Dallas coaches cover for Roy Williams
by Anthony Brown
The big sport with the Dallas Cowboys this off season is to bash perennial Pro Bowl safety Roy Williams. The chief bashers are his teammates, although I don’t think they mean to be.
Dallas linebacker Greg Ellis revealed on a Sirius NFL Radio interview earlier this month Williams’ discomfort with head coach Wade Phillips’ defensive schemes. Cornerback Terence Newman said in a separate interview that Williams sometimes had that “deer in headlights look” when he came into the huddle.
With friends like that you better have the support of your coaching staff. Williams gets it from head coach Wade Phillips in an Associated Press story yesterday.
“I hate to see somebody get bashed, and it’s kind of a Roy Williams bash here for some reason,” Phillips said. “He can do better, but he was voted into the Pro Bowl. He was our second-leading tackler missing two games, so he had a lot of positive last year that I think people are overlooking.”
Defensive backfield coach Dave Campo calls doubts about Williams coverage ability “a bunch of baloney.” Campo was Cowboys head coach when the team drafted Williams in 2002.
This is just an off-season brouhaha when there’s not much real football news to report. Williams has long been considered a so-so coverage guy. He’s more of the enforcer in the Cowboys’ secondary known for big hits and horse-collar tackles, now banned.
When faced with an area that could use a little improvement, organizations from sports teams to the office next door must figure how to best motivate a change. Is it better to do it quietly behind closed doors, or expose it to the cleansing light of day? Whether by design or not, this story is getting the sunlight treatment.
Can’t tell if this will make Williams better and smarter in coverage, but opposing defensive coordinators are sure to take a second look at the tape on him, especially those teams with good receiving tight ends. Cleveland, Washington, NY Giants, Green Bay, San Francisco and Pittsburgh are on the Cowboys’ schedule this season. All have a top 15 tight end.
If you get one of those guys on your fantasy football team, be sure to start them when Dallas is on the schedule.
Meanwhile, Greg Ellis skipped the last day of OTAs yesterday in a snit over his lack of reps in practice.
The big sport with the Dallas Cowboys this off season is to bash perennial Pro Bowl safety Roy Williams. The chief bashers are his teammates, although I don’t think they mean to be.
Dallas linebacker Greg Ellis revealed on a Sirius NFL Radio interview earlier this month Williams’ discomfort with head coach Wade Phillips’ defensive schemes. Cornerback Terence Newman said in a separate interview that Williams sometimes had that “deer in headlights look” when he came into the huddle.
With friends like that you better have the support of your coaching staff. Williams gets it from head coach Wade Phillips in an Associated Press story yesterday.
“I hate to see somebody get bashed, and it’s kind of a Roy Williams bash here for some reason,” Phillips said. “He can do better, but he was voted into the Pro Bowl. He was our second-leading tackler missing two games, so he had a lot of positive last year that I think people are overlooking.”
Defensive backfield coach Dave Campo calls doubts about Williams coverage ability “a bunch of baloney.” Campo was Cowboys head coach when the team drafted Williams in 2002.
This is just an off-season brouhaha when there’s not much real football news to report. Williams has long been considered a so-so coverage guy. He’s more of the enforcer in the Cowboys’ secondary known for big hits and horse-collar tackles, now banned.
When faced with an area that could use a little improvement, organizations from sports teams to the office next door must figure how to best motivate a change. Is it better to do it quietly behind closed doors, or expose it to the cleansing light of day? Whether by design or not, this story is getting the sunlight treatment.
Can’t tell if this will make Williams better and smarter in coverage, but opposing defensive coordinators are sure to take a second look at the tape on him, especially those teams with good receiving tight ends. Cleveland, Washington, NY Giants, Green Bay, San Francisco and Pittsburgh are on the Cowboys’ schedule this season. All have a top 15 tight end.
If you get one of those guys on your fantasy football team, be sure to start them when Dallas is on the schedule.
Meanwhile, Greg Ellis skipped the last day of OTAs yesterday in a snit over his lack of reps in practice.
posted by The Gryphon at 6:13 PM
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