Roy Williams: Gusher or Dry Hole?
By Paul White
"If Roy Williams doesn't turn out to be the player they thought he would be when they made the trade,I think this would be one of the biggest busts in the history of the league."
- Troy Aikman
Under normal circumstances, Troy Aikman’s assessment of the Roy Williams trade would be dead on. The Cowboys surrendered their first-, third- and sixth-round draft picks this year, and a seventh round pick in 2010, for a wide receiver who has gone over 1,000 yards only once in a five year career.
However, the Cowboys are far from normal. Given Jerry Jones' track record in the NFL draft, the odds are Dallas would have blown at least one, and probably two, of the those selections. Therefore, this deal will be hard pressed to rival the disastrous trade of two first round picks to Seattle for Joey Galloway.
However, the purpose of this article is not to bash the Cowboys' front office. There have been ample opportunities to do that in the past. Hopefully, there will be less of them in the future. In fact, this trade might earn the much maligned Jones some badly needed credibility.
Granted, Jones rolled the dice by giving up so much for Williams. He raised the stakes even higher by releasing the cancerous, yet productive, Terrell Owens. But in the final analysis, this could actually pay off for Dallas due to one simple fact - Roy Williams, if properly utilized, could be the next great Cowboys receiver.
When Williams joined the Cowboys, he hit a Lone Star trifecta of sorts. He has now played for Texas’ premier football program at each level of competition. If this man who starred at Odessa Permian and excelled at the University of Texas can duplicate that success in Dallas, Jerry Jones is going to look very smart for a change. There are several compelling reasons to believe that could actually happen.
The first of those is Williams himself. He has all the tools – speed, size strength. And yet, he has never lived up to his potential in the NFL. The reason for this is quite simple – in high school and college, he was “The Man.” Prior to being drafted by the Lions, he was the premier receiver on every team he was on. More importantly, he shined under those conditions.
That never really happened for him on a consistent basis in Detroit. It was never going to happen in Dallas as long as The Cancer was on the roster. That has all changed. Williams is now the primary focus of the Cowboys' passing attack. Once again, he is “The Man.”
Also, do not discount the importance of Jason Garrett. Contrary to what the media says, the Princeton graduate is just as smart now as he was in 2007, when he was the hottest coaching commodity in the NFL. In fact, it is safe to assume he analyzed what went wrong last season and learned from it. Now that he does not have to placate The Cancer’s fragile ego, do not be surprised if the Dallas offense returns to its 2007 form. Williams, Jason Whitten and Patrick Crayton form a solid receiving corps. Marion Barber, Felix Jones and Tayshard Choice comprise a ground attack that should be as good as any in the league.
I have always had a theory about Jerry Jones. As the Cowboys' General Manager, he seems to be handicapped by what we refer to in Texas as a “Wildcatter” mentality. For those unfamiliar with the term, a Wildcatter is someone who drills for oil in an unproven field. It is a high-risk, high-reward proposition. All the early Texas oil fortunes were made this way. Quite a few fortunes were also lost in the same manner.
We always hear about the huge gusher (i.e. a well which produces at a prolific rate). What we don’t hear about are the nineteen dry holes the prospector drilled before striking oil. We have all watched Jones apply this principle in making Dallas’ personnel decisions. While there have been the occasional strikes, there have been too many years like 1995.
That year the Cowboys were able to assemble three picks in the second round. This was a golden opportunity for a team that had just reached the NFC title game and won two out of the last three Super Bowls. By adding three of the top 63 players in a strong draft pool, Dallas could strengthen an already deep roster and separate themselves from the other 31 teams in the league.
With Jones calling the shots, the Cowboys selected RB Sherman Williams of Alabama, TE Kendall Watkins of Mississippi State, and Michigan State OL Shane Hannah. Needless to say, these are not names you will ever find in the Cowboys' Ring of Honor. Hannah never played a down, Watkins caught one pass in his two-year career. Sherman Williams is the only one of this trio who ever contributed, gaining 1,000 yards in five seasons as Emmitt Smith’s back-up.
The draft of 1995, more than any other reason, tells us that trading three picks for Roy Williams might have actually been a smart move. The odds of Jones using all three picks wisely were virtually non-existent. The West Texas native is a known commodity with at least one pro bowl season under his belt.
More than that, he also has a huge upside. And after a string of dry holes, Jones is due to hit a gusher. He is, no doubt, uttering those nine words spoken by every oil man right before the drill bit first pierces the ground -- “This is a big one – I can feel it.”
This time, he might be right.
Paul White is a seasoned sports and political writer and the managing editor of the Texas Star Tribune.
"If Roy Williams doesn't turn out to be the player they thought he would be when they made the trade,I think this would be one of the biggest busts in the history of the league."
- Troy Aikman
Under normal circumstances, Troy Aikman’s assessment of the Roy Williams trade would be dead on. The Cowboys surrendered their first-, third- and sixth-round draft picks this year, and a seventh round pick in 2010, for a wide receiver who has gone over 1,000 yards only once in a five year career.
However, the Cowboys are far from normal. Given Jerry Jones' track record in the NFL draft, the odds are Dallas would have blown at least one, and probably two, of the those selections. Therefore, this deal will be hard pressed to rival the disastrous trade of two first round picks to Seattle for Joey Galloway.
However, the purpose of this article is not to bash the Cowboys' front office. There have been ample opportunities to do that in the past. Hopefully, there will be less of them in the future. In fact, this trade might earn the much maligned Jones some badly needed credibility.
Granted, Jones rolled the dice by giving up so much for Williams. He raised the stakes even higher by releasing the cancerous, yet productive, Terrell Owens. But in the final analysis, this could actually pay off for Dallas due to one simple fact - Roy Williams, if properly utilized, could be the next great Cowboys receiver.
When Williams joined the Cowboys, he hit a Lone Star trifecta of sorts. He has now played for Texas’ premier football program at each level of competition. If this man who starred at Odessa Permian and excelled at the University of Texas can duplicate that success in Dallas, Jerry Jones is going to look very smart for a change. There are several compelling reasons to believe that could actually happen.
The first of those is Williams himself. He has all the tools – speed, size strength. And yet, he has never lived up to his potential in the NFL. The reason for this is quite simple – in high school and college, he was “The Man.” Prior to being drafted by the Lions, he was the premier receiver on every team he was on. More importantly, he shined under those conditions.
That never really happened for him on a consistent basis in Detroit. It was never going to happen in Dallas as long as The Cancer was on the roster. That has all changed. Williams is now the primary focus of the Cowboys' passing attack. Once again, he is “The Man.”
Also, do not discount the importance of Jason Garrett. Contrary to what the media says, the Princeton graduate is just as smart now as he was in 2007, when he was the hottest coaching commodity in the NFL. In fact, it is safe to assume he analyzed what went wrong last season and learned from it. Now that he does not have to placate The Cancer’s fragile ego, do not be surprised if the Dallas offense returns to its 2007 form. Williams, Jason Whitten and Patrick Crayton form a solid receiving corps. Marion Barber, Felix Jones and Tayshard Choice comprise a ground attack that should be as good as any in the league.
I have always had a theory about Jerry Jones. As the Cowboys' General Manager, he seems to be handicapped by what we refer to in Texas as a “Wildcatter” mentality. For those unfamiliar with the term, a Wildcatter is someone who drills for oil in an unproven field. It is a high-risk, high-reward proposition. All the early Texas oil fortunes were made this way. Quite a few fortunes were also lost in the same manner.
We always hear about the huge gusher (i.e. a well which produces at a prolific rate). What we don’t hear about are the nineteen dry holes the prospector drilled before striking oil. We have all watched Jones apply this principle in making Dallas’ personnel decisions. While there have been the occasional strikes, there have been too many years like 1995.
That year the Cowboys were able to assemble three picks in the second round. This was a golden opportunity for a team that had just reached the NFC title game and won two out of the last three Super Bowls. By adding three of the top 63 players in a strong draft pool, Dallas could strengthen an already deep roster and separate themselves from the other 31 teams in the league.
With Jones calling the shots, the Cowboys selected RB Sherman Williams of Alabama, TE Kendall Watkins of Mississippi State, and Michigan State OL Shane Hannah. Needless to say, these are not names you will ever find in the Cowboys' Ring of Honor. Hannah never played a down, Watkins caught one pass in his two-year career. Sherman Williams is the only one of this trio who ever contributed, gaining 1,000 yards in five seasons as Emmitt Smith’s back-up.
The draft of 1995, more than any other reason, tells us that trading three picks for Roy Williams might have actually been a smart move. The odds of Jones using all three picks wisely were virtually non-existent. The West Texas native is a known commodity with at least one pro bowl season under his belt.
More than that, he also has a huge upside. And after a string of dry holes, Jones is due to hit a gusher. He is, no doubt, uttering those nine words spoken by every oil man right before the drill bit first pierces the ground -- “This is a big one – I can feel it.”
This time, he might be right.
Paul White is a seasoned sports and political writer and the managing editor of the Texas Star Tribune.
Comments
I'm an admirer of your work, Paul...but I just about choked on my gruel reading Owens described as a 'Cancer' on VG.com...Mary is really pushing the envelope to include other opinions!
As for Jones drafting, I think you can point to the mid '90s reactions to various Cowboy off-field transgressions, which led them to pass on Randy Moss due to 'character' issues, despite the fact Moss openly desired a Star on his helmet...it was THAT decision, more than any other, which presaged their decline. Given the extraordinary job the Cowboys did in the '08 draft (Mike Jenkins, Orlando Scandrick, Tayshan Choice, Martellus Bennett and Superstar, Felix Jones) I'd think you'd be LAUDING his acumen, rather than pointing out mistakes from 15 years ago.
Jenkins and Jones were both hurt, but each was the fastest player on his side of the ball in the draft, and showed dominant ability when healthy. Bennett, who you know well, is a freakish specimen who provides terrific TE options, Scandrick was simply the steal of the draft and Choice, forced to play due to the injuries to Jones and Barber, ran all over the place and jammed his name into the mix. 5 impact players from 5 picks, despite picking low in most rounds coming off a 13-3 year.
Matt
Posted by: Matthew Storey | April 25, 2009 02:30 PM