NFL.COM Blog: Cowboys WR Williams puts in strong practice

[WoodysGirl]

Posted: July 31st, 2009 | Vic Carucci | Tags: Dallas Cowboys, Roy E. Williams, Wade Phillips

SAN ANTONIO, Texas – Roy E. Williams seems well aware of the expectation for him to step up as the Cowboys’ No. 1 receiver now that Terrell Owens is gone.


It is evident by how he is running routes and making plays in practice. So far, all signs point to him making up for his disappointing performance after the Cowboys acquired him (and a seventh-round draft pick) from the Lions last year for first-, third-, and sixth-round choices.

In today’s single workout, Williams consistently beat defenders in one-on-one drills. His most impressive work came on making grabs on 15-yard out patterns, using the sidelines to his full advantage.

The Cowboys are counting on Williams, Patrick Crayton, and Miles Austin to fill the T.O. void at wide receiver.

Note: One change in the Dallas Cowboys’ training-camp routine is to spend the first 20 minutes of practice working on special teams.

Most clubs hold special-teams drills in the middle of practice, but coach Wade Phillips decided it needed to be treated as a greater point of emphasis.

– Vic Carucci


Cowboys enjoy the friendly confines of the Alamodome
Posted: July 31st, 2009 | Vic Carucci | Tags: Alamodome, Dallas Cowboys, Vic Carucci

SAN ANTONIO, Texas — This isn’t the Dallas Cowboys’ first training camp in the Alamodome, but it still boggles the mind to see an NFL team conduct its entire camp indoors. You’re so used to these summer sessions being held on a college campus, under the hot sun, in some remote location.


Tony Romo signs autographs for fans at San Antonio's Alamodome. (Eric Gay / Associated Press)
But the Cowboys are back here for the fourth time because it provides, for them, a superb working atmosphere, convenience, and plenty of seats for thousands of fans at each practice.

The dome provides a constant, 72-degree environment that keeps the players out of the searing heat outside and they like working on the artificial turf. Coaches, players, and staff are housed at the nearby Hyatt Hotel, where meetings are held and meals are served.

The Cowboys were here in 2002 and 2003. They moved camp to Oxnard, Calif., from 2004-2006, returned here in ‘07, and went back to Oxnard last year because of a conflict with a major convention that had been scheduled here.

For what it’s worth, the Cowboys have only has two regular seasons of double-digit wins since winning 10 games in 1998, and they both came after holding camp in the Alamodome (’03, when they were 10-6, and ‘07, when they went 13-3).

–Vic Carucci

 

[Hostile]

For what it’s worth, the Cowboys have only has two regular seasons of double-digit wins since winning 10 games in 1998, and they both came after holding camp in the Alamodome (’03, when they were 10-6, and ‘07, when they went 13-3).

–Vic Carucci

Oh, good omen stuff.

I know it is useless info, but I kind of dig stuff like that.

 

[FanSince61]

I know it is useless info, but I kind of dig stuff like that.

You and Babe. :laugh2:

 

[Hostile]

You and Babe. :laugh2:

Does he really? I never even noticed.

I keep fretting over the Super Bowl in Miami this year. All 3 we have lost were in Miami. It means doom. It actually doesn't, but it means doom to me.

Another one that got me, was how our HC is form Texas, a la Landry and Johnson. Means nothing but I was geeked.

 

[CrazyCowboy]

Oh, good omen stuff.

I know it is useless info, but I kind of dig stuff like that.

Roger that.......Go Cowboys

 

[FanSince61]

Does he really? I never even noticed.

I think so. He has a TV show he does on Sunday mornings before games and he comes up with stuff like that. Also, during the game broadcast, I think he uses useless info to help out with his analysis, but that me.

 

[gimmesix]

Most clubs hold special-teams drills in the middle of practice, but coach Wade Phillips decided it needed to be treated as a greater point of emphasis.

– Vic Carucci

Or could it be, like first reported, it's because our special teams coach is recovering from a broken neck so we don't want to tax him by making him do his hardest work later in the day?

Now, I am sure there is a greater emphasis on special teams this year because of our awful play last year, but there are far too many assumptions made by "reporters" instead of actually giving us what the coach/player said. That's why we get so much misinformation.

 

[Big D]

Another one that got me, was how our HC is form Texas, a la Landry and Johnson. Means nothing but I was geeked.

Me too.

 

[sonnyboy]

Or could it be, like first reported, it's because our special teams coach is recovering from a broken neck so we don't want to tax him by making him do his hardest work later in the day?

Now, I am sure there is a greater emphasis on special teams this year because of our awful play last year, but there are far too many assumptions made by "reporters" instead of actually giving us what the coach/player said. That's why we get so much misinformation.

Fairly certain I heard/read our HC quoted using both as reasons for leading practice with special teams.

 

[olascowboy]

Jimmy Johnson and Wade Phillips are from southeast Texas they grew up less than 10 miles from one another.

 

[sonnyboy]

Oh, good omen stuff.

I know it is useless info, but I kind of dig stuff like that.

I do to. But only when it's good stuff.
If we had a losing record after each Alamodome training camp, I'd file it into the useless info category.

But I'm not surprised climate controlled training camps lead to good seasons. I'm not saying it's a huge factor, but it only makes sense that getting in the most work would lead to good results.

I know the thought of hard hitting practice in killer heat sounds appealing. We all want to see our team worked hard and toughened up.
But you have to wonder about the quality of those practices.
Outside of the increased injury risk, I wonder how well the players can retain info and really work on the fundamentals.

 

[sureletsrace]

For what it’s worth, the Cowboys have only has two regular seasons of double-digit wins since winning 10 games in 1998, and they both came after holding camp in the Alamodome (’03, when they were 10-6, and ‘07, when they went 13-3).

Championship!!!!

 

[Gryphon]

Roy Williams reportedly looked like a "legitimate No. 1 receiver" Friday for the first time since joining the Cowboys.

Between the plantar fascia injury, Tony Romo's three-game absence and learning a new offense in the shadow of T.O., Williams had a lot going against him late last season. He's said to be looking more comfortable in the offense "with each passing day," and his extra offseason work is starting to pay off.

Source: ESPN.com

 

[Gryphon]

Roy Williams says he, Romo trust each other
By Jeff Caplan | MCT
Saturday, August 01, 2009
Story last updated at 8/1/2009 - 1:13 am

SAN ANTONIO - So much for Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Roy Williams' media boycott. It took a minicam and a notepad to greet Williams after the team's first training camp practice at the Alamodome on Wednesday for him to light up and start to talk.

And talk, and talk and talk...
Amicable and humorous with moments tinged by seriousness, Williams explained that he donned No. 4 in practice instead of No. 11 because he's back in his home state and No. 4 is where it all began.

He shaved his goatee, he said, because at 27 he's getting older and wants to look 22.

He also reiterated that his 19 catches for 198 yards and one touchdown in 10 games with the Cowboys last season that touched off so much criticism during the off-season was a product of quarterback Tony Romo's lack of trust in a new receiver dropping in at midseason.

"It's not like I wasn't open," Williams said. "It was a trust factor. We fixed all that."

And then there was this:

"I want to get to the playoffs and just win the whole thing; that would just make my life a whole lot easier," Williams said. "We've got the talent around us, on offense and defense, to make everybody's lives easier as long as everybody does their job."

The Cowboys are relying on Williams' connecting with Romo and excelling as the team's new No. 1 receiver with the divisive Terrell Owens now playing in Buffalo.

"Like he's said before, and it's true, he's always been a No. 1 receiver," head coach Wade Phillips said. "With that, you are going to get some criticism also, even though you do well. I don't think that is going to bother him. What I saw in the off-season, he came in two weeks early before our off-season started and that was a real plus there. That told me and us that this guy is serious about doing well."

Williams certainly has had his detractors since arriving from Detroit in a trade, including one Hall of Fame receiver turned local radio talk show host. Michael Irvin watched the willowy, 209-pound Williams, who received a five-year, $45 million extension as part of the deal, work out Wednesday in black spandex shorts that had some observers harking back a few years ago to Owens' stationary sideline bike routine.

"He catches everything. That has never been the problem," Irvin said of Williams. "The problem, as you watched last year, was getting the opportunity and making the most of it. It looks like he is ready to do that. I am looking forward to seeing it."

Williams' former coach at Texas, Mack Brown, chimed in from the Big 12 media days in Irving. Brown predicts that the 6-foot-3 Williams, having fully absorbed the Cowboys' scheme, will have a "breakout" season and "be as good as any receiver that we've seen."

"Mack is going to put a little more pressure on me," Williams said with a smile. "But, he recruited me out of high school and he knows what kind of player I am. "But there's a lot of pressure on me and I love it, and you know my thing is to catch everything thrown to me and everything will take care of itself."

In four full seasons with Detroit, Williams topped out with a career-high 82 catches for 1,310 yards in 2006, his lone season eclipsing 1,000 yards. His next highest total is 64 receptions. He's never caught more than eight touchdown passes in a season, and last season's 36 receptions, split between Detroit and Dallas, marked a career low.

The question lingers and will continue to: Can he truly be the Cowboys' bona fide No. 1 option?

"I know what kind of player I am," Williams said. "The media and all that stuff is taking care of my image right now - not being the guy that I'm supposed to be. It's hard to come in in the middle of the season and demand the ball or have Tony try to throw it to me when I'm open.

"He's not used to throwing to me and he doesn't want to take that risk in a ballgame. So, I mean it was a tough year for me last year, and that's not a reflection of the type of player I am."

 

[rathalarge]

I don't know about all this "number one" receiver stuff! When he was w/ the Longhorns, he was a top receiver for them. In Detroit, he was their top receiver, even when they had other Top Ten drafted receivers there. I keep hearing how he fell off in 2007, well, Charles Johnson came in and is a 'blazer, with hands and size', so obviously that would cut down on opprtunities...imo! Now Roy does, and reprtedly has worked hard in the offseason, so for ESPN to report that he's looked like a "number one" receiver is funny, because they need to focus on spelling athlete's names correctly on their news banner that scrolls on the bottom of their feed, rather than report what every other sports outlet reports. Brady won three SB's w/o a "number one" receiver. Let's hope that he is productive in whatever way he is used in the offense, and i mean 'used'!!

 

[cobra]

I can't believe anyone would doubt Roy's ability to be a #1 WR. Clearly that was a role Roy could easily fill.

The issue was--and continues to be--the extent to which he meshes with Romo. Because if two great players can never get on the same page, it just does not work. But if he could mesh with Romo, there was no doubt Roy was fully capable of being a #1 WR.