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Why did the Eagles pass on Williams?
The Cowboys' newest receiver isn't all he's cracked up to be. Birds fans can just relax.
By Bob Brookover
Inquirer Staff Writer
Ladies and gentlemen, start your griping. Did you see what the Eagles didn't do now? The Detroit Lions put wide receiver Roy Williams on the trading block, and the Dallas Cowboys got him.
Why wouldn't the Eagles want a great wide receiver like Roy Williams?
Surely, the season that was written off and then resurrected by one wild weekend in the NFC East can be written off again.
Roy Williams and Terrell Owens on the same team? Commissioner Roger Goodell should just ship that Lombardi Trophy to Irving, Texas, right now.
Before this goes on any longer, let's get something straight: Roy Williams is not a great receiver.
He's a good receiver with the potential to be great who was mostly another first-round disappointment for a Lions franchise that has a patent on picking disappointing first-round wide receivers.
Granted, playing for the Lions is about as close as it gets to cruel and unusual punishment in the NFL, but there were reports that Williams had mentally checked out from playing in Detroit before officially checking out and heading to his home state of Texas on Tuesday.
Quitting on the job is inexcusable for a guy making $30,000 a year, let alone a guy who collected more than $16 million from his employer over the last five years.
That didn't stop old Jerry Jones from giving the Lions a first, third and sixth-round pick in next year's draft in order to be the only owner in the NFL with two players named Roy Williams. Jones also gave this Roy Williams a five-year contract extension that reportedly averages $9 million per season and includes $20 million in guaranteed money. That's more money overall and guaranteed than the Cowboys gave T.O. before this season. Ask T.O. who is better and guess what he'll tell you? And he's right to feel that way.
At the very least, the chemistry in Dallas is worth watching over these final 11 weeks because T.O. seems to be on edge lately anyway. Like it or not, Eagles coach Andy Reid believes good chemistry is almost as important as good players when it comes to building a successful team.
"We understand here how fragile a team can be," Reid said Monday. "This is a team sport, and if you bring people in that disrupt things, you realize exactly how fragile things are and you have to be careful with that. I'm not bringing T.O. into it . . . but I will say in general to maintain a football team you have to be aware of that, especially in a leadership position."
It should also be noted that the receiving Roy Williams had 17 catches for 232 yards and one touchdown this season for the 0-5 Lions. The Eagles' Hank Baskett has the same number of catches for 13 more yards and one more touchdown. The Eagles' Correll Buckhalter, who is a running back who barely touched the ball in two games this season, has the same amount of catches for 64 fewer yards and the same amount of touchdowns. Even Greg Lewis has only 28 fewer receiving yards than Williams this season.
This is not to suggest that Baskett, Buckhalter and Lewis are better than Williams. If you watched the former Texas star against the Eagles last season, you couldn't help but be impressed after he caught nine passes for 204 yards at Lincoln Financial Field.
But here's the thing about the Eagles: If you make an objective list as to why this team is off to a disappointing 3-3 start, it won't include problems at wide receiver.
That's somewhat remarkable, too, because the Eagles' top two receivers from a year ago - Kevin Curtis and Reggie Brown - have missed a combined nine games. Rookie DeSean Jackson, who, by the way, has more receiving yards than T.O., and contributions from Baskett, Lewis and Jason Avant have made the absences of Curtis and Brown negligible.
With Curtis and Brown both expected to return from injuries following the bye week, the Eagles will be above average at the wide receiver position.
Now if you really want to make a list as to why the Eagles are 3-3, you can probably start with the team's inability to convert in short-yardage situations near the goal line, the team's inability to consistently score touchdowns inside the red zone, kicker David Akers' struggle to hit long field goals, and a lack of production from the tight end position.
Roy Williams wasn't going to fix any of those problems.
Can the Eagles fix them?
Not sure about the short-yardage problem, although it didn't seem wise to release Tony Hunt rather than Lorenzo Booker. Hunt at least showed some signs that he could pick up a tough yard or two during his brief time here. Booker hasn't shown much of anything in six games.
As for the red zone and tight end production, that, too, could be a difficult problem to correct because it's something that has gone on for the last two seasons.
Akers, on the other hand, has a problem similar to the one that dogged Brett Myers in the middle of the Phillies' season. The analytical kicker has a strong enough leg to make long field goals, but he just can't aim them properly at the moment. If he could make just one from beyond 50 yards, he should be able to turn his season around.
Contact staff writer Bob Brookover at 215-854-2577 or bbrookover@phillynews.com.
The Cowboys' newest receiver isn't all he's cracked up to be. Birds fans can just relax.
By Bob Brookover
Inquirer Staff Writer
Ladies and gentlemen, start your griping. Did you see what the Eagles didn't do now? The Detroit Lions put wide receiver Roy Williams on the trading block, and the Dallas Cowboys got him.
Why wouldn't the Eagles want a great wide receiver like Roy Williams?
Surely, the season that was written off and then resurrected by one wild weekend in the NFC East can be written off again.
Roy Williams and Terrell Owens on the same team? Commissioner Roger Goodell should just ship that Lombardi Trophy to Irving, Texas, right now.
Before this goes on any longer, let's get something straight: Roy Williams is not a great receiver.
He's a good receiver with the potential to be great who was mostly another first-round disappointment for a Lions franchise that has a patent on picking disappointing first-round wide receivers.
Granted, playing for the Lions is about as close as it gets to cruel and unusual punishment in the NFL, but there were reports that Williams had mentally checked out from playing in Detroit before officially checking out and heading to his home state of Texas on Tuesday.
Quitting on the job is inexcusable for a guy making $30,000 a year, let alone a guy who collected more than $16 million from his employer over the last five years.
That didn't stop old Jerry Jones from giving the Lions a first, third and sixth-round pick in next year's draft in order to be the only owner in the NFL with two players named Roy Williams. Jones also gave this Roy Williams a five-year contract extension that reportedly averages $9 million per season and includes $20 million in guaranteed money. That's more money overall and guaranteed than the Cowboys gave T.O. before this season. Ask T.O. who is better and guess what he'll tell you? And he's right to feel that way.
At the very least, the chemistry in Dallas is worth watching over these final 11 weeks because T.O. seems to be on edge lately anyway. Like it or not, Eagles coach Andy Reid believes good chemistry is almost as important as good players when it comes to building a successful team.
"We understand here how fragile a team can be," Reid said Monday. "This is a team sport, and if you bring people in that disrupt things, you realize exactly how fragile things are and you have to be careful with that. I'm not bringing T.O. into it . . . but I will say in general to maintain a football team you have to be aware of that, especially in a leadership position."
It should also be noted that the receiving Roy Williams had 17 catches for 232 yards and one touchdown this season for the 0-5 Lions. The Eagles' Hank Baskett has the same number of catches for 13 more yards and one more touchdown. The Eagles' Correll Buckhalter, who is a running back who barely touched the ball in two games this season, has the same amount of catches for 64 fewer yards and the same amount of touchdowns. Even Greg Lewis has only 28 fewer receiving yards than Williams this season.
This is not to suggest that Baskett, Buckhalter and Lewis are better than Williams. If you watched the former Texas star against the Eagles last season, you couldn't help but be impressed after he caught nine passes for 204 yards at Lincoln Financial Field.
But here's the thing about the Eagles: If you make an objective list as to why this team is off to a disappointing 3-3 start, it won't include problems at wide receiver.
That's somewhat remarkable, too, because the Eagles' top two receivers from a year ago - Kevin Curtis and Reggie Brown - have missed a combined nine games. Rookie DeSean Jackson, who, by the way, has more receiving yards than T.O., and contributions from Baskett, Lewis and Jason Avant have made the absences of Curtis and Brown negligible.
With Curtis and Brown both expected to return from injuries following the bye week, the Eagles will be above average at the wide receiver position.
Now if you really want to make a list as to why the Eagles are 3-3, you can probably start with the team's inability to convert in short-yardage situations near the goal line, the team's inability to consistently score touchdowns inside the red zone, kicker David Akers' struggle to hit long field goals, and a lack of production from the tight end position.
Roy Williams wasn't going to fix any of those problems.
Can the Eagles fix them?
Not sure about the short-yardage problem, although it didn't seem wise to release Tony Hunt rather than Lorenzo Booker. Hunt at least showed some signs that he could pick up a tough yard or two during his brief time here. Booker hasn't shown much of anything in six games.
As for the red zone and tight end production, that, too, could be a difficult problem to correct because it's something that has gone on for the last two seasons.
Akers, on the other hand, has a problem similar to the one that dogged Brett Myers in the middle of the Phillies' season. The analytical kicker has a strong enough leg to make long field goals, but he just can't aim them properly at the moment. If he could make just one from beyond 50 yards, he should be able to turn his season around.
Contact staff writer Bob Brookover at 215-854-2577 or bbrookover@phillynews.com.
