Post by ccboy on Nov 29, 2009 11:35:34 GMT -7
Short Term Problems?
Roy just too good not to turn this around
by Nick Eatman
IRVING, Texas - Rarely does it snow here in Texas.
If so, it usually occurs sometime in late December or January. But when it comes to the Cowboys, and a seed gets planted in the minds of media and fans, things can snowball like an avalanche sometimes.
It's happened to Roy Williams. All of a sudden, he can't play anymore?
So maybe he's not a No. 1 receiver. Maybe he never was or never will be. But now it seems there is a question whether he should even be a starter on this team.
Because he had no catches against the Redskins. That's it, cut ties. Bench him in favor of Patrick Crayton. Seriously?
OK, so he surprised you. He surprised all of us. We all thought that last year was an aberration and that 2009 would be a big change. All the extra time in the off-season he spent with Tony Romo, coupled with the removal of T.O. from the offense, would open the door wide for Williams to flourish.
But through 10 games this season, he has not flourished at all, catching just 24 passes for 429 yards and three touchdowns. He ranks fourth on the team in catches and third in receiving yards, although just two ahead of Crayton.
Clearly, this wasn't what the Cowboys expected, and it's not what they paid for.
But jumping off this bandwagon right now makes no sense. It only sets you up for a pie in the face when - yes when - this ship gets turned around.
Now many people think it's Jerry Jones who is wiping off the whip cream as we speak, thinking he got duped into believing Roy Williams was a No. 1 receiver and grossly overpaid him last year in giving him a five-year, $45 million deal.
As it looks right now, Williams isn't living up to his contract. And he knows it. That's not saying he's going to be giving any money back, despite the spirit of this week, but Roy knows he's not playing like he expects. He knows he's got to pull his weight a little more, and he's trying, probably a little too hard.
But it's going to happen. Roy Williams is still a very good football player. That hasn't changed overnight, or even in two seasons.
I'll be the first to admit I thought the Cowboys would get a lot more production than this. Considering the numbers he put up in Detroit with a suspect offense and support group, that he would only shine even brighter with the Cowboys, a team with better players, a better quarterback and a better atmosphere, something Williams talks about seemingly every day.
Everything about this situation is better for Roy Williams - other than the stats. And yes, that's a big deal. But they will come. They just have to. This is a good football player, who is big, strong and fast, with good hands (yes, he has good hands), and he works hard to get better in this offense. Those things just have to add up to success - they just have to.
So what's the problem then?
Oh wait, maybe he's scared. Yeah, that's probably it. Good one. LaRon Landry, the Redskins' biggest cheerleader on the team who gets up fist-pumping every play, calls out Roy saying he was scared to go over the middle.
This from a guy who is just now picking himself off the turf from getting completely trucked by Brandon Jacobs, and is calling people scared. If Roy was scared to take hit, he certainly wouldn't have gotten up from the Denver hit with bruised ribs and ran the same play over the middle for a 20-yard gain.
While being scared isn't the issue, confidence might be.
Former head coach Jimmy Johnson, who is in town this week, said he believed Williams' biggest problem is a lack confidence. He even cited a problem Michael Irvin had in his second season when he dropped about every other pass in training camp.
"It was a matter of us pulling back and saying, let's work on the things that he does well and gradually expand it to other routes," Johnson recalled of Irvin. "Some of the routes that you struggle . . . in your mind, you're dropping a crossing route time after time. Well, then stop throwing the crossing route because in his mind, he's thinking, 'I'm going to drop it, don't drop it.' That seed is planted. Let's just pull away from that and start throwing that comeback, he catches it every time. Catch it, catch it, catch it and then occasionally sprinkle in a crossing route to build that confidence back up."
With Roy, that might be a good plan. His "crossing route" is probably the slant. It's not the best pass play the Cowboys have because for some reason it doesn't get executed. But confidence just might be the issue to getting this thing turned around.
The sad part is that it may just be too late. Not for the Cowboys, but for the fans and critics. The Cowboys always seem to have about four or five regular punching bags, that no matter what happens, the criticism will always fall at their feet.
Tony Romo will forever be one until he plays better in December. Once he does that, then the gripe will be to win a playoff game and once that happens, we'll all start to wonder why he hasn't won a Super Bowl.
Flozell Adams can shut down the AFC Pro Bowl team on the left side, but if he jumps early and gets a false start penalty, it takes a 20-minute segment on talk radio.
Ken Hamlin is now at punching-bag status. While he's certainly not making $39 million worth of plays, he isn't exactly giving up a lot of plays either. Still, he's been a regular target of criticism, too.
And Roy Williams has now reached that level. If the ball so much as grazes his hands, the boo-birds come out. And they're not directed at Romo, who also throws bad balls to Miles Austin, but those don't generate much emotion from the crowd.
But for some reason, and you know it's mostly about the money and the contract he just received, Roy Williams is now the prime target of criticism.
And that's a legitimate gripe. He's making a lot of money and he's not producing. Yes, some of these plays he didn't make would've been outstanding catches. But $45 million receivers are supposed to do that.
If you have a problem with his contract, that's fair. But to say the Cowboys gave up too much for Roy is not a valid argument in my book.
You always hear people say the club gave up three picks for him. Well, really it was two and they got a player in return. It's all how you slice it, but the Cowboys did give up a first, third and sixth, while they received a seventh-round pick and Williams, whom the Cowboys figured to be better than any receiver they would've drafted in the first round this year.
That part is debatable and we'll get to that. But the Cowboys had two third-round picks this year and had no problems parting ways with one of them. Remember, this team still had 12 draft picks and took 12 players.
And let's be honest, anything past the fifth round is all the same anyway. So they traded a sixth and got a seventh. If you think that really matters at the end of the day, you're nitpicking.
The issue comes down to the first-round pick. And the Cowboys needed a receiver and they needed it now. So in their mind, Roy Williams was a better option than any first-year receiver who would've been drafted.
Remember, that's the Cowboys' thinking. Recent history suggests rookie receivers rarely make a big impact right away. Minnesota's Percy Harvin, picked 22nd by the Vikings, will probably get Rookie of the Year honors. He's exceeded every expectation and one of the reasons Minnesota now has an explosive offense. But there aren't many first-year receivers to make this much of an impression since that other Vikings rookie back in 1998.
And honestly, the Cowboys likely would've taken Jeremy Maclin had they kept that 20th pick. Maclin slipped to No. 19 to the Eagles but it's likely they would've traded up to get him. And he's been pretty good in Philly, this year.
Then again, before you say "see, see, these guys would've been better than Roy," let's not forget why the Cowboys took Williams in the first place. He was pretty good himself as a rookie and the next couple of years.
Yes, Roy Williams has been a good player. In my opinion, he's still the same guy. But he doesn't need to be benched. He doesn't need to be traded or cut next year. Roy needs to be here, doing what he's always done. He's got too many tools and too much talent not to get it corrected.
And it will. Just wonder if it will be ever enough to please even the harshest of his critics?
Roy just too good not to turn this around
by Nick Eatman
IRVING, Texas - Rarely does it snow here in Texas.
If so, it usually occurs sometime in late December or January. But when it comes to the Cowboys, and a seed gets planted in the minds of media and fans, things can snowball like an avalanche sometimes.
It's happened to Roy Williams. All of a sudden, he can't play anymore?
So maybe he's not a No. 1 receiver. Maybe he never was or never will be. But now it seems there is a question whether he should even be a starter on this team.
Because he had no catches against the Redskins. That's it, cut ties. Bench him in favor of Patrick Crayton. Seriously?
OK, so he surprised you. He surprised all of us. We all thought that last year was an aberration and that 2009 would be a big change. All the extra time in the off-season he spent with Tony Romo, coupled with the removal of T.O. from the offense, would open the door wide for Williams to flourish.
But through 10 games this season, he has not flourished at all, catching just 24 passes for 429 yards and three touchdowns. He ranks fourth on the team in catches and third in receiving yards, although just two ahead of Crayton.
Clearly, this wasn't what the Cowboys expected, and it's not what they paid for.
But jumping off this bandwagon right now makes no sense. It only sets you up for a pie in the face when - yes when - this ship gets turned around.
Now many people think it's Jerry Jones who is wiping off the whip cream as we speak, thinking he got duped into believing Roy Williams was a No. 1 receiver and grossly overpaid him last year in giving him a five-year, $45 million deal.
As it looks right now, Williams isn't living up to his contract. And he knows it. That's not saying he's going to be giving any money back, despite the spirit of this week, but Roy knows he's not playing like he expects. He knows he's got to pull his weight a little more, and he's trying, probably a little too hard.
But it's going to happen. Roy Williams is still a very good football player. That hasn't changed overnight, or even in two seasons.
I'll be the first to admit I thought the Cowboys would get a lot more production than this. Considering the numbers he put up in Detroit with a suspect offense and support group, that he would only shine even brighter with the Cowboys, a team with better players, a better quarterback and a better atmosphere, something Williams talks about seemingly every day.
Everything about this situation is better for Roy Williams - other than the stats. And yes, that's a big deal. But they will come. They just have to. This is a good football player, who is big, strong and fast, with good hands (yes, he has good hands), and he works hard to get better in this offense. Those things just have to add up to success - they just have to.
So what's the problem then?
Oh wait, maybe he's scared. Yeah, that's probably it. Good one. LaRon Landry, the Redskins' biggest cheerleader on the team who gets up fist-pumping every play, calls out Roy saying he was scared to go over the middle.
This from a guy who is just now picking himself off the turf from getting completely trucked by Brandon Jacobs, and is calling people scared. If Roy was scared to take hit, he certainly wouldn't have gotten up from the Denver hit with bruised ribs and ran the same play over the middle for a 20-yard gain.
While being scared isn't the issue, confidence might be.
Former head coach Jimmy Johnson, who is in town this week, said he believed Williams' biggest problem is a lack confidence. He even cited a problem Michael Irvin had in his second season when he dropped about every other pass in training camp.
"It was a matter of us pulling back and saying, let's work on the things that he does well and gradually expand it to other routes," Johnson recalled of Irvin. "Some of the routes that you struggle . . . in your mind, you're dropping a crossing route time after time. Well, then stop throwing the crossing route because in his mind, he's thinking, 'I'm going to drop it, don't drop it.' That seed is planted. Let's just pull away from that and start throwing that comeback, he catches it every time. Catch it, catch it, catch it and then occasionally sprinkle in a crossing route to build that confidence back up."
With Roy, that might be a good plan. His "crossing route" is probably the slant. It's not the best pass play the Cowboys have because for some reason it doesn't get executed. But confidence just might be the issue to getting this thing turned around.
The sad part is that it may just be too late. Not for the Cowboys, but for the fans and critics. The Cowboys always seem to have about four or five regular punching bags, that no matter what happens, the criticism will always fall at their feet.
Tony Romo will forever be one until he plays better in December. Once he does that, then the gripe will be to win a playoff game and once that happens, we'll all start to wonder why he hasn't won a Super Bowl.
Flozell Adams can shut down the AFC Pro Bowl team on the left side, but if he jumps early and gets a false start penalty, it takes a 20-minute segment on talk radio.
Ken Hamlin is now at punching-bag status. While he's certainly not making $39 million worth of plays, he isn't exactly giving up a lot of plays either. Still, he's been a regular target of criticism, too.
And Roy Williams has now reached that level. If the ball so much as grazes his hands, the boo-birds come out. And they're not directed at Romo, who also throws bad balls to Miles Austin, but those don't generate much emotion from the crowd.
But for some reason, and you know it's mostly about the money and the contract he just received, Roy Williams is now the prime target of criticism.
And that's a legitimate gripe. He's making a lot of money and he's not producing. Yes, some of these plays he didn't make would've been outstanding catches. But $45 million receivers are supposed to do that.
If you have a problem with his contract, that's fair. But to say the Cowboys gave up too much for Roy is not a valid argument in my book.
You always hear people say the club gave up three picks for him. Well, really it was two and they got a player in return. It's all how you slice it, but the Cowboys did give up a first, third and sixth, while they received a seventh-round pick and Williams, whom the Cowboys figured to be better than any receiver they would've drafted in the first round this year.
That part is debatable and we'll get to that. But the Cowboys had two third-round picks this year and had no problems parting ways with one of them. Remember, this team still had 12 draft picks and took 12 players.
And let's be honest, anything past the fifth round is all the same anyway. So they traded a sixth and got a seventh. If you think that really matters at the end of the day, you're nitpicking.
The issue comes down to the first-round pick. And the Cowboys needed a receiver and they needed it now. So in their mind, Roy Williams was a better option than any first-year receiver who would've been drafted.
Remember, that's the Cowboys' thinking. Recent history suggests rookie receivers rarely make a big impact right away. Minnesota's Percy Harvin, picked 22nd by the Vikings, will probably get Rookie of the Year honors. He's exceeded every expectation and one of the reasons Minnesota now has an explosive offense. But there aren't many first-year receivers to make this much of an impression since that other Vikings rookie back in 1998.
And honestly, the Cowboys likely would've taken Jeremy Maclin had they kept that 20th pick. Maclin slipped to No. 19 to the Eagles but it's likely they would've traded up to get him. And he's been pretty good in Philly, this year.
Then again, before you say "see, see, these guys would've been better than Roy," let's not forget why the Cowboys took Williams in the first place. He was pretty good himself as a rookie and the next couple of years.
Yes, Roy Williams has been a good player. In my opinion, he's still the same guy. But he doesn't need to be benched. He doesn't need to be traded or cut next year. Roy needs to be here, doing what he's always done. He's got too many tools and too much talent not to get it corrected.
And it will. Just wonder if it will be ever enough to please even the harshest of his critics?