Marcus Williams is one BAD dude! Best Safety in NFL (1 Viewer)

[DreadedOne]

According to PFF, he was THE BEST safety in the league after 4 weeks...can't wait to lock this dude up long term.

PFF's NFL First-Quarter All-Pro Team

Through four weeks of the 2021 NFL season, PFF's first- and second-team All-Pro players are headlined by the ageless wonder Tom Brady.

www.pff.com

"Williams has never had a bad season in the NFL, and that doesn’t look like it's changing any time soon. He has a forced fumble to go along with two picks and a pass breakup so far this season for the Saints. His coverage grade is an impressive 74.9, and his 67.3 run-defense grade is above average despite three missed tackles so far this season.

Williams spends most of his time (88.8% of his snaps) as a free safety, well off the line of scrimmage, so his ability to make as many impactful plays as he does is truly impressive."

 

[Alan12]

Best at coverage, worst at tackling

Love the dude but he needs to stop dipping his head and whiffing. The Metcalf TD was yet another chapter of "How Not to Tackle at the NFL Level". Just wrap him up and drive him out of bounds and it saves the huge TD.

Also, instead of "clownin' and running", please feel free to contribute to the discussion after reading through the rest of the thread.

 

[Andrus]

Best at coverage, worst at tackling

Love the dude but he needs to stop dipping his head and whiffing. The Metcalf TD was yet another chapter of "How Not to Tackle at the NFL Level". Just wrap him up and drive him out of bounds and it saves the huge TD.

I get the rationale behind this thread countering Saint Kamara's outlandish assertion to the contrary, but then I see your post, Alan... Did you not read the following quoted post within the thread? How do you explain that if what you say is true?

4. Marcus Williams, New Orleans Saints​

It would have been easy for Marcus Williams to allow his career to be haunted by the Minneapolis Miracle, when he showed up with the worst single play of his career at the biggest moment. But both before and after that play, Williams has been one of the best in the NFL. The now fifth-year safety missed just two tackles from 67 attempts in 2020.

 

[Zack Lee]

Perhaps it’s the middle ground.

 

[First Time Poster]

I get the rationale behind this thread countering SaintKamara's outlandish assertion to the contrary, but then I see your post, Alan... Did you not read the following quoted post within the thread? How do you explain that if what you say is true?

It's mostly perception. An offensive lineman could be having the game of his life but if he holds on a 80 yard bomb for a TD, that is what the masses will remember.

Out of sight, out of mind. For every miss tackle we see (which you graciously pointed out isn't many) there are ten plays we don't see where he saved TDs. It is what it is with some Saints fans.

 

[Andrus]

It's mostly perception. An offensive lineman could be having the game of his life but if he holds on a 80 yard bomb for a TD, that is what the masses will remember.

Out of sight, out of mind. For every miss tackle we see (which you graciously pointed out isn't many) there are ten plays we don't see where he saved TDs. It is what it is with some Saints fans.

Makes sense considering the Minny miracle, being drug down the field by Kittle the next season, and that whiff on DK Metcalf, but he is a pretty solid tackler normally in my own perception. Williams isn't a big safety either, so in space he needs some help with some of the big boys.

 

[Eman5805]

It's the Meaningless Miracle. So many people don't even remember him for anything else. So the prevailing groupthink is "Marcus Williams is a bad tackler."

And that will always be truth, despite every single metric says the opposite. Unless we see him visibly make a game changing tackle. Maybe a big one...and the problem is, he's not like Troy Polamalu or Sean Taylor. He doesn't make explosive tackles. He prevents deep shot and picks off bad throws in his range (which is a lot of the field).

But what he does is often hidden on the edges of the screen we can't ever see because unless a QB tests him, he's invisible out there.

 

[SigFreudianSlip]

Perhaps it’s the middle ground.

Lol. This is exactly the answer. When he does miss it’s spectacular.

 

[Jesse Custer]

QBs don't typically test Marcus. When they do, the result usually seems to be an INT. Regardless of his bad form on trying to bring down Metcalf, he still played better than Jamal Adams.

 

[St. Aaron]

Perhaps it’s the middle ground.

I'm laughing through the tears...

 

[Alan12]

I get the rationale behind this thread countering Saint Kamara's outlandish assertion to the contrary, but then I see your post, Alan... Did you not read the following quoted post within the thread? How do you explain that if what you say is true?

I hadn't read the thread that quote was pulled from, only this one (was only the OP at the time I posted).

But yes, 2020 was by far his best campaign in the tackling area, however the cause of my comment is that he already has as many/or more (depending on which source you read) missed tackles through 6 games as he did all of last season. That's appearing to be regression to the mean after a superb season last year if he continues on his current trajectory. These are tidbits pulled from an article about Marcus Williams' career season-by-season...

Saints S Marcus Williams in Line for a Huge Payday With a Big 2021

New Orleans used the franchise tag to keep S Marcus Williams off the open market this offseason. Williams could be in line for a huge contract extension with a big year, also crucial to a Saints secondary full of questions.

www.si.com

2018
Many felt that Williams regressed in his second season with the Saints. He still finished the year in a four-way tie for the team lead with 2 interceptions, but was often out of position on deep plays and missed several tackles.

2019
Finishing second only to Lattimore on the team with 13 passes broken up, Williams took better angles in coverage but still struggled with missed tackles.

2020
Williams had made his tackling an offseason priority, and it showed. He was credited for just three missed tackles on the year and played with much smarter angles in pursuit and in coverage.

And now in 2021 he already has 3 missed tackles in 6 games. It needs to be cleaned up. He keeps trying to force a big play when he doesn't need to by throwing his shoulder when just wrapping up and directing them out of bounds would be just as good.

I left out his rookie season from the article above because we all know he was a stud that year and I refuse to use "the play" as a point in my argument because I don't need to. I've never (and won't ever) pile on Marcus for the play everyone piles on him for because I honestly can't lay blame on him for it. He was a rookie and at the time it was the biggest game of his career. I lay the blame at Dennis Allen's feet because had he called the defense to play the sidelines, it never happens. Instead we get to see it ad nauseum every time we play the Vikings.

So lets say his 2021 season continues on pace and he misses more routine tackles; come contract negotiations, that'll have him with 2 seasons of good tackling (2017 and 2020) and 3 seasons worth of lets call it "sub-par" tackling (2018, 2019, and 2021). It's not helping him if he wants to get paid.

As I said in my initial post, I love Marcus and I definitely would love for him to remain a Saint in 2022 and beyond because finding a coverage safety his caliber is a hell of a lot harder than finding a box safety that won't miss any tackles but can't cover a twin bed with a king size fitted sheet. I'd just like to see his tackling remain consistent. He'll make a few great tackles and then you'll get a few like that Metcalf TD on Monday night, or the one against the Texans Week 1 in 2019 where he whiffed trying to light up Deshaun Watson at the goal-line. For the latter play, he actually had the angle on Watson and then dips his head and Watson runs right by him for the score. Like I said, no need for a big bone jarring hit, just wrap him up and take him out of bounds. Instead he's on a highlight clip whiffing on tackling a QB that he had dead to rights.

 

[Xeno]

The problem with grading a FS on eye test alone is you only ever see the absolute worst on camera come game time. Go look at the All-22 and you find out that Marcus Williams is shutting down the deep passing game week in and week out, all by himself most of the time.

 

[Xeno]

I hadn't read the thread that quote was pulled from, only this one (was only the OP at the time I posted).

But yes, 2020 was by far his best campaign in the tackling area, however the cause of my comment is that he already has as many/or more (depending on which source you read) missed tackles through 6 games as he did all of last season. That's appearing to be regression to the mean after a superb season last year if he continues on his current trajectory. These are tidbits pulled from an article about Marcus Williams' career season-by-season...

Saints S Marcus Williams in Line for a Huge Payday With a Big 2021

New Orleans used the franchise tag to keep S Marcus Williams off the open market this offseason. Williams could be in line for a huge contract extension with a big year, also crucial to a Saints secondary full of questions.

www.si.com

And now in 2021 he already has 3 missed tackles in 6 games. It needs to be cleaned up. He keeps trying to force a big play when he doesn't need to by throwing his shoulder when just wrapping up and directing them out of bounds would be just as good.

I left out his rookie season from the article above because we all know he was a stud that year and I refuse to use "the play" as a point in my argument because I don't need to. I've never (and won't ever) pile on Marcus for the play everyone piles on him for because I honestly can't lay blame on him for it. He was a rookie and at the time it was the biggest game of his career. I lay the blame at Dennis Allen's feet because had he called the defense to play the sidelines, it never happens. Instead we get to see it ad nauseum every time we play the Vikings.

So lets say his 2021 season continues on pace and he misses more routine tackles; come contract negotiations, that'll have him with 2 seasons of good tackling (2017 and 2020) and 3 seasons worth of lets call it "sub-par" tackling (2018, 2019, and 2021). It's not helping him if he wants to get paid.

As I said in my initial post, I love Marcus and I definitely would love for him to remain a Saint in 2022 and beyond because finding a coverage safety his caliber is a hell of a lot harder than finding a box safety that won't miss and tackles but can't cover a twin bed with a king size fitted sheet. I'd just like to see his tackling remain consistent. He'll make a few great tackles and then you'll get a few like that Metcalf TD on Monday night, or the one against the Texans Week 1 in 2019 where he whiffed trying to light up Deshaun Watson at the goal-line. For the latter play, he actually had the angle on Watson and then dips his head and Watson runs right by him for the score. Like I said, no need for a big bone jarring hit, just wrap him up and take him out of bounds. Instead he's on a highlight clip whiffing on tackling a QB that he had dead to rights.

Here's the thing: The Metcalf TD is a once in a season event for Marcus Williams. Saints fans are seriously jaded by the Minneapolis Miracle. It was an absolutely awful play, but it happened in his rookie season and he's totally recovered and quietly become just about the best FS in the league since then.

 

[blasian]

It's mostly perception. An offensive lineman could be having the game of his life but if he holds on a 80 yard bomb for a TD, that is what the masses will remember.

Out of sight, out of mind. For every miss tackle we see (which you graciously pointed out isn't many) there are ten plays we don't see where he saved TDs. It is what it is with some Saints fans.

Cracks me up though. If everyone consistently thought like this, everyone would be the worst at everything.

 

[Alan12]

Here's the thing: The Metcalf TD is a once in a season event for Marcus Williams. Saints fans are seriously jaded by the Minneapolis Miracle. It was an absolutely awful play, but it happened in his rookie season and he's totally recovered and quietly become just about the best FS in the league since then.

It might be once in a season and I hope it is, but we still have 11 games to go (5 games of which are against some very good offenses that are currently ranked 1st, 4th, 5th, and 6th in points scored) and he's already matched his missed tackle totals from all last year. As I said, it needs to be cleaned up before it bites us later in the season, especially against one of those potent offenses.