Mickey Spagnola: "(Roy Williams) should be ashamed of himself" - 5/13/08

[Clove]

He did everything. He did hit people hard just because he was so much bigger than everyone and had that rare explosion at impact, but more than that I remember that he was -- ironically -- one of the surest tacklers I'd ever seen.

But he also made timely interceptions, too.

You know how Dat used to have amazing instincts, almost like he knew what play was coming in advance? Roy was like that, only he had dominant physical talent to go with it. That INT to beat the Eagles a couple of years ago was the Roy I remember from college. Or the INT and score at the goalline vs. the Skins his rookie year. He just always seemed to be in the right place at the right time, making big plays.

He was truly one of the best college football players I've ever seen. If only we could get a percentage of that player back. Who knows, maybe we can.

How can someone be in the prime of his career and forget how to play like that? Real shame.

 

[Little Jr]

Roy taken out of deep passes in passing situations = reduced interceptions.

I thought that was a myth.

 

[JPM]

Its amazing the number of Roy threads nowadays.

He's the new Pacman !

 

[CATCH17]

If all Roy did in college was blow up people he would have never been a top-10 pick.

And while he's never been a sack artist, he didn't generate a pair of two-sack seasons early in his career. Yeah, nothing spectacular, but I recall those numbers being pretty good for a safety at the time.

I remember when he came out of College some people were actually thinking he may play some corner in the NFL :laugh2:

 

[Maikeru-sama]

meh, I think Mickey's just patting himself on the back because he ripped Roy Williams 2 years ago and arrogantly stating, "I told you so".

Regardless of what Mickey says, Roy Williams did have a right to make a public retort to Gregg Ellis' Sirius Radio Interview.

 

[TellerMorrow34]

Roy just needs to shut up, get on the film study, buckle down, and prepare right. If he'll do that then he'll be just fine.

 

[LittleBoyBlue]

All Roy has to do is start murdering WRs and RBs again, and we will forgive his other sins.

:clap2: Agreed. All would be forgiven.

BUT... you need to take "murder" out of there or he will NEVER get his mojo back lol

 

[CATCH17]

Roy just needs to shut up, get on the film study, buckle down, and prepare right. If he'll do that then he'll be just fine.

Lets give him a little credit.

"Supposedly" he has been working hard this offseason.

This year is his last chance for me and I believe the Cowboys feel the same way.

Switch to #38 and be like the old Roy!

 

[Redball Express]

Thanks, CC. I wasn't sure what the first 13 posts in this thread were in reference to. Now I do.

Mickey has also seemed to be against the Pacman trade.

He gets a bit too much with the driven opins he has and just doesn't report well anymore.

I've gotten to the point I'm reading Eatman more and Mickey less.

Eatman and his articles have been much more informative in this last year about the team.

That's the information I want to hear about.

Not some pretzel logic on a writer's part about something he's just projecting or postulating about as speculation.

Mickey's entitled to his opinion.

But I really disagree with his personal agenda foaming-mouth articles aimed at players he thinks are either his concensius choice be on his ALL Cowboy team or are not worthy of his praise.

It's going to alientate the players from wanting to really talk to him and that damages his reporting because he's not getting good information of his own to evaluate and send along to the readership.

He's having to rehash his comments based on 2nd and 3rd party stories and information.

That's just not worth much.

It's just like Bayless and Galloway.

They don't ever talk directly to the players or coaches. Because the players and coaches know after years of reading their work, that they are just as liable to be used in some way that isn't always favorable to anybody other than the writers.

So why bother.

Their articles are always off-hand recollections and impressions often based on what somebody broke as a story other than themselves and they just try to put a new spin on it.

That's just reporting on reporting.

Frankly, that's what Mickey is starting to become more and more. A reporter on other people's reports.

Lazy.

And I think that's unfortunate for the fans.

This tirade of Spags over a player isn't anything new.

Last year, it was over Greg Ellis.

He went on a rant about Ellis and his situation and pea'd all over himself with being totally wrong about Ellis not being a team player and putting himself first over the team by being concerned about an injury that could be career ending if he forced himself back too quickly and about him being a whiner, etc.

And he never apologized to Ellis for being completely wrong in his opinion and on being completely out of the loupe about what the actual situation was with Ellis and his concerns.

Mickey is losing his credibility as a reporter if you ask me and just getting sloppy. He's getting less and less open-minded or using original reporting angles and being a quality reporter and is now more concerned with being right about everything to the point of writing about topics he's not fully informed about first hand.

Not a good sign.

Maybe his bosses are concerned with his ratings that he needs to drum up a little controversy.

Wouldn't surprise me. I see Bayless and Galloway do it all the time.

Thing about that is they are all syndicated..meaning they are going to act like fools and make outragious and controversial comments to keep their exposure factors going.

While Mickey is still just a local reporter for the most part after all these years and I guess he needs the attention at times.

But with reporting like this, I think he just looks more and more out of touch..if you ask me, with what fans have liked about him up until these last couple of years.

Whatever. I guess we all change. Some for the better, some not.

:starspin ReDBaLL ExPreSS :starspin

 

[theogt]

Roy taken out of deep passes in passing situations = reduced interceptions.

I thought that was a myth.

His stated myth was "Roy was taking out on passing situations."

He wasn't "taken out;" he was just moved to linebacker. It's the move to linebacker that reduces his opportunities for interceptions.

 

[khiladi]

His stated myth was "Roy was taking out on passing situations."

He wasn't "taken out;" he was just moved to linebacker. It's the move to linebacker that reduces his opportunities for interceptions.

Or maybe it's the fact that he isn't playing as much cover-2 anymore, which exposes the fact that his number of interceptions was just bloated statistics.

 

[theogt]

Or maybe it's the fact that he isn't playing as much cover-2 anymore, which exposes the fact that his number of interceptions was just bloated statistics.

Did this make sense in your head before you typed it?

If he's getting interceptions because he's in deep coverage, how exactly are they bloated?

 

[big dog cowboy]

Remember also saying, "I am going to be a Cowboy for life. There's no doubt about it. I'm staying here."

Seems more unlikely every day.

 

[khiladi]

Did this make sense in your head before you typed it?

If he's getting interceptions because he's in deep coverage, how exactly are they bloated?

I would think it is much easier for a safety to make an interception when a QB is throwing the ball deep into double-coverage.. don't you? I t requires less reaction time to get to the ball, plus the SS has more time to get to the ball when it is thrown, and so on... We played a lot of cover-2 in 2006 because of Bill Parcells, and I think it hid a lot of the deterioration in Roy's play overall...

If this is true, then it is quite possible that people who quote 5 interceptions in the year 2006 as justification that Roy's play wasn't deteriorating even prior to this season, are just fooling themselves...

 

[theogt]

I would think it is much easier for a safety to make an interception when a QB is throwing the ball deep into double-coverage.. don't you? It requires less reaction time to get to the ball, plus the SS has more time to get to the ball when it is thrown, and so on... We played a lot of cover-2 in 2006 because of Bill Parcells, and I think it hid a lot of the deterioration in Roy's play overall...

If this is true, then it is quite possible that people who quote 5 interceptions in the year 2006 as justification that Roy's play wasn't deteriorating even prior to this season, are just fooling themselves...

Yes, it is easier to make an interception the deeper in coverage you go.

This is obvious.

Hence, reduced deep coverage equals reduced interceptions.

 

[khiladi]

Yes, it is easier to make an interception the deeper in coverage you go.

This is obvious.

Hence, reduced deep coverage equals reduced interceptions.

Yes, it is obvious. Which leads me to the point about people quoting 2006 as evidence that Roy was playing top-notch football as a SS, except for last year. We played a very conservative approach to defense, and Roy was in cover-2 all the time.

That 5 interceptions blurs the fact that his play was deteriorating even prior to last season...

 

[InmanRoshi]

This is partially true in my opinion because he's the same player he was now as then, except for the big hits. It's more like he was overrated then, because of the big hits, and underrated now because everyone thinks he sucks.

I disagree. He's regressed significantly in a number of areas. He's much more timid in run support, hesitating to aggressively attack the ball carrier, giving the runner time to make his moves subsequently leaving Roy's jockstrap all over the field. He once was a spectacular blitzer. Now he's all too frequently stalemated by nickel RB's who weigh 30 lbs. less than him. His reaction and anticipation times are much slower. The Ryan Grant TD where he just ran right by Roy was a prime example. He once was known for his "suddenness". He used to flash onto your television screen like a cannonball shot out of a cannon ... now he looks like he's wearing concrete shoes. When you watch his old highlight films, more than the big hits, what impresses me most is how he looks like he knows what the play is going to be at the snap of the ball. Seriously, a part of me wonders if he hasn't suffered some sort of complications from repeated concussions, because he almost plays like he's punch drunk now.

And there was never a time in his first three years that you would even consider taking him off the field for any reason. He started regressing around the 2005 season. Its too the point now where he's a liability on the field, which is why the Cowboys have all but admitted they are going to minimize his exposure as much possible this year (and then hopefully release him next offseason).

I think he has regressed in pass coverage too, but I'll admit it could be that the league has just passed him by with more spread formations and a flood of more athletic H-Back/TE hybrids. The in-the-box SS is a dinosaur now, ask Adam Archuletta and Michael Lewis. I don't know where Roy's regression stops and the league's evolution starts.

 

[Boyzmamacita]

I disagree. He's regressed significantly in a number of areas. He's much more timid in run support, hesitating to aggressively attack the ball carrier, giving the runner time to make his moves subsequently leaving Roy's jockstrap all over the field. He once was a spectacular blitzer. Now he's all too frequently stalemated by nickel RB's who weigh 30 lbs. less than him. His reaction and anticipation times are much slower. The Ryan Grant TD where he just ran right by Roy was a prime example. He once was known for his "suddenness". He used to flash onto your television screen like a cannonball shot out of a cannon ... now he looks like he's wearing concrete shoes. When you watch his old highlight films, more than the big hits, what impresses me most is how he looks like he knows what the play is going to be at the snap of the ball. Seriously, a part of me wonders if he hasn't suffered some sort of complications from repeated concussions, because he almost plays like he's punch drunk now.

And there was never a time in his first three years that you would even consider taking him off the field for any reason. He started regressing around the 2005 season. Its too the point now where he's a liability on the field, which is why the Cowboys have all but admitted they are going to minimize his exposure as much possible this year (and then hopefully release him next offseason).

I think he has regressed in pass coverage too, but I'll admit it could be that the league has just passed him by with more spread formations and a flood of more athletic H-Back/TE hybrids. The in-the-box SS is a dinosaur now, ask Adam Archuletta and Michael Lewis. I don't know where Roy's regression stops and the league's evolution starts.

Great analysis. And the punch drunk theory might just hold some weight. I hope not, though. I want to hang onto the thin hope that he will turn it around this season. He supposedly has lost 32 pounds and is really dedicated to getting ready for this season. That's a good start.

 

[Maikeru-sama]

I disagree. He's regressed significantly in a number of areas. He's much more timid in run support, hesitating to aggressively attack the ball carrier, giving the runner time to make his moves subsequently leaving Roy's jockstrap all over the field. He once was a spectacular blitzer. Now he's all too frequently stalemated by nickel RB's who weigh 30 lbs. less than him. His reaction and anticipation times are much slower. The Ryan Grant TD where he just ran right by Roy was a prime example. He once was known for his "suddenness". He used to flash onto your television screen like a cannonball shot out of a cannon ... now he looks like he's wearing concrete shoes. When you watch his old highlight films, more than the big hits, what impresses me most is how he looks like he knows what the play is going to be at the snap of the ball. Seriously, a part of me wonders if he hasn't suffered some sort of complications from repeated concussions, because he almost plays like he's punch drunk now.

And there was never a time in his first three years that you would even consider taking him off the field for any reason. He started regressing around the 2005 season. Its too the point now where he's a liability on the field, which is why the Cowboys have all but admitted they are going to minimize his exposure as much possible this year (and then hopefully release him next offseason).

I think he has regressed in pass coverage too, but I'll admit it could be that the league has just passed him by with more spread formations and a flood of more athletic H-Back/TE hybrids. The in-the-box SS is a dinosaur now, ask Adam Archuletta and Michael Lewis. I don't know where Roy's regression stops and the league's evolution starts.

If this wasn't so long, it would be signature material.

This concise and succinct compendium serves as an example of how all who feel Roy Williams' play has regressed should respond.

 

[Cowboyz88]

I disagree. He's regressed significantly in a number of areas. He's much more timid in run support, hesitating to aggressively attack the ball carrier, giving the runner time to make his moves subsequently leaving Roy's jockstrap all over the field. He once was a spectacular blitzer. Now he's all too frequently stalemated by nickel RB's who weigh 30 lbs. less than him. His reaction and anticipation times are much slower. The Ryan Grant TD where he just ran right by Roy was a prime example. He once was known for his "suddenness". He used to flash onto your television screen like a cannonball shot out of a cannon ... now he looks like he's wearing concrete shoes. When you watch his old highlight films, more than the big hits, what impresses me most is how he looks like he knows what the play is going to be at the snap of the ball. Seriously, a part of me wonders if he hasn't suffered some sort of complications from repeated concussions, because he almost plays like he's punch drunk now.

And there was never a time in his first three years that you would even consider taking him off the field for any reason. He started regressing around the 2005 season. Its too the point now where he's a liability on the field, which is why the Cowboys have all but admitted they are going to minimize his exposure as much possible this year (and then hopefully release him next offseason).

I think he has regressed in pass coverage too, but I'll admit it could be that the league has just passed him by with more spread formations and a flood of more athletic H-Back/TE hybrids. The in-the-box SS is a dinosaur now, ask Adam Archuletta and Michael Lewis. I don't know where Roy's regression stops and the league's evolution starts.

This can't be true...stats don't support it.

Seriously...nice take, because for the millionth time, his play goes beyond the stats.