Mario Williams made it quite clear during his time with the Buffalo Bills that he wasn’t a fan of Rex Ryan’s defensive schemes, and Ryan is still upset by his public criticism.
Ryan told Jenny Vrentas of the MMQB that he was particularly bothered that Williams, who signed with division rival Miami during the offseason, complained about having to drop into coverage.
“Now look, with some of the comments [he made], do I wish him well? Not really,” Ryan said of Williams. “But, he’s on Miami. If he would have gone somewhere else, maybe. He’s a good kid, but I am used to some mean motherf—ers that play out there. The Terrell Suggs, Jarrett Johnsons of the world. I screwed them, too; I had them drop [into coverage], too. Not one of them bitched. Von Miller [dropped into coverage] in the Super Bowl. Why? Because that’s what’s asked of him; that’s what his job is. Your job is to play.”
Ryan used Ray Lewis as an example of a player who would sell out for the team instead of putting himself first – apparently in contrast to Williams.
“I’ll never forget, I used to have Ray sell out for maybe the 11th guy on defense,” Ryan said. “Ray Lewis is going to be one of the greatest defensive players in the history of the game, if not the greatest. That’s when you’ve got something special, and that’s what we are trying to build here.”
Williams very publicly called out Ryan for his schemes early in the season, and it’s probably not a stretch to say that his days in Buffalo were numbered from that point forward – particularly when you consider that the Bills coach is rather annoyed when people question how he runs his defense.
H/T Buffalo News
