Williams is sure looking like the No. 1 bust in Bills history

[The_Philster]

Mike Williams appears to be well on his way to being the biggest bust — financially and in size — in Buffalo Bills history. The massive offensive lineman out of Texas was the No. 4 overall selection in the 2002 NFL college draft, Buffalo's highest pick since No. 1 Bruce Smith in 1985.

In a perfect Bills world, Williams would be a Pro Bowl offensive left tackle in this his fourth NFL season. But this week he was switched from right tackle to left guard. He might thrive at his new position, but not many western New York fans are counting on it.
more (http://www.democratandchronicle.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051112/SPORTS0101/511120328/1007/SPORTS)

[venis2k1]

i like mike.

[Billz_fan]

This weeks line switch of Williams to guard and inserting Peters at Williams spot was brought up briefly on "Inside the NFL" this week.

They mentioned Mike Williams and his big contract and it was there opinion he will not be a Bill next year.

[Philagape]

Walt Patulski?

[Novacane]

This weeks line switch of Williams to guard and inserting Peters at Williams spot was brought up briefly on "Inside the NFL" this week.
They mentioned Mike Williams and his big contract and it was there opinion he will not be a Bill next year.

I hope not. We could buy 2 good guards for what he's being paid

[jamze132]

I hope not. We could buy 2 good guards for what he's being paid
We could probably resign Clements too!

[Historian]

How Silly.

Flowers has them all beat.

I guess this is the sludge you get during a BYE week.

[lordofgun]

What a gay article.

[THATHURMANATOR]

Williams is a much bigger bust than Flowers. Flowers was in the 20s. Williams was 4th. There is a gigantic drop in talent from 4 to 20. If Williams can be a good guard then it won't be quite as bad but he must restructure his contract.

[Mr. Cynical]

Dump his expensive fat ass as soon as possible.

:fat:

Bust.

[don137]

I agree Mike is a bigger flop than Flowers. The thing about Williams is that he is injury prone, takes up a ton of salary cap space and can't even be good enough to start at tackle despite working under McNally for 1 1/2 years.
His salary is hurting the Bills since we get average skills at best when he is on the field. Flowers sucked but didn't have the salary that MW had.

[dannyek71]

rob johnson anyone?

[Drive 4 Five]

Ok so let us PRETEND that he becomes an EXCELLENT guard, and accepts a salary comparable to what his new position would require. Is he a bust then?

If it doesn't work out, this is the kind of draft day move that sets a franchise back five years at the least. When you draft a player that high and dish out that kind of money, you anticipate that he is going to be a solid contributor for the next 7-10 years. Talk about a HUGE blow to this organization huh?

[Mitchy moo]

MW couldn't guard an ICEE stand in the arctic. His only attribute is size and it's the only reason he stopped anyone. Unless he is free, he needs to go.

[The_Philster]

rob johnson anyone?
we didn't draft him

[Drive 4 Five]

we didn't draft him

We may as well have...

[LifetimeBillsFan]

I don't know if it makes Mike Williams a bust or not, but I recall Coach Jim McNally talking about wanting to move Williams to the guard position shortly after McNally joined the Bills--a few weeks after he got the job and after he had had some time to evaluate the players that he had on the roster at the time. McNally said that he felt that Williams could be a dominant OG, but that he did not want to move him to guard at the time because he felt that with all of the other new players who were coming in and the fact that everyone would be learning a new system (McNally's), he felt that the line needed some stability and that he was going to keep Williams at tackle for that reason.

So, right from the beginning, apparently McNally saw Mike Williams as a guard and not a tackle. Of course, that raises the question of why they didn't move Williams to guard prior to the beginning of this season....

The answer could be that they did not feel that they had anyone--read here Peters and McFarland--ready to step in to take over at RT for Williams if they made the move then; or that they thought that Bennie Anderson could do the job and that signing Anderson and keeping Williams at RT would be a cheaper alternative to moving Williams to LG and signing a vet to start at RT; or that Williams was reluctant to move to LG because he felt that it would end up costing him money; or because they felt that keeping Williams at RT would lend more stability to the O-line and didn't want to bring in two new starting tackles and have Williams learning how to play LG--that there would be more stability if they kept the right side of the line together.

I don't see this move as being as much of a reflection on Mike Williams as one Bennie Anderson. When Williams has been healthy this season, the line has done well. The problem is that he hasn't been able to stay healthy and Anderson has stunk. Duke Preston has been OK when he has played in limited action, but has shown when he had to log major minutes replacing Villarial that he isn't ready yet to assume a starting role and the Bills don't have anyone else who is ready to step in at guard for Anderson. Mike Williams has been a road-grader, but has struggled at times as a pass-blocker--which is why he couldn't be moved to LT. Peters apparently has quicker feet and can play on the outside. Moving Williams inside to guard puts him in a position where he can do what he does best without having to move as much in space and where the injury to his ankle is less likely to impact his effectiveness. But, most of all, it allows them to get Anderson out of the lineup on passing downs without having to replace him with a rookie who still isn't ready for major minutes.

I know a lot of Bills fans look at Williams as a bust because he is getting # 4 pick money and they expected him to become the Bills starting LT. That's only a partially fair criticism: 1.) the alternative to Williams at that pick were Joey Harrington or Bryant Kinnie--neither one has been any better than Williams in the NFL and one could argue Harrington has been an even bigger bust; 2.) Williams has been a solid, not great RT who has graded out better than Kinnie who held out for more than half a season to get the same same money as Williams; 3.) there were those analyzing that draft who said that while Williams might be able to switch to LT, odds were that he would not be able to make that move and would end up being a road-grader RT--which is what he has been--while a lot of Bills fans hoped that Williams could switch to LT, there was never any guarantee that he had the ability to make that move in the first place; 4.) many argue that Williams is over-paid as a RT and certainly as an LG--true--but the #4 pick in the draft gets paid what the $ 4 pick in the draft gets paid regardless of position--there is no discount for offensive linemen vs quarterbacks, etc.--and many of the very same people who are complaining about Williams being overpaid are the same ones who keep complaining that the Bills don't use enough of their high draft picks on offensive linemen--just imagine how much screaming they would have been doing over the last four years if the Bills had drafted anyone but Williams or Kinnie with that draft pick!

There is a reason why so many offensive linemen taken high in the draft have turned out to be disappointments or busts: because you have to pay a high draft pick based on the slot that he was taken in the draft and the expectations for a player taken with a high pick are extremely high, but offensive linemen take as much or more time to develop as QBs and are as hard or harder to project. Much of the concern about Williams is based on his salary and fans' expectations, not on his actual performance. When healthy, Williams has been a solid RT. He has the potential to be a superb OG. But, he is getting paid # 4 pick money and he hasn't lived up to fans expectations, so a lot of people think that he is a bust because he has not become Jonathan Ogden or Willie Roaf. Well, neither have a lot of other offensive linemen taken in the top 10 in the draft--how's Robert Gallery doing?--yet there is no end of posts demanding that the Bills draft an offensive lineman with their first pick in every draft.... You can't have it both ways folks!

IMHO, Mike Williams has been a bit of a disappointment, but doesn't qualify as a bust just yet. If he plays as well at LG as he has at RT and accepts a pay cut to a salay commenurate with his position, I would call him a solid pick in the draft that he came out in. I might think differently if Bryant Kinnie had become the second-coming of Ogden or Roaf, but he hasn't, so I don't think it's fair to call Williams a bust based on that standard--a disappointment because he didn't turn out to be that good, but not a bust because he has been a solid player. (Those who dispute whether he has been solid or not need only recall how the Bills O-line played with him and without him before the Pats game.)

[Typ0]

Mike Williams was drafted as our long-term answer to the left tackle spot that's so critical in todays game. If he meets that criteria it's probably one of the only times I would consider a top five picked lineman worth it and even then it probably isn't. So he's a bust IMO because he isn't filling the spot we need him to fill as we forked out all that money for a top five player. Does he play? Yes, and that's a good thing. But the players on your team that you are paying the real $$$ are the ones that should be making a difference in games not just playing at a slightly above average level.

[Bmax]

walt patulski was the no 1 overall pick in the nfl draft when the bills drafted him... williams at least has played well on occasion when healthy...Who knows he could be all pro at guard...Leonard davis the 2 pick in the draft for the cards a lt at texas was a starter at guard for three season until becoming the starter at lt last season. The cards gave davis time to work into his lt position. I still believe williams could be a decent rt. I think peters will be a lt next season they will give him reps at rt this year and shift him over next season or in 2007. Gandy is a stop gap until we find something better next year either at lt or rt moving peters to left....


Bmax

[TigerJ]

Walt Patulski?

I certainly agree that the Bills have drafted players even higher than Mike williams only to have them do far less in their career as a Bill than Mike Williams. The article gets away with his claim because salaries have become so inflated that almost any player drafted in the first round stands a chance of become his team's biggest financial bust in history if they can be labeled a bust at all, certainly any player drafted in the top five.