Posts Tagged ‘Roy Williams’

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Without T.O., is Romo still an elite fantasy quarterback?

May 28th, 2009

It’s the debate that began as soon as the Cowboys released Terrell Owens: Where does Tony Romo rank without his prized target in the passing game? I’ve exchanged emails with fellow Fools writer Chadam and several other fantasy football compatriots since my post on the release of the infamous No. 81, but I’ve been reluctant to pass judgment…until now.

T.O. was the big target, drawing the most balls from Romo, even when he couldn’t catch them all, and striking the most fear in opposing defenses. Sure, the Cowboys still have tight end Jason Witten, who is likely to be the leading receiver again anyway, but will he be open across the middle without a legitimate playmaker demanding coverage on the outside? Hard to say.

Tony Romo and Jessica Simpson out and about in NYC

The Hole T.O. Leaves Behind
Romo’s hopes for fantasy glory this season rest in newly-promoted No. 1 receiver Roy Williams, a playmaker during his days at Texas who has had just one dominant season in the NFL. Williams spent most of his time in Detroit putting up mediocre numbers and suffering from injuries before falling into the shadow of Calvin Johnson.

After being traded to Dallas, Williams never seemed to get on track, either due to unknown injuries or an inability to get in sync with Romo. While the talent may be there for him to be a true No. 1 in the Cowboys’ offense, Williams will have to duplicate or exceed his best season in the NFL to make it happen.

Finding Stability at the No. 2 Position
As if it wasn’t enough to have a questionable No. 1, the Cowboys also have a hole on the other side of the ball. While he currently ranks No. 2 on the depth chart, Patrick Crayton has been inconsistent and untrustworthy as a No. 2 wide receiver for the Cowboys. Without T.O. drawing coverage, his No. 3-ish talents just won’t cut it. The promising but oft-injured Miles Austin has a chance to snag this spot in 2009, but, once again, we’re looking for a player to have a breakout year, better than any of his previous seasons. Crayton, if he keeps his starting spot, can do little to help Romo remain at the top of the fantasy charts.

More Running, More Problems
Romo’s chances to put up those fantasy points may also be limited this season by adjustments to the offense. The emergence of Tashard Choice late last season gives the Cowboys the opportunity to put the Giants’ three-headed beast running attack into place. The New York Giants ran over almost every team in the league last season thanks to Brandon Jacobs, Derrick Ward and Ahmad Bradshaw playing Earth, Wind and Fire. Carries slotted for Marion Barber, Felix Jones and Tashard Choice will balance out the Cowboys’ attack but would also take the ball out of Romo’s hands more than in the past two seasons, which will further limit his chances for fantasy success.

Slotting Romo for 2009
In short, Romo’s got a question mark for a No. 1 receiver, a battle for the No. 2 spot and a potential shift in the offense towards the running game. He may still have his tight end in Witten, but all of these uncertainties don’t bode well for him remaining among the best of the best in fantasy.

It takes a lot for a Cowboys fan to admit that his quarterback has been taken down a notch, but all signs point to a downgrade.

Last season, the Cowboys aerial attack suffered because teams would shade towards Owens and keep him from getting open, a problem Roy Williams was brought in to combat. Without Owens, Williams will get the same treatment. Miles Austin or Sam Hurd could breakout this season and raise the talent level at the No. 2 spot, but that’s expecting a lot of players who haven’t shown they can carry a starting load just yet.

I still expect Romo to finish in the top 10 at his position, but gone, at least for this season, are the days when you could safely draft the Cowboys’ quarterback in the first round and build a team around his production. He’s a high second-tier quarterback selection at best but a solid starter, and I still have him among my top seven fantasy quarterbacks going into 2009. Depending on your location — I’m out of luck in Texas — you might just be able to talk him down enough to get him at a bargain rate this season in the fourth round of your fantasy draft or later.

If you agree to disagree, do it up in the comments. I’m certainly open to keeping this talk going. After all, Tony Romo is my quarterback — single tear.

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Posted in NFL News & Rumors, Rankings

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Mocking the Cardinals with a Burrito

March 31st, 2009

Earlier this month, Fantasy Football Fools got the chance to participate in a mock draft put together by Football Burrito with one blogger representing each NFL franchise.

Since the Dallas Cowboys, who I should have been representing, don’t actually have a pick in the first round—fingers crossed for Roy Williams—I had the honor of drafting for one of the unrepresented teams, the Super Bowl runner-up Arizona Cardinals.

Even after they almost won it all, the Cardinals still get picked last in gym class.

So, with the 31st pick of the NFL mock draft, I was going to pick the obvious solution to all the Cardinals’ problems, a highly-touted but overrated USC quarterback…

Realizing they already had one of those, I went with this guy.

2009 NFL Scouting Combine Day 5

With the 31st pick, the Arizona Cardinals select Michael Johnson, DE, Georgia Tech.

While it would be nice to grab a shifty playmaker like LeSean McCoy to pair with Tim Hightower, Arizona’s greater need is on defense. Their linebackers aren’t getting any younger — three of the four are over 30 — and the the Cardinals could use some more youth in their defensive rotation at OLB and DE.

Physically, Michael Johnson is one of the most gifted athletes in the draft. He has great size at 6′7”, and he’s drawn comparisons to Julius Peppers from the likes of Jon Gruden. Coming off his much-improved senior season and an impressive Combine, Johnson will have to overcome his motivational issues and grow into a dominant force for the Cardinals.

I was surprised to get Michael Johnson so late considering his nice showing at the Combine and the hype surrounding him, but the drafters in this mock had more of a liking for wide receivers and corners than I expected. I think we’ll see more offensive and defensive linemen come off the board in the first round unless Al Davis has anything to say about it.

The big shocker of this mock draft was Chris “Beanie” Wells falling out of the first round. I guess the blogosphere representatives for this one are not impressed by a bruising back with a stiff arm.

So what do you say? Should I have drafted Beanie Wells at the 31st pick for the Cardinals?

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Posted in Mock Drafts

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T.O. got to go: Cowboys cut controversial receiver

March 5th, 2009

According to ESPN, the Dallas Cowboys just cut Terrell Owens. Not only does this defy some good logic, it also might be the best move for the Cowboys after all.

Jerry Jones obviously spent a lot of time over the offseason speaking to his coaching staff and players about what went wrong in the bust of a season that was 2008. Outside Tony Romo’s injury, the entire team struggled to find an identity on offense, and that confusion allowed the one player that did have one, T.O., to take control.

With that much power, Matt Mosley notes that T.O. had to go, even with the loss of value.

But in the end, the people he trusts at Valley Ranch may have finally convinced him that T.O. was too divisive a force in the locker room. I talked to a source at Valley Ranch late Wednesday evening who said that T.O.’s future was discussed in meetings Wednesday, but that Jones hadn’t made a final decision when most people left the building.

This is a clear admission on Jones’ part that the team couldn’t get to the next level (winning a playoff game) with T.O. If you just go on the receiver’s production (38 TDs in three seasons), it’s hard to believe the Cowboys would move on without him. But T.O. had become the most powerful voice in the locker room and head coach Wade Phillips and offensive coordinator Jason Garrett couldn’t compete with him.

By putting Owens on the street, the Cowboys are dropping the passing game — some pun intended — in the hands of Williams and attempting to justify all those picks they spent to get him.

While he hasn’t quite fallen off yet, T.O. would have begun to decline over the next few seasons, and he probably won’t take it very well as he degrades into a No. 2 receiver. Jones is abandoning the money and reputation he sunk into Owens in order to have Williams fill the void early and save the team more grief.

Let’s hope they saw something in Williams this offseason that looked better than he did last season.

Williams’ fantasy value jumps now that he moves to the No. 1 role, but can we trust a guy who had just 19 catches in a Cowboys uniform in 2008? He doesn’t assume T.O.’s spot in my fantasy wide receiver rankings, but floating the gap between the second and third tier, he’s got some big upside when he clicks with Romo.

Opposite Williams, Miles Austin or Patrick Crayton will have to step up in a big way — and perhaps if Austin wins the job, he’ll finally become that explosive receiver we saw flashes of last season.

It’s likely that this move signifies the Cowboys shift towards the run game. Jason Garrett didn’t know what to do with what he had last season, but in 2009, he knows he can feed the ball to Marion Barber, Felix Jones and Tashard Choice.

Maybe this move will turn the Cowboys around and get them a playoff win, but we all know Jon Kitna’s going to be the real reason they make it to the postseason … right?

The real tragedy here is for T.O. who just wanted to end his career as a Cowboy.

Owens told the Dallas Morning News in May 2008 he “definitely” wanted to finish his career with the Cowboys.

Now we have another unemployed, aging industry veteran who’s got to find a new job while re-examining his personal life in his new reality show. Blame the economy.

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Posted in NFL News & Rumors

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Why T.O. will be a Cowboy in 2009

February 18th, 2009

Since “Pacman” Adam Jones’ release, the talk of the Dallas Cowboys has been change. If not at the coaching position, currently filled by the Pillsbury Doughboy Wade Phillips, fans are crying out for Terrell Owens to get out of town.

Dallas Cowboys vs Philadelphia Eagles

But that’s just crazy talk. Jerry Jones recently pointed out his silence as a hint that he will be keeping his prized star receiver, and why not? Why would keeping T.O. be such a no-go for the Cowboys?

Letting him walk just doesn’t measure up to keeping him on the team, and there are plenty of reasons to do that:

1) 2007: Terrell Owens had 81 receptions and 15 touchdowns in 2007. The Cowboys went 13-3 as the NFC darlings before bombing out in the first playoff game against the Super Bowl-bound New York Giants.

In that one playoff game, T.O. was one of two Cowboys to score a touchdown. There’s no reason to doubt that he could produce the same numbers again in 2009 as long as he has a quarterback for every game — and not a Brad Johnson.

2) The Roy E. Williams trade: Some would say having Roy Williams is a good reason to let T.O. go, but they may be overlooking why Dallas brought in Williams in the first place.

The Cowboys traded a good chunk of draft picks to bring in the former Texas Longhorn and Detroit Lion as a second dominant receiver who could give T.O. some breathing room. Cutting T.O. would simply put Williams in the same situation, getting blanketed by defenses who aren’t scared of Patrick Crayton.

3) Terrell Owens loves the Cowboys (or at least Jerry): T.O. tells the media he wants to retire as a Cowboy. He’s cried for his quarterback, and T.O. hasn’t stated any complaints that haven’t also come from many of the other players on the roster — *cough* Jason Garrett *cough* — about the way things went this year.

The locker room may be torn up, but T.O. cannot be held responsible for all the trouble.

4) Value lost: If the Cowboys dumped T.O., he’d just provide his services to another team and prove all his critics wrong. The Cowboys, in return, would be left empty-handed with an unreliable No. 1 receiver in Roy Williams. Jerry Jones knows how to make a deal, and that doesn’t sound like a good one.

5) Leadership: As bad as it may sound, Owens is one of a handful of players who could provide some veteran leadership on this team. He’s more vocal than most players and has the respect of many of the younger members of the team.

If Tony Romo steps up next season as a leader, Terrell Owens could be right there with him. It would certainly be nice if he could take a few receivers, including Williams, under his wing and show them the ropes before he leaves the game in a few years. Although, with that hyperbaric chamber, he may play until he turns 80.

That’s why T.O. will be a Cowboy in 2009. No need to worry if your fantasy football roster is heavily invested in T.O. or the Cowboys.

More: ESPN’s Matt Mosley weighed in with some reasons to cut T.O., but I don’t see Owens fading yet or blowing up on Romo. Tim MacMahon of The Dallas Morning News provided five reasons to keep him in response.

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Posted in Foolish Thoughts, NFL News & Rumors

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Foolish Thoughts on Week 16: How much do you hate DeAngelo Williams?

December 23rd, 2008

Seriously, how much do you hate DeAngelo Williams right now?

NFL 2008: Panthers Beat Broncos 30-10

Many a game was won or lost off the play of DeAngelo Williams Sunday night. While I thought he’d keep rolling as he has been the past several weeks, I didn’t think he’d get more than two touchdowns, and I never dreamed that he would get four touchdowns in a game where strong defenses let running backs go wild.

That’s just crazy talk … or tradition in the fantasy football playoffs.

Once again, I have to lament that I picked the wrong Carolina running back. Last year, I drafted DeAngelo Williams but didn’t spend a pick on DeShaun Foster, and I watched Foster roll slowly in several games while DeAngelo was bottled up for use during only flashy plays.

Surely, despite Foster’s absence in Carolina this season, Jonathan Stewart, drafted as the new power back rookie, would put Williams in the Robin seat of the Batmobile once again.

I followed my draft rankings and got Jonathan Stewart in two leagues only to watch another owner snag DeAngelo Williams a few picks later. Honestly, I only tried to get DeAngelo as well in one, but I waited too long. Thus, I can’t benefit from his production late this season.

I never thought I’d regret having Brian Westbrook instead of DeAngelo Williams…

Given their late season production, it’s no longer crazy to assume Thomas Jones and DeAngelo Williams will break into a top 10 or two next season. I think there’s a strong chance that they do, but it will also depend on their strength of schedule.

I think the Jets run game can produce big days next season with the offensive line they’ve built, but I worry that a full offseason with Brett Favre could lead to an improved passing game and that the aging legs of Jones could also yield even more to Leon Washington.

In Carolina, I think it’s only safe to draft a Carolina running back if you can get both of them. Assuming DeAngelo takes a top spot, the two will likely be drafted as Willie Parker and Rashard Mendenhall were this season, one in early rounds and one just before mid-rounds.

Stewart’s power and ability when healthy cannot be doubted, and I could easily see Williams and Stewart being the Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew for several years … while Jones-Drew becomes the Clinton Portis of 2007 … and Portis becomes the Shaun Alexander of 2007 …

Wild Card Game: Washington Redskins v Seattle Seahawks

OK, I’ll sit a few before I end up like that Shaun guy.

But look at us, talking about the future when there’s still one week left for some of you unfortunate souls that play a championship in Week 17 — the horror!

In Week 16, we saw the weather come into play in a big way as it always seems to right around playoff time, but Matt Cassel was unaffected. I’m impressed. If Kurt Warner breaks down in the passing game and you don’t, that’s some solid ability.

In Week 17, the Patriots go into another must-win game, and Cassel is a must-win start against the Bills. I think he’ll be able to make it happen.

Peyton Manning came through in a pinch to secure third place for me in my main league. I set the high score of the week in Week 14, the first week of the playoffs, and Week 16, the championship week. It’s a shame that I had to drop the ball in Week 15.

Speaking of which, Brian Westbrook officially joins my “Avoid” list after his performances these past two weeks. A guy that is as integral to an offence as Westbrook is usually a great pick, but injury scares and no-show games in the playoffs are good enough reasons for me to skip him next season.

Rumors that Andy Reid might step down from his position with the Eagles don’t help much either. Surprisingly, this was my first season to own Westbrook, but I’m done — or at least saying I am for now. Sorry, Westy.

In a season where a lot of teams seemed to escape the trend, touchdown vultures reared their ugly head this week for several big playoff games. I’ve always accepted that any coach utilizing a different running back in goal line situations doesn’t play fantasy football.

And what’s the deal with Saturday Night Football? Can the NFL just stop pretending and put football on every night of the week? It’s fine. I am sure you can find a channel to show it.

Just when you get used to watching Thursday Night Football, the NFL throws another wrench in the gears to goof up your Saturday night.

I’ll admit, I was actually glad it was a Saturday so that I could go out to blow off some steam after I watched the Dallas Cowboys get rolled by Baltimore in the final game at Texas Stadium.

The Cowboys have been one of the most unpredictable offenses this year when it comes to fantasy. Terrell Owens, normally a staple of the offense, hasn’t been productive for fantasy owners, and the Roy Williams trade just added  more confusion to the mix.

At this point, the only people I trust are Tony Romo and Jason Witten — and no, it’s not because they have a love affair going on behind T.O.’s back.

Well, that’s enough foolish thoughts on football for this week. Merry Christmas and/or happy holidays, everyone. If you haven’t had the chance yet, I hope you get a championship for Christmas.

Remember that any acts of violence against DeAngelo Williams can and will be used against you when it comes to naughty/nice list sorting.

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Posted in Foolish Thoughts

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