"Mario Williams rode his reputation into the Pro Bowl. He doesn't deserve to be there. Not even close.

The Texans hoped for so much more from this guy by now. They hoped he'd be a game-changer, a guy who kept offensive coordinators and quarterbacks up nights.

Lawrence Taylor was like that. So were Reggie White and Jevon Kearse. Dwight Freeney and Jared Allen are like that now.

Williams has never come close to being that kind of player. He has had some terrific stretches, but he has never been a really dominant defender in terms of disrupting game plans.

The Texans have changed his coaches, moved him around, stopped moving him, talked to him, coached him. You name it, the Texans have tried it. Still, he's not a great player.

One of the great things about Gary Kubiak is how he gives unvarnished answers to sensitive questions. There's no hidden agenda, no spinning.

With the Texans' season on the line last week in Miami, Williams barely showed up. If you're looking at your stat sheet, you might think he didn't show up.

Zero sacks. Zero tackles.

Those numbers can be taken out of context. He was there. Sort of.

"He needs to play better than he played last week," Kubiak said.

How's that for going out on a limb? Williams had a big game three weeks ago against Seattle after a heart-to-heart talk with his coach. Maybe they need to sit down again before the Patriots come to town for a game that could get the Texans into the playoffs.

"They (the Dolphins) threw the ball 55 times," Kubiak said. "He needs to show up more in those situations, and he's going to have to do that this weekend. We're going to all have to play even better than we did last week.""