Vikings rookie wide receiver, Troy Williamson, the seventh pick in this year’s draft, is apparently in Mike Tice’s doghouse. The Star Tribune reports that Williamson took a knee in practice last Wednesday and that knee landed him in the doghouse. I don’t really know what the problem is; the Vikings do, after all, have a tradition of taking a knee.
Sitting Williamson is probably for the best; it will give him some time to think about how he can improve his game.
Williamson has been a disappointment this season. I wanted the Vikes to draft Mike WiIliams instead of Williamson, and I was wrong, but still, it’s not unreasonable to expect more production from Williamson than we’ve gotten thus far.
It seems to me that the rookie receiver’s main problem is tracking the ball. Williamson seems to do a very good job when he can see the ball come out of the quarterback’s hands; on slants and crossing routes, for example. He has more trouble hanging onto the ball on timing routes such as outs, where he’s not looking toward the ball until the last second.
More troubling, since this is primarily why he was drafted, is that Williamson also seems to have trouble locating the ball on long fly routes. Sure he’s caught a few this season but it looks like he has trouble if the ball is not thrown exactly where he expects it, usually over his inside shoulder. If the ball is under- or over-thrown, he has trouble going to get the ball. And if he’s covered and has to fight for the ball, forget it; he just can’t seem to adjust to the situation.
It’s far too early to panic, of course. Unless you’re Randy Moss or Anquan Boldin, it generally takes rookie receivers three years to really come into their own.
On the other hand, I have heard many coaches say that the ability to find the ball is something you have or don’t have. Here’s hoping that Williamson will prove them wrong by learning the skill.