Jean-Jacques Taylor

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IRVING – After watching Roy Williams drop two passes, misjudge another and get penalized for pass interference, the natural inclination is to focus on why this is the worst trade Jerry Jones ever made.

Then I had another thought: Roy Williams isn't really this bad.

Seriously.

He absolutely, positively isn't as bad as he has played since he joined the Cowboys last October. Unfortunately, there's no statistical data or tangible evidence to support my point.

Not when you consider Williams has caught just 31 passes for 428 yards and two touchdowns since he arrived in Dallas. Miles Austin has 421 yards receiving and four touchdowns in the last two games.

"I'm not pressing. I'm lining up where I'm supposed to line up, and I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing," Williams said earlier this week. "People still come up to me for autographs. I got some doughnuts this morning, and the guy told me to keep my head up."

It ain't easy. The man has pride. He wants to produce.

If the Cowboys want more production from Williams, Jason Garrett must get him more involved in the offense. Tony Romo has targeted Williams on only 30 passes – never more than seven in a game.

It's hard to blame Romo for ignoring Williams considering he's completed only 12 passes to Williams this season. That's 40 percent, the lowest percentage among players on the team who have been targeted at least 10 times.

Jason Witten, Patrick Crayton and Austin all have been targeted more. Romo has directed 23 passes toward Austin in the last two games.

Maybe, just maybe, Austin will help Williams. When the Cowboys acquired Williams, he was supposed to thrive because teams were focused on covering Terrell Owens.

Perhaps Williams will thrive now because teams are intent on stopping Austin. For now, Williams is an afterthought in the offense.

Romo and Williams struggle to complete even the simplest of routes. Against Atlanta, Romo threw a slant, which should be Williams' signature route, at the receiver's foot. Williams also misjudged a pass on a crossing route that would've easily gone for 30 yards had he caught it.

"I was expecting a Nolan Ryan fastball and I got a Mark Buehrle change-up," Williams said. "It would've been a big gainer."

Still, there's no way to improve the rapport without Garrett continuing to call plays that make Williams the first read and Romo getting him the ball.

"Roy works his butt off at practice," Romo said. "He performs out there daily. I don't see any reason why he's not going to have a very successful rest of the season. I'm not going to shy away from him, because he shows me on a consistent, daily basis that he does so many good things. It will happen."

For a moment, forget about the numbers and the expectations and the humongous salary.

He was a terrific player in high school and at Texas, which is why Detroit took him with the seventh pick of the first round. And he was a good player in Detroit, catching 82 passes for 1,310 yards and seven touchdowns to earn a Pro Bowl trip in 2006.

Since then, his numbers have steadily declined. If 2006 was a career year, then fine, but there's no good reason for him to be this unproductive at 27.

He should be in the prime of his career, which is why I thought acquiring him was a good idea. Actually, I thought the Cowboys should've made him the focal point of the offense last December.

We can all agree Williams isn't the No. 1 receiver Jerry Jones thought he was acquiring last October for draft picks in the first, third and sixth rounds. At worst, though, he should be a solid NFL starter who catches 55 balls for 700 yards and five touchdowns.

"I know," said Williams, "that I can play this game."

These days, we can only take his word for it.