Lions Taking a Huge Gamble with Roy Williams
Lions Taking a Huge Gamble with Roy Williams
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I have never hid the fact that I believe in Rod Marinelli and Matt Millen. As I have stated many times, Millen gets the blame for a lot of things that he wasn’t the deciding factor on, but that is for another article. This time however, M and M are taking a huge gamble that Lions’ fans have to hope pays off. It is a high-risk high reward scenario.
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Roy Williams is a native Texan and is strongly tied to that community both with family and incredible dedication to off field issues and organizations there. Williams has not hid the fact that he would love to play in Texas. Williams wants to make the move. Williams has also made it clear that resigning with Detroit is by far a certainty.
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I have advocated for over a year that the Lions needed to resign Williams. I have also advocated that if they couldn’t resign him, then they had to look at trading him so as to not lose him with no remuneration. Now some have said that was foolish, because the Lions could simply franchise him. That move however is highly unlikely because the Lions have sunk tens of millions of dollars into the WR position and that kind of a commitment would be unlikely at this point.
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The Cowboys and the Texans would have been players in the Williams sweepstakes, but the Lions after looking at what was available were not. The Lions love the idea of Calvin Johnson and Roy Williams on the field together. Who can blame them? What the Lions are doing is hoping that the changes in the Lions scheme (read dumping Martz) and corresponding success by Williams may open the door for him to resign.
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That theory is not out of the realm of possibility, but certainly not a certainty. I know for a fact that Williams loves Marinelli. I also know for a fact that being so far away from family has been very difficult for him. Can you blame a man that wants to be a better dad? Can you blame a man who gives so freely of himself to multiple charities and functions in his home of Texas for wanting to be closer to where his heart is?
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Williams has taken criticism (rightfully so) for at times displaying a lack of intensity. He has the ability to be the best wide receiver in the NFL and when he doesn’t go full out (on the field or in practice) he certainly frustrates people who see what he can be. With that said, you can’t deny the fact that he and Ernie Sims have been by far the best draft picks by Millen.  Williams is clearly one of the top three players on this team, and more importantly one of the best at his position in the NFL.
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Losing him would be damaging. Losing him for nothing is catastrophic. Millen and Marinelli are rolling the dice. It is their game and they can. If Williams has the season that they think he will and they are able to keep him, this was a great move. If he isn’t wearing a Lions uniform when 2009 kicks off (because he left as a free agent with no remuneration) then it was a catastrophic mistake.
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As a fan I hope that the Lions’ track record of luck changes. As a critic, I think the Lions are taking a risk bigger than Shaun Rogers untapped potential, that could come back and set them back a long ways. I hope the fan faith overrides my concern. When the Lions resigned Kalimba I told you all, Millen and anyone that would listen at the Lions, that it was a mistake.  That was Hondo the critic.  Hondo the fan thought Kalimba was (and still is) a great kid and wished for the best. We know how that has worked out. I suspect Hondo the critic will be right on this. Man I hate it when he is right!
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