11 on 11: Watching Number 11
by Aaron Novinger on Aug 5, 2009 12:00 AM CDT
in Dallas Cowboys Training Camp
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PrintWide receiver Roy Williams is working hard to be a worthy investment for the Cowboys. He certainly has had his critics since being traded from Detroit. With Patrick Crayton being the only other receiver on the roster with substantial game experience, the Cowboys need Williams to be a consistent threat. If he becomes a reliable target for quarterback Tony Romo, his presence would open up the rest of the offense.
During Monday morning's training camp practice (Practice #8), I watched Williams exclusively while the team ran two different 11-on-11 drills: the first from the red zone, the second from near midfield. I watched where he lined up, how the defense covered him, his route running, and his overall performance. Here's what I noted of him on each snap.
Make the jump.
11-on-11 Red Zone
Snap 1: Lined up wide left. Defense double-teamed him (M. Jenkins, K. Hamlin) on what looked like a fly route to the end zone. Romo pass to the right side of offense (incomplete).
Snap 2: Lined up wide left. Running play. Did an effective job of blocking, but Igor ran the play out of bounds.
Snap 3: Wide left with Felix and Marty B in the slot. Pass to Witten over mid-right fell incomplete.
Snaps 4 & 5: Wide left. After a running play for minimal gain, Williams helped block for a designed QB sneak by Romo, which would have scored a TD.
Snap 6: In slot on left, with Crayton out wide on same side. Ran a skinny post, but there was a problem with the C/QB exchange.
Snap 7: Left slot. Ran a 10-yard hitch to the outside. Pass went to Marty B for what could have been a score.
Snap 8: Right slot with Marty B outside. Incomplete pass to Witten.
Snap 9: Wide left with MB3 in the slot. Blocked Jenkins. Running play to the right.
Snap 10: Wide left with Crayton in slot. Blocking on Jenkins. Run right again.
Snap 11: Motioned from left to right slot. Covered by Newman. Got open, but pass went left to Witten.
Snap 12: Wide left. Ran post. Covered by Scandrick. Pass intercepted by FS Alan Ball.
Snap 13: Wide left with Crayton in slot. Good blocking on running play against Mike Mickens.
11-on-11 from 40-yard line
Snap 1: Wide right with Felix in slot. Ran a hitch outside, beating TNew. Pass went incomplete over the middle to Witten.
Snap 2: Wide left. Ran a hitch outside. Pass complete to Barber.
Snap 3: Wide left. Slant pass hit Williams in the hands at the goalline, but Scandrick completely blasted him, knocking off his helmet and popping the ball in the air.
Snap 4: Wide left. Ran a fade to the corner of the end zone. Pass went short to Crayton for a TD.
Snap 5: Motioned from left to right slot. He ran a streak route to the end zone, but the pass from Romo fell horribly short. Garrett made the offense redo this snap in slow motion. It looked like Williams was supposed to turn for the ball after five yards for a quick strike. He caught the redo and went through the motions. Had they been on the page the first time, he would have been wide open for a good chunk of yardage.
Snap 6: Wide left. Quick slant thrown to him by Romo, but pass was low and Williams could not scoop it up.
Snap 7: Wide right. Lined up against Courtney Brown. Pass was deflected at line (J.Hatcher?).
In terms of production, this may have not been the best practice for me to focus on Roy. It was interesting, though, to see him lined up in various pre-snap positions. Of course, this may say more about Garrett's play-calling and adjustments rather than the featuring of Roy's skills.
Roy looked to be doing a good job separating from the defender, but he didn't see a lot of passes. The few that did go his way fell incomplete because of a great play by Scandrick, being on the wrong page with Romo, and from being thrown too low. You can tell he's working hard and wants to get it right; he wants to compete. Even after getting rocked by Scandrick, he tried to sneak in with the second team to run another play.
As training camp and pre-season rolls on, we'll keep an eye how much the Williams/Romo connection progresses.
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First
Romo-to-Roy regular season touchdown will be a great thing to see.
2nd quarter of the first game
is when it will happen. Just wait and see.
Pet Cats 2009: Micheal Hawkins and Isaiah Stanback
by aussie_cowboy on Aug 5, 2009 12:09 AM CDT up reply actions
Not if it's in game 4.
Let’s hope these guys get some timing down, esp. in the red zone.
I’m not saying they’re not, but I need to see it in a game before I trust this player.
by Realist Larry on Aug 5, 2009 2:05 AM CDT up reply actions
as bad as it sounds, I for one dont warry a bit, RW and TR are true pros
it will all work out fine, not to mention that during JJohnson"s SB seasons, Cowboys were loosing every single pre- season game, so relax and enjoy.
Excellent piece, Aaron
The other blogs start copying BTBs play-by-play, we add Roy Williams exclusives!
I’m not worried about Williams. He’s proven he can handle the #1 receiver spot, he’s now in his prime physically and mentally, and we’re not asking him to be our go-to guy — he’s one of many very real threats we feature. He’s got great hands, so I doubt you’ll see him drop many 3rd down passes like our recently departed…
I really like hearing about all the formations they’re using so early in camp. That’s what the OTAs and other off-season sessions are for! I see this offense giving teams fits.
Greedy Request du jour: any chance of more Valley Ranch Reviews? I can’t get enough Cowboys coverage at this time of year!
Doomsday returns... Wade Phillips style.
Isn't following a guy this closely
sort of like stalking, Aaron? You’re not following him back to the hotel, are you?
Never wrestle with a pig. You both get dirty and the pig loves it.
I liked this quote from Sherman
“Every day the guys are getting better because the chemistry is getting better, but also because we’re watching film together,” receivers coach Ray Sherman said. "You can talk about adjustments, you can talk about how you run a route, you can talk about where you want the ball to be. Those things are very important.
“They communicate well together. One of the things they do when they watch film is they see what the other one sees, which is very important. If something doesn’t click, they talk about it, and then they are on the same page.”
Never wrestle with a pig. You both get dirty and the pig loves it.
It takes a lot of time to develop chemistry between a qb and wr
Romo has been working with Witten, Crayton, Hurd and Austin for years now so fans just have to be patient with the Romo to RW connection. It will happen eventually.
In Romo we Trust
Nice work Aaron
It helps to have ‘eyes on’ the field. Your descriptions helped me better understand what was going on there.
My take on this series is;
- They aren’t force feeding the ball to Roy to keep him happy.
- Out of 21 snaps (including the redo) Roy was thrown to 4 times – catching 1 on the redo, getting blown up on 1, and screwing up the play on 1 causing the redo, missing 1 on a low pass (25%)
- It sounds like he was getting separation
But here’s the best thing I heard.
Even after getting rocked by Scandrick, he tried to sneak in with the second team to run another play.
"He has a peculiar felicity of expression." John Adams
4 of 21 put into perspective
RW was trageted 19% of all plays(4/21). Last season, Dallas had 948 attempled plays. Over a full season 19% for RW would be 180 plays, singnificantly more than TO (140 balls thrown his way, 7 rushes).
Now obviously the sample size is way too small to draw any conclusion from this, but 3-5 attempts per 20 sounds about right for RW – and Witten btw. Of course I would have loved him to catch all 4, but that’s an entirely different discussion.
I for one remain as calm and unperturbed as a pebble in a Zen garden.
by One.Cool.Customer on Aug 5, 2009 7:43 AM CDT up reply actions
Sounds to me like Tony is not seeing him…
…on a lot of those plays. But I don’t know what it is they (meaning the offense) were trying to work on or get a closer look at in a lot of those situations. I have to keep reminding myself that they’re not actually game planning for anyone right now and to just relax…
Calm didly down didly….
The NFC East has won 11 Super Bowls; oddly none of those have come courtesy of the Eagles.
My take is
that Romo is following his progressions. If Roy is doubled, then find your next read. Roy will get catches, there are far more offensive plays in a game than there are in practice.
When did I become a Cowboy fan? When my mom told me I was.
Right
plus, separation – if RW hasn’t gotten sepraration at that point, the read may move on. That’s often what happened last season with TO. He couldn’t separate as quickly as in previous years. He’d be open but too late and Tony would have moved on. In TO’s mind he should have been thrown to and in the team’s mind, the timing wouldn’t allow it.
Never wrestle with a pig. You both get dirty and the pig loves it.
DMN made it sound like they were finally connecting yesterday?
Guess it doesn’t matter at this point as long as everyone is executing the play correctly. I hear Roy is getting separation and thats a good thing. Not looking for fault, or trying to get under Terry’s skin, but I kind of wonder about Romo’s down field vision. ( Nothing specific, just a random thought I have had since last season).
This team has a lot of options on any given play, and from what I hear the QBs have little time to choose a target so I’m not surprised that Williams isn’t getting more. I also hope they do more evaluation during Preseason games and could care a less if we win or not. I want to see Free blocking 1st stringers, I want to see Carpenter and the rookies playing 1st stringers.
Yeah, it sounded like Roy had a good day Tuesday.
Here’s the video link of McMahon and Archer discussing it.
The season begins in 3...2...
http://twitter.com/BloggingTheBoys
by Aaron Novinger on Aug 5, 2009 11:38 AM CDT up reply actions
It sort of bumbs me out to hear...
..that Sherman has already declared that Crayton is the 2nd starting wide out no matter what. I was hoping to see Austin slip up into that spot and give the team a little more outside speed.
The NFC East has won 11 Super Bowls; oddly none of those have come courtesy of the Eagles.
I agree
BUT, it wouldn’t surprise me to see a rotation of some sort.
by Musiccitynorm on Aug 5, 2009 12:04 PM CDT up reply actions
Crayton looks great though.
With the way Garrett is using different WR sets, Austin should see his fair share of playing time.
The season begins in 3...2...
http://twitter.com/BloggingTheBoys
by Aaron Novinger on Aug 5, 2009 12:04 PM CDT up reply actions
I dont like Crayton as the #2.....
I still think he will be the #3 come opening day. Crayton is not fast enough to beat #2 CB’s in this league.
Not fast enough...
but why does that matter? I want Austin on the field, but just because you can’t beat corners deep doesn’t mean you can’t catch passes against them.
by The Immortal Iron Fist AKA AFB on Aug 6, 2009 10:05 PM CDT up reply actions
that's simply not true
Crayton has plenty of speed to beat #2 CBs in the league, I’ve already seen him to it.
In Romo we Trust
aside from Roy
what I like about this is the variety of positions the other guys are lining up in…
Wide left with Felix and Marty B in the slot.
Wide left with MB3 in the slot.
Wide right with Felix in slot.
In fact I’d be interested to see a similar write-up on Felix and Marty B during a session or two.
And MB3 in the slot? that’s unexpected and creative.
as for Roy, one thing to glean from this is that he’s doing a good job run blocking, an important and often overlooked role of a good WR, so that’s encouraging.
interesting write-up, thanks Aaron.
+1
on Felix and Marty B.
Thanks for the great write-up, Aaron.
"Everybody wants something but nobody wants to pay the price" - Michael Irvin
Good ideas.
Marty B is so easy to see out there cuz he’s so big. Felix sometimes has his jersey tucked in his pads so it’s hard to tell whether it’s him or Lattimore (29)—that is, until he starts running.
The season begins in 3...2...
http://twitter.com/BloggingTheBoys
by Aaron Novinger on Aug 5, 2009 11:41 AM CDT up reply actions
Trying not to be alarmed...
But I am somewhat concerned that Tony and Roy don’t seem to be on the same page much. I know, I know, still a month until we play a game.
Breathing deep. Stocking beer fridge…
I have noticed a new resurgence in Cowboy hating in 2007, which can only mean one thing- We're back.
It also sounds to me like Romo
sure was spreading it around.
Keeping the defense guessing by having 5 or 6 guys working consistently as targets in the passing game (only 2 or 3 of which are WR’s) is the key.
I think that’s the main reason we don’t have to worry about Roy needing to put up TO numbers. They’re planning to really keep the defense guessing, and I think they now have the personnel to do that.
"Everybody wants something but nobody wants to pay the price" - Michael Irvin
I agree
and late in the season, it’ll pay off have more diversity on offense – it will be much harder for teams to focus on stopping just one or two guys as they have been able to in the past.
Never wrestle with a pig. You both get dirty and the pig loves it.
... which is why Roy W doesn't have to be spectacular, just solid and reliable
And a big ol’ target in the red zone :)
Doomsday returns... Wade Phillips style.
And in fairness to Roy
All the reports I heard on this practice were that it was his worst practice in camp. I’m still worried about Roy. But this practice isn’t that big of a deal.
more fall out for the Eagles
Starting DE Jaque Parker was arrested for weed…
by Boyzfan94 on Aug 5, 2009 9:54 AM CDT via mobile reply actions
he will get off , I sold him oregano
did you read were Reed broke his leg? (x Dallas CB)
depending on the state, that can be a bigger deal than you might imagine
Being from Pennsylvania, Terry might be able to enlighten us. Outside Philly, that is a very conservative state; don’t be surprised if that becomes an issue.
Doomsday returns... Wade Phillips style.
it depends on the quanity
If you’re caught for possession of a small amount, it’s equivalent to getting busted for a DUI. If it’s your first time and it’s a small amount, you’ll get about 6 months probation and a small fine and can have your record expunged after you serve your probation.
In Romo we Trust
And of course
there’s always the Commish…
Never wrestle with a pig. You both get dirty and the pig loves it.
20 plays, 0 catches...
I don’t want to be a downer, but is anyone else thinking that timing can’t be THAT GREAT when you get blanked in practice???
"Well, we didn't block real good but we made up for it by not tackling."
- John McKay, the first coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
One
practice out of many doesn’t concern me. If he did this every single practice, then I’d be concerned.
Sugar ... water .... and, of course, purple.
It concerns me
…because so much has been made of the timing and relationship between them. If it isn’t on display early and often in practice, it is even less likely to be there during games.
"Well, we didn't block real good but we made up for it by not tackling."
- John McKay, the first coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
It should concern everyone, but not much.
(one) Practice?!!!
We’re talking (one) PRACTICE???!!!
Doomsday returns... Wade Phillips style.
Not a game, not a game
we’re talkin about PRACTICE.
Never wrestle with a pig. You both get dirty and the pig loves it.
I think it's made
a huge deal for 2 reasons.
1) Us as Cowboys fans want this team to do well, and want the #1 receiver and QB to be in sync
2) The media wants to criticize everything about the Cowboys, they’ll use anything. They did give up a lot to get him, but sometimes you have to. Case in point: how many stories on ESPN or in your newspaper have you read about the “timing” of Matt Hasselback and TJ Houshmandzadeh? I haven’t heard anything at all.
I don’t think a practice on August 5th is going to prove that they have no timing. If this happens in week 5, then you should be worried, as should all us Cowboys fans.
Sugar ... water .... and, of course, purple.
Yeah the seahawks paying good money to Houshmazzilly (championship).
It is sexier to build up the RW for several reasons:
1 The amount of draft picks it cost to trade for him
2. The TO was cut to help the WR has been mainly tied to RW as opposed to all the WR.
3. The contract that RW recieved after he arrived in Dallas was considered to be a lot for a player at that time was not going to be the “No.1” option.
4. The media focus on dallas and this RW item is just low hanging fruit.
The TO and dallas connection is not dead by any means, the msm will focus on whichever side that starts to struggle. So expect RW, TR, WP all to be fielding questions about TO if they fail to produce points; and vice-versa if TO fails to put up big numbers in Buffalo.
Ignore the Mainstream Media, EMBRACE THE HATE!!!!
This post doesn’t raise my confidence in the Romo/ Williams progress. You would think garrett would be focusing on their connection more, but it’s still early.
" high and tight Martellus, high and tight."
I disagree
RW doesn’t need to be the focal point of the passing game. Romo will have plenty of targets and opportunities to hit a lot of receivers this season, we don’t need a clear cut #1 wr in the offense.
In Romo we Trust
I agree #1 receiver is an over blown term, but we do need a legitimate speed receiver to stretch the field.
Who ever that is needs to burn some people early in the year to put the threat out there and come through during the year when the opportunity arises.
What if he isn't?
"Well, we didn't block real good but we made up for it by not tackling."
- John McKay, the first coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
What if it's Stanback?
This team has sufficient speed at WR, and an embarrassment of riches at TE and RB … I don’t think stretching the field is mandatory. There are many teams that are efficient without a deep threat. But Austin’s up to the task. So is Stanback if he can ever get on the field.
Doomsday returns... Wade Phillips style.
Jones
will affect this area of concern as well.
by Musiccitynorm on Aug 5, 2009 11:55 AM CDT up reply actions
Stanback.....PLEASE!!..
The guy can’t even get on the field for training camp……lol. I would take Jolly over him at this point
what if its Felix?
or Flozell on a Tackle eligible. I really don’t care as long as it is a legitimate threat and not just someone running down the field!
Going to be hard for him to be that guy...
..from the bench.
Right now Rich Sherman is saying that Crayton will be the other starter. period.
The NFC East has won 11 Super Bowls; oddly none of those have come courtesy of the Eagles.
Austin won't be on the bench much
Garrett uses many 3 WR sets and just because Crayton is the starter now doesn’t mean he’ll be the starter opening day or beyond.
Believe me, if Austin is the Cowboys only deep threat WR, they will find a way to get him on the field a lot.
In Romo we Trust
They are focused on it
they go back after practice together with the coaches and look at film and figure out what they did and what each one was thinking.
I think people make a lot of assumptions when no reports come out, but I am pretty sure they are all motivated to improve the connection.
Never wrestle with a pig. You both get dirty and the pig loves it.
So
RW got blown up by Scandrick? So much for " not tackling!" j/k
I like that they’re not forcing the ball to RW like they did with TO. Makes me think that the passing game will be better, cause Romo will go to the open man every play instead of force feeding it to someone.
Sugar ... water .... and, of course, purple.
eh..
He didn’t blow anyone up. Roy’s helmet wasn’t buckled and Scandrick just nudged it in a way so that it popped off. Watch the video, it’s really nothing spectacular. Totally overblown
So, are you saying Scandrick is soft in the middle?
Should we be worried? You think it’s a trend?
Doomsday returns... Wade Phillips style.
Scandrick blew him up.
He prevented the pass from being caught and knocked his helmet off. I could hear the collision from where I was sitting. Sure Roy should have had his helmet buckled, but Scandrick prevented a score at the goalline.
The season begins in 3...2...
http://twitter.com/BloggingTheBoys
by Aaron Novinger on Aug 5, 2009 11:34 AM CDT up reply actions
If you say so
But watching the video, Roy kinda just crumbles slowly to the ground. Still way overblown IMO. Now if it was full contact and in a game situation , Scandrick surely woulda not let up and gone full force at him. He was certainly in position to do it. Watch the vid, Scandrick almost helps ease Roy’s fall by gently guiding him to the ground. Even Scand said it wans’t a lot of contact, heh..
That makes me wonder all the more why Roy hit the ground, especially if it wasn't alot of contact.
A receiver has to hang on to the ball at the goal line.
On the flip side, it’s awesome that Scandrick can hit when he’s not even trying to hit. He made a play on the ball and that’s what we like to see.
BTW, where’s the video? I can’t seem to find it.
The season begins in 3...2...
http://twitter.com/BloggingTheBoys
by Aaron Novinger on Aug 5, 2009 1:33 PM CDT up reply actions
Here ya go
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GDB7fJoVtw
My guess is he probably let go of the ball more as a safety thing than it getting jarred free. When ur strap isn’t buckled and u sense your helmet is going flying, I think first reaction is to protect your dome before the pigskin.
Cool, thanks.
Still, it sure was a wake-up call for Roy that these CBs are no joke. Keep your chin strap buckled dude! It’s practice, but it’s still football.
The season begins in 3...2...
http://twitter.com/BloggingTheBoys
by Aaron Novinger on Aug 5, 2009 1:59 PM CDT up reply actions
I think
They weren’t even supposed to be hitting.
Saw an interview with Scandrick that he was going for the ball and that the contact was a result of that. Said he got his hand where the ball was supposed to be as it arrived and roy never had it.
He also said it was pretty weak contact and probably looked and sounded much worse than it was for the participants.
You guys can believe what you will.
The facts are:
1. Scandrick made a better play on the ball than Roy.
2. Roy’s helmet went flying (strapped on or not).
3. The ball went flying and was picked off.
4. Roy hit the ground.
5. It was 11-on-11 with running plays mixed in. There was hitting, just no taking down of ball carriers.
The season begins in 3...2...
http://twitter.com/BloggingTheBoys
by Aaron Novinger on Aug 5, 2009 2:57 PM CDT up reply actions
Signed paranoid
Does it concern anyone else the play by play inside the 20 and at the 40 in 11 on 11 drills are in typed format for anyone to just print and file for future use. I’m not sure I’m comfortable with everyone knowing what plays are being run based on where Roy is lined up and what type of plays are being run when he goes in motion. Parcells used to close practice and not allow the media to report who was playing in what package and where.
Gives me the sense that some of that info being reported on would be reported in the same format that an illegal scout for another team would report.
There's not much to glean from a sequence of TC plays...
Even with access, I don’t think defensive coordinators would bother. They’ll have 4 weeks of pre-season film, last year’s material, and an increasing amount from there. One-sentence descriptions of WR sets isn’t handing over the playbook.
Doomsday returns... Wade Phillips style.
Teams will see it eventually.
Training Camp is open to the public. The team just asked the media to refrain from reporting on certain types of plays yesterday.
The season begins in 3...2...
http://twitter.com/BloggingTheBoys
by Aaron Novinger on Aug 5, 2009 11:39 AM CDT up reply actions
whats the difference
If teams send scouts to camp to scout us? The practices are open to the public you know.
In Romo we Trust
Allegedly they are not supposed to
Except NE. Roger gave them a pass…
Never wrestle with a pig. You both get dirty and the pig loves it.
It's illegal to send scouts Terry
Or didn?t you know? And 12 teams TCs are not open to the public which I would prefer. I can wait to see who is lining up where for the season, I don;t need to know right now
Did anyone catch the Rangers' game?
Never wrestle with a pig. You both get dirty and the pig loves it.
They needed to make a symbolic move
At the trade deadline just so the team knew the orgaization wasnt just playing out the year and biding their time until 2010. Last night was indicative of the problems they have been having
Sweet!
Way to come back Roy.
The season begins in 3...2...
http://twitter.com/BloggingTheBoys
by Aaron Novinger on Aug 5, 2009 11:40 AM CDT up reply actions
Ya, heard they were all abusing Mickens for some reason, wonder if he did or said something?
or did Phillips want to see what he did or didn’t have, or were his knee was as far as rehab; wonder if one of the othe CB will take his 2nd string reps?
oh please....Here come the overreactions
How did Martellus Bennett look at this time last year?
Mickens didn’t even get to attend OTA’s…He may not be our 4th corner this year, but he’ll make the team. You don’t just cut rookies that you just drafted for starting slow.
Remember Erik Walden? Miami scooped him up as soon as we dropped him last year, and he did nothing in TC or pre-season, and he wasn’t even as highly touted as Mickens was.
Good thing some of you guys aren’t GM’s, as soon as we get a rookie in that doesn’t set the world on fire everyone starts talking about them not making the team, or their a bust.
by LonghornsLegend on Aug 6, 2009 1:23 AM CDT up reply actions
The problem with Mickens
appears to be getting his speed back and it’s probably a combination of the physical and the mental. In my mind, whether he is able to make this team will be dertmined by whether they think he will be able to regain his speed and confidence on the field in time. I see him on the PS.
Never wrestle with a pig. You both get dirty and the pig loves it.
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