Mario Williams is not living up to his hype after signing the richest contract ever given to a defensive player, and he made it clear that he does not care.
Williams was asked after the Bills' game against the Titans whether he thought he was living up to expectations. The Buffalo News reported he became "defiant" in answering, saying, "I don't care about your expectations. I don't care about anybody's expectations."
Williams said he was not living up to his own expectations, blaming a wrist injury that recently cost the Bills $20,000 for not putting it on their injury report. Williams said that the left wrist ailment is causing him to hesitate on the field.
After adding Williams and fellow free agent Mark Anderson to Buffalo's already impressive defensive tackle corps of Kyle Williams and Marcell Dareus, expectations were certainly lofty, and they haven't been lived up to. The Bills rank dead last in rushing yards allowed per game with 179.6. They've allowed a league-high 13 touchdowns on the ground and opposing offenses are averaging 6.0 yards per carry — also an NFL-worst.
The Bills pass defense — and pass rush — has been better, ranking 12th in sacks with 17, and ranking 20th in passing yards per game with 247.3. Williams has contributed with 3 1/2 sacks on the season, with five quarterback hits and 13 quarterback hurries. He currently ranks 25th on Pro Football Focus's "Pass Rush Productivity" rating out of 42 defensive ends that have played 50% of their team's defensive snaps. The tool measures "pressure created on a per snap basis with weighting toward sacks."
Williams certainly hasn't been terrible, but his performance surely isn't what the Bills were expecting when they doled out $90 million over six years with $50 million guaranteed. So far, it looks like the Texans were wise to let Williams walk in free agency.
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