Patriots Defensive Coordinator Terrell Williams Diagnosed With Prostate Cancer

Patriots DC Terrell Williams has been diagnosed with prostate cancer. Williams, 51, stepped away from his duties two weeks ago, citing an undisclosed medical problem that he is dealing with. The Pats Corner, the wider Patriots Nation, and the entire football community wish Coach Williams the very best and hope he recovers quickly.

I noticed some very insensitive comments online recently relating to Coach Williams stepping away, some asking for him to be dismissed. I must say, I thought we were better than that. You might argue don't take strangers' comments on the internet so personally but the man missed some of camp due to a medical problem and now stepped away from his coaching duties for the past two weeks, that was indication enough for me, and I would have suspected most people who have the ability to read between the lines, that this was a serious issue.

The defense performed quite well in his absence; it's not like they were struggling and needed coaching help. The coaching staff and decision makers at the club were aware of the situation and were in the loop on what the next steps were. I know fans can sometimes be immensely ignorant to the internal operations of a professional sports team, but a small bit of critical thinking skills would allow you to realise they are planning behind the scenes and would have been planning for Coach Williams to step away, whether that be for an extended period or a few games. Football is like any other business and there are contingency plans for just about any situation imaginable. The talk about firing Coach Williams while he is going through probably the worst moment in his life is downright deplorable.

Mike Vrabel said in his Friday press conference: "You know how much Terrell means to me personally and those on this football team." Vrabel added: "We want to send our regards and just publicly let everyone know that's what he's dealing with."

October is Crucial Catch month in the NFL, which promotes prevention and early detection of cancer. You can donate to Crucial Catch here.