a receiver’s job to get open in man coverage. If we don’t have anyone else getting open, that’s a problem. Yarber needs to get on them.