Williams Appeals; Status Unclear For Carolina Game

     Cowboys players seemed split on Roy Williams' one-game suspension levied by the NFL for his "horse-collar" tackle on Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb this past Sunday.
     Though the NFL will listen to Williams' appeal on Wednesday before finalizing its decision, the players on Tuesday didn't mince words on either side of the argument.
     "You would think if you had a rule put in place for you, you might pay attention to it a little bit," said Crayton, who noted the league didn't start taking notice of the horse-collaring until players started getting hurt, most notably then-Eagles receiver Terrell Owens when dragged down from behind by Williams in 2004.
     Crayton said he likes the rule because it protects the player running with the ball. He said the tackle is dangerous because all of the weight comes down on the legs.
     "Bones and joints aren't meant to be bent like that," Crayton said.
     Defensive end Chris Canty said the decision was a tough call. He said Williams used his best judgment, but wound up having to chase down McNabb in the open field.
     "Unfortunately, for him, he did it in a manner which the rulebook dictates that you can't do that," Canty said.
     Linebacker Akin Ayodele emotionally defended Williams' tackle, saying players can't always have perfect form when making a tackle. He said if it's a last resort, then the defender has to get the man down.
     "It's not a malice way," Ayodele said. "It's not like he's trying to injure somebody, he's just trying to get him down."
     Cowboys defensive coordinator Brian Stewart basically said the same thing about Williams, pointing out, "He's not doing it maliciously," meaning he's not trying to hurt the ball carrier when making the tackle.
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