Getting to know Jamar Williams- redux
by James Dator on Jun 9, 2010 7:09 PM EDT
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PrintGiven the now known situation with Thomas Davis it seemed appropriate to repost this article I wrote on April 28th when we first traded for Jamar Williams for people who maybe discounted or took the linebacker for granted. Given that it's likely he'll be starting in Davis' absence I think we need to look at Williams a little closer.
If the Panthers traded Sherrod Martin or Everette Brown tomorrow, would it be fair to classify them as worthless, or as scrubs? This is the question you have to ask yourself in the assessment of Panthers' new OLB Jamar Williams. The fan base have been hung up on the notion that Jamar Williams was not a starter in Chicago, however the overwhelming opinion of Chicago fans was that the straight up trade of Jamar Williams for Chris Harris was a fair one.
Jamar Williams was a victim of circumstance in Chicago; a 4th round pick out of Arizona State in 2006 he excelled in 2005 when he finished his senior season with 70 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 FF and 3 INT. In both 2004 and 2005 he was named 'Honorable Mention All Pac-10'.
More after the jump
Williams was drafted in prearation for an impending contact crisis with incumbent starter Lance Briggs. When the relationship between Briggs and the Bears was most strained it was assumed Jamar Williams would start, should the Bears part ways with their previous starter. Chicago saw potential in the young linebacker to be a factor on their defense.
The Bears were able to resign Briggs and Williams was relegated to backing up the all-pro linebacker. During this time Williams made the most of the role he had being a special teams standout and and effective player when he had the opportunity. He started one game in 2007 where he recorded four tackles against the Minnesota Vikings, but it wasn't until 2009 that he would have the opportunity to start again.
Jamar Williams was featured in the Bears' defense more during 2009. On special teams he forced a fumble vs. Pittsburgh in week two and made his first start of the season in week four against the Detroit Lions; Williams posted six tackles in the contest. He would wait another nine weeks to start again for the Bears, but when he did he made his opportunity count.
On December 6th vs. St. Louis- Jamar Williams posted 18 tackles and defended two passes against the Rams. This wasn't the blowout you might believe as the final score was a meager 17-9. However, it was during this game that he showed he could be a factor on the defense.
The most interesting and pertinent thing for Panthers' fans to look at from this game was Jamar Williams stellar ability to shut down Stephen Jackson on rushing downs. Though Jackson ran for a total of 112 yards against the Bears it wasn't due to Jamar Williams, that's for sure- Williams tackled Jackson 13 times on rushing downs for an average gain of just 2.46 yards. For that one game in December Jamar Williams played Steven Jackson better than any linebacker had done all season, in 2009 Jackson averaged 4.4 yards per carry, and Williams erased this number.
In summation, while here in Carolina the name Jamar Williams may not be on the tip on Carolina Panthers' fans' tongues, it very well could be very soon. Before Chris Harris came to Carolina he was a small university safety we traded a 5th round pick for, and it was in Charlotte that he blossomed- the same could very well happen to the 25 year old linebacker we acquired yesterday
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I've got 2 predictions
1. With the job as good as his, Jamar will do big things. That Hitman/Williams trade looks a whole lot better now, huh?
2. We won’t see Thomas Davis as a Carolina Panther again
by Ol' Uncle Munnerlyn on Jun 9, 2010 7:33 PM EDT reply actions
That #58 jersey must have a curse. It was Mark Fields’ old number. Who had it before Fields? I will do research.
stuff 'bout stuff.
by silver82blade on Jun 9, 2010 7:45 PM EDT up reply actions
Research complete! Nothing of note.
stuff 'bout stuff.
by silver82blade on Jun 9, 2010 7:59 PM EDT up reply actions
I am not so sure Meeks shouldn't re-think his defensive a bit
His tampa 2 like strategy often drops Beason back in pass coverage, which is probably why Davis had so many tackles. But in Davis’ absence maybe Beason should focus more on stopping the run.
Beason is now by far our best LB, so he needs to be where he can be most effective. And run support in the middle of the field right now, seems like a much bigger question mark than pass coverage.
Great minds talk about ideas, small minds talk about people" - Eleanor Roosevelt
Meeks adapted the defense without TD, he'll do it again
He just has more time to plan this time around
Cat Scratch Reader's resident optimist.
I also blog the Panthers at Real Bits of Panthers
so what scheme should he go with?
46 and nickel packages?
I’m worried now. Now I dunno what we should do. I think this pulls Anderson out of the SAM. We need him to back up Williams. And now I think we might have to rely on Norwood to take on a larger role. Ughhhh this is going to get complicated.
I am an optimist. It does not seem too much use being anything else.
~Winston Churchill
Double Trouble. #89. A QB who can protect the ball. Gary "the broad side of a " Barnidge. One of the very best O-lines in the league. A few young talented WRs with a lot of upside. The best FB to come out in the Draft in a long long time.
A top 5 secondary. An awesome LB corp. A 325 lb. wall on wheels in Leonard. A 306 lb. Tank that is as strong as his name suggests. Eric Norwood and Everette Brown coming off the edges too fast. Ol reliable Brayton and Johnson.
A totally new Special Teams unit. With the Jets best gunner in Wallace Wright, the Cardinals ST captain Aaron Francisco, Marcus Hudson, Fast as you want to be Brian Witherspoon.
This is one hell of a football team! This Football team is very young and set up to have success for years to come. This is the foundation of a Dynasty!!!!
by STEVEN 785 on Jun 9, 2010 9:00 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
A bit of a role reversal?
Because I think Im less worried about this than you.
But even last year I felt like Meeks scheme was favoring Davis over Beason, which I sort of understood because Beason is probably more versatile. But he’s such a beast that I’d rather him be in position to be the play maker.
Even a standard cover 2 would put him in better position to do more… support the run, defend the short pass, maybe blitz more… Rather than him sitting around picking his nose in the secondary.
Great minds talk about ideas, small minds talk about people" - Eleanor Roosevelt
by ElBacano on Jun 9, 2010 11:19 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Yeah I think the roles have been reversed
You were worried that the DL wasn’t going to hold up. But giving the talent in our LB corp I thought they would be able to make plays. But with the loss of TD…now I’m iffy.
It all depends on what Meeks does and who can step up. I can understand moving Beason to WLB since the play maker is needed. This all depends though on how much Meeks asks of the MLB.
We just added a lot mor question marks and that isn’t what this team needs. Mike, Will, and Sam are a big problem for me now. And I’m crapping my pants here.
I have confidence in a lot of these guys but I dunno who is going to be where. So I guess I am in a wait and see mode at the moment.
I am an optimist. It does not seem too much use being anything else.
~Winston Churchill
Double Trouble. #89. A QB who can protect the ball. Gary "the broad side of a " Barnidge. One of the very best O-lines in the league. A few young talented WRs with a lot of upside. The best FB to come out in the Draft in a long long time.
A top 5 secondary. An awesome LB corp. A 325 lb. wall on wheels in Leonard. A 306 lb. Tank that is as strong as his name suggests. Eric Norwood and Everette Brown coming off the edges too fast. Ol reliable Brayton and Johnson.
A totally new Special Teams unit. With the Jets best gunner in Wallace Wright, the Cardinals ST captain Aaron Francisco, Marcus Hudson, Fast as you want to be Brian Witherspoon.
This is one hell of a football team! This Football team is very young and set up to have success for years to come. This is the foundation of a Dynasty!!!!
by STEVEN 785 on Jun 10, 2010 12:17 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
We still have a durable ProBowl LB
Anderson has shown he can start in this league, and everybody in Chicago has said Williams can too. I am least impressed with Connor, but keep in mind that it took Davis awhile to develop too.
The D-Line on the other hand has nobody of Beason’s caliber, and 2 starting DTs that we know much less about than our LBs.
Great minds talk about ideas, small minds talk about people" - Eleanor Roosevelt
Where is Jeremy Lehman
I dunno if that is how you spell his name (help BigD) but you know who I’m talking about. Where is he?
I am an optimist. It does not seem too much use being anything else.
~Winston Churchill
Double Trouble. #89. A QB who can protect the ball. Gary "the broad side of a " Barnidge. One of the very best O-lines in the league. A few young talented WRs with a lot of upside. The best FB to come out in the Draft in a long long time.
A top 5 secondary. An awesome LB corp. A 325 lb. wall on wheels in Leonard. A 306 lb. Tank that is as strong as his name suggests. Eric Norwood and Everette Brown coming off the edges too fast. Ol reliable Brayton and Johnson.
A totally new Special Teams unit. With the Jets best gunner in Wallace Wright, the Cardinals ST captain Aaron Francisco, Marcus Hudson, Fast as you want to be Brian Witherspoon.
This is one hell of a football team! This Football team is very young and set up to have success for years to come. This is the foundation of a Dynasty!!!!
by STEVEN 785 on Jun 9, 2010 9:02 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
FACK!
I could punch Fox in the face for letting him go
I am an optimist. It does not seem too much use being anything else.
~Winston Churchill
Double Trouble. #89. A QB who can protect the ball. Gary "the broad side of a " Barnidge. One of the very best O-lines in the league. A few young talented WRs with a lot of upside. The best FB to come out in the Draft in a long long time.
A top 5 secondary. An awesome LB corp. A 325 lb. wall on wheels in Leonard. A 306 lb. Tank that is as strong as his name suggests. Eric Norwood and Everette Brown coming off the edges too fast. Ol reliable Brayton and Johnson.
A totally new Special Teams unit. With the Jets best gunner in Wallace Wright, the Cardinals ST captain Aaron Francisco, Marcus Hudson, Fast as you want to be Brian Witherspoon.
This is one hell of a football team! This Football team is very young and set up to have success for years to come. This is the foundation of a Dynasty!!!!
by STEVEN 785 on Jun 9, 2010 9:33 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Tim Shaw was the one they never should've let go.
Guess who he’s with now? I think you’ll only need one.
stuff 'bout stuff.
by silver82blade on Jun 9, 2010 10:16 PM EDT up reply actions
Tim I was high on too!
And yes I know he is with the Bears. And yeah I wish he was still here. That’s another thing I don’t agree with that this prganization has done…are you keeping track ST?
I am an optimist. It does not seem too much use being anything else.
~Winston Churchill
Double Trouble. #89. A QB who can protect the ball. Gary "the broad side of a " Barnidge. One of the very best O-lines in the league. A few young talented WRs with a lot of upside. The best FB to come out in the Draft in a long long time.
A top 5 secondary. An awesome LB corp. A 325 lb. wall on wheels in Leonard. A 306 lb. Tank that is as strong as his name suggests. Eric Norwood and Everette Brown coming off the edges too fast. Ol reliable Brayton and Johnson.
A totally new Special Teams unit. With the Jets best gunner in Wallace Wright, the Cardinals ST captain Aaron Francisco, Marcus Hudson, Fast as you want to be Brian Witherspoon.
This is one hell of a football team! This Football team is very young and set up to have success for years to come. This is the foundation of a Dynasty!!!!
by STEVEN 785 on Jun 10, 2010 12:22 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
New LB Set
I say we leave Beason at MLB.
Let Jamar Williams play at SLB, I’m pretty sure this is his normal position and
James Anderson takes over for Davis at WLB, Anderson showed a lot of potential in the few games he started in near the end of last season. Who knows maybe he can be just as good as Davis or at least pretty close.
Dan Connor who I think has some good potential as well, will be a solid back up just in case any of these guys go down as well.
"All generalizations are false, including this one." - Mark Twain
Correction
Jamar Williams plays WLB and Anderson takes over Davis’ spot at SLB.
"All generalizations are false, including this one." - Mark Twain
Davis was the WLB
Jamar Williams was back up WLB and James Anderson was at SLB during OTA’s. But Anderson did do very well last season at WLB.
I am an optimist. It does not seem too much use being anything else.
~Winston Churchill
Double Trouble. #89. A QB who can protect the ball. Gary "the broad side of a " Barnidge. One of the very best O-lines in the league. A few young talented WRs with a lot of upside. The best FB to come out in the Draft in a long long time.
A top 5 secondary. An awesome LB corp. A 325 lb. wall on wheels in Leonard. A 306 lb. Tank that is as strong as his name suggests. Eric Norwood and Everette Brown coming off the edges too fast. Ol reliable Brayton and Johnson.
A totally new Special Teams unit. With the Jets best gunner in Wallace Wright, the Cardinals ST captain Aaron Francisco, Marcus Hudson, Fast as you want to be Brian Witherspoon.
This is one hell of a football team! This Football team is very young and set up to have success for years to come. This is the foundation of a Dynasty!!!!
by STEVEN 785 on Jun 9, 2010 10:13 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Thank You for the correction, sometimes i lose track of which side is which
"All generalizations are false, including this one." - Mark Twain
by ThePanthers! on Jun 9, 2010 10:15 PM EDT up reply actions
Bears fan...
I said it before, and I’ll say it again… Williams is a good player who got lost in the depth in Chicago. He learned behind some of the best linebackers in the game in Briggs and Urlacher. I’m predicting good things for Jamar in Carolina.
-------
Stupid babies need the most attention!
I really hope so
I am an optimist. It does not seem too much use being anything else.
~Winston Churchill
Double Trouble. #89. A QB who can protect the ball. Gary "the broad side of a " Barnidge. One of the very best O-lines in the league. A few young talented WRs with a lot of upside. The best FB to come out in the Draft in a long long time.
A top 5 secondary. An awesome LB corp. A 325 lb. wall on wheels in Leonard. A 306 lb. Tank that is as strong as his name suggests. Eric Norwood and Everette Brown coming off the edges too fast. Ol reliable Brayton and Johnson.
A totally new Special Teams unit. With the Jets best gunner in Wallace Wright, the Cardinals ST captain Aaron Francisco, Marcus Hudson, Fast as you want to be Brian Witherspoon.
This is one hell of a football team! This Football team is very young and set up to have success for years to come. This is the foundation of a Dynasty!!!!
by STEVEN 785 on Jun 9, 2010 10:14 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Your SIG
I see it says an awesome LB corp…With TD i agree it was, but how about now do you still think it is awesome? Maybe just above average…
"All generalizations are false, including this one." - Mark Twain
by ThePanthers! on Jun 9, 2010 10:18 PM EDT up reply actions
Well...
Now that I have had some sleep on the subject I still think its awesome. James Anderson was playing like a maniac last season when he got on the field. Apparently Jamar Williams is more than capable. So it should be interesting who gets the job. But either or should give us the best chance to win.
If Williams wins the WLB job then Anderson stays at SLB. And Norwood spells him. I think Norwood can do a great job at SLB in certain situations like short yardage and blitzing.
We can put most guys at a different position. Beason MLB/WLB, Williams WLB/MLB/SLB, Anderson SLB/MLB, Conner MLB/SLB, Norwood SLB/DE. So we have a lot of versatility here. We should bring in one more guy. I’m not sure how Ivy is looking. Maybe we find one of those gems that get cut and fit out scheme well.
But if all these guys stay healthy we still have an awesome corp. Just a little less awesome from where I’m sitting now. But if Jamar Williams goes nuts then we are beautiful.
I am an optimist. It does not seem too much use being anything else.
~Winston Churchill
Double Trouble. #89. A QB who can protect the ball. Gary "the broad side of a " Barnidge. One of the very best O-lines in the league. A few young talented WRs with a lot of upside. The best FB to come out in the Draft in a long long time.
A top 5 secondary. An awesome LB corp. A 325 lb. wall on wheels in Leonard. A 306 lb. Tank that is as strong as his name suggests. Eric Norwood and Everette Brown coming off the edges too fast. Ol reliable Brayton and Johnson.
A totally new Special Teams unit. With the Jets best gunner in Wallace Wright, the Cardinals ST captain Aaron Francisco, Marcus Hudson, Fast as you want to be Brian Witherspoon.
This is one hell of a football team! This Football team is very young and set up to have success for years to come. This is the foundation of a Dynasty!!!!
by STEVEN 785 on Jun 10, 2010 1:30 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Are we all forgetting how well the defense did the last several games of last season?
Thomas Davis was out. James Anderson played great in his spot. Now we have Jamar Williams to step in , in place of Na’il Diggs. Dan Connor is the #1 backup for all 3 of them.
The sky isn’t falling. It would have been great to have Davis back to his pre-injury form, but it wasn’t to be. However, the team has viable alternatives.
After all, one of the main points of debate about how well Matt Moore did the end of last year was the contention that the defense played so well, he wasn’t responsible for the wins, they were.
thanks BigD
I am an optimist. It does not seem too much use being anything else.
~Winston Churchill
Double Trouble. #89. A QB who can protect the ball. Gary "the broad side of a " Barnidge. One of the very best O-lines in the league. A few young talented WRs with a lot of upside. The best FB to come out in the Draft in a long long time.
A top 5 secondary. An awesome LB corp. A 325 lb. wall on wheels in Leonard. A 306 lb. Tank that is as strong as his name suggests. Eric Norwood and Everette Brown coming off the edges too fast. Ol reliable Brayton and Johnson.
A totally new Special Teams unit. With the Jets best gunner in Wallace Wright, the Cardinals ST captain Aaron Francisco, Marcus Hudson, Fast as you want to be Brian Witherspoon.
This is one hell of a football team! This Football team is very young and set up to have success for years to come. This is the foundation of a Dynasty!!!!
by STEVEN 785 on Jun 10, 2010 3:48 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Actually our run defense was abysmal right after Davis went down
Offense turned things around last year, not defense
Great minds talk about ideas, small minds talk about people" - Eleanor Roosevelt
Our run defense was awful when he was still playing.
by SlayerGhaleon on Jun 10, 2010 3:43 PM EDT up reply actions
There was a drop off when he went out
I’ll look up the numbers later if I have time.
Great minds talk about ideas, small minds talk about people" - Eleanor Roosevelt
by ElBacano on Jun 10, 2010 4:06 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Did it for you
Before injury: 111.62 per game
After injury: 135.20 per game
It has to be mentioned though that we saw much worse running teams before Davis went down (Buffalo, Arizona, Washington) than we did after (New England, Minnesota, Jets)
Cat Scratch Reader's resident optimist.
I also blog the Panthers at Real Bits of Panthers
Minnesota and New England were pretty average in rushing
NO, NYJ, Miami and Dallas were the only top 10 rush offenses we played. Davis played against NO once and Dallas. So I’m not sure that was a huge factor.
Great minds talk about ideas, small minds talk about people" - Eleanor Roosevelt
Average run offense Davis faced: 18
Average run offense faced without Davis: 11.37
That’s a pretty big difference
Cat Scratch Reader's resident optimist.
I also blog the Panthers at Real Bits of Panthers
by James Dator on Jun 10, 2010 10:52 PM EDT up reply actions
Ok, a "big difference" among not very great rush offenses
Great minds talk about ideas, small minds talk about people" - Eleanor Roosevelt
Yeah I really, really liked that guy..
Leman was all over the field in preseason. Was he just a #‘s casualty? or did he get picked up off of waivers before we could put him on the PS? Either way, I’m not too overly concerned. With the good things I’ve heard about Williams and the way Anderson played last year and the seemingly untapped potential of Connor, I’m pretty comfortable where we are at. I hope they give TD a one year extension…or something to see where he’s at. I can’t see the team that quick to just give away a 1st round pick like that…especially when part of it is their fault to begin with for getting him out there that early.
In Moore we trust!!!
Picked off waivers
Panthers tried to stash him on the PS last year but I believe it was the Eagles who took him
Cat Scratch Reader's resident optimist.
I also blog the Panthers at Real Bits of Panthers
Fraken Eagles
If God came down on Christmas Day
I know exactly what He'd say
He'd say "Oi!" to the punks
and "Oi!" to the skins
but "Oi!" to the world and everybody wins.
-The Vandals
we just cut him
Supposedly because we felt he deserved to play and we just didn’t have an opportunity for him here. But we were certain another team would give him a shot. And the Eagles did indeed pick him right up. Which pissed me off because they were our first opponents. But then the Eagles put him on their PS and that was the last I heard of him.
I am an optimist. It does not seem too much use being anything else.
~Winston Churchill
Double Trouble. #89. A QB who can protect the ball. Gary "the broad side of a " Barnidge. One of the very best O-lines in the league. A few young talented WRs with a lot of upside. The best FB to come out in the Draft in a long long time.
A top 5 secondary. An awesome LB corp. A 325 lb. wall on wheels in Leonard. A 306 lb. Tank that is as strong as his name suggests. Eric Norwood and Everette Brown coming off the edges too fast. Ol reliable Brayton and Johnson.
A totally new Special Teams unit. With the Jets best gunner in Wallace Wright, the Cardinals ST captain Aaron Francisco, Marcus Hudson, Fast as you want to be Brian Witherspoon.
This is one hell of a football team! This Football team is very young and set up to have success for years to come. This is the foundation of a Dynasty!!!!
by STEVEN 785 on Jun 10, 2010 3:51 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
As a Bears fan, let me just say.....................
Jamar Williams is a future Pro Bowler……..He keeps his head down and he plays well…….
by I love football! on Jun 14, 2010 10:48 AM EDT reply actions
You're about the 10th Bears guy who's come over and said something along those lines.
Thanks for the input. I’ve tried to find highlights on youtube, watched the Lions and Rams game highlights on NFL.com but don’t really get to see him make any plays. He does look great dropping back into coverage I will say.
How do you feel about the trade, straight up for Harris? You guys happy in Bears land?
Knee jerk reaction - adj. 1. an immediate unthinking emotional reaction produced by an event or statement to which the reacting person is highly sensitive. 2. a facilitator of long threads on Cat Scratch Reader and similar blogs.
Where do you think he'd fit best?
Weekside, middle, strongside?
Great minds talk about ideas, small minds talk about people" - Eleanor Roosevelt
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