Mike Williams deserves his own thread

[RTPbolt]

Benji also had his thinking cap on to tackle the db on the sure interception to knock it out. He came up big and earned my respect this game.

MW was dominant. Showed he can be the #1 with Allen down.

we really do have depth at WR. And RB..... TT you da man

[Joy Division]

The Chefs D is their kryptonite and it was exploited by T Benjamin and M Williams. I know Pete Carroll and Co have a week and a half to break
this footage down (that's a good thing). Glad we didn't dump Benjamin (like 99% of "fans") have been calling for since he arrived. That dude is
so money he doesn't even know it. M Williams has arrived.

[SDFan]

Benjamin had his best game as a Charger, but there's been too few of them over the life of his contract/tenure to get too excited about him. There's a young WR or 2 in the wings that can replace him for less $.

on another note: remember preseason and early season when people wanted to trade Tyrell Williams because he wasn't needed and would walk as a FA? Sure glad TT didn't do that.

[vinabolt]

Without M-Will we wouldn't have won. With Allen out and those middle pressure by Chris Jones, Rivers almost have to lob it up to Mike Will on single coverage. This game will give Whiz more confidence to draw up plays for M-Will, and Rivers more confidence to lob the ball to him on single coverage. If Allen comes back then this offense will be very hard to contain going forward into the playoff, because now defenses will have to come up with gameplans to contain both Allen and M-Will.

I think all year we still haven't expand the role for M-Will was because we were still doing great with Allen being the guy on offense. This was basically the Rivers - Allen offense. Defenses gameplan for Allen everyweek but we still beat it due to Allen insane cuts, misdirection, precise route running and all types of tricks to get open. When the QB and the WR are so in sync with each other no defenses going to stop that, and Whiz, Lynn and the offense probably felt that no need to mess with what works, "if it doesn't break, don't fix it" mentality.

After this game going forward, M-Will has proven that he is capable of the #1 target and dominate like he was in Clemson. This new development will give Whiz, Lynn, Rivers more confident to feature M-Will more, even feature more than Allen if defenses pay attention to him too much. It also will give some major headaches to defensive coaches during the week on how to gameplan against this offense.

2 helmet-to-helmet personal fouls on that final drive, 1 to Benjamin and 1 to Rivers. Obvious, blatant none calls. So much for "players safety", "QB safety". It seems some refs in this game really want KC to win. Just like some refs in BAL game last week seems really want KC to win. Some reports need to be send to the league office about these 1-side officiating. The refs and officiating for KC games going forward need to be monitor closely, with those signs of corruption, for the integrity of the game. People won't trust the game and the NFL officials if you keep letting the refs corrupted the game like that.

[Boltjolt]

He only caught two but they were BIG. He got knocked around on the first one and should it of been flagged. Great team win and everybody had a hand in it. I wa impressed with Newsome as well.

[Boltjolt]

I wouldnt call it a new development? M. Williams has produced all year and made some big plays, he just hadn't got the chances that Keenan has but he had 7 TDs before last night.
Mike Williams is going to be a stud for this team. Love the way he attacks the ball in the air which looks like some of that is rubbing off on T. Will which he didn't do at all before this year.

[like54ninjas]

Mike Williams' breakout sophomore campaign is a great sign for the Los Angeles Chargers

Oct 22, 2017; Carson, CA, USA; Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Mike Williams (81) warms up prior to the game against the Denver Broncos at StubHub Center. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports
A sophomore standout; a breakout receiving threat; a red-zone weapon - the running list of nicknames is not lacking for Los Angeles Chargers' wide receiver Mike Williams following his spectacular 2018 campaign. The second-year player earned an 81.8 grade which tied for 16th among qualifying receivers, and he ranked ahead of notable players such as Stefon Diggs and Antonio Brown.

Williams' rookie season left much to be desired, but when looking at his year-to-year production, it's evident that he took a massive leap in 2018 that saw his overall grade improve from 52.6 to 81.8. He also elevated his yards per reception average from 8.6 to 15.4 from 2017 to 2018, while he also increased his passer rating when targeted from 41.0 to 134.4 - fifth among all receivers in 2018.



Perhaps Williams' most significant area of improvement was his red-zone efficiency. The Clemson alumnus snagged his first touchdown in Week 2 of the 2018 season and he didn't look back, finishing the season with 10 total touchdowns. Williams earned the second-best grade in the red zone this season (82.6) ranking only behind Green Bay's DaVante Adams, and among wide receivers with 10 or more red-zone targets, only Chris Godwin had a higher contested-target percentage.

The enhanced workload benefitted Williams, and with more targets came more production. Williams saw 64 regular-season targets in 2018, 41 more than the previous season. Even with the increase in targets, the sure-handed Williams equaled his drop total (2) from 2017.

Williams' specialty in 2018 was the in-breaking route. Quarterback Philip Rivers maintained a 145.2 passer rating when targeting Williams on in-breaking routes, which was the highest mark among QB to WR tandems last year.



Over the last two seasons, Philip Rivers has shown that he is not afraid to target Williams down the field. In the PFF era, spanning back to 2006, Rivers has completed a pass to 66 different pass-catchers, and only two of those pass-catchers have maintained a higher average depth of target than Williams' mark of 15.5 yards. Similarly, Rivers' career passer rating when targeting Williams has been 116.2 - the seventh-best mark among the 59 pass-catchers with at least 40 targets from the quarterback.

Possibly one of the most exceptional signs moving forward is that when the stakes were highest, the Chargers turned to Williams to be the leading force in their offense. Williams saw 12 targets in the Chargers' Divisional Round matchup against the New England Patriots - five more than the next most targeted receiver.

If Williams can maintain a similar upward trend in 2019, the Chargers' offense will be once again in the upper echelon of the NFL. Opposite Williams is Keenan Allen, who has earned an 88.0-plus offensive grade in each of the last three seasons. Pair the explosive duo with the return of a healthy Hunter Henry and Rivers will have not have a lack of weapons in his arsenal.

With health on his side and a full year of NFL experience under his belt, Williams took some massive strides in 2018. Chargers' fans should be eager to see what he can do in 2019.

[beachcomber]

a PFF grade > AB, passer rating of 134.4 when targeted, and the #2 red zone receiver.... very impressive, and....

don't think they mentioned another thing.... his run blocking, which def contributed to a major uptick in things running the ball.

and besides Henry, if Cantrell turns into the dependable possession receiver we need, then MW might do even better.

[Boltjolt]

a PFF grade > AB, passer rating of 134.4 when targeted, and the #2 red zone receiver.... very impressive, and....

don't think they mentioned another thing.... his run blocking, which def contributed to a major uptick in things running the ball.

and besides Henry, if Cantrell turns into the dependable possession receiver we need, then MW might do even better.

I am hoping for good things from Cantrell. Looking forward to seeing him in preseason.
I also hope we don't have any major injuries in TC and preseason for a change.

[Bolts4ever213]

Mike Williams has the make up for a true monster, wide receiver. Megatron like. I think the return of Henry is going to bring the passing game to another level. As much as I love Gate, it's time to move on. It's a young mans game.

[Fleet]

I have fairly huge expectations this year for him. I think he and Keenan could both go over 1K yards. The key will be giving Rivers enough time for his WRs to get open. OL really needs to be consistent the entire season. He should see plenty of 1v1 matchups. And his deep speed is really pretty underrated.

There was actual video of him and Benjamin running side by side in camp last year and he was with him stride for stride. Hes got deceptive speed. And i think his confidence level will be off the charts this year.

[like54ninjas]

I like the different talents we have at WR going into camp. Looking forward to seeing what Cantrell & Scott have got.
Was a bit disappointed we didn't get more depth at TE but if HH stays healthy we have a diverse, deep, big, fast, talented group of receiving options.