"We began by making Mario Williams out to be Superman the moment we laid eyes on him. That is, we saw him as some combination of Reggie White, Bruce Smith and Lawrence Taylor.

All we expected Williams to do was put a franchise on his shoulders and take it to places it had never been before. Along the way, he would become a measuring stick for greatness.

OK, so we oversold the kid a bit. In five seasons with the Texans, he indeed has had some spectacular moments. Those games should not be overlooked. To portray him as a bust is silly.

Williams' 48 sacks are the seventh most in the NFL since he arrived in 2006. Off the field, he has represented the franchise with dignity and class. There have been times when fans have gotten on him harshly and times when he has played with injuries that would send others to the locker room.

When the Texans finally pulled the plug on Williams' 2010 season, they essentially had to force him off the field. They told him to take the final three games of the season off, get the two sports hernias that had slowed him surgically repaired, and begin preparing for 2011.

"He is a great young man," Texans coach Gary Kubiak said. "He works hard. He never complains.

"He's the kind of guy you want to coach."

Yet Williams has never been the consistent, game-wrecking defensive presence the Texans hoped he'd be. He has been good, but good is not great. So here we are again, with Williams beginning his sixth NFL season and the Texans having big plans for him.

It's not fair to say the Texans' entire season rides on his performance, but it is fair to say that if he's great — that is, if he's healthy and productive - the Texans will have a much, much better chance of making the playoffs for the first time."