"He's been given so many warnings, plus the rule was put in place for him," Cowboys receiver Patrick Crayton said. "That'd be a red light flashing in my head."
Williams' defensive teammates were far more supportive, saying the tactic is far less dangerous than cut blocks that are legal for offensive linemen.
"It's a dumb rule," linebacker Akin Ayodele said. "It handicaps him being an aggressive safety. He sees someone running by him, what's he supposed to do? Stop? It's a split-second decision."
Linebacker Greg Ellis said it's wrong for the league to take away a starter for a game that has playoff implications over something like this.
"Obviously I'm biased, but if it was another team, I'd say that's a bad way to enter a critical game off a guy trying to be aggressive and trying to make a play," he said.
"Roy's been in on 105 tackles now and three of them have been on that variety," Phillips said. "Where is the line as far if you hit them too hard or have a helmet to helmet -- are we going to suspend them? ... But we have to go by the rules, whatever those rules are. They've been basically fining people to keep them from doing these things. They evidently thought it got to the point with Roy where they felt like they needed to do more."
