Cowboys receiver Roy Williams is a little irritable these days. According to him, he and quarterback Tony Romo aren’t on the same page and he doesn’t want to hear that Miles Austin is now Dallas’ No. 1 receiver.
After putting in a lot of extra offseason work with quarterback Tony Romo, Williams is stunned they haven’t made more progress.
“It’s just not even close,” Williams said. “It’s not even funny. Not even close.”
Williams does not believe his poor production accurately portrays his performance.
“I’m the No. 1 receiver,” Williams said. “But things are just going No. 2’s way.”
“He gets the ball thrown correctly his way,” Williams said of Austin. “I’m stretching and falling and doing everything. Everybody [else] who’s been here’s balls are there. Our footballs [from Romo to Williams] are everywhere right now.”
Williams has been dealing with a rib injury he suffered earlier in the year in a loss to the Broncos, so that could be causing some issues. That said, you watch Williams and Romo play on Sundays and the connection just isn’t there. These two have zero chemistry and it doesn’t look like it’ll improve anytime soon.
It’s interesting that yet another receiver is having issues with Romo. But one would think that if Austin can develop good chemistry with Romo, so could Williams.
Imagine if the Cowboys played with as much confidence, emotion and focus as they did Sunday against the Falcons. Maybe they’d actually cash in on some of their potential and make the playoffs.
Fresh off its bye, Dallas smacked Atlanta 37-21 in Week 7, as Tony Romo completed 21 of 29 pass attempts for 311 yards and three touchdowns. Receiver Miles Austin had another huge day, hauling in six passes for 171 yards and two touchdowns, including scores of 59 and 22 yards.
Defensively, the Cowboys looked like they were playing with a chip on their shoulder. Matt Ryan hasn’t been touched all season, yet Dallas consistently crashed the pocket and racked up four sacks. They also intercepted Ryan twice and forced two fumbles, although one was recovered by Atlanta.
The Cowboys need to find a way to play with this kind of fire every week. They made a statement today against a good opponent, but it means nothing if they come out next Sunday and give a lackluster effort. When they play at a high level, they’re tough to beat. But they’ve had issues playing consistently week in and week out, so the jury is still out on whether or not they can do it after this win.
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones says that head coach Wade Phillips’ job is safe for the remainder of the season, according to a report by ESPN.com.
This isn’t surprising news. The Cowboys aren’t lighting the world on fire, but they do have a winning record and there’s no reason to make a dramatic coaching change when it isn’t necessary.
That said, Phillips would be naïve to think that his job is safe past 2009. If he doesn’t get the Cowboys to the playoffs, there’s no way Jones is going to keep him around with Bill Cowher, Mike Shanahan and Jon Gruden waiting on the sidelines ready for another opportunity to be head coaches. In fact, just getting to the playoffs might not be enough for Phillips to hold onto his job.
Despite their winning record, the Cowboys are a mess. Jason Garrett’s offense looks like a shell of its former self and Tony Romo has seemingly regressed as a passer. Making matters worse, receiver Roy Williams hasn’t stepped up to fill the void that the team created when it released Terrell Owens this offseason and Marion Barber and Felix Jones can’t stay healthy.
But it isn’t all doom and gloom for Phillips and the Cowboys. The team is on a much-needed bye week and Austin Miles exploded against Kansas City last Sunday. If he can build off that success, he’ll take the pressure off Williams, who doesn’t seem capable of being a No. 1 receiver in this league. Miles has all the physical talent in the world, but had yet to breakout before last week.
This bye week is crucial for Phillips and the Cowboys. If they don’t come out like gangbusters and build some momentum, then chances are they’ll continue to fall further behind the Giants and Eagles in the NFC East. Phillips knows that the next 11 weeks are pivotal to keeping his job.
Burger King and the FOX network have apologized for a cartoon skit which aired last Sunday during a pregame show that mocked Jessica Simpson for her supposed weight gain.
In the commercial, the cartoon version of Marion Barber says, “Man, I still can’t believe Tony dated Jessica Simpson, even after she blew up bigger than Flozell Adams!”
The cartoon version of Jason Witten says, “Unlike Tony, at least Jessica comes up big when it counts!”
And the cartoon version of coach Wade Phillips adds, “Say Tony, is Jessica around? We could use a defensive tackle!”
Fox issued a statement saying, “Burger King did not have any editorial input in the creation of the animation that ran last Sunday, and no one from Burger King Corp., approved it before it aired.
“Upon reflection, our poor attempt at humor was insensitive, and we deeply apologize to anyone who might have been offended.”
FOX is right – the commercial was insensitive. I’d also add stupid, unnecessary and cruel in some respects.
As my esteemed colleague John Paulsen recently said, we don’t need to give any more young women complexes about their weight. FOX should have apologized for their lack in judgment.
Whether you think it’s funny or not, this crossed the line and I’m shocked FOX actually aired it. If they wanted to poke fun at the Cowboys, they didn’t have to drag Jessica Simpson’s weight into it.
That said, the bit about Phillips is freaking hilarious. They should have stuck with that and left Simpson’s weight out of it.
Since being acquired in a midseason trade from Detroit last season, receiver Roy Williams has been a huge disappointment. Whether it’s injuries or his inability to get open, Williams has been largely ineffective.
Williams was inactive for Dallas’ Week 5 matchup against the Chiefs in Kansas City, but Miles Austin stepped up in his place by hauling in 10 catches for 250 yards and two touchdowns in the Cowboys’ 26-20 overtime victory.
Austin has always had the talent, but up until today he never showed the ability to dominate a game. He has terrific speed, big-play potential and excellent leaping-ability. He abused inexperienced cornerbacks Mauirce Leggett and Brandon Carr on Sunday, even when the defensive backs had safety help over the top.
Now that T.O. is in Buffalo, Tony Romo needs a receiver to step up the way Austin did today. Romo completed 20 of 34 passes for 351 yards and two touchdowns but more importantly, he didn’t throw any interceptions and looked confident in his throws.
This wasn’t a pretty win for Dallas, but Kansas City is always a tough environment to play in (no matter how bad the Chiefs are) and a win is a win. Romo and Austin needed a victory like this, especially with the team’s bye week coming up next Sunday. This will give the Cowboys confidence heading into their off week and despite not playing particularly well, they’re still 3-2 on the season.
Chunky Soup has always been hearty, but it hasn’t always been the healthiest in the soup aisle. But over the past few years, Campbell’s has raised the line’s profile by enlisting NFL stars like Donovan McNabb (as well as McNabb’s mom). Now, with NFL Hall of Famer and current Fox broadcaster Troy Aikman as a spokesman for the brand, the soup has also made their soups healthier, with 23 of them having a full serving of vegetables and 100 percent lean meat. We had the chance to ask Aikman some questions about his affiliation with Chunky, what it all means to him, and about life in and after playing in the NFL. Check out the video here, and Troy definitely wins the award for Showing You Mean Business By Stirring the Crap Out of Soup. But hey, the stuff really tastes good. Here is our assessment of the samples they sent…
Sirloin Burger with Country Vegetables—This soup had big chunks of vegetables and a nice, beefy flavor. But the best part was the little burger patties. In this soup’s former life, the burgers were fatty and tasted like it. These patties are lean and meaty, and this soup tastes way better than before.
According to a report by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo may have forgotten what down it was when he threw an incomplete pass to Sam Hurd at the conclusion of Dallas’ loss to the Broncos on Sunday.
Following the final incomplete pass to end the Cowboys hopes, a video caught on KDFW Fox-4 shows Romo seemingly telling his linemen to line back up. He then flashes three fingers to one of the game officials.
After hearing the response, Romo screams and walks off field.
If true, Romo apparently forgot about the spike to stop the clock on second down.
When asked about the series of events, coach Wade Phillips didn’t know anything about a discrepancy. He said that on the sideline they knew what down it was and any questions would need to be directed at Romo.
Romo is human – he makes mistakes like everyone else. But this is a biggie if it’s true. As a quarterback, you have to know the situation at all times, including what freaking down it is.
That said, if Phillips and the rest of the Dallas sideline knew it was fourth down, it’s part of their responsibility to let their quarterback know the situation. He’s got to worry about relaying what the play call is, how the defense is set up and everything else so a simple, “Hey Tony, it’s fourth down – this is it, buddy” could have been relayed.
The media tends to pin wins and losses solely on Romo, which is unfair. That said, he seems to be regressing as a decision-maker and he misfired badly on a couple of throws on Sunday, one of which got his marginally talented receiver Roy Williams decked in the ribs.
I’ve written several times in the past how Romo is at a crossroads in his career. Outside of a career day in Tampa, he hasn’t played well this season and he certainly didn’t help himself stave off criticism if he did forget what down it was on Sunday. If the Cowboys continue to stumble, an offseason quarterback change might be forthcoming.
For those who couldn’t tune into Monday night’s game between the Cowboys and the Panthers, you didn’t miss much.
The Cowboys were sloppy, the Panthers were sloppier and thus Dallas won the ultimate snooze fest 21-7. Victories are hard to come by in the NFL, but if I were Wade Phillips or Jerry Jones, I wouldn’t be breaking out the party favors and bubbly after this one.
The Panthers are bad – real bad. And it’s not fair to pin all of their problems on Jake Delhomme, who threw two more interceptions tonight to run his season total to 407. Delhomme has been bad, but he’s hardly the only reason why Carolina is 0-3 right now and has little to no chance of repeating as NFC South champions.
The Panthers might as well cheat and set up speed bumps on every play, because their run defense is horrible. The Cowboys rushed for 212 yards tonight on 32 carries (6.6 YPC) without Marion Barber as Carolina made Felix Jones and Tashard Choice look like Bo Jackson and Marcus Allen.
After his visit to the new Cowboy stadium last Sunday night, Giants’ linebacker Danny Clark wasn’t too impressed by Dallas owner Jerry Jones’ new castle.
From the Los Angeles Times:
Clark told Sirius XM satellite radio that the visiting locker room inside the stadium features few creature comforts.
“There’s not a lot of hot water in there,” Clark said. “[Jones] cut some corners in the bathroom there.”
Clark also was dismissive of the noise factor created by an NFL-record crowd of 105,121.
“It wasn’t as loud as you would think 105,000 people would be,” he said. “And for [good] reason. I mean, we did a decent job of making some plays so they weren’t all over the place, but I played in Michigan [Stadium] where there’s 100,000 people. It wasn’t crazy.
“I played in New Orleans when we reopened the [Super]Dome in 2006 after Hurricane Katrina.
“That place was twice as loud as this new stadium.”
I’m not surprised by the noise. Michigan Stadium may house 100,000 screaming fans, but the noise goes straight up because of the way the stadium was built. So it’s not as loud as one would expect. I’ve never been to the new Cowboy stadium, but maybe the way it’s structured limits the noise.
That said, what Clark said about the bathrooms was freaking hilarious. Hey, Jones had to cut somewhere to get that big ass TV screen in the rafters.
