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."
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."
posted by The Gryphon at 7:57 AM
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