Seattle Seahawks' Mike Williams Needs Some Love, Not Empty Promises

It was only a year ago that Mike Williams was the feel-good story for the Seahawks coming out of training camp.  Not only did he make the team, but emerged as the team's top receiving threat pacing the Hawks with 751 yards and 65 receptions last season.  

Coming into this season it seemed that with a new contract and paired up with the newly-signed Pro Bowl pass-catchers Sidney Rice and Zach Miller that Williams had a chance to be part of a potentially dynamic aerial attack if things fell into place.  

To date, it simply hasn't worked out that way...

While it hardly comes as a shock that the 'Hawks offense has struggled during the early portion of the season, Rice's performance against the Cardinals served notice that quarterback Tarvaris Jackson is, for all intents and purposes, capable of feeding a receiver.

In his Seahawks debut last Sunday, Rice tallied eight receptions for 109 yards and helped show why the 'Hawks made the effort in signing him.

Meanwhile, Williams was only targeted once and through three games has five catches for 43 yards.

Currently, he ranks fourth on the team in yardage behind Rice, Doug Baldwin and Ben Obomanu.

It's hard to imagine that under the circumstances that Williams is feeling much love for Jackson at the moment. 

Yet, only a few week earlier, Williams rallied to his quarterback's defense just before the 'Hawks' opener stating, "I just want to tell everybody, 'Back the hell up. Let him play, let him have his shot to work and come out here and do his thing.'"

Jackson, immediately following the 'Hawks win against the Cardinals, seemed keen on making amends.

"We want to get the ball to Mike a little bit more," Jackson said. "We didn't connect today ... He probably was open a couple of times. I can probably go back and watch the film and probably see him open on a couple of times on the pictures. Just got to do a better job of making sure I look for him, and making sure that we get some plays called where we can get him the ball."

With the Atlanta Falcons coming to town desperate for a win, the 'Hawks will need to get everyone involved in the passing game.  Given the Falcons' strong run defense and Rice likely getting more attention this week, the time to look for Williams has never been better.

If Williams has a breakout game, the 'Hawks might have a shot at pulling off the upset provided the defense continues to hold it's ground similar to last week while pressuring Matt Ryan. 

As for Jackson, hopefully he keeps his promise and does his homework this week. 

If not, he might lose more than one of his biggest supporters in Williams, but possibly the trust of his team and with it, the starting job.