Mike Williams Has Been Flecked
October 11th, 2012
It’s pretty clear to Joe that Mike Williams is back to his stellar 2010 form.
This season, the guy has displayed the great combination of hands, elite body control and speed that everyone saw in his rookie season, when his peers voted the fourth-round pick as the 80th best player in the NFL for the NFL Network Top-100 feature.
Joe still remembers watching the 2010 scouting combine. The standout overall receiving talents clearly were Dez Bryant and Mike Williams. Everyone else was a notch or more below.
Mike Sullivan raved about Williams yesterday, and how he’s eating up coaching from one of the best wide receivers coaches in the NFL.
“He was open-minded. I think he started seeing some of the results. And I’ve just seen a young man that has a lot of potential, is getting better, has just a great attitude, a great spirit. I’m really excited that he’s on our team,” Sullivan said of Williams.
“P.J. Fleck does an outstanding job. He’s one of the most technical, fundamentally sound teachers out there. He has given those guys some good tools, and they’re buying what he’s selling. A credit to great pros like Vincent [Jackson] and a young aspiring, soon, hoping-to-be-at that-top-tier — and he certainly has the tools and his head in the right direction — a guy like Mike Williams. He’s been receptive to that. And they want to get better. They’re not in this, ‘I got all the answers.’ They’ve been so willing to learn. That’s made the job that much easier.”
Joe was intrigued by the high praise of Fleck from Sullivan, who was the New York Giants wide receivers coach for six seasons.
Fleck, 31, a former 49ers wideout, also has taken major kudos from Greg Schiano for not just his work with receivers, but also his coaching of special teams.
Joe wonders whether the Bucs might be wise to make sure Fleck is locked up for a while. If the Bucs receivers continue to excel — where are you, Mr. Benn? — Fleck will not be a guy they want to let get away.
October 11th, 2012 at 1:06 pm
PJ Fleck > Raheem Morris
October 11th, 2012 at 1:10 pm
That comment at the end is one thing that gets me about our wide outs. Is there a reason Benn is invisible in the passing game? He’s big and he has speed so why is it that he never catches passes past the los? Is he a terrible route runner? Can he not catch? What is the issue here? It really confuses me. He’s never even thrown to. Is he just bad?
Any insight from anyone on that topic?
October 11th, 2012 at 1:38 pm
Benn is reserved for the infamous Benn around end.
October 11th, 2012 at 1:38 pm
@Joe,
Great article.
October 11th, 2012 at 1:59 pm
jfro sux……but i need him to do well in NO while peyton is on a bye week. go MW!!
October 11th, 2012 at 2:16 pm
I wonder if Fleck has been in the OC’s and HC’s ear about the atrocious game planning they’ve been doing?
October 11th, 2012 at 2:36 pm
Pardon my sour tone but I haven’t seen Williams do much of anything so far this year. That probably has more to do with Free than him but until Free or any of our QBs step up the Receiving corps will be mediocre. The offense as a whole has been anemic at best. Williams has 11 catches, 219 yards and 2 TDs in 4 games… most of which came in that last game. That’s not going to wow anyone. I hate being pessimistic, and its not my nature but this offense so far is horrible, all around. Hope they come out and prove me wrong this week but so far I have seen nothing that suggests they will do so. GO BUCS!!
October 11th, 2012 at 2:38 pm
It’s against the rules to speak to a superior coach, $500 fine.
October 11th, 2012 at 2:46 pm
Peyton Manning would be throwing for 300+ yds and even the 4th/5th WRs and 2nd TEs would be fought over as fantasy handcuffs in deeper leagues.
It’s the Buccaneer starting QB stoopids.
October 11th, 2012 at 2:53 pm
@silencethecritics Stop watching the stat sheets and watch him catch the ball. He has made some unbelievably acrobatic catches. I’d say he’s our best receiver on the field right now.
October 11th, 2012 at 2:55 pm
Vincent Jackson is our best receiver, Mike Willams is very good not great.
October 11th, 2012 at 2:56 pm
Don’t know hy anyone is conplaining about Benn. We stuggle to get the ball to two premier receivers and guys are bitchin about #3 + 4 guys?
Freeman needs to grow a pair and get playing to his potential. Unless he steps up, all this discussion is a watse of time.
October 11th, 2012 at 3:01 pm
Not complaining about Benns performance, just wondering why he is never thrown to. He seems to be physically gifted and I saw him catch passes at Illinois. It’s very strange to have a guy that skilled never catch a forward pass. Really odd and I have never seen anyone bring that up in the media. It’s a very strange mystery.
October 11th, 2012 at 3:02 pm
@Miracle
If you read my post I said it probably has more to do with Free. Williams being our best receiver is beside the point. If he is only catching the ball 3 or 4 times a game what good is he unless they all go for TDs. He along with everyone else needs to do BETTER. Making good catches once or twice a game does not help us in the least.
October 11th, 2012 at 5:10 pm
I am in San Antonio but have been able to watch every game so bear with me as I ask…what exactly is it that I am missing. What is making our receivers so good? Is it that they are actually catching the ball? I thought that is what they were supposed to be doing all along. Now…are they breaking tackles once they catch the ball for significant yardage or TDs or better yet, are they getting good separation to be open for Freeman’s passes?
October 11th, 2012 at 5:18 pm
… and the Chiefs QB doesn’t care who Quincy Black is either
October 11th, 2012 at 6:12 pm
@Scotty & Joe
I agree completely. We aren’t terrible like the Jags receivers but we’re certainly not as good as the Falcons or Packers or Giants receivers. VJax has been a mild disappointment and the rest of the guys aren’t getting any separation…certainly some of that has to fall on young Fleck.
@Joe
I like Fleck’s high energy too Joe but the receivers, just like the rest of the team outside of the defensive front 7, have been middling & unimpressive. Did anybody see the Cowboys absolutely blanket us with their best corner Carr playing safety? The numbers (or lack thereof) point to the fact that Fleck is actually been ineffective since getting the job so I wouldn’t worry about someone swooping in and taking Fleck anytime soon.
October 11th, 2012 at 6:37 pm
It don’t matter how good the recivers are if josh is throwing so bad