By JAKE MARTIN
Written for the LSWA
One. Two. Three. Four…
Hang on.
Five. Six. Seven. Eight…
Counting game balls that were bestowed to Pat Williams throughout his illustrious NFL career might take a minute. More than that, actually.
Thirteen. Fourteen. Fifteen…
A 14-year NFL career that began in Buffalo with Pro Football Hall of Famer Bruce Smith saw Williams make a name for himself as one part of “The Package” alongside Ted Washington. In the late ‘90s, the Wossman High graduate squared off against Hall of Famers Dan Marino, Brett Favre and Warren Moon on the biggest stage football has to offer.
Twenty. Twenty-one. Twenty-two…
It can be argued the 6-3, 315-pound nose tackle figuratively, and quite literally, left a massive gap in Buffalo’s defense when he pursued a new team in 2004. After Williams led the front line of Buffalo’s rush defense that allowed 100.3 rushing yards per game in 2004, which was sixth best in the NFL, the Bills allowed 137.8 rushing yards per game (31st) the following year when Williams exited for Minnesota.
Twenty-eight. Twenty-nine. Thirty…
Buffalo’s rush defense worsened, while Minnesota’s rose to the best in the league. In fact, Williams’ tenure with the Vikings featured three consecutive seasons where the Vikings had the best rush defense in the NFL. Minnesota allowed just 61.6 rushing yards per game in 2006, 74.1 in 2007 and 76.9 in 2008 before “dipping” to 87.1 in 2009 when the Vikings reached the NFC Championship Game against the Saints. Over five years and 60 games played, Williams helped solidify a defense that allowed just 80.4 rushing yards per game.
Thirty-four. Thirty-five. Thirty-six. Phew.
“You know, actually that’s all that’s in here,” remembered Williams inside his man cave that featured one hall of fame jersey after the next. “My son (Pat Williams II) actually has some at his apartment in Ruston. People don’t understand how hard those are to get.”
You don’t spend 14 years in the NFL and garner three Pro Bowl nods while earning the distinction of All-Pro without commanding respect across the National Football League. Williams earned every bit of that with a career that featured 672 total tackles, 20.5 sacks, nine forced fumbles and fumble recoveries and even a game-sealing fourth quarter pick six against the Miami Dolphins that saw the big man rumble into the end zone from 20 yards out.
Scan his man cave and you’ll find gems like Terrell Owens’ signed Pro Bowl cleats, Pro Football Hall of Fame memorabilia and Pro Bowl jerseys from legends like Peyton Manning and Ray Lewis. More than a decade has passed since Williams terrorized running backs like Hall of Fame back LaDainian Tomlinson, and finally at 53 years old, he’s garnered the respect he’s been looking for.
The Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame couldn’t elude Williams’ big paws any longer, as one-half of the Williams Wall will cement his legacy June 25-27 in Natchitoches as part of the LSHOF’s Class of 2026. Information on seven events, culminating with the Induction Ceremony, is available at LaSportsHall.com or by calling 318-238-4255.
Count Kevin Williams, who represented the other half of that dominant duo on Minnesota’s defensive front, as one of many happy to see Williams finally get his day under the sun.
“What made him so good was he could do stuff a normal person couldn’t. It was hard to duplicate,” Kevin Williams said. “He had the experience, where he could read the guy was about to overreach for him and shove him by and go behind him. It was a lot of things like that.
“When I tried to do some of those things, I was like, ‘Pat, how are you doing that?’ He was wrong sometimes, but he was right more than he was wrong. It’s the little things that he brought to the game. I think we bonded because were were both hungry and desperate to succeed.”
Don’t just take his running mate’s word for it. Longtime defensive line coach Karl Dunbar, who most recently served as the Pittsburgh Steelers defensive line coach, had the opportunity to coach “Big Pat” in Minnesota. Dunbar had a come-to-Jesus meeting with the hall of fame talent about shedding some weight and being more than just a hole plugger on Dunbar’s defensive line. After Williams put in the work, shed some pounds and excelled at an All-Pro level, Dunbar was sold on his legacy.
“He’s probably the best nose tackle I’ve ever coached,” Dunbar said. “You need to have an anchor. That’s the lynchpin. If you can get gap movement, they’re going to run the ball on you all night every night. The first three years there, we led the league in rushing defense because Pat was in there.”
Achieving legendary status in the state wouldn’t even be a conversation starter without stern coaching during his youth.
Tough love under former Wossman head football coach Lonnie Calahan prepared Williams for life, and that’s something he grew to appreciate later on. After playing under Calahan at Wossman, Williams made his way to Navarro College in 1992. That’s where he became a two-time JUCO All-American before finding himself on the campus at Texas A&M.
After signing with the Buffalo Bills as an undrafted free agent in 1997, Williams asked around in the front office about why he wasn’t drafted.
“They told me they thought I had a bad attitude and that I was uncoachable,” Williams said. “I’m always going to learn.”
Williams had his chance to prove that as a rookie behind legendary defensive players like Smith.
“I was sitting in the same meeting room as Bruce, and I’m just like, ‘Bruce is sitting right there,’” Williams said, recalling his time as a rookie. “I was calling my wife every week because it was different back then. We had 100-something guys before they started making cuts. In the middle of the summer, I was like eighth string, and there were no rookies ahead of me. Ted Washington and I had the same agent, so Ted pulled me to the side and said, ‘I don’t know what you’re thinking, but you got a family. You need to do what you’ve got to do.’ Once we talked, I slowly started picking it up and rising on the depth chart.”
Marveling at Smith’s iconic performances was part of that process too.
“I was asking Bruce questions all the time. It was amazing watching him play,” Williams said. “He would take two snaps at practice, pull his hat off and go, ‘Alright young pups, y’all got it.’ Then I would watch him on Sunday’s and be like, ‘How do you play like this?’”
His production for the Bills picked up every year before becoming a full-time starter in 2001. Recognized by USA Today’s All-Joe Team as the NFL’s most overlooked, ignored and hard-working players and later being voted on by his teammates as the Ed Block Courage Award winner in 2003, Williams built a strong reputation in Buffalo before signing with the Vikings in 2005 and earning a couple more duo nicknames with Kevin Williams as the “Williams Wall” and “Williams Wrecking Crew.” Many great backs had issues getting around that wall too.
Tomlinson and many others struggled to penetrate the middle of the best rush defense in the NFL. The Chargers’ “L.T.” was held to 40 rushing yards on 16 carries (2.5 yards per rush) in 2007 against the Vikings.
“When I got to the Vikings and was able to play with Kevin Williams and Jared Allen, we just made it fun,” the former Wildcat said. “We didn’t care about who we were playing. We were competing against each other. But we went against some great running backs. I tell my son that all the time. I loved playing against Curtis Martin, Barry Sanders, Marshall Faulk, Clinton Portis and Edgerrin James. I hated Eddie George because my wife loved Eddie George. I would tell her after the games, “You see how he didn’t get any yards, huh? That’s all because of you.’”
Not only did Williams face his fair share of Hall of Fame running backs, but he also went toe-to-toe with some of the greatest quarterbacks in the history of the NFL. Some he liked playing more than others.
“We hated Peyton (Manning). We would cuss him out,” Williams said, laughing. “He kept us in our stance all the time. ‘Hike the ball, man.’ Eli was the same way. Hated him too. Tom Brady talked a lot of (expletive). Brett Favre too. He would all the time, and then he came and played with me with the Vikings. My son loved Brett Favre. He used to bother (Favre) all the time in the locker room.”
Pro Bowls and other illustrious honors were nice and all, but there’s still one accolade that evaded him during his playing days that haunts him. The offseason before the New York Giants won the Super Bowl, the team inquired about signing Williams and getting him to play 20 snaps a game. Fourteen years was a long time of playing in the NFL, though, and Williams was ready to hang up his cleats.
“My son still reminds me of that. ‘If you would have signed with them, you would have gotten a ring,’” Williams said. “People don’t understand you have to work out to play. And I was done with that. At the end of the day, I was proud of the longevity of my career because I enjoyed playing. I played out all my contracts. And had an opportunity to sign with the Giants after that, so I’m proud of that.
“I like to think of myself as one of the all-time great (nose tackles). I get mad sometimes because I don’t feel the love in my own state. When we go to Minnesota, they love me there, but I don’t always feel that love (in Louisiana).”
He feels that love at Wossman. How could he not? From donating and upgrading facilities to helping out with the football team, Williams is still an integral part of Wossman High School.
“It’s all about the kids,” Williams said. “That’s how I got to where I am. Through the ups and downs, the teachers and coaches helped me with everything I did in life. If I could do it all over, I’d do it all the same.”
That path has now led him to the recognition Williams so desperately craved.
Oops… Missed one. Make that thirty-seven NFL game balls for Louisiana’s newest hall of fame talent.