http://www.tampabay.com/sports/football/bu...on-mike/1090226
Amid good draft, Tampa Bay Buccaneers take a worthwhile risk on Mike Williams
By Gary Shelton, Times Sports Columnist
Drop a pass, and your teammates will understand. Fumble, and the fans will forgive you. Run toward the wrong direction, and no one is going to blame you.
On the football field, there are only two things that are unforgivable.
You don't cheat.
You don't quit.
Mike Williams, the newest Buc wide receiver, did both. He bailed on his Syracuse teammates. He looked for a shortcut during an exam. He cost himself millions of dollars. He shredded his own reputation.
And despite it all, Williams feels like an acceptable risk for the Bucs.
Yes, there are questions, and yes, there should be concerns. Williams has dug a hole and stuffed his career inside. It will take a lot of catches and a lot of touchdowns before his image is repaired.
That said, Williams is worth a roll of the dice. For a team that needs receivers as badly as the Bucs, Williams is worth the risk of a fourth-round pick.
I know, I know. It would be easy to turn moralist and try to lock any draft choice with a problem outside the building. And if you want to raise your eyes at the selection of Williams, you certainly are allowed.
Still, when a team has a chance to get a player with first-round grades on the third day of a draft, why shouldn't it take it? If Williams turns out to be a good guy who made mistakes, as he would have you believe, then the Bucs have struck gold. If he turns out to be a bad guy, well, the team didn't have a lot invested in him anyway.
Again, he was a fourth-round draft choice. You know who else was a fourth-round draft choice by the Bucs? Alan Zemaitis was. And Austin King. And Lance Nimmo and Jerry Wilson and Rudy Harris. If the Bucs are wrong, they will move on easily enough.
If they are right, however, they have made Josh Freeman a better quarterback.
Also, a giddy one.
"I'm loving these guys, dude," said Freeman, who watched game tape of Williams and second-round pick Arrelious Benn after coaches told him of their interest. "It's awesome. It almost feels like Christmas. It's the first time I didn't do anything and still became a better quarterback."
No wonder Freeman is fired up. Joe Montana was still a young quarterback when Jerry Rice showed up. Dan Marino had a young pair of receivers named Mark Duper and Mark Clayton to grow with. John Elway had the Three Amigos. A lot of quarterbacks have developed their games as their targets developed theirs.
"Ultimately, it's on my shoulders to see how well and how quickly these guys develop," Freeman said. "I was talking with (receiver) Sammie Stroughter. We have to get these guys up to speed."
For months, Bucs fans have shouted for receiver help. Finally, they have it. According to receivers coach Eric Yarborough, Williams was the third-rated receiver on the Bucs' draft board. Benn was fourth. (Dez Bryant and Demaryius Thomas were 1-2.)
"I don't think (Williams) is a gamble at all," said Yarborough, who has coached Terrell Owens and Chad Ochocinco. "We've done a lot of research on him, and we've talked to a lot of people. And we're very comfortable. I've told him: 'There is no need to look in the rearview mirror. Just look through the windshield and go from here.' "
Let's face it: There have been bigger knocks on a guy's character. There have been drug users and spouse abusers and bad characters of every variety. For the Bucs, this falls under the category of "acceptable risk."
So what does the week's draft all mean? It means Freeman won. It means Michael Clayton lost. It means Sabby Piscitelli survived. It means Chris Hovan is likely on the trading block. It means Ryan Sims might as well head to the airport. It means Barrett Ruud won't have to fight off as many offensive guards. It means Jeremy Trueblood can exhale. It means Stylez White is still styling.
But does it mean the Bucs will win substantially more games next year? We'll see. Odds are the Bucs won't get a real boost from this draft until two years, maybe three, down the line.
That said, I have to admit this: I like this draft. Usually, it's a dangerous thing to like a draft because it often leads to feeling foolish down the line. But I love the notion of slowing down opposing running backs. I like getting targets for Freeman. I like the star power of first-round pick Gerald McCoy. I like that out of their first five picks, the team had four of them with first-round grades and one with a second-round grade.
It is doubtful this draft adds up to '95, when the team brought in Warren Sapp and Derrick Brooks. It's hard to imagine it turning out as well as '97, when the team brought in Warrick Dunn and Ronde Barber. But rarely have the Bucs brought in so many players with such high grades.
Someday, this draft, too, could be worth remembering.
Someday, you might think of it as the day the Bucs turned around.
http://www.nfl.com/draft/story?id=09000d5d...mp;confirm=true
Ex-Syracuse WR Williams determined to become 'steal of the draft'
By Steve Wyche | NFL.com
"I guess the people in the NFL want to get the right guy when you look at the wide receiver position."
-- Former Syracuse wide receiver and 2010 draft prospect Mike Williams
Every player enters the NFL with some measure of uncertainty. Rarely has the top end of a position group entered a draft waving as many red flags as the wide receivers of 2010.
Be it character concerns (Dez Bryant), size (Golden Tate), or playing in a non-traditional offense (Demaryius Thomas), this year's crop of receivers has prompted enough reluctance from coaching staffs that only two might be chosen in the first round. While that reticence might seem semi-problematic for guys at one of the NFL's glamour positions, teams could also land big-time value by nabbing a talented pass catcher in the second round or beyond.
Williams might be one of those guys.
"I tell my mom every day that I'm going to be the steal of this draft," Williams said. "I believe in those words. I have a chip on my shoulder. I'm going to prove to people that I'm not this guy that people think I am."
At 6-foot-1 and 221 pounds, Williams has deep-threat speed, imposing strength and red zone prowess, making him the prototype NFL wideout. Double teams don't mean much because he's used to them -- he was Syracuse's No. 1 offensive option -- and he was typically better than anyone trying to defend him. Williams had two monster games last season, against Northwestern (11 catches for 209 yards and two touchdowns) and South Florida (13 for 186 and two TDs). In 29 career games at Syracuse, Williams had 133 receptions for 2,044 yards and 20 touchdowns.
For a time, Williams was viewed as highly as Bryant and Thomas, the probable two first-round wide receivers. Even now, in the eyes of some talent evaluators, Williams has first-round traits.
But Williams won't be selected that high because of self-inflicted wounds that have teams wondering if his on-field potential is negated by off-field concerns. There is a possibility that he could go as high as the second round, but opinions are varied.
Williams was suspended as a junior in 2008 due to academic reasons for allegedly cheating in class. He played in seven games in 2009 but didn't finish the season because, depending on which side is talking, he quit or he was dismissed. Williams said he didn't quit, but had his intentions misunderstood by the coaching staff and was dismissed.
The reasons why don't mean much.
The fact that Williams didn't do what was needed to remain in good standing has some teams on edge, some teams taking him off their draft boards and some teams very interested in his services -- and they haven't been afraid in expressing all those opinions to him.
Williams said he's heard it straight from coaches, general mangers and others on the more than five visits he's taken, including to Tampa Bay and San Diego. His desire for the game has been questioned, which he said is the biggest mistake any team could make.
"I love the game," Williams said. "This is what I do. I love playing football and when people doubt me, that makes me hungrier. Some teams think what they think of me and figure this is who he is. Some of the teams I've (met with), the visits changed their minds and they seem to know the real Mike Williams. It's mixed. Both ways, no matter what, it helps being there and talking with them so they can at least make up their minds speaking to me instead of going on what they heard."
One GM said players like Williams pose an odd dilemma in some draft meetings. Sure, it could end up being a great value getting a quality talent after the first round. But it can also prove to be a mistake if that player proves difficult to coach and brings more negativity to the team than even a late-round pick is worth.
"Each NFL team has different tolerance levels for character risk, so each team will consider the risk/reward involved in each pick," said the GM, whose team is not interested in Williams. "Bottom line: The player must have enough talent or value for the team to assume the risk."
That talent is why Bryant, who played fewer games at Oklahoma State last season (three) than Williams did at Syracuse (seven), will be selected in the first round. He is a game changer and was often times the best player on the field. Questions about his character don't match up to the answers about his ability.
Thomas, at 6-3, 224, also is a likely first rounder, despite playing in an option offense at Georgia Tech where he didn't get many opportunities to catch the ball. A broken foot during training heading into the NFL Scouting Combine hasn't allowed him to showcase himself for scouts, but won't hinder what they've seen on film -- a big-timer who averaged 25 yards per catch last season.
Though he's only 5-10, Tate's overall toughness, collegiate production at Notre Dame, and strength in the return game put him on the fringe of the first round. Same with Illinois receiver Arrelious Benn.
Williams? Nobody knows where he'll go, but he's out to prove to whoever gives him a chance that their investment won't be wasted.
"I want to get the opportunity to play in the National Football League," said Williams, who will watch the draft at his home in Buffalo with his mother and other family members. "It's what I dreamed about. I am going to prove to a lot of people how much this means to me. Some team is going to end up getting the steal of the draft."
Needs (in order, as there are so many)-Revamped defensive line (only 1 starter on the roster at the moment; Roy Miller)-Wide receiver (Bryant and Clayton likely allowed to walk, Sammie Stroughter only reliable guy on roster)-Safety to replace Sabby Piscatelli (likely will be Eric Berry if McCoy doesn't fall)-Cornerback to eventually replace Ronde Barber (probably his final year; Elbert Mack not going to cut it)
totally agree. The Bucs slept through the free agency, while some other teams did some great draft day trades for veterans. The Bucs renovation will be an impatient one as I know how fickle the Bucs fans are. They were spoiled with Dungy and Gruden and it was never enough. This is going to take at least 2 more years. IMO
at using your wife to evaluate a draft class now. Yeesh.
