D8
EZ SU
KLMNO PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL Williams is off to a good start at left tackle redskins from D1 Aided with a mentor not af-
forded other rookies, Williams enters the Redskins’ Week 2 matchup against the Houston Texans already a step ahead of the other tackles from his class. After holding his own against DeMar- cus Ware in his regular season debut, Williams will draw Mario Williams,Houston’s powerful de- fensive end, on Sunday, which is not unlike tearing through a giant rib-eye and getting a plate of pork chops for dessert.
A provenmentor There was plenty of debate
prior to the NFL draft about this year’s crop of tackles, considered to be a strong class nomatterhow the players were ranked. Many were surprised when Trent Wil- liams was the first to hear his name called, as the fourth overall pick. A total of four tackles were selected in the first round, but Williams is the only one currently starting at left tackle. Russell Okung, considered by
many to be the draft’s top line- man, went to Seattle with theNo. 6 pick; he’ll miss his second straight game Sunday with an ankle injury.The draft’s 11th over- all selection, Anthony Davis, is starting for the 49ers, but they’re easing him in at right tackle. Green Bay took Bryan Bulaga with the 23rd pick, and he enters Week 2 as the Packers’ backup right tackle. (Rodger Saffold, the first pick of the second round, is the starting left tackle for the Rams, protecting Sam Bradford’s blind side.) Williams has something that
Okung and the others don’t. Al- though Okung’s offensive line coach, Alex Gibbs, abruptly quit the Seahawks earlier this month, Williams has had offensive line coach Chris Foerster and the help of Chris Samuels, a six-time Pro Bowler whose retirement created Washington’s vacancy at left tack- le.
Samuels and Williams were
linked from the start. Samuels represented the team at the draft in New York and escorted Wil- liams to Washington. They ha- ven’t spent much time apart since.
Samuels served as a coaching
intern during training camp, but the NFL-sponsored programend- ed last month. “I begged him not to leave,” Williams said. Samuels wasn’t ready to leave either, so he asked Shanahan if he could re- main with the team for the entire season. Shanahan agreed, and Samuels is at RedskinsPark every morning, keeping the same hours as coaches and working closely with all of the linemen, especially Williams. “From when I first walk in the
door until I leave, he’s right there with me,” Williams said. Samuels is with the linemen on
the practice field and in the meet- ing room. He watches hours of tape and helps Williams game- plan for pass rushers such as Ware andMario Williams. “I played against those guys in
the past, so the experiences that I had, that’s prettymuchwhat I can pass on to him,” Samuels said. “Things to look for, their best moves.WhenIwatch tape,whenI see something, I’ll mention it to him.”
Samuels also has given Wil- liams some off-field guidance,
NOTEBOOK
Bills save tailgating institution, but no more bowling ball shots
ASSOCIATED PRESS Ken Johnson, the Buffalo Bills
tailgatinginstitution, isn’tmoving after all. He does, however, plan to stop
his tradition of providing passers- by with shots of Polish cherry li- queur out of the thumbhole of a bowling ball. Johnson said by phone Satur-
daythathe’sbeenconvincednot to move from the team’s main park- ing lot, where he’s been a fixture for 21 years. The change of heart cameafter Johnsonwas contacted by a Bills official asking him to stay. “They gaveme the hard-press,”
Johnson said, of the conversation hehadwithChristopherClark, the Bills director of security. Johnson said he received the call Friday, as hewasdrivingtoGreenBayfor the Bills’ game against the Packers on Sunday. “It was a good conversation,
and very professional,” Johnson said. Bills spokesman Scott Berch-
told confirmed that an official spoke with Johnson, and charac-
terized it as “a good and positive discussion.” The call from the Bills came a
day after Johnsonmadeheadlines and became the topic of national radioprogramsafter itwasreport- ed that he planned to move his tailgating event across the street fromRalphWilsonStadium. Johnsonnolonger feltwelcome
inthe team’smainlotafteranNFL official threatenedtoclosehis tail- gate after witnessing numerous peoplelineuptohavebowlingball shots prior to the Bills’ opener againstMiami lastweekend. TheNFL has grown increasing-
ly concerned about rowdy fans and alcohol abuse. The Bills have joined the Raiders in a pilot pro- grampromoting responsible alco- hol use in partnering with Moth- ersAgainstDrunkDriving. Inagreeingtostayathisnormal
locationjust southof the stadium, Johnson is planning to keep his bowling ball plugged for themost part. Though he said hemight take a
traditional shot before the game, Johnsonsaidhewon’tprovideany to fans. The ball, however, will remainondisplay.
“I’ve gotmixed feelings on that,
but it has been getting bigger and bigger andmore expensive,” John- son said, noting he spent close to $1,500 on cherry liqueur last year. “Then again, I might put shots of prune juice in it,” he addedwith a laugh. The bowling ball is only part of
Johnson’s colorful and popular tailgate, which has been featured on the Food Network, by NFL Films and numerous othermedia outlets. Johnson cooks meat on the
hood of his red 1980 Pinto. He’s converted a filing cabinet into a pizza oven. And, most recently, he’s began cooking chicken wings inamailbox. l STEELERS: Pittsburgh has
released quarterback Byron Left- wich so it can dress an additional defensive lineman for Sunday’s game atTennessee. Leftwich is expected to return
to the 53-man roster on Monday. He already is guaranteed his full salary this season. Leftwich, mending from a left
knee injury, was not expected to play against theTitans. l PANTHERS: Carolina has
DAVID DUPREY/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Ken Johnson, at left cooking on the hood of his car in Orchard Park, N.Y., has been asked by the Bills not to relocate his famed tailgate.
downgraded wide receiver Bran- don LaFell fromprobable to ques- tionable for their game against TampaBay because of a sore ham- string. The Panthers made the move
Saturday after their final walk- through before Sunday’s home opener. l JAGUARS: Jacksonville re-
signed first-year wide receiver John Matthews to the practice squad Saturday and waived re- ceiverClarenceDenmarkfromthe practice squad. Matthews began the season on
the practice squad before being activated Sept. 11 to play in the team’s season opener against the Broncos.HewaswaivedThursday
when the team signed tight end ErnestWilford. Denmark had been waived in
final cuts on Sept. 4 before being signed to the practice squadMon- day.
Matthews was the team’s lead-
ing receiver inthepreseason. l RAMS: Defensive tackle Clif-
ton Ryan was downgraded to out and he did not make the trip to Oakland. Ryan was hospitalized over-
night Wednesday and missed practiceThursday andFriday. Backup cornerback Kevin
Dockery (left hamstring)was also downgraded to out for Sunday’s game against theRaiders.
RONALD MARTINEZ/GETTY IMAGES Mario Williams, right, had one of his better games in the Texans’ surprising victory over the Colts.
helping the rookie adjust to the NFL lifestyle. The advice might not be different than what coach- es offer, but it’s hard not to pay attention when the speaker rep- resents everything Williams is striving for. “Chris played that position,”
Foerster said. “He came in as a rookie and started as a rookie as well. Just like Trent. So he knows exactly what Trent’s going through right now. He’s able to offer him that perspective, tell him what to expect, what pitfalls might be there, what’s going to happen in the game. ‘My first game against so-and-so was like this.’ ” Said Williams: “Ispendvirtual-
ly all day with Chris — every day, day in and day out. He’s in the meeting rooms, at practice, in the lunch room with us. We’re just always talking.” The Redskins’ other four start-
ing linemen have started a com- bined 331 games. Sunday will mark Williams’s second start, so he’s heeding any morsel of advice that’s offered. “He gives me so much insight,” Williams said of Samuels. “I really couldn’t gauge it if I didn’t have him. I don’t even know what it’d be like. “He just got done going up
against a lot of these people that I’mplaying.He’s got a lot of inside tips. It’s not just like a coach tellingmewhat I need to do. It’s a person telling me how to do it becausehehadsuccess in the past doing it that way.”
Another tough test Just as Samuels had first-hand
advice from lining up against the Cowboys’Ware, he’s also familiar with Mario Williams. The two met in 2006 in Mario Williams’s third game as a professional, and
Samuels fared pretty well. Mark Brunell wasn’t sacked once and the Redskins amassed more than 230 rushing yards. Williams nev- er got so much as a quarterback hurry in the game. But four years later,Mario Wil-
liams is much more comfortable as a pro. Last Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts, in one of his best games, he sacked Peyton Manning once and managed five more quarterback hurries. Play- ing end in a 4-3 defense, he’ll line up on both sides of the line against the Redskins, but should drawTrent Williams the majority of the time. “I don’t care if it’s the first year
of [Williams’s career] or the 15th year, I just always try to go out andcompete againstwhoever it is out there facing me,” Mario Wil- liams said. “It’s not like I try to teach something to somebody be- cause they’re a rookie. I’m trying
JOHN MCDONNELL/THE WASHINGTON POST Cowboys defensive end Igor Olshansky, left, gets tangled up with Redskins left tackle Trent Williams during last week’s season opener.
to do that to everybody.” Going against the Cowboys’ 3-4
defense last week, Washington’s coaches didn’t feelTrent Williams needed much help in protection. WhileMario Williams could be a handful on Sunday, Trent Wil- liams isn’t getting babied into the league. “To me, he’s doing a great job
for them,” said Houston Coach GaryKubiak, a Shanahan disciple who relies on a similar zone- blocking scheme. “To me, when you draft those young players like that, they go in the fire, so to speak, right off the get-go. . . . I think the quicker they play, the quicker they grow up and become the great players that you drafted them to be. I’m very impressed with him. I think he’s doing a hell of a job.”
Shanahanknewthatmuchear-
ly. Shortly after Williams was drafted, Shanahan started com- parisons with Ryan Clady, Shana- han’s first-round draft pick in 2008 with the Broncos. Clady started right away and was select- ed to the Pro Bowl in his second season. First Clady, and now with Williams, Shanahan said he knew after just a couple of practices that he had “something special.” “You could see the quickness,
the speed, the intelligence,” Sha- nahan said of Williams. “You knewhewasgoing to be a football player. There’s always going to be some growing pains, but hey, that’s part of the NFL.” So how good could Williams
be? Facing Ware in the season opener was one test. And while Mario Williams is another big challenge, every Sunday will pro- vide a new progress report for a rookie who’s already off to a good start. “I think he’s right along the
same path that I was,” Samuels said. “I think he can be better than I was, if he just continues to work hard and stay on track. He definitely has all the physical tools, he’s a smart guy and he learns fast. If he just stays hungry, the sky’s the limit for him.”
maeser@washpost.com
Staff writer Jason Reid contributed to this report.
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2010 AUTO RACING
It’s time to begin new Chase for points
Hamlin’s six wins mean little
as postseason begins BY RANDY COVITZ Denny Hamlin seemingly
has all the momentum going into the start of NASCAR’s Chase for the Sprint Cup on Sunday atNewHampshire. He is coming off a win at Richmond, giving him six vic- tories, more than any other driver this season, and a 10- point lead over four-time de- fending champion Jimmie Johnson. But history is not on Ham-
lin’s side. Since the Chase for the
Sprint Cup format was intro- duced in 2004, only two driv- ers who led at the end of the regular season — Tony Stew- art in 2005 and Johnson in 2007 — won the champion- ship. A year ago, Mark Martin
entered the Chase as the top seed and held the lead for three weeks after winning at NewHampshireandfinishing second at Dover.He ended up second to Johnson in the final standings. In2008,KyleBuschwasthe
top seed after winning eight races but was shut out during the postseason and finished a distant 10th. So Hamlin knows he’s not necessarily the favorite to de- throne Johnson. “A lot of people bash this
race team about can’t finish this or can’t finish that,”Ham- lin said leading up to the Sylvania 300 in Loudon,N.H., “but we’ve got the most wins, and hopefully that’s going to carry us through 10 weeks of the Chase.” Hamlin, 29, has made the
Chase in all five seasons that he has driven full-time for Joe Gibbs Racing, but he has nev- er been a real threat to win a championship. He was third in 2006, when he was the series rookie of the year, but his best finish since was fifth last year when he began the Chase fourth, dropped as far as 11th and rallied by winning at his home track of Martins- ville and then atHomestead. “I’ve made a lot of these
Chases and made a lot of mistakes through these Chas- es,”Hamlin said. “Every year I feel like we learn something. I feel this year I’m as clear as I’ve ever been, and we’re win- ning at trackswedon’t usually win at. “The Chase lays out for us
pretty good. If we can carry this momentum from Rich- mond through Loudon and Dover, we feel like we can run with anyone over the second half of the Chase.” Last year,Hamlin got off to
a good start in the Chase, finishing a strong second to Martin,andmovedupto third in the Chase.He followed that with a 22nd at Dover and a fifth at Kansas. Then, after he won the pole at California, an accident caused him to finish 37th; followed by an engine failure and 42nd place at Charlotte. That dropped him to 11th and killed his chances at the Chase. “The last five races of the
Chase alwaysseemto be really good for us, and we always gain points from those last five,” Hamlin said. “But the problem is:We race ourselves right out of it for the first two or three. “So for me, it’s about dam-
age control at the beginning and trying to get the best finishes we can and see where we end up. If we are within shouting distance with five to go, then I’m pretty confident we’ll have a good shot at it.” —McClatchy Newspapers
Going against history
Since NASCAR implemented its 10-race Chase for the Sprint Cup playoff format in 2004, just two of the six leaders at the end of the regular season went on to win the championship. Yr. Leader (Lead) Champ
’04 J. Gordon (+5) Ku. Busch ’05 T. Stewart (+5)
T. Stewart
’06 M. Kenseth (+57) J. Johnson ’07 J. Johnson (+20) J. Johnson ’08 Ky. Busch (+30) J. Johnson
’09 M. Martin (+10) J. Johnson Note: 2007 was the first year in which drivers received 10 bonus points for each win after the points were reset for the start of the Chase.
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