Bucs No. 2 Receiver Job Wide Open?
June 9th, 2012
Mike Williams caught 65 balls in 2010 and another 65 balls in 2011, and he played in every game during both seasons. This is inconsistent?
ESPN NFC South blogger/beat writer Pat Yasinskas thinks so, so he advised during a live chat yesterday.
Alex (IA) [via mobile] : What can Bucs fans expect from the wide receivers besides Vincent Jackson? He’s a solid number 1, but do we really think that Mike Williams can get back on track after last year?
Pat Yasinskas: I really don’t know what to expect after Jackson. But I think there’s a bunch of young guys there and all of them have some talent, but haven’t been real consistent. I think whoever steps up and is consistent in training camp and preseason will earn playing time.
Joe’s written how about the perception by many in the media, and subsequently the belief of many Bucs fans, is that Mike Williams isn’t a top quality NFL receiver. This routinely flabbergasts Joe. Go back and look in NFL history, and it’s not so easy to find guys that have caught 130 balls over their first two seasons like Williams has.
Vincent Jackson caught 30 balls over his first two years. Steve Smith snared 64. Roddy White pucked 59 during his first two campaigns. Keyshawn Johnson had 134. The big name receiver in Williams’ draft class, Dez Bryant, has 108.
Receivers usually need a little time to mature, especially if they’re not in a pass-happy offense and they’re playing with a young quarterback, and have to contend with Greg Olson as their offensive coordinator.
Yasinskas went on in the chat to say he believes the No. 2 receiver gig on the Bucs is wide open.
It might very well be. But Joe knows Greg Schiano has said many times that he wants the best football players on the field. So Joe would be quite surprised if Mike Williams isn’t starting and playing nearly every snap. He is that good, even if his play dropped a notch last year along with the rest of the team.
June 9th, 2012 at 11:22 am
Seems like mike williams has all the talent necessary to be a solid #2 receiver. His work ethic and attitude is the real question. From what I heard last season he came in a little outta shape and didnt do anything to improve that. Esp when the 10 game slide happened..Fortuantely, he wont have a choice but to step it up under Schiano or he’ll be gone
June 9th, 2012 at 11:33 am
Williams needs to watch Steve Smith film. The guy is undersized and is still a beast.
June 9th, 2012 at 11:50 am
I agree with Joe and don’t quite understand why some people view mike williams as an inconsistent player. He had some drops last year, but so did our other receivers. I agree that you would be hard pressed to find guys that have had as many catches in two years as mike has had. I think people are looking at his reduction in touchdowns, but this is not his complete body of work.
June 9th, 2012 at 11:51 am
Teams were able to take Williams out of games because we had no #2 or even really #3 WR to take some of the heat off. Williams will be a force this year with Vincent Jackson on the other side. A decent running game will open up play action as well (which we had Zero of last year).
June 9th, 2012 at 11:56 am
Well, Joe nailed it.
June 9th, 2012 at 12:01 pm
@Jarret, I don’t ever recall reading those stories. As far as I know Mike’s work ehasc has always been great. Which is why he got the starting job so quickly after being drafted.
#19 is going to blow up this year with Jax opposite him
June 9th, 2012 at 12:17 pm
Lets go #Bucs!!!! Mike Williams will be the same if not better which = fine by me. I love that dude and it was clear last year he was game planed for because he was doubled a lot over the top by the safety position. I cant wait to see this team
June 9th, 2012 at 12:19 pm
Pat Yasinskas is just like that schmuck from Bleacher Report Tom Edderington(or whatever his name is), both are hacks who thrive on writing crap, I feel like I need a shower after I read anything either have written.
June 9th, 2012 at 12:23 pm
It could be up for competition, but I don’t see anyone beating out Mike Will. One of the other receivers would really have to break out this year for that to happen.
June 9th, 2012 at 12:42 pm
JRock, there was a lot of info that never received national attention about when the losing streak started Mike Williams really slacked on his training and was out almost every night drinking. Similar things about Blount but not quite to the extent of williams.
Dont get me wrong I still believe in Williams big time. I think a lot of that stuff last year was a result of not having a veteran on the receiving core to help the young WRs stay in line..Also having a coach who wanted to be friends and not a boss didnt help much.
June 9th, 2012 at 12:47 pm
For those who are saying that Williams had a down season in 2011 because he saw more double coverage is just flat wrong, sorry. Yes, it is to do with a change in the coverage he faced compared to 2010, but no, it’s not about single coverage vs. double coverage – it was about the fact that he saw a LOT more man-press coverage in 2011 compared to zone coverage in 2010.
I know this because I have broken down every single snap of Williams professional career. In addition to my main blog (click my posting name to get to it, it’s well awesome), I have a side blog where I break down Bucs’ game film. For that, I broke down all thirty two games Williams has played for the Bucs.
This link is for the conclusion I wrote having watched every one of his pro games, where I lay out pretty clearly why he had a down year in 2011 vs. 2010: http://gurwatchesfilm.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/study-in-mike-williams-conclusion.html
You’ll be able to find the individual posts for each of his games, where you will see I’ve written what Williams does on every single snap he was in.
Yes, I have way too much time on my hands.
June 9th, 2012 at 12:59 pm
I want Briscoe to step up. Ronde even mentioned him in his interview.
June 9th, 2012 at 1:06 pm
“Receivers usually need a little time to mature, especially if they’re not in a pass-happy offense.”
Queue up Benn. Benn is going to work his Flecking arse off this offseason and will compete with Williams for the #2 spot. That is not a knock on Williams either. He is legit, but I still see an enormous upside for Benn. I personally think WR has the possibility of being a huge strong point for the Bucs this year.
June 9th, 2012 at 1:20 pm
Jarret Says:
June 9th, 2012 at 12:42 pm
JRock, there was a lot of info that never received national attention about when the losing streak started Mike Williams really slacked on his training and was out almost every night drinking. Similar things about Blount but not quite to the extent of williams.
.
I know you were addressing JRock, but I hope you don’t mind me butting in.
Those stories never received national attention because they were unproven…hence they were untrue. They were perpetrated by a blogger who “claimed” a former Bucs coach told him. He refused to name his source and he has a reputation for making things up.
I think maybe you’ve heard it repeated by Thomas so many times that you’ve come to believe it, forgetting that Thomas uses anything and everything negative, true or untrue, to make his agenda work.
Joe pretty much said it…65 catches in both years. That’s not giving up. That’s not lazy. That’s not lack of effort. That’s production. The problem was yards after catch and too many very short passes into crowds. Williams had no where to run many times.
By the way…I also heard that the “napping during team meetings” rumor only happened once. Only once. Either way…the behavior was corrected if it was ever really an issue.
June 9th, 2012 at 1:21 pm
J 2.0
I agree. I think in the long term, Benn will be the #2 and Williams will be slot.
June 9th, 2012 at 1:33 pm
Pat Yasinskas would be better off with an Obit column. His football acumen it very low.
June 9th, 2012 at 1:47 pm
The answer in yards and TDs is that JF threw more check off passes because of pressure, real and imagined, so less TDs and yards.
Besides the line upgrade, just think of a TE that can actually hit someone and delay their rush.
June 9th, 2012 at 1:48 pm
Nothing about Linebackers for awhile, I just wanted to insert this. I supported Nigel Bradham as a mid-round pick for the Bucs. The guy is a beast, he is already taking firt team reps with the Bills. I know the Bills, but Bradham would have been 4th round LB GOLD!
June 9th, 2012 at 2:05 pm
I can’t see why people think he might lose the #2 job. First of all, it’s always going to help your wr corps when you move your #1 to #2 because you brought in a Vincent Jackson type talent. Mike will be on his A game this year, you don’t just lose playmaking ability and ball skills like he had.
June 9th, 2012 at 2:14 pm
I certainly hope Mike is pushed for the #2 spot. That means another WR is stepping up and we’ll have a good to great #1,#2, AND #3. Although Briscoe has been absent (and that doesn’t fit Schiano style), he has the potential. Benn could easily be the guy to push. And Preston Parker (while not #2 material) could impress enough to keep the #3/#4 role. I’d really love to see the occasional empty set with VJax/MWill/Benn/Parker/Clark. I think that would be extremely tough to stop. If the front 5 can give #5 time, empty sets could work. That’s why the addition of Nicks was so important.
Now, that said, I don’t want to see empty sets very often, as that means we’re passing, which means we’re probably down in the score and passing to catch up. It’d just be a dangerous “change of pace” from time to time.
June 9th, 2012 at 4:02 pm
Jackson, Williams, Parker, Benn, and Briscoe….. not a bad little recieving core. and throw Dallas Clark in the mix.. give me another 65 catches out of Williams and i will be happy. give me that consistantly for 10 plus years thats a pretty nice career. getting pump for the Bucs
June 9th, 2012 at 5:15 pm
Williams is a very good player and one of Dom’s legit successes.
Be hard not to improve dramatically on offense after adding two pro bowlers.
Benn is more of a concern than Williams, given his draft position vs. production. Hopefully our wr coach can dance AND coach at the NFL level. That I am worried about.
June 9th, 2012 at 5:22 pm
There should be true competition for the #2 spot. Truth be told Briscoe has the all around better skill set. Benn has great big play ability and so does Williams. I just hope the best receiver wins the job and it’s not given to anyone.
June 9th, 2012 at 9:15 pm
Our WR’s are gonna Ball Hard this year. No worries on Offense (and i’m a worry wart). The D-Line & LB’s have me up late at night though.
If Pat Yas. makes more than $10 an hour, I’ll be upset
June 11th, 2012 at 8:03 am
Joe is right. If I told you i had a 2 yr pro with 13 tds 1800 yards and 130 catches you would be like that dude is a stud, they say dont expect alot out of wrs untill year 3 we got that stat line out of mike willy in his first 2 yrs. The fact is NOBODY scored alot of tds for the bucs last year, alot of Free’s pics came down in the redzone and that is where guys are gonna get their attempts to score tds. And you guys banging the Brisco drum are nuts he was our 5th wr last year and dont be surprised if he doesnt make the team. His “skill set” is what? being big and fast, that is kind of dime a dozen these days he was supposed to be our slot last year but parker beat him out and honestly I like sammie more than him too. Anyway I think with Vjax at 1 and Mwilly at 2 you get a great slot option out of Benn remeber this will be his 2nd yr off the knee and he is a big physical quick guy with after the catch skill. I love our wr corps