Text
Facebook TwitterText
Share This: |

Posted: Thursday, 27 December 2012 5:13PM

Bills' Mario Williams urges to finish out strong



Orchard Park, NY (WGR 550)  -- Coming in to the final game of the season it would seem rather easy and convenient to not put forth the effort required in any other NFL game considering the circumstances facing the Buffalo Bills.

They've underperformed all season long on their way to a 5-10 record, their defense has given up 400 points for the third season in a row and they'll be playing in front of a home crowd that may rival attendance figures of a preseason game.

Despite all that, the message from the highest paid player on the Bills' roster is simple: finish out the season with a win.

"It's very important -- not just for myself -- but for everybody in this locker room, for the people upstairs, for the fans," said defensive end Mario Williams. "The way the season has been going, obviously it's not the way any of us wanted it. But we've gotta come out and win, someway, somehow. No matter what it is, no matter what we're doing schematically. Put points on the board and don't let them put points on the board."

After a rather slow start due in part to a wrist injury, Williams has picked up his play ever since the bye week and now has 10.5 sacks through the season. The seventh-year player also has 43 tackles and 2 forced fumbles to go along with his main statistic.

Williams and his defensive teammates will have some chances against a Jets offensive line that allowed a whopping 11 sacks in their last contest against San Diego.

"It's an opportunity to go out there and get after it," he said. "Obviously they had problems last week and we've gotta put it together to get to the quarterback and get him down."

On the negative side of things, the Bills defense is not that far away for setting some regime and franchise milestones that no one wants their name attached to. Buffalo has allowed 426 points this season. If they allow just nine points to New York, that will be the most points allowed in Chan Gailey's tenure as head coach.

If the Jets were to score 29? That would set the franchise record for futility in points, which is currently held by the 1984 Bills (454 points allowed). Twenty-nine points also just so happens to be a shade more (0.6 to be exact) than the average amount of points Buffalo surrenders on a weekly basis in 2012.

Williams doesn't have to be told twice, they don't want anything to do with that record.

"Definitely," he said. "Obviously coming out here and putting ourselves in a situation and being in a hole like we are, which is on us as players, you definitely don't want to have that taste in your mouth in the off-season."

Even though the season hasn't gone the way they've wanted it to, the defensive end urges that there is no temptation to just go through the motions in their final game of the season. It hasn't happened far as often as the Bills' would have liked, but Williams wants his team to go out on top one more time.

"Whenever there is a game on Sunday, it's all about that," he remarked. "It's all about us going out and putting forth the effort to win the game. You definitely don't overlook anything regardless of what's happened. You've gotta have pride in yourself to go out there and do that."

The Bills are getting set to battle the equally as disappointing New York Jets on Sunday at Ralph Wilson Stadium.
 
Twitter: @JoeBuscaglia

All photos courtesy of AP
Filed Under :  
Topics : Sports
Social :
Locations : BuffaloNew YorkSan Diego
People : Mario Williams
ADVERTISEMENT