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Another Roy thread, but I thougt this was a good take tht should stand out.
Roy is not going anywhere
10:52 AM Fri, May 09, 2008 | Permalink | Yahoo! Buzz
Calvin Watkins E-mail News tips
Ok, I think everybody knows Roy Williams isn't going to another team. The Cowboys are not going to cut him. So let's stop this Roy Williams needs to go blog posts. They are really stupid.
Now. How can the Cowboys make Roy Williams better? That's a question we want answered. Dave Campo, the secondary coach and Brett Maxie, the safety coach, should help Williams. Jerry Jones, the owner, said Campo will try to help Williams create more turnovers this season. That was something that was missing in his game the last two years.
Williams hasn't been an impact type of player the last two years and there has to be a reason for it.
I spent some extensive time with Williams last year during training camp. We talked about his church, family and football. In someways, that's how he lists his life. He talked about taking a cruise with his family and how he loves singing in the men's choir at church. Does he love football? Yeah he does. But does he love it more than his family? I would say no. Do we love our jobs more than our families? I would bet most of you would say no. And please don't give me he makes millions of dollars a year to play football, so he should love it. Many NFL players will tell you football is more of a business than a pleasure.
Some players list family and friends before football. Greg Ellis, who everybody likes, I think, lists family first over football and yet he's an outstanding player. An impact player.
But back to Williams. I think Williams is tired of the criticism from the media and he believes, the fans are brainwashed into thinking the media is right about his failures in pass coverage. Williams said last year he wants to reach out to as many fans as possible to let them know he can still play this game.
Can he? Yes. Two opposing coaches told me they would take Williams in a minute if he were on the open market. Williams, however, needs to play much better in this 3-4 scheme. He has to study his playbook more, come in much better shape, and attack defenders. The scheme is not the problem. DeMarcus Ware, Ken Hamlin, Anthony Henry and Ellis had no problems with it.
And the defensive coaches need to stop babying him. I thought they did a lot of that last year. Dave Campo is no babysitter and that will probably help Williams more than anything else. Williams needs to be challenged.
If he doesn't respond to the challenge of the coaching staff, he won't be here in 2009.
If Roy were to be gone ...
9:28 AM Fri, May 09, 2008 | Permalink | Yahoo! Buzz
Albert Breer E-mail News tips
Timmy yesterday raised the Cowboys' depth at safety, were Roy Williams to find his way out of town. And he did make a valid point, in that there wouldn't be a whole lot.
Here's the cast of safeties the Cowboys carry now ...
 Ken Hamlin
 Roy Williams
 Pat Watkins
 Courtney Brown
 Dowayne Davis
Last year, for most of the year, the Cowboys carried 10 defensive backs - five corners and five safeties. It might be six corners and four safeties in 2008. And only four on this list look like good bets to make the roster, with Davis as the long-shot.
The wild card, as Tim pointed out, might be Anthony Henry, who could move to free safety if needed. So in that case, if Williams is gone, perhaps you keep seven corners: Henry, Terence Newman, Pacman Jones, Mike Jenkins, Orlando Scandrick, Alan Ball and Evan Oglesby.
Then, you'd have Hamlin and Watkins as your starters, at strong and free safety, respectively. Brown would be your top backup, with Henry having the flexibility to move and the depth there at corner to sustain such a shift.
Is it a perfect situation? No, and it involves taking a leap of faith that Pacman will play. But Watkins was solid, if not spectacular, last year in coverage and Hamlin might benefit some playing on the strong side and taking on a more active role in run support.
It's not ideal, of course, and if the team was trying to dump Roy, it would've been easier to do had the club taken, say, DaJuan Morgan in the second round or even Corey Lynch in the sixth round of the draft. But it's also not unworkable and remember, the Giants won a Super Bowl with James Butler - a big-time liability at the end of the regular season - starting at safety.
The larger issues, of course, are the cap constraints and dead money that such a move would bring.
Ideally, Williams comes back rejuvenated with defensive backs coach Dave Campo helping him regain the form of his younger years. Then again, this won't be Campo's defense. It'll be run by Phillips, a coach who has a long history of getting the very best out of defensive players. And the fact that is his defense, and not Campo's is, apparently, a problem for Roy.
Roy is not going anywhere
10:52 AM Fri, May 09, 2008 | Permalink | Yahoo! Buzz
Calvin Watkins E-mail News tips
Ok, I think everybody knows Roy Williams isn't going to another team. The Cowboys are not going to cut him. So let's stop this Roy Williams needs to go blog posts. They are really stupid.
Now. How can the Cowboys make Roy Williams better? That's a question we want answered. Dave Campo, the secondary coach and Brett Maxie, the safety coach, should help Williams. Jerry Jones, the owner, said Campo will try to help Williams create more turnovers this season. That was something that was missing in his game the last two years.
Williams hasn't been an impact type of player the last two years and there has to be a reason for it.
I spent some extensive time with Williams last year during training camp. We talked about his church, family and football. In someways, that's how he lists his life. He talked about taking a cruise with his family and how he loves singing in the men's choir at church. Does he love football? Yeah he does. But does he love it more than his family? I would say no. Do we love our jobs more than our families? I would bet most of you would say no. And please don't give me he makes millions of dollars a year to play football, so he should love it. Many NFL players will tell you football is more of a business than a pleasure.
Some players list family and friends before football. Greg Ellis, who everybody likes, I think, lists family first over football and yet he's an outstanding player. An impact player.
But back to Williams. I think Williams is tired of the criticism from the media and he believes, the fans are brainwashed into thinking the media is right about his failures in pass coverage. Williams said last year he wants to reach out to as many fans as possible to let them know he can still play this game.
Can he? Yes. Two opposing coaches told me they would take Williams in a minute if he were on the open market. Williams, however, needs to play much better in this 3-4 scheme. He has to study his playbook more, come in much better shape, and attack defenders. The scheme is not the problem. DeMarcus Ware, Ken Hamlin, Anthony Henry and Ellis had no problems with it.
And the defensive coaches need to stop babying him. I thought they did a lot of that last year. Dave Campo is no babysitter and that will probably help Williams more than anything else. Williams needs to be challenged.
If he doesn't respond to the challenge of the coaching staff, he won't be here in 2009.
If Roy were to be gone ...
9:28 AM Fri, May 09, 2008 | Permalink | Yahoo! Buzz
Albert Breer E-mail News tips
Timmy yesterday raised the Cowboys' depth at safety, were Roy Williams to find his way out of town. And he did make a valid point, in that there wouldn't be a whole lot.
Here's the cast of safeties the Cowboys carry now ...
 Ken Hamlin
 Roy Williams
 Pat Watkins
 Courtney Brown
 Dowayne Davis
Last year, for most of the year, the Cowboys carried 10 defensive backs - five corners and five safeties. It might be six corners and four safeties in 2008. And only four on this list look like good bets to make the roster, with Davis as the long-shot.
The wild card, as Tim pointed out, might be Anthony Henry, who could move to free safety if needed. So in that case, if Williams is gone, perhaps you keep seven corners: Henry, Terence Newman, Pacman Jones, Mike Jenkins, Orlando Scandrick, Alan Ball and Evan Oglesby.
Then, you'd have Hamlin and Watkins as your starters, at strong and free safety, respectively. Brown would be your top backup, with Henry having the flexibility to move and the depth there at corner to sustain such a shift.
Is it a perfect situation? No, and it involves taking a leap of faith that Pacman will play. But Watkins was solid, if not spectacular, last year in coverage and Hamlin might benefit some playing on the strong side and taking on a more active role in run support.
It's not ideal, of course, and if the team was trying to dump Roy, it would've been easier to do had the club taken, say, DaJuan Morgan in the second round or even Corey Lynch in the sixth round of the draft. But it's also not unworkable and remember, the Giants won a Super Bowl with James Butler - a big-time liability at the end of the regular season - starting at safety.
The larger issues, of course, are the cap constraints and dead money that such a move would bring.
Ideally, Williams comes back rejuvenated with defensive backs coach Dave Campo helping him regain the form of his younger years. Then again, this won't be Campo's defense. It'll be run by Phillips, a coach who has a long history of getting the very best out of defensive players. And the fact that is his defense, and not Campo's is, apparently, a problem for Roy.
