When the Dallas Cowboys traded for wide receiver Roy Williams in 2008, they thought the combination of Terrell Owens, Patrick Crayton and the former Detroit Lion and Texas Longhorn would give Tony Romo everything he needed to return the franchise to Super Bowl dominance. But a funny thing happened on the way to Tampa Bay – Williams kinda sucked. In fact, the former seventh overall pick in the 2004 draft caught just 19 passes in his seven games as a Cowboy that season, including only one touchdown. And now the costly addition is stepping up his game and promising a huge effort this year. Just kidding, he’s pouting.

Calling his brief tenure in Dallas “a nightmare,” Williams has been outshined by Miles Austin and could even be replaced by the Cowboys’ first round pick in this year’s draft, Dez Bryant. The Cowboys traded first, third and sixth round picks in the 2009 draft, as well as a seventh round pick in this year’s draft, to acquire Williams and immediately signed him to a five-year, $45 million extension with $20 million guaranteed. Responded everyone on the planet, “Wow, what a nightmare.”

Wake me from this tormenting slumber, NFL Gridiron Gab:

“It’s been a nightmare,” the native of Odessa, Texas, told Yahoo! Sports. “That’s the truth. I’m not going to hide from it. I understand the business. … I thought this was going to be a dream. It’s been a nightmare.” Williams was frank when speaking to Yahoo! Sports, but no one can argue this marriage between Williams and Jerry Jones had, and still has potential.

Potential is a bold analysis, seeing as Williams only managed 38 receptions for 596 yards in 15 games in 2009, however the Cowboys still expect Williams to line up as their top target in 2010, despite the emergence of Austin and the consistent presence of Jason Witten. Crayton, on the other hand, appears to be the odd man out, as the former seventh round pick of the 2004 draft has requested an outright release.

Tony Romo also demanded a release, and promptly nailed the entire female roster of American Idol.

I don’t think people get bent out of shape simply from a professional athlete complaining about life to the media. Actually, lots of fans out there can appreciate the humanity of it all, provided that the athlete in question is qualified to speak for his team. But what really chaps my ass is when a guy runs his mouth during the week and then goes out to play and totally lays an egg. And I mean total failure without any sort of composure at all. After they talk the talk, we expect athletes to walk the walk.

And this is where Dallas Cowboys wideout Roy Williams failed. After complaining to the media about how Tony Romo throws an accurate ball to everyone but him ["Mom! How come Jason has more ice cream than I do?!"] he went out against Green Bay only to fumble a long catch downfield after dropping a touchdown pass in the endzone. That performance arguably cost the Cowboys the game against the Packers, and it also drew the ire of the Bayou Beast, Terry Bradshaw.

“Dallas lost that game when Roy Williams dropped that pass and then fumbled, too,” said Bradshaw, a cohose of FOX’s NFL Sunday show. “He may have finished with 100 yards receiving, but he’s certainly not worth two first-round picks and all that money Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is paying him. He’s not proving anything.” –Dallas Morning News, via FanNation.

Williams is hardly alone in his mouth writing checks that his body can’t cash. A day after telling everyone how great a player he could be in the NFL, LeBron James sat out the entire most of the second half of his game against the Washington Wizards. James, who said he banged his wrist on the rim during a dunk, watched his Cavs squander a 17-point first-half lead to lose, 108-91. One wonders how valuable a guy like that would be to an NFL team.

Nobody has any problem with a guy that can put his money where his mouth is. But when he runs his mouth in front of the media and then can’t bring his A-game in front of the fans, we’re the ones that end up getting shortchanged.

In Peter King’s NFL column/blog post on Monday, he reported that someone told him that Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Roy Williams had never lifted weights before. Ever. Such a comment makes anyone look like a slackass, and naturally Williams took the first chance he had to refute that report, saying that he lifted weights as early as seventh grade. From the Dallas Morning News, via FanNation:

Williams, a 6-3, 220-pound physical specimen, said he took lifting seriously throughout his high school career at Odessa Permian. He added that he continued to work hard in the weight room at Texas under the guidance of Jeff “Mad Dog” Madden, one of the country’s most famous strength coaches.[...]

Williams said he stopped lifting weights during the season after dealing with various nicks, pulls and strains his first two years in the NFL.

“The year I didn’t lift during the season, I made it to the Pro Bowl,” he said.

Wow, take that, athletic science! Roy Williams doesn’t need your silly weights. That’s exactly what I tried to tell my high school girlfriend when she complained about my “stamina” in “the fourth quarter.” I told her to “just roll over” and “let me do my thing.” She left. Probably because she just didn’t like sports.

The setup of the basketball floor at Ford’s field seems a bit goofy; they’ve laid it right in the center of the arena and raised the hardwood nearly three feet off the arena floor. Well, North Carolina coach Roy Williams doesn’t like it, which is surprising, since his Tar Heels crushed Michigan State on that very same floor in December. From FanNation:

Williams spent a portion of the first half down in front of the bench, meaning “you’re sitting there looking a people’s shinbones.” [...]

“Tom [Izzo] brought a chair up and sat it on the court level … and I didn’t want to do that; I like to sit down a lot. I was not comfortable, I couldn’t see the far end of the court, what I really wanted to see. Most of the time, after the second TV timeout, I stayed up on the court level.”

Jeez, why don’t you cry about it, Roy? It’s not like you’re playing the game on a freaking asteroid in outer space. Maybe you need to have Gene Hackman come up there and measure the hoops for you. Just hope that Hansbrough doesn’t hit his head on the scoreboard. That’s a very expensive scoreboard.

Cowboys receiver Roy Williams, until recently a Lion, returned to Detroit for former teammate Mike Furrey’s charity Halloween party, and in the great tradition of Jon Kitna bagging on his naked coach, Williams poked fun at another former teammate, Tatum Bell, who famously tried to steal the luggage of his replacement, Rudi Johnson, after Bell was cut.  Williams’s costume comprised of a bellhop costume, a name tag reading “T. Bell,”  and underwear with Rudi Johnson’s name on them.  Hmmm… It seemed a lot cooler before I described it. It’s a lot better than it sounds.  Honest.

[Most excellent Hudsucker Proxy reference over at KSK]

Bruce Pearl would've had these chicks naked in the jacuzzi by now. 

[Don Chavez]