Connor Williams as a Center

[Oz-of-Cowboy-Country]

Conner Williams is now listed as 6'5" and 298 pounds on the Cowboys website. I'm sorry, but that is not the size I'd like to see on and interior lineman. He might be destined to be our swing tackle after all.

 

[kskboys]

Simply put, I think Badasz is the center.

Yup. While he may make some rook mistakes, and take a few games to get acclimated, Baddy, like so many WISC OL's, is ready out of the gate. Plug and play. And he will immediately upgrade our run game.

 

[kskboys]

Top ten what? Overall draft selection?

Take a look at Williams and compare him to the OTs taken in this past draft at the top of the first?

It's not close.

You have to be elite of the elite to go that high as an interior lineman, and I'm fairly sure he has already proven otherwise.

Maybe he was an effective LT at Texas, but many teams passed on him, some twice, and I can completely see why.

Read closer. Injuries. W/o adding that into the equation, you'll never understand what's happening w/ him.

It actually doesn't appear that you do see why. Strictly injuries.

 

[tyke1doe]

If only his Wonderlic score had helped him on this play. Yes, subtleties like blocking the guy that could blow up the play.

What's so sad about that play is that it appears three Cowboys players missed their blocks?
But it looks like Williams thought Frederick was supposed to pick up the No. 95 while he takes out the linebacker. That looks like a long gain, possibly a score, if executed properly.

 

[DanTanna]

What's so sad about that play is that it appears three Cowboys players missed their blocks?
But it looks like Williams thought Frederick was supposed to pick up the No. 95 while he takes out the linebacker. That looks like a long gain, possibly a score, if executed properly.

Williams tried to obviously chip the guy but didn't even get a piece of him. Totally threw Frederick off, he thought the tackle would be stood up 1 yard further away instead of unabated to the backfield.

 

[Teague31]

Biadasz is your starter by mid season of not earlier. Only thing that will slow him down is if there isn’t a full training camp

 

[McKDaddy]

The rookie Biadasz is yet another who figures to be in the mix.

With Looney, McGovern & Biadasz having played the position, it would appear unlikely that CWill would\should take practice snaps away from those guys. If it was just Looney & McGovern, think it would have been much more likely.

 

[Bullflop]

With Looney, McGovern & Biadasz having played the position, it would appear unlikely that CWill would\should take practice snaps away from those guys. If it was just Looney & McGovern, think it would have been much more likely.

I agree. I expect Looney to take the starting C spot early, with Biadasz maybe taking it over at some point, once he settles in.

 

[DFWJC]

I think Connor Williams is a natural fit at Center and am surprised it’s not talked about more.

He’s got two years experience as a starter, scored 34 on his wonderlic so should have a good understanding of the blocking assignments for the o-line and you’d think has the intelligence to pick up the subtleties at Center. I also always thought he looked a bit passive as a guard. He was still massively improved last year, so I can understand some wanting to keep him at guard, but I think his footwork, flexibility, and technique make him a better fit at Center where there are less one one one assignments.

We drafted our center of the future

 

[jnday]

It might be talked about because our All-Pro Center retired and we don’t know how the coaching staff view our players.

Many scouts thought Williams best position was Center when drafted, and while he was put at guard his first two seasons, this off-season is different. Also, it was mentioned by Stephen Jones this off-season so not just a few years ago.

There’s a few things guiding my opinion:
1. I think Looney is back up quality
2. It’s difficult to learn Center as a rookie

I get Fredrick came in and did it, but he’s the first guy to play a full season at Center as a rookie in our entire history. I wouldn’t bank on late 4th round Biadasz replicating that, and McGovern was a part time Center, and more of a Guard.

With Williams we know he’s smart, he has two years experience play alongside Frederick and the O-line, and will be familiar with NFL speed and blocking concepts. He has a head start on all but Looney. And with Looney, I just don’t think he’s talented enough to be a starter unless absolutely necessary. I’d like to see how Williams goes a Center before striking it off as an option. He can always move back to guard if he sucks.

Williams has the physical build of an OT. He struggles at LG due to his physical limits and him playing the center position would be no different. Frederick was a great center and he has played the position for years before entering the league. He has the physical ability and the intelligence to play the position at a high level. Taking a by OL and putting them at the center position, when they have no experience would be a horrible move. Stephen Jones lacks credibility as a “football guy” and his statement does nothing to change people’s minds. Being able to snap the ball to the QB or hike it in the shotgun formation is not a given , even for experienced centers. Gurode was a very good center, but Romo had to chase down a lot of balls that were hiked over his head. I have played every position on the OL and coached the OL for a couple of years. The skills needed to play the position at a high level is not something that all OL have. I am sure that the team would love to have versatile OL that can play in every position, but it is not realistic, especially for Williams. It is nothing but wishful thinking to think Williams can come in and play the position at a decent level without having any experience or physical traits to be successful.

 

[kskboys]

I agree. I expect Looney to take the starting C spot early, with Biadasz maybe taking it over at some point, once he settles in.

Baddy will beat out Looney easily. Won't even be close. Looney is an NFL backup.

 

[xwalker]

I think Connor Williams is a natural fit at Center and am surprised it’s not talked about more.

He’s got two years experience as a starter, scored 34 on his wonderlic so should have a good understanding of the blocking assignments for the o-line and you’d think has the intelligence to pick up the subtleties at Center. I also always thought he looked a bit passive as a guard. He was still massively improved last year, so I can understand some wanting to keep him at guard, but I think his footwork, flexibility, and technique make him a better fit at Center where there are less one one one assignments.

They have 3 players with significant experience playing OC. Why play the guy with no experience doing it?

Looney - Full season and 2 playoff games as the starter.

McGovern - Played both OC and OG in college.

Biadasz - Played only OC in college, IIRC.

 

[xwalker]

If only his Wonderlic score had helped him on this play. Yes, subtleties like blocking the guy that could blow up the play.

CW was only intended to be the help blocker on that DL. Frederick was late.

CW's primary assignment was the LB.

 

[xwalker]

Williams has the physical build of an OT. He struggles at LG due to his physical limits and him playing the center position would be no different. Frederick was a great center and he has played the position for years before entering the league. He has the physical ability and the intelligence to play the position at a high level. Taking a by OL and putting them at the center position, when they have no experience would be a horrible move. Stephen Jones lacks credibility as a “football guy” and his statement does nothing to change people’s minds. Being able to snap the ball to the QB or hike it in the shotgun formation is not a given , even for experienced centers. Gurode was a very good center, but Romo had to chase down a lot of balls that were hiked over his head. I have played every position on the OL and coached the OL for a couple of years. The skills needed to play the position at a high level is not something that all OL have. I am sure that the team would love to have versatile OL that can play in every position, but it is not realistic, especially for Williams. It is nothing but wishful thinking to think Williams can come in and play the position at a decent level without having any experience or physical traits to be successful.

Connor Williams was playing really well last season. By mid-season he was playing better than Frederick and La'el...

 

[Bullflop]

Baddy will beat out Looney easily. Won't even be close. Looney is an NFL backup.

You know what? I can live with that, I do believe! After all, a Badass center is probably just what we need to keep those nasty DTs honest.

 

[DanA]

They have 3 players with significant experience playing OC. Why play the guy with no experience doing it?

Looney - Full season and 2 playoff games as the starter.

McGovern - Played both OC and OG in college.

Biadasz - Played only OC in college, IIRC.

By that logic Zack Martin would be playing tackle and not guard.

If you ask me, the best bets for starting positions are our past 2nd and 3rd round picks (Williams & McGovern). IMO there talent far exceeds Looney and Biadasz.

So if it’s down to McGovern and Williams, I’d say McGovern is better suited to Guard and Williams Center just based on the way they play.

It’s crazy to me to see how many are willing to anoint a late 4th round pick as starter when we’ve got McGovern and Williams.

 

[Stash]

By that logic Zack Martin would be playing tackle and not guard.

If you ask me, the best bets for starting positions are our past 2nd and 3rd round picks (Williams & McGovern). IMO there talent far exceeds Looney and Biadasz.

So if it’s down to McGovern and Williams, I’d say McGovern is better suited to Guard and Williams Center just based on the way they play.

It’s crazy to me to see how many are willing to anoint a late 4th round pick as starter when we’ve got McGovern and Williams.

"It's crazy to me" to see your fixation on Williams at center when it's unlikely he ever even takes a practice snap there.

 

[xwalker]

By that logic Zack Martin would be playing tackle and not guard.

If you ask me, the best bets for starting positions are our past 2nd and 3rd round picks (Williams & McGovern). IMO there talent far exceeds Looney and Biadasz.

So if it’s down to McGovern and Williams, I’d say McGovern is better suited to Guard and Williams Center just based on the way they play.

It’s crazy to me to see how many are willing to anoint a late 4th round pick as starter when we’ve got McGovern and Williams.

Yes, but playing OG vs LT is lowering the degree of difficulty of the position.

Moving from OG to OC is adding a degree of difficultly in terms of learning a completely new skill-set of handling the ball.

In the modern NFL there is only a very small difference in the physical requirements of playing OC vs OG.

An OC generally gets help or works with close spacing to one OG which is a small advantage but that's the only real advantage other than the fact that the OC know exactly when he is going to snap the ball.

Biadasz is a bit over-hyped. Considering that they have multiple options at OC, I'll be surprised if Biadasz starts game 1.

The least likely combination seems to be OC=Biadasz and LG=McGovern. Neither have played a snap in an NFL game.

New free agent OL Cam Erving has started 12 NFL games at OC; although, shotgun snaps were reportedly a reason he didn't play more there.
- He is one of very few OL that have literally played all 5 positions.

I will say that I have reservations about McGovern at OC. He has a weird method of snapping the ball in shotgun.
- He holds the ball at an angle that is about 90 degrees different than normal.
- Frederick and most OCs hold the ball such that the front of the ball is pointed up relative to the back of the ball.
- McGovern holds it with the front of the ball pointed down.
- Most OCs get some rotation on shotgun snaps or the ball at least travel the same path as a spiral.
- (I don't think any get the rotations per foot that LP gets on his snaps, but the distance is short enough to not matter)
- McGovern tosses it back with the ball traveling differently.
- He obviously also holds the ball the same way on non-shotgun snaps.
- Some QBs might have a problem with his non-shotgun snaps because it's different.
- Since he didn't play in the preseason, there is no NFL game footage of him to review.

 

[Kaiser]

I will say that I have reservations about McGovern at OC. He has a weird method of snapping the ball in shotgun.

With an entire year to prepare, I have to think that is an easy fix for the coaches. I've always thought McGovern was the best candidate to start at Center.

 

[DanA]

"It's crazy to me" to see your fixation on Williams at center when it's unlikely he ever even takes a practice snap there.

I wouldn’t say it’s a fixation, I started a thread and defended my position. It’s the off-season and I’m stuck inside bored.