Impact of Tank Williams

by lyadberrios on Oct 23, 2007 12:47 PM CDT Comment 19 comments

I have been reading quite a few posts regarding concerns about the remaining games on the schedule and I agree. Even though the Boys are 6-1, I believe they are looking back at what has gone wrong execution wise. Major areas of concern in my view:

Pass coverage: Opponents still seem to be able to make the

key pass on third down. I continue to see Roy Williams,
either isolated in single coverage or missing an assignment.
He can't cover a receiver in a wheel chair! Case in point
the New England game. Randy Moss's touchdown was due in part
to Roy letting Randy Moss go free to cover the wrong
receiver. Later he missed the TE and then smacked him
several seconds after the pass was caught. Big question mark
there! We need a Bob Sanders (Indy) type player back there
to complement our corners. Hopefully Anthony Henry's return
hope he is back in time for Philly's game)will help settle
the situation back there.

Pass rush through the middle: I do not see it. It seems like

unless the secondary can give our DE's enough time to work
around the tackles to pressure the QB, the QB seems to be
able to read the newspaper waiting for receivers to get
open. This is where I expect Tank Johnson to make a HUGE
impact, collapsing the pocket and forcing the play to the
edges where Demarcus Ware and Greg Ellis can finish the
play.

Using the middle of the field on offense: Several times

during the Viking's game I saw impending danger over the
middle; balls being lobbed over there, balls being batted up
in the air. I don't know but the last thing the Cowboys can
afford to do is turn the ball over and self destruct with
idiotic penalties, especially against the tough opponents
that are licking their chops to play the Boys. No matter
what, teams are always pumped to play our Boys.

People keep talking about how the Patriots won in dominant fashion. That may be so, but it was not so until the 4th Quarter, when Dallas was trailing 31-24 and had just crossed midfield on 4th and 1. Dallas had momentum and driving convincingly at that moment until a stupid holding penalty killed the play. Give New England a few doses of our offensive line charge and Marion Barber's smash mouth running plays and we are in business.

The drive that gave Dallas the lead at 24-21 was very convincing, and demonstrated that the Dallas offense is capable of driving against New England. At the end our defense was simply running on fumes and hence point #1 in that they need to be able to stop opponents on some 3rd down situations and get off the field.

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I disagree about Roy

Roy's not as bad in coverage as everyone seems to think. The key is to have him cover behind the LOS and in the intermediate areas, not deep.

Keep him in those areas, he should be fine as evidenced by his beautiful pass breakup against the Vikes which would resulted in an easy TD if he doesn't break up that pass.

However, you're right about the Pats game, it was much closer than the score showed. I still beleive if Kosier doesn't hold on the 4th down play, the outcome might have been different and at the very least, the score would have been much closer.

In Romo we Trust

by Terry on Oct 23, 2007 12:59 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

RE: I disagree about Roy

You have a point there. Maybe if he has a strong and speedy supporting cast behind him, things can be different. We sure need his intimidating presence closer to the line of scrimmage.

by lyadberrios on Oct 23, 2007 2:06 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Roy was beat on that route...

The one you're referring to that he broke up...Wade had him smoked and a good QB would have made that throw for a TD. It was still a good play by Roy recovering to make the play, but it was definately a terrible thrown ball by Jackson. Good throw = Score.

by N41D on Oct 23, 2007 11:07 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Coverage Area Responsibility

Roy's not as bad in coverage as everyone seems to think. The key is to have him cover behind the LOS and in the intermediate areas, not deep.

Terry, I believe you are describing the coverage responsibilities of a linebacker, and Roy is adequate (barely) in those areas. Unfortunately, Roy Williams plays safety for the Cowboys, not linebacker. As long as he plays safety, he will have at least some responsibility for covering wide receivers and he will continue to be an enormous liability in coverage. Against good quarterbacks, Roy will be exposed and the positives he brings to the game are nearly always outweighed by the negatives. Against bad quarterbacks (T-Jack, Grossman, etc.) the Cowboys can usually hide him. Too bad playoff teams nearly always have good quarterbacks.

I disagree with your assertion that Roy is not as bad in coverage as everyone seems to think. In my opinion, he is very bad in coverage. I am no longer advocating replacing Roy this season, as it is apparent that we have nobody better. However, I will continue to lobby for the perspective that a very high priority this off-season is to find a true strong safety and move Roy to the linebacker corps where he belongs.

by Cowboy Louie on Oct 24, 2007 12:44 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Roy can't be a LB in the 3-4

he's far too undersized as a 3-4 LB has to be at least 235-240 lbs.

Roy could play linebacker in a 4-3, cover 2 system like Indy plays, but not in our scheme.

I disagree that Roy has to cover wideouts, thats what we brought in Hamlin for, to play centerfield. Roy's weakness as a deep cover guy can be minimized in the right schemes and I think Phillips has done a good job of that so far.

Keep Roy in the box where he belongs, let him cover the underneath stuff, but have Hamlin cover deep.

BTW, there is no way the Cowboys will be aquiring a strong safety to replace Roy anytime soon, they just signed him to a long term deal and he's one of the leaders of the defense. He's not switching to LB and he's not going anywhere.

If you're a Cowboys fan, you have to accept this reality.

In Romo we Trust

by Terry on Oct 24, 2007 1:28 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

reality

I am a realist, so I do indeed accept the reality that Roy is likely to be the Cowboys strong safety for several years. However, that doesn't mean I have to agree with it, like it or that I should not point out his major deficiencies. And most importantly, I can hold out hope that we will indeed find an upgrade sooner rather than later.

by Cowboy Louie on Oct 24, 2007 4:37 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

you can wish for it, but it won't happen

In Romo we Trust

by Terry on Oct 24, 2007 8:16 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

For all the Roy Haters...

By their very nature, Strong Safeties are a hybrid of line-backers and DBs ... how many times have you heard "that's a mis-match to see XYZ wide receiver covered by a safety" ?? Strong and Free Safeties are not expected to be perfect in coverage.

People get their panties in a wad about Roy for very little. In this defense, Roy steps into a LB role in the nickel and dime packages, so your argument carries even less validity.

Roy is a solid piece of this defense. He's not making the Pro Bowl on name alone. This year, we've yet to get both Henry and Newman 100% at the same time, yet only one team has been able to exploit this so-called HUGE weakness.

Sorry, I don't buy it.

Cowboys and Tar Heels

by DalaiLuke on Oct 25, 2007 2:03 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

RE: For all the Roy Haters

I do agree that Roy Williams at times may be put in a position to cover when he should not, but you eventually see an opponent isolate him on a TE and beat him badly. I just hate to see that. Don't get me wrong, I like Roy's approach and aggressive style of play. We need that. I just hope as we enter the second half of the season, that in crunch time the defense learns not to allow him to be isolated and overmatched one on one.

by lyadberrios on Oct 29, 2007 11:03 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Roy has sucked this year

but he seemed to come alive in the Vikes game. He made that one sweet tip on a sure touchdown pass and seemed to be flying all over the field and being the Roy we expected all year. Also, no horse collars!! BTW it sure seemed like TO made an attempt at a horse collar tackle on the crayton fumble recovery. Did anyone else see that?

by Billito on Oct 23, 2007 1:40 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

I think Roy's still covering for others

We have yet to see Henry and TNew start a game together, and Hamlin is good in run support, but I blame him being out of position for a lot of the pass defense problems. He's supposed to be the center fielder back there, and so far he's average to below average in that role.

by APerfectStar on Oct 23, 2007 2:57 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

TO horse collar

I'm surprised that a)they didn't call it and b)it didn't work at all.

by ab03 on Oct 23, 2007 7:07 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

The NE game

Our offense's slow start put our defense in a bad spot. The defense had trouble finishing on 3rd downs, but not getting rest between the Pats offensive series sure didn't help either. The time of possession was really lopsided, and by the 4thQ you could see the defense was whipped.

The Cowboys finally scored an offensive TD in the 1stQ of a game against the Vikings. Hope this new no huddle offense start to games continues that success.

I agree with you the defense doesn't get a lot of pressure up the middle, but Ratliff does get to the QB sometimes. I'd like to see more ILB blitzes. I think any of our ILB's could do it.

We'll see about Tank, but I don't think he'll be an impact player. Still he's better than Remi Ayodele, and he can rotate with Ratliff. Should help overall.

by APerfectStar on Oct 23, 2007 3:09 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

I nominate Jay Ratliff for stud of the first half

I think Tank Johnson's presence will do more for us than has been guessed above. I don't think you can overestimate the importance of having a true immovable beast playing the nose in the 3-4.

However, per my subject line above, I think you gotta give it to Ratliff. Honestly, he's been playing out of position for 7 games. He's not a nose tackle, he's a 3-4 DE. And to this point, though we can all wish for more of an inside pass rush, my man Rat has held up his end of the bargain against the run, which is where everybody speculated that he would be vulnerable. We've been one of the top five D's against the run all year, and we've held the line against dudes that are tearing everyone else apart.

Jay Ratliff's performance thus far is a great, and underappreciated story.

by Incredifan on Oct 23, 2007 4:56 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

I agree that Ratliff is a stud

what a find that guy has been, I definitely think he's one of the most underrated players in the league at any position.

In Romo we Trust

by Terry on Oct 23, 2007 8:01 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

is this diary

about tank johnson, roy williams, or tank williams?

by ab03 on Oct 23, 2007 7:05 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

I think you get to pick one!

by lee3022 on Oct 24, 2007 1:18 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

When I saw this, I thought...

we signed Tank Williams (the safety)?

by grapejoos on Oct 25, 2007 1:38 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

This response is about Tank Johnson

The idea that he provides a pass rush up the middle that we lack now is challenged by last years's stats. Tank had 3.5 sacks. Jay Ratliff had 4 sacks and Tank apparently played more (started 10 games to Jay's 0). Tank provides us with a backup to Jay and it might even take him a few games to prove himself in this defense before he gets significant minutes. We sure could have used him against the Patriots in the 4th quarter!

As far as other pass rush through the middle Coach Phillips frequently moves both Ellis and Ware around and at times they (also Brady James) blitz up the middle. If Ratliff can occupy two linemen it opens a hold for the LB. Same for Tank when he is in.

by lee3022 on Oct 24, 2007 1:27 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs