Tuesday Conversation with Darren Woodson (Regarding Roy Williams Play)

alen1 · May 27, 2008

Welcome back from Memorial Day weekend. While you were out, I wrote a column about Cowboys safety Roy Williams and his uncertain future. One of Williams' closest friends and mentors Darren Woodson said a lot of interesting things that didn't end up in the column because we wanted to keep it under 3,000 words.

In the past, Woodson has been one of Williams' biggest defenders, but during our 30-minute conversation Saturday, he seemed genuinely worried about the former first-round draft choice. In the column, Woodson blames himself for not teaching Williams more when he had the chance. Woodson, an NFL analyst for ESPN, saw his career end abruptly because of a back injury in 2004 and only spent two seasons playing next to Williams.

"There's been so much negative press about Roy the last two years," Woodson said. "And Roy is a sensitive guy. I knew he's reading the papers, and they're blasting him. It's a hypersensitive situation."

When the two played together in 2002-03, Woodson talked to Williams about not avoiding the media after games. When he started to see Williams sneak out of the locker room quickly in 2004, he called him out on it. Looking back, he doesn't think Williams had enough time to grow up as a football player.

"When I first got drafted, I didn't start," Woodson said. "I played in the nickel and was even the third corner at times. I learned to play two or three different positions and I didn't have all the hype that Roy had."

Woodson was shocked when he heard about a recent radio interview in which Williams admitted that he was hoping the ball wouldn't be thrown his way in certain coverages.

"That didn't sound like Roy," Woodson said. "He's not lacking in confidence. When we you used to play together, we said that the quarterback better not look our way. It was a confidence that Deion [Sanders] had instilled in me."

The other thing Woodson's concerned about is that he's hearing Williams is the first one to leave the facility after practices. It's certainly not the player he knew.

"I can't see it," he said. "I used to make his [expletive] sit there and watch film after practice."

There are some within the organization who think Williams' days are numbered in Dallas.
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