Miami Dolphins defensive end Mario Williams (left) with Miami Dolphins defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh (right) at Miami Dolphins training camp. (Allen Eyestone / The Palm Beach Post)
DAVIE _ The Miami Dolphins are hoping that the only thing defensive end Mario Williams avoids is taking about Rex Ryan and the Buffalo Bills.
If Williams dances around quarterbacks like he did questions of his former coach and team on Sunday, it will be a long year, not to mention a waste of $17 million, which is what
Williams signed for in March.
Williams managed not to crack a smile when he said he had not heard about the barrage of criticism he took from the North after signing with the Dolphins.
First, Ryan, who never holds back on any subject, made it clear he hopes
it does not work out for Williams in Miami, telling SI’s
Monday Morning Quarterback that signing a nice fat contract “wasn’t going to happen” in Buffalo before adding, “do I wish him well? Not really.”
Williams spent last season complaining about the defensive scheme, which is a direct shot at Ryan, and late in the season a teammate who wished to remain anonymous said Williams had
“totally checked out” months ago and that “Mario doesn’t care about anybody but himself.” The teammate went on to pan Williams’ effort and say “he played like crap.”
Ouch.
Williams, though, insisted Sunday this was all news to him.
“I didn’t hear anything,” he said while being led away from a short interview session.
Williams also was not in the mood to revisit a season in which he had just five sacks, after totaling 38 the previous three seasons, and his tackle total fell from 36 in 2014 to 15.
“That was last year,” he said. “At this point it’s all about this year and all about us moving forward. None of us are going to talk about anything that’s irrelevant.”
Of course, investing $17 million, $12 million of which is guaranteed, makes Williams’ 2015 season very relevant. And whether it’s a sign that Williams, 31, is starting to decline or that he just became a head case, either way looks bad for him.
Pro Football Focus labeled Williams’ contract
the worst in the league for an edge defender.
Dolphins coach Adam Gase is taking the same approach with every player with a checkered past _ Williams and defensive end Dion Jordan primary among them _ by wiping the slate clean and giving them a fresh start.
“Whatever happened last year I don’t care,” Gase said. “I just see the guy who is out there working every day trying to get better. I feel he’s going to be an impact guy for us.”
Gase recalls how difficult it was game planning for Williams in 2014 when Gase was the Broncos quarterback coach. But that was the happy, productive Williams who was in the midst of a 14.5 sack season.
The Broncos survived a close 24-17 victory that day but the Bills’ Williams-led defense prevented Peyton Manning from throwing a touchdown pass, breaking a streak of 51 consecutive games, which fell three shy of Drew Brees’ NFL record.
“It was a tough defense to go against because that pass rush was coming and he was one of the main reasons why.” Gase said
