Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Roy Williams might be spending the off-season at home in Odessa, but he is not out of touch with what’s going on in Dallas following what the most was disappointing and underachieving season in club history.
Williams knows what’s been said about him this off-season, particularly the sudden questions about his ability and whether he was worth the three draft picks the Cowboys gave up to get him.
While Williams wants no part of the bright lights of the big city on a year-round basis — he likes the quiet life in Odessa and said he hopes to be the head coach at Permian High School one day — he understands the negativity surrounding him and the Cowboys comes with the territory.
"I know there is negativity on my part," Williams said.” I just have to produce. I know what I can do. Jerry Jones knows what I can do. I am looking forward to a big year."
The former Texas Longhorns star also knows he didn’t produce in 10 games with the Cowboys after coming over in a trade with the Detroit Lions on Oct. 14, 2008. He had just 19 catches for 198 yards and one touchdown.
The reasons abound for his struggles. When he got to Dallas, quarterback Tony Romo was injured and missed Williams’ first three games.
It’s also no secret that the Cowboys didn’t use him properly. And then when Romo returned to health, Williams was hampered by a plantar fascia injury to his foot.
Williams downplayed the injury during the season, but he acknowledges now that it bothered him.
He said the foot has healed and he is looking to getting back to work. He said he is most looking forward to working with Romo in the off-season and creating some chemistry with his quarterback that was lacking last season.
"That needs to be addressed, me and him getting together," Williams said. "There is nothing more special than a wide receiver and quarterback being on the same page, knowing I’m going to be at a spot before he turns the ball loose. I came at mid season and he was hurt and then I was hurt. We didn’t have a chance to throw balls together."
Williams acknowledged that he has grown close to receiver Terrell Owens since coming to Dallas. He envisions him and Owens having an impact like Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald in Arizona. He thinks they can be as good as any twosome in the league.
By the same token, he said the talk of an Owens-led chemistry problem in the locker room is overblown.
"I just didn’t see it," Williams said. "I’m not just saying it 'cause T.O. is my boy. I just think we didn’t execute offensively late in the season."
But if the Cowboys were to part ways with Owens, Williams said is more than capable of being the No. 1 receiver.
"I’m ready to be whatever they want me to be," Williams said. "I have always been a playmaker."
But he said his primary focus is on winning games not on how many catches he has.
Considering he played the first four years of his career with the hapless Detroit Lions, he said doing whatever he can do to contribute to a winning team is first and foremost with him.
"I am not the guy that needs all the balls," Williams said. “I just need wins. I don’t take wins for granted. I’m from Detroit."
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