Williams stops the run, hears the chant

Thursday, Dec 21, 2006
By Tom Shanahan, Chargers.com

The chant arising from Qualcomm Stadium’s south end zone stands started last year but is heard more frequently and much louder with each game the Chargers win, especially with their 7-0 record at home.

“You can’t run! You can’t run!”

“When we hear those fans screaming and yelling, it gives us an adrenaline rush,” said Chargers nose guard Jamal Williams said. “We love it. It makes the hairs on the back of your neck rise up and you say, ’Yeah!’ ”

Williams, recognized as one of the NFL’s best nose guards with his second straight selection to the Pro Bowl this year, is the primary reason opponents struggle to run on the Chargers. So it may be time for fans in the south end zone to add a new chant:

“You can’t keep Jamal out of the Pro Bowl!”

Williams was regarded as one of the most overlooked players in the league until he was voted to his first Pro Bowl last year. With the recognition that finally came his way and the success he’s continued to have drawing double- and triple-team blockers, Williams might be entering that category of perennial Pro Bowler who is virtually an automatic choice.

“It will never be automatic, but I appreciate that people are noticing how hard people on this team work,” Williams said. “For this team, it’s not about getting to the Pro Bowl. We want to get to the Super Bowl. The next step toward that is Seattle, so that’s all I’m thinking about this week.”

The AFC West champion Chargers take their 12-2 record and eight-game winning streak to the Pacific Northwest Sunday to face the 8-6 Seahawks, last year‘s Super Bowl runner-up.

The Bolts’ run defense will face last year’s NFL MVP and touchdown king in Seattle running back Shaun Alexander. A year ago Alexander scored 28 touchdowns to set the NFL season record, but Chargers running back and NFL MVP candidate LaDainian Tomlinson has since broken the record with 31 and counting this season.

The Chargers have allowed only five rushing touchdowns in 14 games, and they give up only 97.3 yards a game to rank sixth in the NFL. Opponents have converted only 63 of 181 third-down plays for a percentage of .348 that also ranks sixth in the league.

The Chargers’ run stuffing ability starts with the 6-foot-3, 348-pound Williams taking on two or three blockers to free up the linebackers behind him to make tackles and force opponents to block defensive ends Igor Olshansky and Luis Castillo one-on-one.

“Jamal is like LaDainian Tomlinson or Larry Johnson for opponents,” said Chargers’ fullback Lorenzo Neal. “He’s a game-changer, and you have to game plan for him. He’s such a force in the middle. He’s getting hit by the center and sometimes both guards. He requires that because of the way he plays and how strong he is.”

Williams is in his ninth year season and Neal is in his 14th year. Neal also made his second straight Pro Bowl -- and third of his career -- after being overlooked for years.

Williams says it’s a product of winning, but that‘s not always the case. The Chargers were 12-4 and AFC West champions in 2004 when Williams and Neal didn‘t make the Pro Bowl.

But the 2004 season was a definite turning point in the Chargers’ defense and accolades coming Williams’ way. The Bolts hired defensive coordinator Wade Phillips to bring his 3-4 alignment to town. Since than Williams has gone from being perceived a solid defensive tackle in a 4-3 scheme to one of the game’s giants in a 3-4.

“I had no idea it would make such a difference,” Williams said. “I was making sure I could contribute to the team in any scheme. But once we started playing the 3-4, I thought, ‘Wow! This fits.’ I like it because I’m very aggressive inside.”

And that chant -- “You can’t run on us!” -- adds to his aggressiveness.

“I don’t know where that started, but I thank the fans,” Williams said. “We hear them.”