Boys play down Roy rift

Williams: Not a trouble maker

This team is too strong from the core. This team is too committed to winning and too committed to improving to let anything like that divide this team.

Tony Romo
Quotes of the week

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Roy Williams insists there is not another quarterback-wide receiver rift growing in Dallas after his comments about still being the number one for the Cowboys.

Williams effectively replaced Terrell Owens in Dallas after costing the team three draft picks and a $45 million contract to bring him in from Detroit.

However, Williams has not yet hit the heights expected by Cowboys management, and to make matters worse Miles Austin has come in and made a dazzling impact on the team.

Austin has an NFL record 482 yards in his first three starts, and has scored five touchdowns, and he has now seemingly replaced Williams as the number one option for quarterback Tony Romo.

Williams responded to questions on Austin's form by proclaiming that he was still Dallas' number one, adding that "things are just going No. 2's way" in reference to Austin.

Issues

Williams even added that balls thrown in his direction had not been as well targeted as those to Austin, but he insists he is not at odds with Romo - merely that they need to work on their timing issues.

After such an acrimonious split between Romo and Owens led to the wideout moving to Buffalo, it looks like a familiar scenario for the Cowboys, but Williams insists he is not trying to cause trouble.

"I'm not a T.O. or I'm not trying to be a T.O," Williams said. "I don't know why people are trying to put me in that category because I'm happy to win. I've said that 100 times.

"Everything is working for us - offense, defense and special teams. The only thing that isn't working for us is Romo-to-Williams, and it's a big deal. It's the only thing that y'all have to talk about."

Romo also maintains that there is no rift, and believes that the troublemaking by certain people will not upset the Cowboys, who have won three games on the bounce and jointly lead the NFC East.

Divide

"You know, we've been through this before with people trying to intersect and divide us as a football team," Romo said.

"This team is too strong from the core. This team is too committed to winning and too committed to improving to let anything like that divide this team."

Head coach Wade Phillips insists that Williams will come good in time, but the emergence of Austin means that it is not an emergency situation.

"If we had the answer, we'd do it quicker," Phillips said. "The only answer is to keep working, and both of them are doing that.

"Roy Williams not having a big year for us so far hasn't kept us from being 5-2 anyway."