Connor Williams

Currently the 3rd ranked center in the NFL because of blocking but his bad snap issues are dangerous to the team. For those that don't know he also had a bad snap during the kneel down at the end of the game. Luckily Robert Hunt fell on it and the Patriots weren't rushing the formation!

Something needs to be done about this. Lucky it has not cost a game yet.

Ever since his pointless little hissyfit back in minicamp Connor Williams has been my least favorite player on the team. I want him either gone or moved to guard roughly nowish. At this point I'd actually rather see Grier's pet Eichenberg at center. SURELY he can't snap the ball any worse!

Well, when the backups at Center are Liam Eichenberg and Lester Cotton, I can understand why Williams keeps playing.

They really need to impress upon him that any future monetary increase will be tied to his snapping at a 100% efficiency.

Yeah, with the way Williams is playing overall, it's really hard to not keep him as the starting center. Obviously the snaps are a MASSIVELY HUGE concern that MUST be fixed, but the good news is he is kicking ass otherwise.

At this point I'd have to assume the snap problem is a mental issue. Maybe he can speak to a psychologist or something, but whatever he's currently doing to overcome the snap issues clearly isn't working.

yes, both pass and run blocking he's playing relatively well for the most part. and that is the confounding issue. at what point do the snap issues (assuming they continue) outweigh the positives? and while they aren't happening all the time, they do happen at critical times and they have directly led to points taken off the board (well, not being scored in the first place).

but McDaniel doesn't seemed concerned.

McDaniel said he planned on going for it on the fourth down preceding the late Sanders miss from 55 yards, “but we had a mishandled exchange under center, which lost 2 yards [on third down]. I didn’t think it was responsible to go that direction.”

He indicated he’s not overly concerned about the handful of center/snap exchange issues early in the season.

https://www.miamiherald.com/sports/nfl/miami-dolphins/article279067239.html

does winning whitewash the issue or does McDaniel "know" it will be fixed?

the Dolphins have put an emphasis on getting off the snap and into their blocks quicker. i think Williams is rushing his snaps in pressure situations. the only thing i know of that will fix it is repetition, but replicating a short yardage, redzone snap with the game on the line and your adrenaline is pumping isn't easy to do in practice.

Frank Smith the OC says Botched Snaps are the Fault of Both Players and they need to Work together to fix it, When Tua is under Center than this could be True, But in Shotgun then it is Williams job to get the Ball right at Tua's Chest.

finskev wrote:Frank Smith the OC says Botched Snaps are the Fault of Both Players and they need to Work together to fix it, When Tua is under Center than this could be True, But in Shotgun then it is Williams job to get the Ball right at Tua's Chest.

The last bad snap on Sunday had Tua under center, and the ball hit Williams's leg before it got to Tua - so that one is on the center for sure.

I'm willing to give Tua some of the blame - but I saw pretty much every game Tua played at Alabama, and I saw every game Tua played with the Phins before Williams arrived, and I don't recall ever seeing him have an issue with botched snaps. Plus, Tua's been a QB his entire life - Williams has been a center for less than 2 years.

I know Smith doesn't want to throw one player under the bus, but we all know this is a Williams problem.

JMP wrote:I know Smith doesn't want to throw one player under the bus, but we all know this is a Williams problem.

if its any consolation, Connor agreed with you.

Center Connor Williams said Thursday that he takes responsibility for the mishandled snaps with Tua Tagovailoa over the first two weeks of the season.

“We’re working on it,” Williams said. “We’re going to get it fixed. We’re working countless hours on it. We’re going to get it fixed. I take responsibility for them. He’s fine. Maybe I’ve been short and pulled them here and there. I need to be consistent on it. I think we’ll be good moving forward.”

https://www.miamiherald.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/barry-jackson/article279075464.html

I still smell a rotten rat in the state of Denmark. Williams is only admitting it NOW that it's obvious the jig is up and people are starting to catch on that he was doing it on purpose to get more money so now he has to pretend it was a bunch of honest mistakes that somehow no other center in recent memory has ever done.

I was looking at Cesar Ruiz for next year...until the Saints had to go and give him an extension 2 weeks ago Now my next target is Matt Hennessy, who's younger than Williams and will be a lot cheaper seeing as he's now on IR (which will no doubt attract Grier's attention in the offseason). Right now I can't really think of anybody else this team could afford who wouldn't be a significant downgrade in the non-snapping aspects of the job. Lord knows Grier will never draft one