Pat Williams

Whenever I think back to this past Sunday’s game against the Vikings, everything just seems blurred.  Although the final score read 34-3, I just can’t imagine how things got out of control so quickly.  The Cowboys were moving the ball well and playing pretty well on defense initially.  Then suddenly, they were getting stampeded.  Not by Adrian Peterson.  Not even by Chester Taylor.  They weren’t even being mauled by Minnesota’s Pro Bowl laden offensive line.  So what the hell happened?!  Well in review, it was a lot of things but at the same time it was one thing:  respect.  The Cowboys underestimated and undervalued players on the Vikings and players on their own team.  They underestimated the effect of a home field advantage in Minnesota.  They also under estimated the amount of desperation that needs to be displayed in every playoff game.  Somewhere between beating the Eagles twice and getting demolished by the Vikings, the Cowboys forgot that they were playing the one of the top 2 teams in the conference. 

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ke Tomlin, now Head Coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers), as the Wilfs had just doled out the money to Pat Williams, Antoine Winfield, and Darren Sharper, while Kevin Williams was becoming a major inside force.

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e, the Eagles usually win games by leaning on RB Bryant Westbrook, but does anyone seriously think (Pat Williams or no Pat Williams) that a RUNNING BACK will dominate a game against the Vikes? I don't think so!  Westbrook may have a decent game--even topping 100 yards--but I think McNabb will determine the outcome of the contest.  If given time, Donovan will pick apart the Vikings' secondary just because he is good enough to do so.  If pressure is applied, their entire scheme changes, as Philly has no big-time WRs that can dominate a game even if the QB is running for his life.  So, it's that simply...pressure McNabb and success will follow.

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are finally exciting to watch again!

Finally, the defense played very well even in the absence of Pat Williams (holding Michael "Buner" Turner under 100 yards), but again, all those turnovers gave the Falcons way too many scoring opportunities that never should have occurred.

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ords, I know) clinching of the NFC North sometime during the next two weeks, news came down that DT Pat Williams suffered a fractured shoulder and will miss 2-6 weeks.

Now, I'm no doctor, but I do know that any fractured body part (especially one that gets as much work as a shoulder) is likely extremely painful and very weak.  However, I am confident in the knowledge that Big Pat will be on the field the moment he knows he can stand the pain without rendering his arm lifeless.  I mean, the humanity in me wants to say that Pat should just let the injury fully heal before hitting the line again, but I know he won't do that.  Just look at the guy...he's pretty much an early heart attack waiting to happen already, so he has pretty much given his body to the game he loves already.

Continue reading "Pat Williams Eats Fractured Shoulders For Lunch"

With both Pat and Kevin Williams now going through the appeals process for their four-game suspensions handed down by the NFL for violating the league's substance abuse policy, there is a lot of "taking sides" going on right now.  In one camp are the "oh, steroids...suspend them up the wazoo" people, while others think "hey, maybe the Williamses DO have a legitimate complaint".  Of course, without being privy to the details of the case, it is difficult (i.e. impossible) to know exactly what is going on.  However, I usually find myself in the "suspend up wazoo" camp (even if it involves my favorite team).  The reason?  There is so much deception going on involving the steroids issue right now, that being firm on the issue (even if it screws a few people over) is, at least in my opinion, the best policy.

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Well, just when you thought things were looking up for the Purple, it was announced today that both Pat Williams and Kevin Williams have been suspended for the remaining four games of the regular season.  Both will be inactive until Dec. 29 due to taking diuretics (water pills) that can serve as masking agents for certain types of steroids.  Though the Williams' vehemently declare they were taking the pills only to lose weight (Pat has a case there, Kevin not so much), it is EXPLICITLY stated in the NFL's drug and foreign substances policy that those types of pills are not acceptable.  Thus, it leads to one of two conclusions: 1. They both are trying to cover up steroid use; or 2. They both are idiots.

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Coming into Sunday night's nationally televised contest against the Bears, the Vikes were a team (and a fan base) that expected a victory.  Remarkably (if you know anything about the Vikes in pressure situations!), that is exactly what transpired, with an exclamation mark!  Why did the Vikings have no excuse not to win this game?  A quick recent-history lesson:

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n 2005, when Ziggy Wilf bought the team, the defense finally started to improve, as players such as Pat Williams, Antoine Winfield, and Darren Sharper (2006, I believe) were brought in to solidify the unit.  However, there has always been one area that has not improved in the least...pass defense.  The unit seemed to improve in the 2005-2006 seasons, but that proved to be only a mirage, as teams had never run into a run-stopping line like the Vikings had, and thus didn't adapt quickly enough (it probably didn't help that the old football adage is to establish the run to set up the pass, which played right into the Vikings' hands).  But it quickly became apparent in 2007 and so far this year that the pass defense is woefully inadequate, allowing teams to completely abandon the run (like the Bears pretty much did on Sunday) and just pass, pass, pass.

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on" would not spend a time on the defense.  As Brad Childress put together such talent as Pat Williams, Antoine Winfield, Darren Sharper, and Dwight Smith (until the whole sex-in-the-stairwell thing), the overall defense seemed to improve, but teams (starting with the New England Patriots on a fateful Monday night in 2006) began to realizing that all you had to do to beat the Vikings was pass, pass, and then pass a little more.

Continue reading "One More Weak Link"