Jones confident with Williams as Dallas Cowboys' No. 1 WR
01:29 AM CST on Sunday, March 8, 2009
IRVING – The seventh pick of the 2004 draft has one 1,000-yard season. He's played in one Pro Bowl but has never been to the playoffs. Or scored 10 touchdowns in a season.
But Jerry Jones has no doubt whatsoever that Roy Williams can adequately replace T.O.
Jerry had better be right. The future of his franchise depends on it.
That's not hyperbole.
If Jerry is right about Williams, the Cowboys won't miss T.O. that much. If Jerry is wrong, he has irreparably damaged the franchise. The Cowboys don't have another player remotely close to being a No. 1 receiver.
Jerry removed T.O. from the Cowboys' roster Wednesday to benefit three people: quarterback Tony Romo, offensive coordinator Jason Garrett and Williams.
None of us should be surprised.
You always acquiesce to the quarterback, especially if he has a $65 million contract and the talent to eventually win in the postseason. And you should always pick the coach over the player, especially if you've made Garrett the NFL's highest-paid assistant.
Picking Williams over T.O. is risky, but the owner didn't have much choice.
After all, Jerry traded picks in the first, third and sixth rounds for Williams and a seventh-rounder. Then he signed him to a five-year, $45 million deal with $20 million guaranteed.
Return on investment: 19 catches, one touchdown and no impact.
Myriad reasons exist for Williams' lack of production.
We can blame Romo for letting T.O. get inside his head and ignore Williams. Or we can blame Garrett for his profound lack of creativity when it came to getting Williams the ball.
We can even criticize Williams for being in only average shape, especially since there were questions about his work ethic and practice habits in Detroit.
All have varying degrees of merit, but let's be clear: No excuses will be accepted next season.
Not one.
It's time for Williams to play to his pedigree.
Don't misunderstand, he's not a bust. Not even close. No one is suggesting that.
But when you draft a player in the top 10, you expect him to be a star, especially someone like Williams, who has an array of physical and athletic ability.
The reality: Williams has been a pretty good player.
For the comparisons with T.O. to end next season, Williams must be an elite player as he was in 2006, easily the best season of his career. He caught 82 passes for 1,310 yards and seven touchdowns that year.
Since then, he's caught just 100 passes for 1,268 yards and seven touchdowns. That's solid but hardly enough to make anyone think he can replace T.O.'s production.
Some people will say you can't judge Williams by his numbers because of the long list of average quarterbacks the Lions have trotted out since they drafted him in 2004.
Guys like Joey Harrington and Jeff Garcia and, yes, Jon Kitna, signed by Dallas last week to back up Romo.
Then you look at Calvin Johnson's performance this season – 78 catches for 1,331 yards and 12 touchdowns – with guys like Dan Orlovsky and Daunte Culpepper throwing him passes for the majority of the season, and it makes you wonder why Williams wasn't more productive.
In December, I wrote that the Cowboys should make Williams the focal point of the passing game, despite T.O.'s presence on the roster. Of course, that was the week T.O. caught seven passes for 213 yards and a touchdown.
Obviously, that was an aberration.
We also have to believe Williams' pedestrian numbers last season were also an aberration.
Williams said he's going to work hard once the off-season program begins to find a rhythm with Romo. It helps that Kitna's on the roster because he can talk to Romo and Garrett about the types of routes and situations that will maximize Williams' ability.
Since he arrived, Williams has said all he wants is an opportunity.
It has arrived.
Jerry needs him to make the most of it or the Cowboys' embarrassing streak of 12 seasons without a playoff win will continue to grow.
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