Skins Sign O-Lineman Mike Williams

[GMScud]

Originally Posted by ethat001

Yeah, I love the story, but I'm still skeptical about the guy. He sure has the drive - to lose close to 90 lbs over 3-4 months is like losing an entire person! I worry about two things:

1) If you lose that much weight, isn't he losing MUSCLE at the same time? We need him to hold off big DE's and not get tired quickly. Let's see how he does in preseason.

2) One of his problems in the NFL was recurrent back problems. Maybe with less weight now he may be better off, but I hope he doesn't kill his back again through the season.

I'm crossing my fingers but trying not to get my hopes up..

Not at all. While muscle tissue is more dense (thus heavier) than fat, the regimen they have him on no doubt includes plenty of weight training to accompany the cardio and strict diet. He's not starving himself. And from what I read, he's working directly with a nutritionist as well. He's probably eating nothing but lean protein (fish, chicken) and veggies with really simple starches like brown rice and sweet potatoes.

Ever watch Biggest Loser? They build plenty of muscle while shedding those pounds. I really tip my hat to Williams for what he's doing. I'm sure it's tough to learn a new offense, a new team, a new coaching staff, a new town, all while completely transforming his body. It's admirable. He's one of the guys I'm really pulling for.

[Dirtbag59]

Originally Posted by GMScud

Not at all. While muscle tissue is more dense (thus heavier) than fat, the regimen they have him on no doubt includes plenty of weight training to accompany the cardio and strict diet. He's not starving himself. And from what I read, he's working directly with a nutritionist as well. He's probably eating nothing but lean protein (fish, chicken) and veggies with really simple starches like brown rice and sweet potatoes.

Ever watch Biggest Loser? They build plenty of muscle while shedding those pounds. I really tip my hat to Williams for what he's doing. I'm sure it's tough to learn a new offense, a new team, a new coaching staff, a new town, all while completely transforming his body. It's admirable. He's one of the guys I'm really pulling for.

Just to add to that the ratio is different for someone thats Mike Williams size. While normal people can't loose more then 2 pounds of fat per week a guy thats Williams size can loose 4-6 pounds of fat per week. Of course he probably is loosing SOME muscle in the process but it's not enough at this point to be of any real consequence.

[skins89moss]

Mike Williams is really hungry to return to the NFL. I think it was good for him to be out of football to realize that he missed the game. I understand he had a back injury but did he really workout hard during the off season. How much time did he put into taking care of his body when he was with Buffalo. Hopefully now he knows he has to work hard all year long to play at a high level in the NFL. I'm pulling for him but come backs dont always have a happy ending. Just recently Andre Wadsworth ( former #1 pick of AZ Cards) made a come back with the Jets. He went to camp and didn't make the 53 man roster. Keep working hard Big Mike we need you to push our O-line this season.

[RedTempleSkin]

Originally Posted by skins89moss

Mike Williams is really hungry to return to the NFL. I think it was good for him to be out of football to realize that he missed the game. I understand he had a back injury but did he really workout hard during the off season. How much time did he put into taking care of his body when he was with Buffalo. Hopefully now he knows he has to work hard all year long to play at a high level in the NFL. I'm pulling for him but come backs dont always have a happy ending. Just recently Andre Wadsworth ( former #1 pick of AZ Cards) made a come back with the Jets. He went to camp and didn't make the 53 man roster. Keep working hard Big Mike we need you to push our O-line this season.

I think he is motivated to prove that he was not a bust. I think, like Leonard Davis who came out of Texas the year before were so dominating in college, they need some motivation to push them to meet a certain level of expectation. That motivation and docks presence will help him, and i think he will be our starting rt this year.

[Eknox]

It would be great to see him live up to expectations , because he was expected to be a pro bowl lineman

[johno]

Originally Posted by Eknox

It would be great to see him live up to expectations , because he was expected to be a pro bowl lineman

I think to expect a probowl performance out of this guy is a little much. I am happy if he can be a solid back up. Lets not get too ahead of ourselves here.

[Dirtbag59]

Originally Posted by johno

I think to expect a probowl performance out of this guy is a little much. I am happy if he can be a solid back up. Lets not get too ahead of ourselves here.

No screw this not getting ahead of ourselves business. Just once lets enjoy it and go so ahead of ourselves as to say that Mike Williams ends the season as a pro bowl snub.

[freddyg12]

I don't expect MW to start by week 1. Just making the team will be a major accomplishment for a guy that's been out of it & has to work so hard just to get his weight down.

If we're lucky he'll be in top form by mid season, both in terms of his conditioning/weight, and adjustment to the nuances & speed of the game. By then he could be valuable depth if somebody's hurt. I wonder if guard is more realistic for him long-term? They might be playing him at tackle simply so he doesn't have to deal w/the added burden of a learning curve, he's got plenty to overcome w/his weight & time away.

[skinsnut]

Originally Posted by freddyg12

I don't expect MW to start by week 1. Just making the team will be a major accomplishment for a guy that's been out of it & has to work so hard just to get his weight down.

If we're lucky he'll be in top form by mid season, both in terms of his conditioning/weight, and adjustment to the nuances & speed of the game. By then he could be valuable depth if somebody's hurt. I wonder if guard is more realistic for him long-term? They might be playing him at tackle simply so he doesn't have to deal w/the added burden of a learning curve, he's got plenty to overcome w/his weight & time away.

He's not known for power blocking...more pass blocking...so ideally he'd be a LT not a guard..RT is probably perfect for him since he is far from elite

[12thMan]

Originally Posted by freddyg12

I don't expect MW to start by week 1. Just making the team will be a major accomplishment for a guy that's been out of it & has to work so hard just to get his weight down.

If we're lucky he'll be in top form by mid season, both in terms of his conditioning/weight, and adjustment to the nuances & speed of the game. By then he could be valuable depth if somebody's hurt. I wonder if guard is more realistic for him long-term? They might be playing him at tackle simply so he doesn't have to deal w/the added burden of a learning curve, he's got plenty to overcome w/his weight & time away.

My sentiments exactly. Williams basically has two hurdles in front of him, getting through training camp in one piece and readjusting to real game time speed.

It's one thing to stick to a strict regimen day in and day out, but it's another to pick up a blitz with three New York Giants zeroing in Jason Campbell. But with the amount of work this guy seems to be putting in so far, I wouldn't bet against him.

[ethat001]

"Williams said he has lost 5 percent of his body fat and added muscle by 7 percent, which will not necessarily decrease his weight because muscle is heavier than fat. The operative term is "lean mass," which is the weight of muscle, plus bone density, water, even blood."

For Redskins' Williams, slimming down is a weighty matter - Washington Times

That is great news. I can't wait to see him in preseason. At this point I think he's definitely going to play this year. It's just a matter of fitness & keeping healthy..

[JoeRedskin]

Originally Posted by ethat001

That is great news. I can't wait to see him in preseason. At this point I think he's definitely going to play this year. It's just a matter of fitness & keeping healthy..

His inability to do so, as I understand it, is why he hasn't been playing football for the last year or two.

[RedTempleSkin]

Any idea how Williams is doing?

[an23dy]

Originally Posted by RedTempleSkin

Any idea how Williams is doing?

Last I heard he was down to 365 lbs, but that was a few weeks ago. He said he wanted to get down to 340 lbs. I think he may be in Arizona working out right now.

[johno]

the redskins insider brought up the idea of bringing jon runyan as a stop gap measure for rt. any thoughts? is heyer a better option than bringing in runyan for a single year? i feel as though its a no brainer if we are reduced to a mike williams vs. runyan decision.