Two months after landing a massive free-agent deal, Milton Williams was getting an earful from New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel.
And the Pats' prized free-agent addition was happy about it.
Why? Well, Vrabel minced no words in letting Williams know that he needed to bring a better effort in order to be a forerunner for New England.
"I like that," Williams told reporters Tuesday. "I don't mind. I don't think I'm bigger than the next person. I don't mind getting called out, because him calling me out is just going to help the other guys. We ain't got no excuses for nobody to be not giving their all."
The top player on Gregg Rosenthal's Top 101 Free Agents list, Williams has moved from the reigning Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles to a New England squad that went 4-13 for the second season in a row.
Williams, 26, is entering his fifth NFL season, but he was part of a talent-rich Philly defensive line, having started just 19 of his 67 games played. However, his talent -- and paycheck -- command a bigger role on his new roster, and that's just what Vrabel was making sure he realized loud and clear.
According to Williams, Vrabel took umbrage with the defensive lineman letting up at the finish of a timed run. Vrabel wanted more. He wants a pacesetter.
"Just instead of, like, we running and we got a time we were supposed to make it in and I already made it on my way back," Williams said. "So I'm kind of like chilling until I get to the line, he's like 'Nah, don't let them catch you. If you can make it faster, make it.' So I'm like, 'Alright.' So every rep since then, I've just been trying to make sure I'm the first one back. I feel like that's going to help me, just push me to where I want to be. And the guys that are running with me, that's going to push them to run even harder."
Pushing the Patriots to be better is one of the chief reasons Williams was signed. And he'll be called upon to have more reps than he's had before as a centerpiece of the defense rather than a complement to a stellar Eagles defensive front.
So far, so good in terms of his reaction, as he approved of the directive and hopes Vrabel's guidance and his example will lead to better days ahead for the Patriots.
"I was making it in time," Williams said. "So it was like we get to the line and then we run back and make it back to the goal line at a certain time. So I done got out, 'Fwoom,' coming back and then I'm just kind of like (mimes jogging). Yeah, I knew I was (gonna) make it so I'm just like -- he wants me to go ahead and just empty the tank every rep."
