Roy Williams

roy-williams-onehanded-grab-lions Roy Williams has been the whipping boy almost since the day he arrived in Dallas. Whether that was from fans who did not like the move, or from sports writers who immediately planted the “How can T.O. and Roy coexist” seed. Some of the grief that Roy has taken has been unwarranted, but even I (Longhorn homer) must admit that some of it is of his own doing.

Since his days at Odessa Permian High School, Roy Williams has been the #1 guy, he knows no other way. “The Legend” as he was known in Odessa, was a two sport star. When he was not playing Football he was on the track team. In 2000 at the State Track meet he entered 3 events. He won the long jump competition with a jump of 25’6″. He placed 2nd in the high jump with a jump of 6’10″. Then followed that up with a 3rd place finish in the 100 meter, with a time of 10.38

When the school year ended in 2000, Roy left Odessa and headed south, to Austin and the University of Texas. From the moment he stepped onto campus he was expected to be the savior of Texas football. He did not disappoint, making a name for yourself in Austin is not easy (if you have never been there maybe this will help, their slogan is “Keep Austin Weird”) and better yet making a name for yourself amongst the football community is even tougher.

Roy however was able to do these things as well as help the Longhorns turn the program around, and get them back in the national spotlight. He did all of these things not by just showing up! No he put in the work, and led his team by example, not by talk!

In 2004 he was 7th pick in the NFL draft selected by the Detroit Lions. Roy’s work habits went to Detroit with him. Unfortunately for him he was surrounded by a terrible team, and management. Amidst all of that he still managed to become a Pro Bowl selection in 2006.

Last year Jerry Jones pulled the trigger on a deal to bring the talented Wide Receiver to the Cowboys. Upon his arrival in Dallas, we the fans asked him to step right in and be an all world receiver and to do this with Brad Johnson throwing him the ball!

Now as far as I could tell not only was there not a receiver on the Cowboys roster that had any success once Johnson took over, but there was not a receiver in the league that could have had any success. Yet those were the expectations for Roy. A funny thing happened though, the guy never complained! As a matter of fact the only remarks he ever made were things like “I need to do a better job” and “We are working to get better”. Meanwhile the teams #1 was saying “get me the ball” or “When I have the ball good things happen”.

We all need to remember that when Roy was brought here, he was not brought here to be the #1, not last year anyway. So if we look at that situation and keep that in mind, can you imagine what it must have been like to finally be able to leave the losing organization you had been with, and then walk in the door of your dream job only to find that organization in as big disarray as the last.

Players arguing with other players, secret meetings, and the whole world attempting to lay at least some of the blame on your shoulders. Yet this was the situation he was thrusted into, welcome to the Dallas Cowboys.

Since the moment he walked in the door his skills, heart, and desire have been questioned. Not just from the fans, but from former players, Hall of Famers.

Roy could have done a better job of displaying his leadership qualities, but I can understand why he did not. One thing that stands out in my mind was something he said at the end of the season while being interviewed on the Mike and Mike in the morning show; “I was shocked at the way they practice here, I am used to running out every play in practice. Like if I have a blocking assignment, In Detroit we blocked until the whistle blew. So that is what I was doing here in the beginning but I noticed I was the only one doing it, so I stopped.” That it where he failed last year, by trying to fit in and not create more issues, he allowed his teammates, and himself to be mediocre!

While I do not know Roy Williams personally I do know one thing about the guy, he is ANGRY! Right about now. I believe Roy has a chip on his shoulder, and has something to prove. He is not a guy that is just going to let people talk smack about him, without some sort of retaliation. The only way he knows how to retaliate is by proving everyone wrong.

For those of you that do not believe this I cannot change your mind, nor will I try. All I can say is, watch and see!

Tony Romo, How Does He Stack Up! Part II

Giants Cowboys Football

Due to the over whelming response we received on the “Tony Romo, How Does He Stack Up” post from last week. I felt compelled to dive a little further into that subject. I never thought for a moment when I was writing that post that it would stir the pot as much as it has. The reason I began to do that post was just to get something involving Romo on the site. The final result of that article has not yet been determined, but one thing for sure is that you all have plenty to say about it. So let’s take this debate a little further and find out what is really going on!

Leader: One that leads or guides. One who is in charge or in command of others.

Leadership: the activity of leading; “his leadership inspired the team”

So above you see what the actual definition of “Leader” and “Leadership” is, So now how do we determine if these are things that Tony has? Well judging by many of your responses and views on these two words. What we need to be looking at is a complex set of parameters. First, the majority of the people that believe Tony is not a leader, or does not have the make up to be one, say things like:

“He can’t sit on the bench and pout like a 4 yr old when things aren’t going his way. He has to get up and find solutions with his teammates.”

This statement was very intriguing to me. Why? Well it just kind of struck me funny! For about ten years of my life I worked in the NASCAR racing industry. I worked for several different race teams, all different levels. From Saturday night short tracks to NASCAR’s highest level (sprint cup series). I was very fortunate to have been able to work for some very good Crew Chiefs (the quarterback of the team), and I must say none of them operated like the others! I had some that were very coarse and led with an iron fist. I also had some that were very quiet and led by example.

Now the ones that led with their fists were no better than the ones who led by example. They both got everything out of their guys and were and are still very successful! So where did this leader perception come from? And why do most fans cling to that way being the only way? I believe that this is a direct reflection of “fans” views about athletes and how much they are paid versus what the normal Joe must endure just to be able to pay his/her bills! We as fans hold athletes at an unattainable standard!

These guys are no different than you and I other than they make more money in a year than most of us will make in a lifetime. I am sure some of you out there hold positions that leave you in charge of directing people; How do you lead your people? I try to treat everyone that works with and for me with as much respect as possible, but also I make sure that I work harder than anyone who works for me! I do this not because I like to work hard, but so they see the “Leader” setting the tone! What I am getting to is my style is probably different than yours, but does that make mine wrong? No! It does not, but my style of leading does have a key component that it depends on in order for it to work. That component is simple! My leadership abilities depends on having everyone on the same page! In order for my personnel to perform at a high level, all of them MUST work together! If one link in the chain is not holding up their end of the work, the chain will break, and the final product will suffer.

Now this rule really applies to either way of leading, but the “Iron Fist” way does not do something that my way does. The “Iron Fist” way demands that everyone do their job or else! My way can inspire others to do things that they normally could not, or would not do! In the end both ways work, and will work effectively but I prefer for my personnel to perform at the highest level because they know they can rather than performing at that level out of fear! It is my belief that success will last longer this way.

Tony Romo leads his players by the example method, He expects everyone to do their job to the best of their ability, without having to be bullied to do it. Now I realize that we all want to see him go off on someone and belittle them, but he is not going to do that very often. Tony feels that if the team does not play well that it is entirely on his shoulders, and the only way he feels comfortable repairing it is by pushing himself! It is up to the guys around him to recognize his efforts and to say to themselves “Tony is working hard to repair things, I should do the same!”.

Now I will not argue with you that Tony has made some very dumb mistakes. I will also not argue with you about the fact that Tony must cut down on the stupid plays, because he must! However mistakes, and bad throws do not correlate to a poor “Leader”. The majority of his stupid plays are made while trying to make something out of nothing! Let me ask you a question, How do you think Tony’s numbers (both in the Win column and in the personal stat sheet) would look if he threw the ball away every time everyone was covered? Or better yet every time he had two uncovered blitzers come at him he threw the ball away? You would have the same sorry ass QBs we have had here since Troy left! The making something out of nothing is what sets this guy apart from the rest. Yes he needs to do a better job of picking his spots, but cut the guy just a little slack!

I find it absolutely mind blowing that so many of you, believe EVERYTHING that you hear or read! ESPN and the National Media have done it’s very best to convince all of us that Tony and the Dallas Cowboys are a bunch of losers, and lunatics! People, us calling for Tony to be moved is exactly what everyone wants! The Dallas Cowboys are the team everyone loves to hate! In case you all do not understand this let me break it down for you. ESPN has a freakin “Cowboys watch” on their ticker, not because they want all Cowboy fans to be kept well informed, but because nothing sells “papers” like certain despair at Valley Ranch! No matter what good things take place at the ranch. The only thing ESPN is going to broadcast is the next allotment of turmoil! You will not hear or read this on ESPN, but you will damn sure hear about “A Possible rift brewing between Terrence Newman and Tony Romo”!

The point is don’t just take what someone says as the gospel without first doing your own research! If you want to argue something with me, then by all means bring it on! I strongly suggest however that you do your homework, before you just blab something that the National Media said!

Tony Romo is our Quarterback! Tony Romo is a “leader”. So all of you who think the 9-7 2008 season was caused due to the poor leadership abilities of our Quarterback. All I ask from any of you is to go back and look at the tape! The porous O-line, Injuries, poor route running, and receivers leading the league in dropped passes, have absolutely nothing to do with leadership! All of these things have to do with EVERYONE NOT PULLING THEIR WEIGHT! When ever you can say that EVERYONE is performing to the best of their ability, but Romo is letting them down. Then I will loosen my stance, but right now, this teams failures in 2008 are not because of “Poor Leadership” from Tony!

Is Felix Jones a Hero

28 FELIX JONES, RB
DALLAS COWBOYS
6’0” 212LBS

Jones, the No. 22 overall pick in the draft, provided a big-play complement to Marion Barber and showed flashes of brilliance in his six games. He had 266 yards on 30 carries (8.9 yards per carry) and scored four touchdowns, including a kickoff return.

That is all we have to go on as a professional, as a college player there is a little more. However people keep talking about Jones as a savior or something.

2007 his last year in college;
He finished with 123 carries for 1,117 yards and 11 TDs, while averaging a whopping 9.1 yards per carry, leading the nation.

[ Mickey Spagnola wrote while making excuses as to why Dallas went 9-7 last year;
Felix Jones was 86-ed in the sixth game had he not gotten hurt things could have been a lot different.]

Here is my question to you;

Why do I hear on the radio, and on ESPN and read online about what a Hero Jones is and all we have to go on is a really good 5 and ¼ games?

I like Jones don’t get me wrong I almost bought his jersey but I went with Ware instead.

So tell me what you think……..

Tony Romo, How Does He Stack Up?

The Dallas Cowboys have made a flurry of off season moves this year with hopes of changing not only the perception of the team, but also getting back to playing winning football. All of these aspirations are now in the hands of one person, and JJ is not who I am referencing! You got it, One Tony Romo is now in control of this franchise. Now I realize that there is only so much one man can do, but the problem is that Cowboy fans, in my opinion, are beginning to lose confidence in Mr. Romo.

Now I am a fan of Tony, but I’m growing tired of defending him, it is time for him to step up! There is one question however that keeps burning through my mind about him; Is Tony Romo’s on the field performance equal to those of his peers (QBs with the same number of starts), and even his predecessors (former QBs at this point in their career’s)? The reason I keep coming back to this question is simple. Do I and we know what we are talking about when we say things like “he is not a winner”? Because if he is on course with his peers, and predecessors, well then we need to just shut up! So let’s do some digging and see if we can find something one way or the other to hang our hats on.

I am going to put up a table for you all to look at. This table will consist of several quarterbacks both current and former quarterbacks. I will be excluding the names of the players for now. If you would all look at the table, and answer the following question for me. In this list there are two Hall of Fame players, another three that will be, and four that are very strong players, one of these is Tony Romo, which one is he?

Which one is Tony Romo? Can you tell?
Player	Win	Loss	Comp%	Yards	TD	Int	Rate
Player A	29	19	55.50%	10,342	71	55	75.6
Player B	34	12	62.10%	10,227	69	38	86
Player C	26	22	60.40%	12,287	85	58	85.5
Player D	14	24	58.60%	7,082	31	46	69.6
Player E	27	12	63.60%	10,562	81	46	94.7
Player F	26	15	63.30%	10,088	62	35	90.3
Player G	33	15	62.40%	10,549	77	35	93.3
Player H	29	11	62.90%	8,519	52	43	90.7
Player I	26	19	62.4%	10,412	70	51	82.7

Did anyone say Player “F”? It’s ok if you did, but you would be very, very, very wrong! How about player “I”? Nope not him either! If you will look at the next table you will see which one was Tony!

QB Statistics over First 3 seasons started
Player	Win	Loss	Comp%	Yards	TD	Int	Rate
Eli Manning	29	19	55.50%	10,342	71	55	75.6
Tom Brady	34	12	62.10%	10,227	69	38	86
Peyton Manning	26	22	60.40%	12,287	85	58	85.5
Troy Aikman	14	24	58.60%	7,082	31	46	69.6
Tony Romo	27	12	63.60%	10,562	81	46	94.7
Joe Montana	26	15	63.30%	10,088	62	35	90.3
Philip Rivers	33	15	62.40%	10,549	77	35	93.3
Ben Roethlisberger	29	11	62.90%	8,519	52	43	90.7
Brett Favre	26	19	62.4%	10,412	70	51	82.7

Now, so that we are all on the same page here, I am trying to say that Romo is going to be or is as good as players like Montana, and Manning, what I am saying is that you have got to look at everything before you follow some of the things that the media wants you to believe! In doing this research I found some pretty interesting things! First, with everyone of these guys I found that they all had very good sophomore seasons, as the starter. Their Junior campaign almost all had a slight drop in production. Secondly, there fourth year as the starter saw all of them have as good, and in some cases a record year. The naysayers will say that “you can manipulate numbers however you see fit” and to an extent they would be correct. These are the things we can actually see, however we cannot see the small things that they do to become the leaders we say they are.

The moral of this story is this; Players in this league are judged by wins and losses, no one more so than the QB position. Tony has not won a playoff game YET! So therefore he is a loser. This is the budding perception, and until this team wins a playoff game that tag will not be removed. At the same token though, he cannot do it alone. Be Careful for what you ask for! I hear all the time that this team needs to find Tony’s replacement, why? You show me a better QB in the league! and do not come at me with that “but he has not won anything” crap! Eli Manning won a Super Bowl! Do you think he is better? I sure as hell don’t! One lucky catch does not make you a leader and a winner in my book!

Igor Olshansky And What He Brings To Dallas

755557935UT001_Titans_Chargers The Dallas Cowboys last week went out and found the replacement for the departing Chris Canty. The question is was this an upgrade? or was it a downgrade? Well let’s take a look!

Igor Olshansky was drafted by the San Diego Chargers with #35 overall selection in the 2004 draft. This was the same draft class as players such as; Roy Williams, Ben Rothlesberger, Eli Manning, and Larry Fitzgerald. This class was one of the deepest drafts in history, with many of the stars in today’s league being drafted in this class. Igor was the fourth Defensive Tackle selected, behind Tommie Harris(#14), Vince Wilfork(#21), and Marcus Tubbs(#23). This was a tough draft for the Cowboys, as only one player remains from this class (Patrick Crayton).

Now where your drafted has absolutely nothing to do with what type of player you become, what is interesting though is to go back years later and see how those ahead of you stack up! Now as far as I can Igor should have been the third maybe even second tackle selected, as his numbers are equal to that of Wilfork and slightly less than of Harris. Both of those guys play in a different style defense than that of Olshansky. Tommie Harris is a pass rushing nose tackle so his sack numbers are many more than that of Olshansky. Vince Wilfork plays the Nose as well but in a much different realm. The Patriots use him as a run stuffer, and do not ask him to rush the passer, and he fills that need very well for the Pats.

Igor plays with tenacity, some might even say he plays with an angry streak! Chris Canty plays exactly the way he is, a nice guy! You will never hear anyone say something derogitory about Chris Canty, when it comes to what kind of person he is. So which personality would you rather have down in the trenches, trying to eat up blockers so that D-Ware can run crazy?

Numbers wise Igor and Chris are going to give you about the same. The intagibles is what makes this an upgrade in my opinion! Chris was a Parcells guy! he never really took to the new style defense, and let’s be honest he never quite lived up to what any of us thought he could be. Chris was what they call in basketball a guy!(a.k.a Jujuan Smith) Now this term for those that do not know references players that you never know what your going to get, meaning one day they are a bad ass and the next they are not heard from! This was Chris Canty. With Igor you get the complete other end of the spectrum! You will get the same output and energy on every play of every game from Igor. The thing that everyone will look at though with him though is that he did not have a very productive year last year. There is a reason for that. Igor needs a star beside him (see Shawne Merriman) and last year with the Chargers star linebacker sidelined for the year with injury. This had a profound effect on Igor. Do not worry though friends this guy is a maniac, and I would be highly suprised if not only he has a great year, but make no mistake he will also elevate the play of our favorite son DeMarcus Ware!

Safe or Out?

This seems to be the game we’re playing. Desperately in need of veteran leadership the cowboys have successfully pursued Gerald Sensabaugh, signing him to a one year deal. In his 5th season he registered 82 tackles and 4 interceptions so you can’t doubt his upside, but I just have to wonder, with a history of arrests and troubled off-the-field issues is he worth it?

I mean we’re trying to rebuild, we’re trying to become a straight-laced team, with a clear image. It worries me, it worries me because distractions have proven costly, and without distractions this team can potentially be untouchable.

The talent is here, and he can bring a lot to us. However, I have to admit I was sort of liking the idea of moving Orlando Scandrick to Free Safety and bumping Hamlin to Strong Safety. We’ll see what time brings, but Sensbaugh will undoubtedly solidify our special teams void, and possibly some good cover skills as a defensive back.

So my indecision leads me to turn it over to you, do you think that Jerry’s latest move is safe, or did the cowboys strike out?

Cowboys Cut Terrell Owens

According to Michael Smith at ESPN, the Dallas Cowboys released Terrell Owens Wednesday night. The Cowboys have yet to confirm the move, though staff writers at DC.com are sharing this same report. This seems to indicate that they haven’t heard anything to the contrary.

This is a shocking move, although not a totally unexpected one. Speculation has been running rampant since December when reports surfaced about dissension in the locker room, and it all seems to swirl around Owens.

Should the report be true, the Cowboys will still suffer a hit to the cap very similar to what would have been spent with Owens still on the roster. It has been presumed that cutting him would make less sense given his production level and that $9 million would count against this seasons cap with or without him.

We’ll have to wait until morning most likely for official word out of Valley Ranch, but it looks as though the poll on CN.net was dead on target. The question? Who will be the number 1 receiver next year for Dallas, 78% voted that T.O. would be the number 1 over Roy Williams. Not now.

DMN is reporting that T.O. has been notified officially of his release by team officials.

Terrell Owens Helps Woman Nearly Hit by Car

Terrell Owens helps women nearly hit by car.

Despite big media outlet’s such as ESPN constantly talking down about Terrell Owens, calling him things like Team Obliviator, a cancer, and even some have went as far to call him the worst team-mate in the NFL history.

Yet like Owens tends to do quite often about his doubters he proved them wrong. I can’t help but wonder to myself why the world seems to be against this guy? Obviously he had some chemistry issues with Donovan Mcnabb and Jeff Garcia which is an entire article in it’s own. Nevertheless Owens has a heart of gold as evidenced by writing a children’s book, holding a youth football camp, creating an Alzheimer’s foundation, and now helping a women nearly hit by a car.

On a walk to a nearby drugstore, she stepped off a curb and was almost run down by a driver who changed lanes abruptly.

Hopping back onto the curb, she nearly collided with an athletic-looking fellow who checked to see that she was OK and made sure she made it back to the hotel.

That same fellow came through the company’s booth the next day.

“That’s Terrell Owens!” Ed Lawrence pointed out to his sister-in-law, who didn’t know the Dallas Cowboys wide receiver.

“He was so nice when I saw him at the booth and thanked him again for helping me,” she said. “He talked to us for a while and was very nice, posing for a picture with me. The class loved it.”

Say what you will about Terrell Owens but the proof is in the pudding the guy is one of the greatest receivers in the NFL’s history and has a big heart and despite on the field controversies has never had an off the field issue and is always helping out the community. Owens is 2nd all time in receiving touchdowns with 139.

Owens had 69 Receptions 1,052 yards and 10 touchdowns last season.

Dallas Cowboys Canty Now Walks With Giants

The talk for a long time now Cowboys Canty Football has been will Chris Canty stay with the Cowboys, or would he land the huge contract he was in search of? All the talk became a reality on Sunday morning, when the New York Giants signed Chris Canty. The Giants signed Canty to a six year $42 million dollar contract, with $17.25 million of it guaranteed.

While I am not in shock that Canty was able to get this kind of money, even though he did nothing to deserve it. I was shocked at who gave it to him! The Giants already have Justin Tuck, and Osi Umenyiora holding down the End positions. Now they bring in Canty and are going to pay him more than either one of those guys! Why?

In article by Clarence Hill over at the Star- Telegram where he says that Canty will be moved to the tackle position. If this is the Giants plan, it is most definitely a plan they will grow to regret! Canty was, well average at best during his stint with the Cowboys. All the Cowboys asked him to do, was to be able to hold position against big offensive tackles. He was not asked to be a rusher. The Cowboys have had one guy on the defensive line that has been able to do this on a weekly basis, and no I am not talking about Marcus Spears! Jay Ratliff has been the only constant producing lineman on this team, whether that be from the middle or out on the end. The Giants are now going to ask him to move down into the real trenches, to battle with players such Leonard Davis. Chris Canty stands no chance of being able to get any kind of push on these road graders!

I have one last issue I would like to cover with all of you. This morning I read an article, in which the author goes on and on about how Dallas should have made re-signing Canty a priority. The author says things like

“be careful how you snicker and wink at each other today, as defensive end Chris Canty departs the Dallas Cowboys via the free agent door.” and “if he was so expendable, why did the line for his services form”.

This just drives me insane! For some unknown reason members of the Dallas area media, have this deficiency in their brain that does not allow them to understand simple things. The Dallas Cowboys wanted Chris Canty back, but Canty and a handful of teams thought he was worth $7 million a season! I implore anyone to show me where this guy played $7million a year good! If Dallas had given Canty this deal, there would have been people screaming from the rafters that Jerry has lost his mind!

So listen up! It is impossible to keep everyone, and correct me if I am wrong, but what was so stellar about the 2008 Dallas Cowboy rush defense? So with that thinking, how would this line be any better if no one new was added? There will be players added via free agency and the draft to repair this problem, and I will assure you that the departure of Chris Canty will not destroy this team!

Dallas Cowboys Nation

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