Trent Williams sat in front of his locker at Redskins Park, reflecting on his journey from promising NFL prospect to seasoned left tackle. The 6-foot-5, 325-pound Williams is in his third season out of Oklahoma.
It feels a lot longer.
Matured Trent Williams, leader of Redskins offensive line, prepares for Giants pass rush
The Washington Post’s Matt Rennie, Dan Steinberg and LaVar Arrington debate whether the Redskins are more likely to earn a postseason berth by winning the NFC East or by earning a wild card.
Drawing the assignment of facing the league’s top pass rushers on a weekly basis and a career-threatening life lesson have forced Williams to grow up quickly.
The Washington Redskins drafted him fourth overall in 2010 to be the cornerstone of the line, and paid him like it, signing him to a six-year, $60 million deal with more than $36.5 million guaranteed. A starter from the outset, Williams learned on the fly, with some ups and downs that first year.
He showed improvement last season, but just as he had overcome injuries and appeared to be rounding into form as a pass protector, Williams suffered an embarrassing end to his 2011 campaign when he was suspended for four games for failing multiple drug tests.
Since then, he has trekked toward redemption — saying and doing the right things off the field and playing at his best.
Determined to keep rookie quarterback Robert Griffin III upright and lead the Redskins back to relevance in the NFL, Williams has thrived this season, winning faceoffs with perennial double-digit sack specialists John Abraham, Jared Allen, Trent Cole, Jason Pierre-Paul and DeMarcus Ware.
“He’s really being a force out there. He’s dictating to the top-tier guys of this league,” said Redskins linebacker Brian Orakpo. “I don’t think a guy has really dominated him yet, or even had an advantage yet . . . lot of the guys that are top tiers in this league, they don’t like to face Trent. I’ve gotten word of that through other guys around the league on how much of a force Trent has become.”
Said New York Giants defensive end Justin Tuck: “I think he’s coming into his own as far as being one of the premier left tackles in the league. He’s very athletic. He’s a strong, athletic guy. A lot of the teams give their linemen a lot of help and I haven’t seen the Redskins give him much help. That lets me know how confident they are in him.”
The Redskins will need another strong effort out of Williams on Monday night as they face the New York Giants, who boast a three-headed pass-rushing attack featuring Tuck, Osi Umenyiora and Pierre-Paul.
It’s a crucial meeting for the Redskins. On the other side are the NFC East leaders and defending Super Bowl champs.
At stake for Washington is a chance to pick up a third consecutive win, even its record at 6-6 and keep alive playoff hopes.
Keeping Griffin III safe
The Redskins’ success on offense starts with their ability to protect Griffin from a defensive front that is tied for fifth in the NFL with 30 sacks.
The Giants, however, rank 25th in the NFL against the pass (253 yards per game).
Washington’s offensive line has played better as a whole this season, and despite yielding three sacks to the Giants in the teams’ first meeting, the unit paved the way for 480 yards of offense (232 passing and 248 rushing).
- Spam
- Obscene
- Duplicate
Loading...
Comments