Roy Williams Shows You How To Work An Interview

I was slightly amused last week when several members of the sports media came to Terrell Owens' defense after another debacle in the interview room. There is no doubt that the people asking him questions were baiting him into saying something controversial, but why should he get points for not taking the bait? You see professional athletes who have the stature of T.O. and for that matter who have their own publicists as T.O. does should have a helluva lot better grasp on how to handle the media at this point. It really shouldn't be impressive that when asked if he likes the plays that are called that he says he just runs them and it doesn't matter whether he likes them. How about something as simple as saying "Yes, I actually do like the plays that are called we all just have to execute them better"? THAT'S what a "good" answer would have been to that question and if it wasn't T.O. most people wouldn't have accepted anything less. But I guess somehow in bizarro world Owens has now become a sympathetic figure because he talked his way out of 3 great situations and is now on a sorry team with a very average quarterback.

You will excuse me if I don't shed any tears.

On the other hand Roy Williams has been getting crushed in Dallas for the last year basically because he isn't T.O. Not that he ever claimed to be and not that he isn't a really good receiver. But just by virtue of the fact that Jerry Jones gave up so much for him in a trade and after T.O. left he became the defacto number one receiver, you have every body and their momma rushing to throw him under the bus. It is in this situation that after four games he finds himself with pretty pedestrian numbers. And for anybody paying attention it largely isn't his fault. Time and again he has run good routes and gotten open only to have Tony Romo still misjudging his speed and either throwing the ball behind him or well over his head.

So when NFL.com came calling and tried to bait him into complaining does he take the bait? Does he throw his quarterback under the bus? Does he give lukewarm answers about his offensive coordinator, Jason Garrett's, play caling?

Hell No!

He takes his lumps like a man.

It's also not what Williams was expecting after he and Romo spent about four weeks throwing together before the start of offseason workouts.

"No, this is not what I envisioned by no means," Williams said Wednesday. "It's still early. It's like the stock (market). It's a bad first quarter. Maybe the second quarter will be good."

Notice the optomism?

So is the status of the Romo-Williams relationship, which raises all sorts of other questions, like whether the Cowboys should have trusted Williams to replace Terrell Owens as the team's No. 1 receiver and even whether they should have gotten rid of T.O. Or perhaps the issues start with Romo and his decision-making, or maybe with the plays being called by offensive coordinator Jason Garrett.

Something obviously isn't working, considering Williams has seen just 25 passes come his way. That ties him for 44th in the NFL, which is low considering Romo has thrown the 10th-most passes in the league.

"I think the chemistry is there," Williams said. "It's just ... it's just ... the chemistry is there."

See how he stood by his relationship with Romo, even as his ribs are aching from the hit he took because of Romo's errant pass on Sunday?

The lack of action last season was somewhat understandable. Not so much this time around.

"I promise you it's OK," Williams said. "I'm not, `Aaarrrrrgggghhh, give me the ball.' It's going to come."

The guy has 11 catches in the first four games and he says its ok. Imagine that, covering your teammate's ass in an interview. This has to be unprecedented! *snark

Simple math shows that Williams is on pace for 44 catches, a woeful figure for a No. 1 guy. Even for a No. 2 guy.

"Or No. 3," Williams said.

Williams insists he's just being patient, something he was forced to learn during his years with the Lions.

"Holler at me in four more games," he said. "It's tough for me, but I'm going with the punches."

Patience. How many times has the word patience been associated with any team's top wide receiver?

Now Roy Williams' numbers may or may not get better this year, but it is blatantly obvious that he is not going to let his personal numbers, or lack of them, distract from what this team is trying to do and where it is trying to go. And you know what, if the Cowboys get better and get into the playoffs you can rest assured that his kind of attitude will have had a lot to do with it.

It is what it is.