[Monkeydad]

Originally Posted by Mattyk

Phew... that's great news on Trent.

With how frustated he looked sitting on the ground I thought he was done for the year.

Trent Williams Discusses His Injury

Of all the unfortunate images from this game -- Andre Johnson catching that touchdown; the field goal going wide right; the near-miss overthrow of Joey Galloway -- the one above has the most devastating long-term potential: it's rookie first-round draft choice Trent Williams being helped off the field after suffering a knee and toe injury in the fourth quarter of the game.

Williams spoke to a media horde after the game, not moving smoothly and clearly with one stiff leg, and willing but not eager to talk. Because many of his responses were terse and frustrated (for obvious reasons), I've just gone ahead and transcribed the whole media session, or at least as much of it as was audible on my recording.

One of the things that was not audible was the first question, but Williams' answer comes through clearly:

"Yeah," he says, "somebody landed on it wrong."

Q: What did you feel when it happened?

"Pain."

Q: You didn't feel a pop or anything?

"Nah."

Q: Knee injury: how does it feel now?

"Sore."

Q: Is it just your knee, or is it something else?

"My knee and my toe."

Q: Oh, it's your toe, not your ankle?

"Yeah."

Q: Any idea how long it might be?

"I have no idea."

Q: You know what happens from here? Are you gonna get some tests or...?

"Yeah, I'll get some MRI on it, I'm pretty sure." [NOTE: Head coach Mike Shanahan confirmed this in his own address to the media.]

Q: When would you expect that you'll know?

"I don't know. It's my first time dealing with this."

Q: Did they give you an initial ACL test out there?

"Mm hmm."

Q: Did you pass?

"Mm hmm."

Q: How frustrating is it?

"It's very frustrating. It is. You know, to be injured and also let the game slip away ... you know, it's frustrating."

Q: Is there more pain right now or disappointment over what happened?

"Ah, I'm feelin' both."

Q: How'd you think you played, obviously before the injury?

"Felt like I did pretty well, y'know? We coulda ran the ball a little bit better, but from a personal standpoint I felt like I played pretty well."

Q: [Something I couldn't quite hear about why the running game was struggling.]

"It's a bunch of different stuff. Every play it seemed like we were just one block away from hitting the big one."

Q: What goes through your mind when you take an injury like that?

"You know, I just wanna get back out there on the field. I just hated having to sit that last drive out and watch my team play in overtime without me."

Q: Did you try to talk them into putting you back in?

"Yeah, but there wasn't too much to debate."

Not to overstate matter too dramatically here, but the offense looks very different if he's in there or not. The verdict on Williams' knee will have a profound effect on the rest of the season. Here's hoping that his next press availability is a much cheerier, more amiable affair.