Cowboys Competition: Connor Williams vs. Tyler Biadasz at Center?
GLENDALE, Ariz. - The Dallas Cowboys continue to call it an "experiment.''
But it continues to look like a "competition.''
Connor Williams didn't just get playing time at center again on Friday in the 19-16 NFL preseason loss at Arizona; he got a slot in the starting lineup, ahead of supposed first-teamer Tyler Biadasz.
"As of now, I feel like it (playing center) is for emergencies,'' said Williams, for all of his three seasons the starter at left guard.
"Obviously wherever they need me, I'm going to be,'' he said. "At the end of the day it's a coaches' decision.''
And maybe it is just a "coaches' decision'' to be in the second week of preseason games while still tinkering with "emergencies'' ... in the starting lineup. Or maybe - while the Cowboys insist they are satisfied with the play of second-year man Biadasz, who was a part-time starter as a rookie - they are considering a "best-five'' approach.
And if Connor McGovern is a "best-five''? He plays. And somebody else sits and/or moves.
For the moment, though, let's accept this: Williams' shotgun snaps have been poor, in both of Dallas' preseason outings, and in training camp in Oxnard, too. Part of the idea of "best-five'' is that one of them needs to actually be able to hike the ball.
“Am I concerned about it? Yeah,” coach Mike McCarthy said. “I mean, any time the ball is on the ground it’s of concern. That’s the starting point. That’s why you start practice every day with quarterback-center exchange. It can’t happen. There’s no excuse for it. We can talk until we’re blue in the face about it. It has to be corrected.''
So you start your guard at center? Is that how to correct it?
Maybe the guards should play guard, and maybe McGovern could actually be the "emergency'' center - though if that's an option, Dallas might wish to hurry up and let him practice there, or even start a game there, inasmuch as that now seems to be a "thing.''
Oddly, Williams suggested that his first-team reps were not planned out well in advance.
READ MORE: WATCH: QB Dak Prescott Pregame Warmup
"It was a last-minute call," Williams said. "There's just an emphasis on getting me backup center reps, obviously. Just getting in and getting those live center reps ... it's obviously different than practice."
Actually, Connor Williams - as solid an O-lineman as he is - has been the same in games and in practice in one department: He doesn't snap the ball well enough ... which may be reason enough to end both the "experiment'' and the "competition.''
READ MORE: Cowboys Injury Update: Why Was Randy Gregory Sent Home?
