Osi Umenyiora Rips Mario Williams

Pete Prisco of CBS Sports came out with a list of the top 50 players in the NFL last week. Some of it was predictable (Tom Brady and Peyton Manning first and second), some of it was surprising (Kevin Williams in the top 10), and all of it was designed as a springboard for off-season arguments.

One of those arguments took place on ESPN Radio this morning, where Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora (No. 42 on the list) was a guest. When asked what about that list surprised him, Umenyiora said, "Mario Williams at No. 6." He then added, "This guy right here at No. 6 is just absolutely ridiculous."

It's easy to see why Umenyiora feels that way. Williams, the Texans' 2006 first overall pick, did have one more sack than Umenyiora last season, but is he really so much better than Umenyiora that he deserves to be 36 spots ahead?

Maybe, maybe not. But, again, these lists are really nothing more than conversation-starters, and if the list got Umenyiora to express a strong opinion, it did its job.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

7-01-2008 @ 7:29AM

Steve said...

I agree that Mario Williams at #6 is a bit far-fetched, but I'd probably put him in the Top 20. He's progressed far more quickly than anyone expected, and he's acquitted the Texans of their questionable (at the time) decision to pick him over Vince Young and Reggie Bush. He definitely had a better year that Osi, considering the double teams he was facing compared to Umenyiora who had Strahan and Tuck to take the offensive line's attention away from him (and also, 6 of Osi's 14 sacks came in a ridiculous game against the Eagles' practice squad OL Winston Justice). Besides, these sorts of rankings are objective to begin with, and just to show how much these things mean in the first place, Umenyiora is the only member of the Super Bowl champs on the list, so who cares anyway?

7-01-2008 @ 11:25AM

sara said...

There's a reason m williams went number 1 in the draft, he's a PHENOMENAL athlete! Did you guys bother watching this guy play last yr? NO ONE could stop him, even with constant double and triple teams...oh, he's a beast against the run like no other DE in the league. Tell me another defensive player who is going to better than williams this season...more importantly, williams doesnt have the talent along side him as umenyiora does...Mario Williams is a BETTER player right now and will only continue to get better

7-01-2008 @ 12:20PM

Steve-0 said...

Pete Prisco is a moron.

7-01-2008 @ 12:33PM

Chuck said...

Where is Jason Taylor on that list?

7-01-2008 @ 1:54PM

Xetuoh said...

@4 Jason Taylor is dancing with the tards...

7-01-2008 @ 4:06PM

myteamrivals said...

I love it, more ammo for the Giants "lack of respect" theme.Seemed to work well last year!

http://www.myteamrivals.com/newyorkgiants

7-02-2008 @ 6:50PM

Tom said...

I have to agree with Osi Umenyiora. I think you should get highly rated after you accomplish something. Having said that, I don't think he was ripping Mario Williams so much as the Pete Prisco CBS Sports list. Clearly, Prisco's list is not completely thought out and kinda off the cuff. Now if Super Mario plays super for 16 games this year and basically just strikes fear in the hearts of opposing offenses such that he demands a double team on every down, then that would place some weight on Prisco's 'list'.

7-02-2008 @ 1:09PM

Tommy Boy said...

Mario Williams will probably be considered the best defensive player in the league after this season. He's seems to be getting stronger, quicker and smarter every day. The Texans really dodged a bullet by not listening to the clueless media and fans. Reggie Bust and Wonderlic 6 will be out of the league in 3 more seasons.

7-21-2008 @ 8:41PM

JB said...

Osi needs to stop hating on Super Mario. Not only is Mario developing into a monster pass rusher, he is an absolute beast against the run. And another thing, Mario has never had a future HOFer opposite him. Strahan and Tuck on the same line with him and he is hating on Mario who still had more sacks than he had?!? Get a grip hater. We'll see just how impressive you are this year when teams start to focus on you more. I hope this got back to Mario's ears. Add more fuel to his already raging fire you Alabama, backwoods, knee-slapping, XXX-jug blowing, banjo-picking, overall wearing, wheat straw sucking hater! GO TEXANS!

8-16-2008 @ 11:50AM

budo said...

Williams also didn't have the all around excellent defense that Osi had. Give it a break!! Williams played exceptional with the team around him being so much less.