You don't have to tell Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Williams about the slow start to his sophomore season. He already has his own self-assesment.
"I'm playing terrible," Williams told the St. Petersburg Times. " ... I'm playing terrible. I should be doing a lot more to make my team win, I should be getting in the end zone. That's something I did last year was get into the end zone, put up points for this team, and that's what I should be doing, and I'm not doing it right now, so I've got to get it together."
The drop-off in Williams' production from last season has been startling. As a rookie, he finished the season with 964 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns. Through five games this year, he has 183 yards and one touchdown. He had 283 yards and three touchdowns through the same stretch in 2010.
Williams' struggles peaked last week when he committed several errors in the Buccaneers' 48-3 loss to the San Francisco 49ers. He was so distraught with his performance that he sent coach Raheem Morris several apologetic text messages the following day.
"He's not playing to the caliber he played last year and I'm sure for him, that's terrible," Morris said. "I don't think he's struggling with adjustments, it's more about going back to the basics with him — the constant running, the constant trying to get open, the constant fighting for every yard, making every single catch."
Williams vowed to turn his season around, starting this week when the Buccaneers host the New Orleans Saints.
"Like I said, this week, you're going to see the old Mike Williams back," Williams said. "Like I told Raheem, I'm back now."
