Much like your favorite one-hit wonder, Roy Williams continues to make money off one grand performance.
The way many of us enjoyed the Baha Men smash “Who Let The Dogs Out” until it became a hindrance to the rest of the music on our respective radios is the same way I’m looking at the Chicago Bears’ newest addition at wide receiver.
Williams’ act is getting old, fast. And that’s not good, considering he has been on the job for a month.
The lack of accountability and self-awareness is tiresome and a tad bit annoying, which is how I felt after hearing “The Macarena” for the 1,328,745th time.
Throughout the preseason, Williams’ drops have been reported as plentiful and his catches as sparse. If I had a dollar for every tweet from a beat reporter or fan who attended training camp in Bourbonnais that detailed a time where Williams dropped a catchable ball or short-armed a Jay Cutler pass, I’d be posting this from a gold-plated iPad on a boat somewhere tropical.
Instead, I’m trying to figure out a guy who had one productive season (82 catches, 1,310 yards, seven touchdowns) followed by three years of decline is still making paper off something that happened five years ago.
If Roy Williams didn’t have the pedigree of being a former top-10 draft pick from a prominent college powerhouse that churns out NFL talent year-in, year-out like clockwork, he would likely be searching for employment with another team.
Williams isn’t concerned about his poor performance, despite the fact the only thing he has caught since putting on a Bears uniform is a case of the dropsies.
Neither is offensive coordinator Mike Martz, a delusional man who still believes calling an end around for a possession receiver on 3rd-and-1 in the NFC Championship game would have resulted in a big gain had it been executed properly.
Martz talks about Williams like it was 2006, when the tandem turned Jon Kitna into a household name and a fantasy football hero.
The only thing worse than Williams not being in 2006 form is that Williams is as good as it gets for this organization.
Chicago has not had a 1,000-yard receiver since 2003.
In that eight-year span, the Bears have started 10 different quarterbacks start games and had six different quarterbacks lead the team in passing yards.
While continuity under center has not been a strong suit of the Monsters of the Midway, neither has player development at the receiver position.
Juaquin Iglesias, Mark Bradley, Bernard Berrian, Dez White and David Terrell are among the busts drafted by the Bears at wide receiver. Toss in the likes of Muhsin Muhammad, Ricky Proehl, Dwyane Bates and Marcus Robinson and you get a cavalcade of mediocrity.
Johnny Knox has the best chance of becoming the team’s most productive wideout since Marty Booker, but his flaws were on display for the nation to see during the NFC title game as he cut off routes and short-armed passes. Needless to say, the jury is still out on the third-year upstart from Abilene Christian.
At this point, the Bears might be better off cutting ties with Williams.
But because his talent level is superior to any receiver on this, or any previous Bears roster, he will likely be starting opposite of Devin Hester when the season kicks off Sept. 11.
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