**Hey Mr. Weaver,
Welcome to Houston. How do you like the weather and the traffic? My question for you is: Do you feel that rookie Mario Williams is overrated and do we expect too much from him? Can you remember your rookie year? Was it bad? Also, when you all go on the road, who is your roommate? Do you bring your family on the road? Welcome to Houston and I know the team is going to get better.
Later for now,
Ace**
How's it going Ace? I'm not going to lie, when I first got to Houston this past summer, the weather was miserable. Especially the humidity. Having to run out here was totally different than what I was used to, so it took some adjustment. Traffic, on the other hand, is everywhere. I dealt with Washington D.C. and Baltimore traffic for four years, and it's the same thing there as it is here. So that wasn't too much of a difference.
As far as Mario goes, I do not think he is overrated at all. As I've said numerous other times, I think Mario has all the talent in the world. I've rarely seen someone his size move as fluidly as he does. Like any rookie, he's got to fine-tune his techniques and fundamentals, but he's young. Those things will come and then he'll be leaving everyone in the dust.
As a defensive lineman in college, you can get away with anything just by being bigger and stronger than the other guys. You're not going to do that in the pros. So my rookie year there were some techniques and fundamentals that I had to work on, and I continued to make progress throughout the season. It was a growing process. I think most rookies will say they dealt with at least some adversity as a first-year player new to the pro game.
Regarding my roommate on the road, we're lucky enough to have our own rooms. But if I didn't have my own room, I'd probably try to see if I could get Glenn Earl as my roommate since we were teammates in college at Notre Dame.
**Anthony,
You may not be able to answer this, but I'll ask it anyway. I've noticed how conservatively the defense has been playing this season (justifiably) against three very potent offenses, and I was just wondering if the defensive play-calling was going to get more aggressive (more blitzes, mainly) in the upcoming game against Miami?
-Jim **
Jim,
Thanks for the message. I don't want to get into our defensive plans for Miami, but I'll just say that as a defender, regardless of the play, you have to be aggressive. Whatever the down-and-distance may be, you have to play with aggression. Yeah, there are times when maybe you shouldn't be as aggressive, depending on the down-and-distance, but I think for the most part you have to be aggressive every down.
I can understand people's frustration with the way our defense has played, but I can honestly say that we're trying to be aggressive every snap. That might not mean we're blitzing the house every play, but we're certainly not trying to lay back, either. Hopefully, we'll get things together this weekend.
Thanks for your support and I hope to see you out there on Sunday.
Take care and thanks for the questions,
Anthony
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