Jean-Jacques Taylor

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Roy Williams made the best possible career decision when he signed with Cincinnati. Now he'll be reunited with former Cowboys' defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer.

If anyone can resurrect Williams' career, it's Zimmer.

Williams, a first-round pick in 2002, had the most success of his career when Zimmer was the Cowboys' defensive coordinator.

That's because Zimmer played him close to the line of scrimmage, minimizing his coverage responsibilities and allowing him to chase the ball.

More importantly, Zimmer demands his players have perfect technique. To him, it matters which way a player's toe is pointed when he begins pursuit.

Over the years, Williams' technique has become admittedly sloppy. That won't be the case next season.

It was time for Williams to go.

He had lost confidence in Dallas, in part, because there had been so many negative things written and said about his performance. Clearly, he was no longer the force he had been as a rookie, when he recorded 127 tackles and intercepted five passes.

The next year, he made the first of five consecutive Pro Bowl appearances, though his performance declined steadily. Last year, he played in only three games after twice breaking his forearm.

It didn't seem like football was fun for him anymore. Cincinnati is a much smaller market. Baltimore and Pittsburgh, the division's two best teams, play smash-mouth football.

Cincinnati is the perfect spot for him to find himself again.

Q: Looking at the current roster, including recently-drafted players, salary-cap issues and the fact the Cowboys haven't re-signed DeMarcus Ware, it seems to me that Greg Ellis won't be a Cowboy once the 53-man roster is finalized. Do you see any scenario that will keep Ellis with the Cowboys?

Rocky Condo, Perth, Australia

TAYLOR: Absolutely. Ware is the only other proven pass-rusher on the team. You can't count on Spencer to do it – not just yet – and let's not even talk about counting on the rookie to be a difference-maker. And what if there's an injury to Ware? No, I think Ellis will be around for one more year while the Cowboys give these other guys an opportunity to succeed.

Q: With the slow development of Anthony Spencer, why do the Cowboys continue to draft college defensive ends and turn them into outside linebackers? Wouldn't it be prudent to just draft a guy who actually played outside linebacker in college?

Glenn Guillory, Baytown

TAYLOR: That's a good question. Just for the record, have you forgotten Ware is a defensive end who became an outside linebacker. Every 3-4 team in the league uses this strategy. Sometimes, it works. At times, it doesn't. The 3-4 requires bigger linebackers than the traditional 4-3 linebacker because they have so many one-on-one battles with offensive linemen. It's just a matter of finding the right players to make the transition.

Q: We finally had the draft and then a day and a half of rookie camp before the tragic accident at Valley Ranch. There's got to be something you can tell us about our new guys.

Ron Taylor

TAYLOR: Not really. These are the underwear Olympics, and they only had 27 players participating. There's not much you can tell about a player from individual drills or watching one-on-one drills with fellow rookies. You have to be patient. Once training camp begins, you'll have an information overload.

Q: Is it possible that the fine job you and other Cowboys writers do hurts the team strategy-wise? We won't be able to hide any players we like on the practice squad because the media will talk about how good a certain rookie is doing, thus exposing him to the wolves. Why don't we hear about other teams' rookies?

Bernard Henry

TAYLOR: Bernard, you really give us too much credit. The Cowboys – as do every team – have scouts who do nothing but study practice squad players on other teams and make recommendations. If you were a fan of another team, you would read about that team's rookies on internet sites devoted to those clubs. Teams spend millions each year to find the best players all over the country. They aren't affected by the media.

Q: What would be some clear indicators that the Cowboys coaching staff and players are making strides in being more cohesive, disciplined and mentally tough in the upcoming OTAs?

John T. Gold, Salt Lake City

TAYLOR: I don't think so. You don't find out those types of things until a team goes through some adversity and you see how they handle it. Everything can seemingly be fine, and it can all go down the drain as soon as the quarterback has a couple of bad games or the team loses 2-3 in a row. You, too, must be patient. Everything you want will be revealed during the season. You can't rush it.

Q: We need a No. 1 receiver, and it needs to be Plaxico Burress. Thoughts?

Janatry E. Sanders, Vairginia

TAYLOR: It's simply not going to happen. Besides, Burress has bigger issues – such as how he's going to keep himself out of jail. The reason the Cowboys cut Terrell Owens is because they wanted to feature Roy Williams. They believe he can be a dominant player who can gain 1,100 yards and score 10 touchdowns. They're going to give him an opportunity to do it. Signing Plaxico would affect that, which is among the reasons it's not going to happen.

Q: This team needs to get off playing glamour football with the gaudy passing stats and start playing to win playoff games and Super Bowls. This team has Barber, Jones and Choice plus a good defense. Williams, Austin and Witten are good enough to keep defenses from putting eight men in the box so the running game can work. Thoughts?

Beasley

TAYLOR: You're not going to get much argument from me, but I don't know that Jason Garrett, a former quarterback, is willing to revolve the offense around his running backs instead of his talented quarterback. It's not that the Cowboys need to run it more than they pass it, but the ratio should probably be close to 50-50, which also limits Tony Romo's opportunities to make a mistake.