Tag: Marcus Williams

Marcus Williams remaining humble despite recent success

New Orleans Saints safety Marcus Williams is tied for third place in interceptions, but he’s focused on helping his team get to the playoffs

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New Orleans Saints free safety Marcus Williams has had a career filled with more ups and downs than most. He had a great rookie year in 2017 that climaxed with one of the worst moments in recent sports history; that was followed up by an intense training camp but quiet sophomore year, in which Williams spent too much time second-guessing himself.

But now he’s back to his old self, if not playing at a higher level. Williams is tied for third in the NFL in interceptions (4), matching the mark set by cornerbacks Janoris Jenkins and Marcus Peters. It’s a tight race for the league title, with Minkah Fitzpatrick and Devin McCourty narrowly sharing the lead (5 each).

It’s even more impressive for Williams because it’s taken him just 10 games to match the number he put up in 16 games as a rookie. The sky might be the limit for him now that he’s fully acclimated to the game and moved on from some early mistakes. When asked whether he feels like he’s in something of a groove with interceptions in back-to-back games, including a win-clenching pick-six against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Williams downplayed his achievements.

“I just feel like I am in the same groove I’ve always been in. [I’m] just doing my job for the team,” Williams said during a conference call with New Orleans media. “Whatever I can do to help our team out. That’s just what I pride myself on, just doing what I can to help my team.”

However, Williams did take time to credit his success to diligent film study. He noticed Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston putting too much air underneath passes to the area of the field he was defending, and knew it would create an opportunity to go make a big play: “They’ve been doing that on film so I saw what was going to happen. [We] talked about it in the back end and just dissected the play. I just went and did my assignment and if you do your assignment, the play will come your way. That’s what happened yesterday.”

And he’s exactly what the Saints need right now. Williams, who celebrated his 23rd birthday back in September, has the talent to go out and make game-changing plays but the self-awareness to remain focused and continue putting in work behind the scenes. He’s a great role model to his teammates and someone who should be a core player for New Orleans for a long time.

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Marcus Williams scores on an interception return, Saints win 34-17

New Orleans Saints S Marcus Williams intercepted Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB Jameis Winston and returned the ball for a defensive touchdown.

It was a bad day in the office for Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston, who hurled four interceptions into the hands of the New Orleans Saints defense. His third turnover ended up getting returned from midfield for a Saints touchdown by free safety Marcus Williams, who correctly read the play design and took advantage of a badly-placed ball from Winston. With the ball in his hands, Williams turned on the jets to streak across the field and into the Tampa Bay end zone.

This was Williams’ fourth interception on the year, which leads the Saints defense and ties the 16-game total he collected as a rookie back in 2017. That year, Williams intercepted four passes and was credited with seven other pass breakups. In 2019, he’s already bagged four interceptions while deflecting a dozen passes — through just 10 games.

The big play extended New Orleans’ lead and earned congratulations from Williams’ teammates, including injured cornerback Marshon Lattimore. Lattimore was watching the game from home while nursing a strained hamstring, and he took time to shout out his friend from his official Twitter account:

You love to see it. See the play for yourself where it’s embedded below:

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Watch: Demario Davis sets up Michael Thomas TD with heads-up interception

New Orleans Saints linebacker Demario Davis made a heads-up interception to help set up a touchdown pass for Michael Thomas and Drew Brees.

Turnovers have been hard for the New Orleans Saints to come by this season. They’ve had five different interceptions overturned by a penalties throughout the year, but there was no doubting the latest pick — this time by linebacker Demario Davis. It followed a tackle at the line of scrimmage in which Davis used textbook-perfect technique.

Davis was in the right spot at the right time to snag a ball jarred out of Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end O.J. Howard, which Saints safety Marcus Williams managed to punch out. There was some initial confusion whether the play was an interception or a fumble, but the ball never touched the ground, crediting Davis with his first interception of the year. See it for yourself:

Not to be undone, the Saints offense used the opportunity in scoring range to go get a touchdown. Quarterback Drew Brees lobbed a high-arcing pass to wide receiver Michael Thomas on a corner route into the end zone, which confused the inexperienced Buccaneers secondary and allowed him to walk in untouched for six points. It was about as perfect a sequence of plays as you could draw up. Here’s the other segment of this Saints highlight reel:

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Pro Football Focus grades Marcus Williams as the Saints’ best player

The analysts at Pro Football Focus graded Marcus Williams, not Cameron Jordan or Michael Thomas, as the best New Orleans Saints player.

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The New Orleans Saints have one of the better rosters around the league, led by a defense that’s won most of its battles this year. When prompted to suggest which single player is the best on that unit, popular picks are probably defensive end Cameron Jordan or cornerback Marshon Lattimore, or maybe even linebacker Demario Davis.

But the analysts at Pro Football Focus threw another hat into the ring: free safety Marcus Williams, who they’ve graded as the best player not just on the defense, but on the entire team — ranking him ahead of Drew Brees, Michael Thomas, and everyone else. Williams has caught three of New Orleans’ four interceptions this season, and come close to securing three others:

Everyone loves Marshon Lattimore, but it’s Williams who takes the cake for New Orleans right now. The third-year Utah product has earned an impressive 80.8 run-defense grade and an even better 91.1 coverage grade so far this season. Among the 69 safeties with 10 or more targets in Weeks 1-10, Williams ranks first in completion percentage allowed (46.2%) and total yards allowed (51). He has also recorded three dropped interceptions in addition to his three caught interceptions.

Williams has improved his tackling technique as the season has gone on, though his early outings saw the same bad head-down technique that led to the Minneapolis Miracle a few years ago. So credit him for that big improvement. Until his teammates start to help out with some turnovers of their own, the Saints may have to continue relying on his ability to intercept passes from the center-field spot. In the meantime, maybe he can change into a better jersey number?

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