Mike Williams takes blame for his disappointing season
Dec 1, 2011, 1:13 AM | Updated: 1:18 am
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By Brady Henderson
High-profile wide receivers in the NFL often have a tendency to behave like divas. They’re quick to take credit and don’t hesitate to shirk blame. They complain when they aren’t getting the ball enough, then make excuses when they don’t catch it.
If Mike Williams is a diva, he certainly does a good job of hiding it.
The Seahawks receiver isn’t having a good season, and he isn’t blaming anyone but himself.
Williams could point to the lack of balls coming his way — he’s averaging just over three targets a game — and the notion that quarterback Tarvaris Jackson has favored Sidney Rice due to the rapport they built while playing together in Minnesota.
As Williams told “Bob and Groz” on Wednesday, those aren’t valid excuses.
“Sidney and Tarvaris have a history so you have to respect that, but you see Ben [Obomanu] when he makes his plays and gets open he gets the ball and Doug [Baldwin] has been having a great year for a young guy, getting open and getting the ball,” Williams said. “So really it just comes down to just me doing what I do — to getting open and catching the balls when they come to me, whether it’s two targets or 10 targets.
“Really, that’s what it comes down to whether the connection is there or not. He [Jackson] does throw the ball to me so when he throws the ball I just need to make a play.”
Williams was one of the NFL’s feel-good stories of 2010. After spending 2008-09 out of football, he reunited with his college coach in Seattle and revived his career. He led the Seahawks with 65 catches for 751 yards, a breakout season that earned him a three-year contract extension.
This year, Williams has just 14 catches for 192 yards, totals that rank eight and fourth, respectively, on the team. He has been held without a catch three times this season, including Seattle’s Week 12 loss to Washington.
According to coach Pete Carroll, an injured shoulder kept Williams sidelined for much of the second half. Williams didn’t cite that as the reason he dropped two passes, both of which hit him in the hands.
“Last week was just such a disappointment, personally,” he said. “They were close plays, but plays that I’ve made and that I expect to make and plays that you need to make to win a game like that.”
Rice will be placed on injured reserve after suffering two concussions in three weeks, meaning Williams will should have plenty of chances over the final five games.