Well in the wake of yesterday's comments by Roy Williams, you had to wonder how Tony Romo was going to react. After all, Romo's a guy who has been plagued by varying skeptics for the better part of his last few seasons. He could be forgiven for lashing out at the overpaid, oft-injured, whining wide receiver who's got just 249 yards through the first half of the '09 season. You know, especially since Miles Austin, the guy Williams insists is still the "No. 2" receiver, had more than that in one game.

So, cue the rhetorical smackdown from Romo? Not so fast. According to the Dallas Morning News, Romo had this to say:

"You've just got to keep working,'' Romo said. "You just have to keep getting better and keep throwing footballs. That's part of anybody's quarterback-receiver position. ... Every year, it's always going to be something. He can go on a tear the next five or six weeks and it will be a new story then. He's working hard, he's doing a great job in practice. It will come.''

"We have a good relationship. He cares about the game and is out here practicing hard.

"He's getting better every time he steps out there, and that's all you can ask.''

Roy Williams, for his part, spoke out and explained that he and Romo stayed after practice yesterday and will do the same today in an effort to get on the same page. His words:

"We worked extra after practice yesterday and we're going to do the same thing today. That'll be our trend for the rest of the year until that light switches over."

"I'm not saying it can't be fixed. That's what we're doing. I'm not a T.O. I'm not trying to be a T.O. I'm happy to win. I've said that a hundred times. I don't understand why people don't say, 'OK.' I'm a football player, and I'm trying to get this thing working."

Now, I'm both a Cowboys fan and a sports fan. From the latter perspective, I commend Romo for his level-headed approach here--rather than fan the flames and provide fodder for talking heads across the sports universe, just go ahead and diffuse the situation, stay after practice, and let it blow over. Well done, Mr. Romo. Classy move.

But as a Cowboys fan, I've got a slightly different perspective on Romo's response, for two reasons. One, ROY WILLIAMS IS TERRIBLE. Might as well start there, no? In a desperation move last year, we gave up a first round pick and a third round pick for him. The logic behind that trade is still completely indefensible--the Cowboys were sputtering at the time, but it had nothing to do with a lack of big play options on offense.

But somehow, Roy Williams has found a way to a make that gawdawful trade less defensible during his time with the Cowboys. The only thing that's kept him from being completely invisible in Dallas is that he's on the injured list every other week with some BS injury. Otherwise, you can always count on him for some grouchy looks at Tony Romo, hands on hips if he doesn't get the ball in passing situations, and at least one play where he melodramatically hobbles off the field.

He is, quite simply, the worst of both worlds with the modern receiver. He's got the diva-antics of Terrell Owens, and the mediocre game of Patrick Crayton. The only thing that makes it worse is his outsized reputation, something he earned on the strength of ONE GOOD SEASON IN DETROIT. 1,300 yards and 7 TDs. That's it. That's all he's ever done. And every other year, he's missed at least two games with injury. He is AWFUL.

And given that he's so overrated and generally worthless to the Cowboys, I wish Romo would have publicly responded in a more aggressive manner. Which brings me to my second reason--any Cowboys fan that's watched Romo over the past few years has seen a guy that's constantly trying to please everyone. The media, Jerry Jones, his girlfriend, Jason Witten, Terrell Owens... everyone. And you can't do that as NFL quarterback. As a quarterback, your sole job is to win; and then you'll please everyone.

Sometimes, that means calling a guy out that's acting like a jackass. Your teammates will respect you for it. On the other hand, if you go through a season without saying a word about a guy, then wait till he's released to admit that you thought he was a problem... well, that's a pretty weak move. And that's how Romo handled T.O. Sometimes, being a leader doesn't necessarily mean unifying everyone, but knowing how to unify the guys that matter.

Roy Williams? Doesn't matter. He's injury-prone and overrated. Miles Austin? Matters a lot. And while I understand Romo did the ostensibly classy thing by attempting to meet Roy Williams halfway, it would have been nice to see him come out and say, "Actually, Miles Austin's our number one guy, and Roy can either get on board with that or he can take a seat on the bench. I really don't care." A franchise quarterback--the type of guy not worried about the way people perceive him, but willing to do whatever it takes to get his guys in line--would have said that.

Tony Romo's not there yet. And you know, he may never get there. Some people just aren't wired that way. But for now, let's reiterrate: both sides are saying the right things, the controversy's dying down, and everyone's making nice in Dallas.

Stay tuned for the next controversy that Romo diplomatically averts.

When Terrell Owens left Dallas in the off-season, the hope was that he would take all of the whining and sour grapes with him.  Turns out, he just left them right where they were for the next guy.  Roy Williams, commence the public bashing of your quarterback and not-at-all-thinly veiled jabs at the guy lining up across the field from you.

"I'm the No. 1 receiver, but things are just going No. 2's way...It's just not even close. It's not even funny. Not even close."

Williams' beef seems to be that, despite his perceived status, he's not pleased with the Tony Romo-Miles Austin connection. 

The rift puts attention back on Romo who still hasn't shaken the reputation for being less than clutch when it matters most.  For the record, Romo has thrown the ball Williams' way 37 times this season and Roy has managed to grab a mere 14 of them.  Since arriving from Detroit in a trade last year, Williams has 33 catches, 447 yards and three touchdowns. On the other hand, Austin has set an NFL record with 482 yards in his first three starts, scoring on five of his 21 receptions.

Williams gave the obligatory "winning matters most" soundbite but I think everyone knows better.  If Williams' predecessor has taught us anything, it's that these things always have a way of not working out.  We'll see where this one goes and how many passes Williams sees this weekend when the Cowboys face the Eagles.