Post by ccboy on Nov 5, 2008 6:43:41 GMT -7
CHRIS T, ARLINGTON, VA: Do you all think we have seen the last of Roy Williams as a starter at safety for the Dallas Cowboys? Obviously he's a liability against the pass, and doesn't seem to be able to tackle any more either which limits his effectiveness against the run. I mean if they play him on running downs, I would think the opposing team would just call passing plays against him. Your thoughts?
Josh: On Monday Wade Phillips made sure to say the defense was missing Williams at safety, but I tend to disagree. It feels like piling on to criticize Williams for his play these last three seasons, but the fact is he hasn't been very good. You saw St. Louis go right at him in his first game back on their long touchdown pass to Donnie Avery. He doesn't tackle well anymore either, which is most troubling. He either puts a shoulder into a guy hoping to knock him over, or tries to sling him to the ground. I think keeping him around after this season is hard to do since his cap number is prohibitive for what he does.
Mickey: A lot of that decision must be based on what your alternative is. Sounds good to be so tough, but you better have a better alternative. And at this point, that remains to be seen. But I do agree Williams needs to play better if he is going to be here for the final two years of his contract.
Nick: I think there's a good chance he's done with the Cowboys, unless he wants to redo his contract. But it's just too high for a player that only plays on two downs, if that. He still doesn't defend the pass like other safeties and he wasn't even making a lot of plays against the run. This year was more of a wash because of his injuries. But I would guess the Cowboys will have a hard decision to make in the off-season regarding Williams' future.
BRANT JONES, ROSWELL, NM: The two main problems with this team are blocking and tackling. I hear they do not hit during the week so how do you get better at blocking and tackling if you do not do that in practice?
Josh: Well, they do block in practice, actually. They aren't flying around earholing people like Hines Ward, but the offensive linemen and defensive linemen do engage each other in team drills. As for the tackling, I think the worst things they're doing defensively is taking bad angles to get to a ball carrier, which makes the tackles harder to make. They can clean that up without actually hitting. They really had trouble getting down Brandon Jacobs, which a lot of people do, by trying to tackle him high. He's too big for that.
Mickey: See, you only notice those things when they lose, although I guess when you lose four of nine they do become more noticeable. That's a great question, because chances are if you do more live blocking and tackling in practice you will get guys hurt, and because of the salary cap and roster restrictions where a guy who is going to be placed on injured reserve is out for the season, you end up trying to figure out how you delicately balance this. Did you realize the Denver Broncos, when we showed up there for those practices sessions, had yet to practice in full pads all summer?
Nick: That's not the problem . . . practice. It's training camp. That's when most teams do its hitting and real contact drills. And the Cowboys didn't do much of that. Most teams aren't going to put the pads on and smash each other all season. In fact, no team does that. But the problem this team had was in training camp where they didn't even line up and have inside run or goal-line or any of that. Now that to me, is a bigger problem than not going at each other in practice.
Josh: On Monday Wade Phillips made sure to say the defense was missing Williams at safety, but I tend to disagree. It feels like piling on to criticize Williams for his play these last three seasons, but the fact is he hasn't been very good. You saw St. Louis go right at him in his first game back on their long touchdown pass to Donnie Avery. He doesn't tackle well anymore either, which is most troubling. He either puts a shoulder into a guy hoping to knock him over, or tries to sling him to the ground. I think keeping him around after this season is hard to do since his cap number is prohibitive for what he does.
Mickey: A lot of that decision must be based on what your alternative is. Sounds good to be so tough, but you better have a better alternative. And at this point, that remains to be seen. But I do agree Williams needs to play better if he is going to be here for the final two years of his contract.
Nick: I think there's a good chance he's done with the Cowboys, unless he wants to redo his contract. But it's just too high for a player that only plays on two downs, if that. He still doesn't defend the pass like other safeties and he wasn't even making a lot of plays against the run. This year was more of a wash because of his injuries. But I would guess the Cowboys will have a hard decision to make in the off-season regarding Williams' future.
BRANT JONES, ROSWELL, NM: The two main problems with this team are blocking and tackling. I hear they do not hit during the week so how do you get better at blocking and tackling if you do not do that in practice?
Josh: Well, they do block in practice, actually. They aren't flying around earholing people like Hines Ward, but the offensive linemen and defensive linemen do engage each other in team drills. As for the tackling, I think the worst things they're doing defensively is taking bad angles to get to a ball carrier, which makes the tackles harder to make. They can clean that up without actually hitting. They really had trouble getting down Brandon Jacobs, which a lot of people do, by trying to tackle him high. He's too big for that.
Mickey: See, you only notice those things when they lose, although I guess when you lose four of nine they do become more noticeable. That's a great question, because chances are if you do more live blocking and tackling in practice you will get guys hurt, and because of the salary cap and roster restrictions where a guy who is going to be placed on injured reserve is out for the season, you end up trying to figure out how you delicately balance this. Did you realize the Denver Broncos, when we showed up there for those practices sessions, had yet to practice in full pads all summer?
Nick: That's not the problem . . . practice. It's training camp. That's when most teams do its hitting and real contact drills. And the Cowboys didn't do much of that. Most teams aren't going to put the pads on and smash each other all season. In fact, no team does that. But the problem this team had was in training camp where they didn't even line up and have inside run or goal-line or any of that. Now that to me, is a bigger problem than not going at each other in practice.