APWith Mario Williams trading in his status as a linebacker in Houston’s 3-4 defense to return to defensive end in Buffalo’s 4-3, some wonder whether the Texans will miss him.
Defensive end J.J. Watt says they won’t.
“I’ll miss him in the locker room, but not on the field,” Watt told Eric Kuselias on Tuesday’s Pro Football Talk.
It’s a blunt assessment, but it’s an accurate one. Williams missed 11 games in 2011, and the Texans were fine without him. So far this year, the Texans are better than fine without Williams.
Here’s the full Watt interview from Pro Football Talk, which airs every weekday at 5:00 p.m. ET.
Channel Finder
J.J. What?
Whaaaaaaauuuuuuuuttt?
Watt is right. Williams is crazy if he thinks Buffalo is better than Houston. He just chased the $$$$$
Im sure they dont miss all that salary either..96 million for him is crazy!!
This Watt guy talks a lot doesn’t he? Has made Mario and HBO mad in one day.
Watt sure loves yapping lately. It’s week 2. Shut up, calm down and play ball.
After that beat down by the Jets, I bet Mario Williams is missing the Texans right about now. If it were me, I’d take $80 million and a shot at the Super Bowl with Chicago rather than $100 million with the Bills (who will be fighting for last place in the AFC-East with the Dolphins for many years to come).
We’ll see who’s crying in a few weeks, the Bills are going to run down Houston’s defense.
Mario didn’t want to stand up.
He wanted to line up on the line in a stance and he refused to make the change, even if it would have made him one of the best linebackers in the game.
No, we won’t miss him, and Buffalo will soon get a taste of how selfish and lazy he really is.
Watt played in 18 total games last year. Mario was only in 4.5 of them. He never really played enough with him to miss him.
“Watt”/”What?” puns aren’t very funny.
I don’t know why anybody thinks they’re clever for noticing that “Watt” and “What?” are pronounced the same way.
btw, JJ Watt. Early candidate for DPOY. 1.5 sacks, 3 passes defensed.
But Watt is right.
Mario Williams is very good against the run and above average rushing the passer, but if you look at his sack totals throughout the year, he hasn’t exactly been **nearly** as productive rushing the QB as Demarcus Ware or Jared Allen.
Combine that fact with the Texans very deep front-7, and it’s pretty straightforward for them to replace Mario’s production, without having to giving him a $100 million contract.
Mario did nothing when surrounded by Buffalo Bills. He was great when surrounded by Texans
Watt is 100% right. The Texans are just as good without him and won’t be burdened with that massive contract.
Williams chased the money in favor of actually winning football games, plain and simple.
Maybe but I am already sick of Watt and it isnt even week two
They did fine without him last year
Williams took plays off. Even took games off. Never went as hard as he could. We definitely won’t miss him
From “allegedly” picking up the snap counts of Dolphins from Hard Knocks, to bashing Mario, this dude needs to shut it. You would think he was a Hall of Famer or something…
MMMMEEEEEGGGGAAAA WATTTTTT!!!
This guys a beast. He’s gonna be a great defensive lineman for years to come
in his first game with Buffalo, the $100M dollar man Mario Williams was schooled by the Jets OT who was on the practice squad last year…..Williams claimed the kid was holding him every play, but dayum son, you’re the highest paid defender in football, and didnt even get a sack against a first year OT…..
Watt is right, we wont miss him, cause we never saw him play in Houston….dude stayed hurt
The Texans D is fine without Mario, that was proven last year.
The money difference between all other suitors and Houston for Mario was huge, Houston just could not pay him what he is worth, but they had Connor Barwin and Brooks Reeds to fill those pash rushing shoes from the OLB position. And plus they got the developmental rookie Mercillus. So Mario was never going to be Texan unless he took a lot lot less money, no one in the NFL would have done that.
Mario wanted to move back to his natural position of hand in the ground DE on the exterior of the D-line not the interior or Stand Up OLB. Honestly, I think Buffalo is close to being decent, but they need that next step from their QB. I don’t think its Fitz, but the rest of Buffalo’s roster is solid. The problem is when you are close to being good, you don’t get those Top 10 picks for a quintessential franchise QB, so their scouting staff will have to become better or Fitz is going to have to make that leap forward.
The formula for unseating the Pats in AFC EAST is harassing Brady with the pass rush, the NY Giants blueprint for success in the 2 super bowls, in order to win the championship you have have to make it out of your DIV., I think the Bills understand that and have made the moves necessary to build off of.
With all that said JJ Watt is a beast, possibly the best 3-4 DE in the game at present. I would only put Ngata ahead of him, in that type of scheme. scheme.
money was obviously the only thing he chased since he let Austin Howard keep him in check a whole game.
Diarrhea of the mouth.
Nice. Stab your ex-teammate in the back. I’m a Badger fan and therefore a fan of Watt. It would be nice for JJ to act with a bit more class.
bag217 says: Sep 10, 2012 9:54 AM
Redskin fans are funny. Completely ignoring the fact that they gave up 32 points. Hope RGIII can put 40 up every week.
——————————————————
Skins dominated that game. They were up 40-24 late in the 4th quarter and gave up a garbage late td in “prevent” defense. Also, the Saints got lucky with a blocked punt td. The score was not as close as it was. Total domination by the Redskins.
Let’s see how this dude does without Hard Knocks giving him the answers to the test. Still no question Williams was the better pick over Bush. And the guy missed games due to injury and he’s getting flamed for it? Weak. The Pats did just fine without Brady in 2008, doesn’t mean he wasn’t still the best guy for that job. The Texans will wish they still had him before it’s all said and done.
I still can’t believe the Bills paid Mark Anderson all that money. At least Mario Williams has been a difference maker at times in his career, Mark Anderson got 90% of his sacks in garbage time and he’s a huge liability against the run.
People should know by now that winning in the NFL isn’t as easy as getting a few free agents. It’s about building your team through the draft. Tying up 100 million dollars in one guy is never a good idea, unless it’s a top end quarterback that can carry your team.
For all the people calling for Watt to “shut up”… wouldn’t you rather have the guy tell the truth instead of spewing the same old boring cliche’s that most players give in interviews?
I have seen every single snap the Texans have ever gotten a paycheck for and absoluteley agree with Watt regarding Mario. He is a very good player but will never be great. He’s just too dang big to have the quick moves the great pass rushers have. He’ll usually be very stout against the run. His heart just doesn’t always appear to be in the game. Great person, great teammate, etc. but just an above-average player.
And BTW… he told me personally that the Texans never even made him an offer.
It appears that both Watt and Williams have won the exact same number of SuperBowls for each of their teams. Therefore, I feel the need to point out that neither team could be classified as a winning team. A good team maybe.
I love J.J. and my Texans. But the guy should probably shut his mouth. Nobody cares about him and the Miami snap count and now he’s got some Mario talk. He’s right about Mario, but it doesn’t look good. And it’s definitely not very Texan-like.
The Texans finally made the playoffs once Williams missed most of the year, coincidence?
Just kidding I don’t think like that, but Williams is overrated
It’s all about the money for some players…. This right here was a perfect example choosing buffalo over Houston, going from a top team to the worst team, he will be forgotten about, and that’s for sure
Watts an animal on the field. I love that defensive front they developed in Houston.
Wouldn’t it be a little more shocking if he said something like, “Gosh I don’t know how we are ever gonna get along without Mario in the mix. He was the driving force of our D and our front office was incredibly foolish for not giving him everything he wanted to stay here. We have no chance of ever winning anything without Mario and Schaub is just terrified of what Mario is gonna do to him when we play the Bills.”
Just sayin…
It’s easy to not miss a player when your team is juicing up (See: Cushing).
I think that J.J. Is getting a little full of himself and his teammates need to reel him in, but what am I saying all the texans do is talk all the time like they’re god’s gift to football.
JJ Watt sure thinks a lot of himself. I wonder if he will be boasting when Houston falls short of the Super Bowl again this year.
Watt had a great game…against a decidedly NOT great offense. When and if the defense has that same level of success against Peyton Manning, Jay Cutler, Tom Brady etc. in their upcoming games, his words will carry a lot more weight.
The Texans tend towards overconfidence. They look like a great team, but they should save the bravado for when (if?!) they truly achieve something. Right now, some people can claim that if Peyton had never gotten hurt, the Texans still might not have ever even won their own division, let alone emerged as a Super Bowl contender.
That said, I always thought Mario was slightly overrated. A very good player, but not quite the indispensable one that media hype would lead one to believe!
It is amazing what roids will have you say.
Really? So, basically, Mario Williams would not improve the Texans defense? Yes, the Bills paid too much. Yes, he is probably overrated. But this guy Watt (not exactly a household name) is saying Williams is easily replaceable. That simply isn’t true. Not saying Texans D isn’t very good, but that’s not what Watt is saying either.
“Watt had a great game…against a decidedly NOT great offense. When and if the defense has that same level of success against Peyton Manning, Jay Cutler, Tom Brady etc. in their upcoming games, his words will carry a lot more weight.”
He was probably the most dominant defensive player in the 2011 postseason. I don’t think he needs your validation to voice his opinion.
And for the record, he didn’t just hold a press conference to announce that statement. He was asked in an interview and he gave his opinion. And you know what? He’s right. Perhaps it’ll cut down on the sports media drivel about the Texans taking a step back because of the “loss” of a player who was on the field for four games.
“Really? So, basically, Mario Williams would not improve the Texans defense? Yes, the Bills paid too much. Yes, he is probably overrated. But this guy Watt (not exactly a household name) is saying Williams is easily replaceable. That simply isn’t true. Not saying Texans D isn’t very good, but that’s not what Watt is saying either.”
Would you prefer it if he threw his teammates under the bus and said, “I really wish we still had Mario Williams, because he’s way better than Connor Barwin and Brooks Reed”?
Might as well never say anything, because apparently people are going to complain about every single opinion. Of course, then people would complain about players not doing interviews.
“JJ Watt sure thinks a lot of himself. I wonder if he will be boasting when Houston falls short of the Super Bowl again this year.”
Yes, because players only get to have an opinion when their team wins the superbowl. Stupid Watt, he should have done more than notch 2.5 sacks, 12 tackles, 3 TFLs, and 3 QB hits in the playoffs against Baltimore last season.
Just shut up and play, JJ!!! And to Buffalo fans: Expect Mario to break out a 4 hurries, 2.5 sack day in the coming weeks, followed by another goose egg week. We are all too familiar with those stat lines in Houston for the ‘Occasionally Super’ Mario.
I personally like it when a player doesn’t put out the same old sports cliche lines when asked a question. And for those who don’t know who Watt is just keep watching. He is alerady considered one of the best 3-4 DEs in the league just behind Ngata and Smith.
hey Watt,
Please hold off the trash talk until you beat a viable team this year. I wouldnt classify Miami as a high powered offense.
Williams would NOT improve Hou’s defense. He’s a bad fit for a 3-4, as is Ryans who is a very good player at his position. It doesn’t have much to do with how good the guys is, just how his skills fit the defense.
Max said “Houston just could not pay him what he is worth”
_______________________
Correction, They could pay him what he was worth, just not what the Bills thought he was worth.
Big difference.
did some of you even watch the video? Watt wasn’t bashing Mario.. he just said he wouldn’t be missed on the field. (true statement based on last the season) He said he would be missed in the locker room though. I don’t see that as bashing an ex-teammate.