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Roy Williams Signed per .com


mgi

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Well, I obviously hope he can do a complete turnaround from his form of the last couple of yrs. If he can get back to being a physical force across the middle then great. This largely hinges on him on being able to at least cover a TE every now and then though. If he continues being piss poor in coverage then he won't see much time on the field.

Not silly money and he has produced (and then some) in the past. A flyer worth taking I guess. :mellow:

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Roy Williams strength has never been in pass coverage. That said, his weakness in that category is a bit overstated.

Even prior to the game a couple years ago where Santana Moss scored long TD's on two very similar games, his pass coverage was criticized to an extant. Yet after that game, he carried the perception that he was one of the worst covering safeties in the league... and I'm not sure that it is fair.

He's not Ed Reed... but he can cover, or he would not be in the league as a safety at all. He would have made the transition to LB years ago if he was truly as incompetent as some claim - and he certainly wouldn't have been going to pro-bowls.

Go back and look at the Santana Moss TD's if you can find them. They remind me very much of the type of criticism Madieu Williams got in pass coverage. That being that he didn't hold down half of the field when Tory James was getting scorched. Well... guess what? Not many safeties can cover WR's running free after soundly beating a CB... or they would probably be playing CB.

Roy can cover... it's just not anything close to the strength of his game. That said, he'll be a huge upgrade in stopping the run while not giving the Bengals any type of significant downgrade in pass coverage.

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but he can cover, or he would not be in the league as a safety at all. He would have made the transition to LB years ago if he was truly as incompetent as some claim - and he certainly wouldn't have been going to pro-bowls.

adam archuleta & Ifeanyi Ohalete come to mind.

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Roy Williams strength has never been in pass coverage.

Absolutely, he was a damn good SS, great against the run and good at blitzing but his coverage was iffy compared to other DBs. I think everyone can live with that if he's doing the first two things well and is at least an inconvenience for receivers over the middle every once in a while.

That said, his weakness in that category is a bit overstated.

Not for the last couple of seasons they haven't. He couldn't get on the field so non-existent were his coverage skills and the fact that the opposition knew as much. A liability, and the '08 Cowboys defense was hardly a vintage.

Even prior to the game a couple years ago where Santana Moss scored long TD's on two very similar games, his pass coverage was criticized to an extant. Yet after that game, he carried the perception that he was one of the worst covering safeties in the league... and I'm not sure that it is fair.

He's not Ed Reed... but he can cover, or he would not be in the league as a safety at all. He would have made the transition to LB years ago if he was truly as incompetent as some claim - and he certainly wouldn't have been going to pro-bowls.

Absolutely. He's a SS, not a FS. I don't think anyone gives a crap if he whiffs from time to time, as long as he dominates the running game and brings a physical presence (as was the case during his pro bowl yrs).

Maybe the whole coverage thing was exacerbated due his downturn in his overall game, particularly last yr. His tackling went to hell and so it made his weaker parts of his game stand out even more.

Hell, he has obviously been a grade A safety in the league in the past and not just for a season or two but for a consistent period. With the contract he's been given and the familiar face on staff I hope he can rekindle some of the fire and form. If he does then fantastic. If not, then no real harm done.

Small risk, bid reward scenario.

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That said, his weakness in that category is a bit overstated.

Not for the last couple of seasons they haven't. He couldn't get on the field so non-existent were his coverage skills and the fact that the opposition knew as much. A liability, and the '08 Cowboys defense was hardly a vintage.

He was sidelined last year because he broke his forearm twice... not because he was poor in pass coverage.

'07 was not one of his better years, but it wasn't as bad as some think... and it was also his first year without Zimmer. I believe this is the real reason he asked out of Dallas. It wasn't for lack of playing time... because he got playing time until he got hurt. It was because he felt he's still a pro-bowl safety when he's used properly - and Zimmer knows how to use him.

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And just so people have an understanding of what "not so good" has been for Roy Williams, let's take a look at that '07 season of his:

92 Tackles (73 were solo)

19 Assists

2 Interceptions

1 Fumble Recovery

Last year only 2 Bengals players on defense had more tackles than Roy had in his "bad year"

Last year only 1 Bengals player on defense had more INT's than Roy had in his "bad year"

Last year not 1 Bengals player on defense had more fumble recoveries than Roy had in his "bad year"

While I'm not saying Roy Williams is the "be all" and "end all" of how the 2009 defense does on the field, I think it's a bit off to just spit back what other media outlets have said about Roy and think he can't improve this team. Maybe he wouldn't have an impact on other teams that have produced at high levels for many years, but guess what, the Bengals aren't one of those teams and he should have a positive impact with this team and Zimmer getting the best from him.

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That said, his weakness in that category is a bit overstated.

Not for the last couple of seasons they haven't. He couldn't get on the field so non-existent were his coverage skills and the fact that the opposition knew as much. A liability, and the '08 Cowboys defense was hardly a vintage.

He was sidelined last year because he broke his forearm twice... not because he was poor in pass coverage.

'07 was not one of his better years, but it wasn't as bad as some think... and it was also his first year without Zimmer. I believe this is the real reason he asked out of Dallas. It wasn't for lack of playing time... because he got playing time until he got hurt. It was because he felt he's still a pro-bowl safety when he's used properly - and Zimmer knows how to use him.

You know what, I completely forgot that. I'm going to hold my hands up here and I've been harsh, well flat out wrong. Had a look at his career stats and even his down yrs they are um, pretty darn good. A career low of 60+ tackles and always 2 or more INTs. For a SS that's good. My perceptions were obviously clouded by just a couple of oft highlighted and replayed coverage gaffs.

Mea culpa. Perplexed as to how he's ended up with the Bengals but I'm glad he has. Experienced player and another piece for Zimmer to move around the board.

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You know what, I completely forgot that. I'm going to hold my hands up here and I've been harsh, well flat out wrong. Had a look at his career stats and even his down yrs they are um, pretty darn good. A career low of 60+ tackles and always 2 or more INTs. For a SS that's good. My perceptions were obviously clouded by just a couple of oft highlighted and replayed coverage gaffs.

Mea culpa. Perplexed as to how he's ended up with the Bengals but I'm glad he has. Experienced player and another piece for Zimmer to move around the board.

There's no place here for that kind of talk.

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You know what, I completely forgot that. I'm going to hold my hands up here and I've been harsh, well flat out wrong. Had a look at his career stats and even his down yrs they are um, pretty darn good. A career low of 60+ tackles and always 2 or more INTs. For a SS that's good. My perceptions were obviously clouded by just a couple of oft highlighted and replayed coverage gaffs.

Mea culpa. Perplexed as to how he's ended up with the Bengals but I'm glad he has. Experienced player and another piece for Zimmer to move around the board.

There's no place here for that kind of talk.

Who asked you, Dickface? <_<

Better?

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You know what, I completely forgot that. I'm going to hold my hands up here and I've been harsh, well flat out wrong. Had a look at his career stats and even his down yrs they are um, pretty darn good. A career low of 60+ tackles and always 2 or more INTs. For a SS that's good. My perceptions were obviously clouded by just a couple of oft highlighted and replayed coverage gaffs.

Mea culpa. Perplexed as to how he's ended up with the Bengals but I'm glad he has. Experienced player and another piece for Zimmer to move around the board.

There's no place here for that kind of talk.

Who asked you, Dicface? <_<

Better?

Awesome.....much better. Resume regular business...

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