Post by prossman on Mar 11, 2009 17:20:40 GMT -7
DC.COM: Eatman: In The End, Roy Deserved Better Tan That
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Lost In The Madness
Eatman: In The End, Roy Deserved Better Tan That
Nick Eatman
March 11, 2009 5:00 PM
IRVING, Texas - Through the wildness that took place here at Valley Ranch, it's funny how some things get lost in the shuffle.
Now, if you weren't physically here at Valley Ranch all last week, you really have no business commenting about it . . . but I'm going to try anyways.
Yes, yes, I found myself on vacation all last week, while my colleagues went crazy trying to figure out the mess that occurred here. Who knows if it's over or not?
But noticing this thing from afar, one thing kept popping up in my mind over and over: Roy Williams - the safety, that is - certainly has fallen a long, long way.
It's really amazing when you think about it.
Here's a guy that went from a three-letter identification around here to a mere afterthought.
He went from just Roy, to Roy Williams, the safety. Then he went to the other Roy Williams. Then last week, an "also" was added before his name.
On the day the Cowboys provided the sports world with the biggest news of all, by releasing Terrell Owens, they added a throw-in to the story. Just like some conditional draft pick to even out a trade, the Cowboys added Roy Williams' name to the same press release used to cut T.O.
Actually, the official release had Williams' name first, and then T.O. But that's certainly not the way it went out on the wire.
Say what you want about Roy Williams' abilities, but he deserved more than that.
Most stories around the country included only T.O. with a small mention about Roy's release, something that had been discussed several times here lately. And it's not like we haven't all talked about T.O. getting axed, but somehow, maybe it was the timing of it all or just the realization that Jerry Jones actually went through with it, but we all were surprised by Owens' release.
With Roy, not so much.
Still, is it not crazy to think that a guy who was once the face of this franchise, a guy who was destined for the Ring of Honor and possibly even the Hall of Fame if he kept going to the Pro Bowl every year, a guy who had the top-selling jersey during a four-year span, and a guy who was on the cover by himself for the 2004 media guide, is not only released by the team, but barely gets mentioning when he does?
And I know the response most of you have when reading this. And yes, you're right.
However you described it . . . no, Roy Williams isn't as good as he used to be. He even admitted that to me once last year. During a lengthy training-camp discussion last August, Williams admitted his first three seasons were far better than his last three (2005-07). Now he put some, not all, but some of the blame on the coaching staff for not having him closer to the line of scrimmage. Some of it he put on himself for not playing as well as he should, but he vowed to change.
One of his teammates told me last summer that Roy even admitted to his entire church congregation that he wasn't the same person he was a few years ago. While he said he has a more forgiving, laid-back persona now, you just have to wonder how it's affected his game. This specific teammate wondered it also.
You never, ever want to get into a guy's religious beliefs and I'm certainly not trying to do that. What Roy Williams gives to his church and this community has always been first class and he should be, but rarely is, applauded for that.
It's just that when a player goes from being arguably the best player at his position in the entire NFL during the first three years of his career, to a player that his own team has to protect during passing downs and even take him off the field at times, you're just trying to connect the dots.
It just doesn't add up.
And it's really a sad ending actually. I might not have the best player-media relationship with Roy during his time here, but it's not nearly as bad as people think. In fact, I always wanted him to succeed. I used to enjoy watching him play, especially early in his career.
Watching him take out some unassuming wide receiver was always something to anticipate.
Like the time Amani Toomer got up off the Giants bench with his chin strip looking like a piece of tape on his mouth because Roy had blasted him so hard. One game against Detroit, it seemed like receiver Tai Streets stayed on the Texas Stadium turf for about five minutes after Roy nailed him so hard.
I remember when he decked both Dorsey Levens and Shaun Alexander to the ground with nothing more than a shoulder tackle.
How about the time he nearly decapitated some 49ers kickoff returner back in his rookie season? Back then, Roy could hit hard enough as it was, much less with 60-yard head start. But on the kickoff coverage team, Williams completely smashed some dude, causing a fumble, which he recovered.
That same season, he made the game-winning interception and touchdown return against the Redskins on Thanksgiving Day.
There was the forced fumble on Turkey Day against the Broncos that led to a score. He had a huge sack and forced fumble to beat the Eagles back in 2003.
There were lots of big plays. Unfortunately, especially at the end of his career here with the Cowboys, there started to be big plays for both teams.
While all of those plays are ones that I remember, it seems Roy Williams will be remembered more for being in the picture on those two huge bombs to Santana Moss in a game Washington completely stole from the Cowboys in 2005.
Over the years, those big plays became fewer and fewer, and the sight of No. 31, or even No. 38 a few times last year, creeping into the picture after a long touchdown, started to happen more often.
Why, the sudden change? No one really knows.
You can say he lacked confidence. Maybe his desire for the game changed. Maybe he wasn't ever as great as we all thought he was and eventually teams started to figure out his weaknesses.
At the end of the day, the Cowboys just simply couldn't afford to pay that much for a player they didn't know wouldn't be able to contribute every down. For a guy to count $6.6 million who is not able to play in the dime package and doesn't play much special teams anymore, it just doesn't add up. Throw in the part about him returning from not one, but two broken forearm injuries last year, and it just came down to business.
Roy Williams is definitely an enigma.
He started out as a great player. He turned into a good player with an absolutely horrible contract. And the Cowboys simply had to let him go.
But it's too bad it had to end like this. Sadly, Roy Williams may never be remembered for the player he once was, but instead the player he turned out to be.
But he's gone now . . . in case you missed it.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lost In The Madness
Eatman: In The End, Roy Deserved Better Tan That
Nick Eatman
March 11, 2009 5:00 PM
IRVING, Texas - Through the wildness that took place here at Valley Ranch, it's funny how some things get lost in the shuffle.
Now, if you weren't physically here at Valley Ranch all last week, you really have no business commenting about it . . . but I'm going to try anyways.
Yes, yes, I found myself on vacation all last week, while my colleagues went crazy trying to figure out the mess that occurred here. Who knows if it's over or not?
But noticing this thing from afar, one thing kept popping up in my mind over and over: Roy Williams - the safety, that is - certainly has fallen a long, long way.
It's really amazing when you think about it.
Here's a guy that went from a three-letter identification around here to a mere afterthought.
He went from just Roy, to Roy Williams, the safety. Then he went to the other Roy Williams. Then last week, an "also" was added before his name.
On the day the Cowboys provided the sports world with the biggest news of all, by releasing Terrell Owens, they added a throw-in to the story. Just like some conditional draft pick to even out a trade, the Cowboys added Roy Williams' name to the same press release used to cut T.O.
Actually, the official release had Williams' name first, and then T.O. But that's certainly not the way it went out on the wire.
Say what you want about Roy Williams' abilities, but he deserved more than that.
Most stories around the country included only T.O. with a small mention about Roy's release, something that had been discussed several times here lately. And it's not like we haven't all talked about T.O. getting axed, but somehow, maybe it was the timing of it all or just the realization that Jerry Jones actually went through with it, but we all were surprised by Owens' release.
With Roy, not so much.
Still, is it not crazy to think that a guy who was once the face of this franchise, a guy who was destined for the Ring of Honor and possibly even the Hall of Fame if he kept going to the Pro Bowl every year, a guy who had the top-selling jersey during a four-year span, and a guy who was on the cover by himself for the 2004 media guide, is not only released by the team, but barely gets mentioning when he does?
And I know the response most of you have when reading this. And yes, you're right.
However you described it . . . no, Roy Williams isn't as good as he used to be. He even admitted that to me once last year. During a lengthy training-camp discussion last August, Williams admitted his first three seasons were far better than his last three (2005-07). Now he put some, not all, but some of the blame on the coaching staff for not having him closer to the line of scrimmage. Some of it he put on himself for not playing as well as he should, but he vowed to change.
One of his teammates told me last summer that Roy even admitted to his entire church congregation that he wasn't the same person he was a few years ago. While he said he has a more forgiving, laid-back persona now, you just have to wonder how it's affected his game. This specific teammate wondered it also.
You never, ever want to get into a guy's religious beliefs and I'm certainly not trying to do that. What Roy Williams gives to his church and this community has always been first class and he should be, but rarely is, applauded for that.
It's just that when a player goes from being arguably the best player at his position in the entire NFL during the first three years of his career, to a player that his own team has to protect during passing downs and even take him off the field at times, you're just trying to connect the dots.
It just doesn't add up.
And it's really a sad ending actually. I might not have the best player-media relationship with Roy during his time here, but it's not nearly as bad as people think. In fact, I always wanted him to succeed. I used to enjoy watching him play, especially early in his career.
Watching him take out some unassuming wide receiver was always something to anticipate.
Like the time Amani Toomer got up off the Giants bench with his chin strip looking like a piece of tape on his mouth because Roy had blasted him so hard. One game against Detroit, it seemed like receiver Tai Streets stayed on the Texas Stadium turf for about five minutes after Roy nailed him so hard.
I remember when he decked both Dorsey Levens and Shaun Alexander to the ground with nothing more than a shoulder tackle.
How about the time he nearly decapitated some 49ers kickoff returner back in his rookie season? Back then, Roy could hit hard enough as it was, much less with 60-yard head start. But on the kickoff coverage team, Williams completely smashed some dude, causing a fumble, which he recovered.
That same season, he made the game-winning interception and touchdown return against the Redskins on Thanksgiving Day.
There was the forced fumble on Turkey Day against the Broncos that led to a score. He had a huge sack and forced fumble to beat the Eagles back in 2003.
There were lots of big plays. Unfortunately, especially at the end of his career here with the Cowboys, there started to be big plays for both teams.
While all of those plays are ones that I remember, it seems Roy Williams will be remembered more for being in the picture on those two huge bombs to Santana Moss in a game Washington completely stole from the Cowboys in 2005.
Over the years, those big plays became fewer and fewer, and the sight of No. 31, or even No. 38 a few times last year, creeping into the picture after a long touchdown, started to happen more often.
Why, the sudden change? No one really knows.
You can say he lacked confidence. Maybe his desire for the game changed. Maybe he wasn't ever as great as we all thought he was and eventually teams started to figure out his weaknesses.
At the end of the day, the Cowboys just simply couldn't afford to pay that much for a player they didn't know wouldn't be able to contribute every down. For a guy to count $6.6 million who is not able to play in the dime package and doesn't play much special teams anymore, it just doesn't add up. Throw in the part about him returning from not one, but two broken forearm injuries last year, and it just came down to business.
Roy Williams is definitely an enigma.
He started out as a great player. He turned into a good player with an absolutely horrible contract. And the Cowboys simply had to let him go.
But it's too bad it had to end like this. Sadly, Roy Williams may never be remembered for the player he once was, but instead the player he turned out to be.
But he's gone now . . . in case you missed it.