Chip Scoggins: Williams striving to regain 'A' game, not land on 'A' list

The NFL Network filled its programming void during the lockout by ranking the top 100 players for 2011. The list apparently was compiled after a vote of players, although there were varying reports about how many players actually participated in the voting.

In any event, four defensive tackles made the list, none named Kevin Williams, which quite frankly was absurd. Anyone who thinks the Vikings' five-time first-team All-Pro defensive tackle doesn't rank among the top 100 players in the NFL isn't paying attention.

Williams gave a wry smile when asked about the list.

"I didn't pay attention to it," he said. "I really did, but I'll say I didn't."

Williams has never been one to pound his chest, but he's as prideful an individual as you'll ever meet. He's driven to be great at his job and be respected as such, even if he doesn't share that publicly. Williams, who turns 31 on Tuesday, joked last summer that he'll still line up and race any young linemen who wonders whether he's lost a step.

He's proud of his résumé, so the top-100 snub didn't just roll off his back, as much as he'd like you to believe.

"If that's what my peers thought, hey, that's their opinion," he said. "No biggie. I know how well I play and how well I perform. That list won't determine anything for me."

Here's the thing, though: Williams knows he wasn't himself last season. He played OK, but certainly not like the typical Kevin Williams that fans are used to seeing.

He wasn't alone in that regard. Very few of his teammates should be satisfied with their individual performances in 2010. But Williams has set a certain standard in his eight seasons in a Vikings uniform. Simply being good is not good enough.

Williams finished with the lowest sack total of his career (one) and his fewest quarterback hurries (29) since 2005.

Coach Leslie Frazier had a meeting with Williams late last season and told him to focus solely on his job and stop trying to make others' plays for them.

When the season became the Titanic, Williams tried to plug holes, help others to safety and rearrange the deck chairs, all at the same time. He tried to do too much and his own game got out of whack.

"I think everybody was pressing, me included, trying to find ways to win," Williams said.

Williams also dealt with a bad knee that swelled and ached and required arthroscopic surgery after the season. Don't even go there, though.

"I wouldn't use that as an excuse anyway," he said.

Williams is healthy again and admittedly more vocal now with the departures of Ray Edwards and close friend Pat Williams. Frazier said he senses a "renewed enthusiasm" from Williams in camp and an eagerness to be "the Kevin that we all know."

It's uncertain when he'll get the opportunity to show that. Williams still faces a possible four-game suspension as a result of the StarCaps case, which finally is resolved after years of legal maneuvering.

Williams joked that he hopes the league forgot about it after being preoccupied with the lockout and getting a new collective bargaining agreement. That's not likely, but there is speculation that the league could adjust the suspensions now that a new drug policy is in the new CBA.

Williams hopes to hear a final verdict in the next few weeks.

"That whole situation I felt I presented the best case that I could to defend myself in that situation," he said. "Whether things come down in our favor or not, I have to be prepared to deal with whatever happens."

Dealing with it won't be easy. Not only has Williams performed at a high level, he's also been extremely durable. He has missed only two games in his career (in 2005) and has started all 126 games that he's played in.

He likely would return to his home in Arkansas if he's required to serve the full four-game suspension for taking a banned diuretic.

"It's unfortunate that something like that off the field would cause you to have to miss games," Williams said. "But that's part of the situation. I have to deal with it and move on."

Chip Scoggins • chip.scoggins@startribune.com