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COLUMN By GERRY FRALEY / The Dallas Morning News
gfraley@dallasnews.com
ARLINGTON – This is called "Roy Williams luck."
It is worse than buzzard's luck. It is worse than having no luck at all.
Roy Williams tried to do something good for the Cowboys on Thursday and ended up doing something bad.
"I lost the ballgame," Williams said. "I'm accountable for what I did. Put it on me. I let my team down."
Leading 27-23, the Cowboys went into their four-minute offense in hopes of closing out New Orleans. Quarterback Jon Kitna figured if they could run eight plays, the game was finished.
On play No. 3, disaster struck. It was the ultimate backfire play. Naturally, it involved Williams.
On a third-and-6 play from the Cowboys 42, Williams broke free on a slant pattern. He caught the ball in stride and had more than the first down.
At that point, Williams admitted, the smart play would have been to hit the ground with the ball securely in his grasp. Brian Westbrook did that with Philadelphia against the Cowboys in 2007, going down at the 1 when the Eagles led by four points with about two minutes remaining. As was the case with the Eagles in that situation, milking the clock was more important than another score.
Instead, basic instinct took over for Williams. He thought about scoring, even though tacklers were closing in on him. By staying on his feet, Williams gave safety Malcolm Jenkins the chance the Saints needed.
In what Saints coach Sean Payton called "a heart play that inspires everyone," Jenkins caught Williams and went for the football. Kitna compared the sensation Williams experienced at that moment with the "scary" sensation of going downhill out of control. Williams lost his grip, and the Saints recovered at their 11.
They scored the winning touchdown five plays later.
"I'm disappointed, because I let my team down," Williams said. "I know this is a team game, and the defense had a chance to stop them, but it wouldn't have come to that if I had just fallen down or been tackled.
"I could've put the nail in the coffin on that play. We had the momentum swung our way, and it was 'W.' If I had just been tackled or long-jumped my way into the end zone, we would have won the game."
That's how "Roy Williams luck" works.
In Week 1 against Washington, he caught an apparent touchdown pass on the last play that was negated by a holding penalty. He lost a fumble in the fourth quarter as he fought for extra yardage against the Bears the next week. He lost a fumble at the end of a 42-yard reception in Green Bay last season.
The Cowboys had seven fumbles Thursday, matching the second-highest total in club history. On six of the bobbles, they avoided mistakes. The Cowboys recovered their own fumbles on the first two plays of the fourth quarter. Punter Mat McBriar bobbled a snap but fell back upon his Australian Rules Football past and booted the loose ball to Saints 16.
When Williams dropped the ball, the Saints recovered. It was the only one of the seven fumbles the Cowboys lost.
"He made a great play," Kitna said. "He made great plays all day." Williams did play well before and after the fumble.
Williams had five receptions for 83 yards. In the Cowboys' last drive, he broke through a tackle to get a first down at the Saints' 41 with 42 seconds left.
Williams blocked. He turned cornerback Tracy Porter to the outside, allowing Miles Austin to turn the corner on a 60-yard touchdown run in the first minute of the third quarter.
"I made a few plays, but nobody is going to talk about that," Williams said. "You have to finish. I turned it over, and that was the ballgame."
For Williams, playing well has never been good enough to chase away the dark cloud that has followed him since joining the Cowboys during the 2008 season. He can have a good day for all but one play, and that one fated play will linger after all the others fade away.
gfraley@dallasnews.com
ARLINGTON – This is called "Roy Williams luck."
It is worse than buzzard's luck. It is worse than having no luck at all.
Roy Williams tried to do something good for the Cowboys on Thursday and ended up doing something bad.
"I lost the ballgame," Williams said. "I'm accountable for what I did. Put it on me. I let my team down."
Leading 27-23, the Cowboys went into their four-minute offense in hopes of closing out New Orleans. Quarterback Jon Kitna figured if they could run eight plays, the game was finished.
On play No. 3, disaster struck. It was the ultimate backfire play. Naturally, it involved Williams.
On a third-and-6 play from the Cowboys 42, Williams broke free on a slant pattern. He caught the ball in stride and had more than the first down.
At that point, Williams admitted, the smart play would have been to hit the ground with the ball securely in his grasp. Brian Westbrook did that with Philadelphia against the Cowboys in 2007, going down at the 1 when the Eagles led by four points with about two minutes remaining. As was the case with the Eagles in that situation, milking the clock was more important than another score.
Instead, basic instinct took over for Williams. He thought about scoring, even though tacklers were closing in on him. By staying on his feet, Williams gave safety Malcolm Jenkins the chance the Saints needed.
In what Saints coach Sean Payton called "a heart play that inspires everyone," Jenkins caught Williams and went for the football. Kitna compared the sensation Williams experienced at that moment with the "scary" sensation of going downhill out of control. Williams lost his grip, and the Saints recovered at their 11.
They scored the winning touchdown five plays later.
"I'm disappointed, because I let my team down," Williams said. "I know this is a team game, and the defense had a chance to stop them, but it wouldn't have come to that if I had just fallen down or been tackled.
"I could've put the nail in the coffin on that play. We had the momentum swung our way, and it was 'W.' If I had just been tackled or long-jumped my way into the end zone, we would have won the game."
That's how "Roy Williams luck" works.
In Week 1 against Washington, he caught an apparent touchdown pass on the last play that was negated by a holding penalty. He lost a fumble in the fourth quarter as he fought for extra yardage against the Bears the next week. He lost a fumble at the end of a 42-yard reception in Green Bay last season.
The Cowboys had seven fumbles Thursday, matching the second-highest total in club history. On six of the bobbles, they avoided mistakes. The Cowboys recovered their own fumbles on the first two plays of the fourth quarter. Punter Mat McBriar bobbled a snap but fell back upon his Australian Rules Football past and booted the loose ball to Saints 16.
When Williams dropped the ball, the Saints recovered. It was the only one of the seven fumbles the Cowboys lost.
"He made a great play," Kitna said. "He made great plays all day." Williams did play well before and after the fumble.
Williams had five receptions for 83 yards. In the Cowboys' last drive, he broke through a tackle to get a first down at the Saints' 41 with 42 seconds left.
Williams blocked. He turned cornerback Tracy Porter to the outside, allowing Miles Austin to turn the corner on a 60-yard touchdown run in the first minute of the third quarter.
"I made a few plays, but nobody is going to talk about that," Williams said. "You have to finish. I turned it over, and that was the ballgame."
For Williams, playing well has never been good enough to chase away the dark cloud that has followed him since joining the Cowboys during the 2008 season. He can have a good day for all but one play, and that one fated play will linger after all the others fade away.
