Thursday
OpinionRoy Williams’s parallel universe
EDDIE LEE
NFLPosts.com Editor
In Roy Williams World, all passes arrive at your chest, at just the right time.
And with Roy Williams’s ability in Roy Williams World, that’s enough to give Williams enough time to shake defenders, break tackles and consistently find the end zone.
In Roy Williams World, he’s an elite No. 1 receiver.
The reality in Dallas is that Williams is paid like a No. 1, cost the Cowboys a ransom of picks associated with a gamebreaker, and has delivered nothing but a littany of lame excuses.
When he failed to provide a spark last season as the team spiralled down the drain, the rationale was that he hadn’t had time to adjust to the new system or to QB Tony Romo; that he was injured; that Terrell Owens demanded too many passes; and so on.
After working with Romo in the offseason and Owens’ release, the stage was set for Williams to take over.
So far, he has caught a grand total of 14 passes, enough to tie for 137th in the league, alongside such luminaries as Jamaal Charles, Julius Jones, Brian Leonard, Mewelde Moore, Brandon Pettigrew and Sean Ryan. His 249 yards place him 79th.
His, ahem, productivity, has been especially notable with the incredible rise of Austin Miles, who in three starts (21-482-5) has more than matched Williams’ 16-game output as a Cowboy (33-446-3).
On Wednesday, Williams offered up Romo as sacrifice, saying they’re not on the same page on the field.
“It’s just not even close,” Williams said. “It’s not even funny. Not even close.
“I’m the No. 1 receiver. But things are just going No. 2 (Austin)’s way.
“He gets the ball thrown correctly his way … I’m stretching and falling and doing everything. Everybody (else) who’s been here’s balls are there. Our footballs are everywhere right now.”
Considering that Romo has passed for 918 yards and 10 TDs with 0 INTs in the Cowboys last 3 games, all wins, the QB’s transformation into Jamarcus Russell only when he sees No. 11 is tough to digest.
No, Williams needs to look in the mirror and see what he is, excess cargo.
While a handful of games may be needed for a receiver to adjust to a new QB, a season’s worth of games constitutes enough of a sample to determine if there’s anything there and with Williams, there’s just nothing there.
Moreover, this latest rant/batch of excuses was positively Owensian.
With an NFC East Battle Royale ahead for the Cowboys on Sunday night in Philly, Romo and the coaches now have this cheesesteak to deal with.
At least T.O. had the decency to produce on the field.
With Williams, outside of the salary cap hit, there should be little to hold back owner Jerry Jones from hitting the release button in the offseason. Then again, Jones is one of the precious few other inhabitants of Roy Williams World.
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