Although Roy is the most aggressive safety in the league, I think there is one safety with better all around skills than Roy.  Ed Reed has become the best playmaking safety because of his ability to create turnovers by blitzing and intercept passes in coverage.  He is the best cover safety in the league, and he is a huge threat to score everytime he recovers a turnover.

I would say that Palomalu is as good a cover guy as Roy is a hitter.  So, I would say they are about equal and the edge may be given to the player whose game you most admire.  Personally, I prefer to have the big hitting guy at strong safety because there is so much that you can do with him, so I defer to Roy.

deagleton:

Although Roy is the most aggressive safety in the league, I think there is one safety with better all around skills than Roy.  Ed Reed has become the best playmaking safety because of his ability to create turnovers by blitzing and intercept passes in coverage.  He is the best cover safety in the league, and he is a huge threat to score everytime he recovers a turnover.

I would say that Palomalu is as good a cover guy as Roy is a hitter.  So, I would say they are about equal and the edge may be given to the player whose game you most admire.  Personally, I prefer to have the big hitting guy at strong safety because there is so much that you can do with him, so I defer to Roy.

Palomalu has to be the best.

You don't have to be the hardest hitter in the league to play safety.

If there was an even trade, Roy for Palomalu I'ld say do it.

I think it all has to do with the schemes between the defenses. I don't recall Roy Williams being sent on a lot of Blitzes. As a matter of fact, I think they don't blitz him enough. Also, I think Bmore's and Pitt's FSs have been better than William's partner on the other side hence Dallas being reluctant to take the risk of leaving their FS playing center field, while Williams blitzes. Reed, Palomalu seem to be faster than Williams, but are helped a lot by their FSs ability to cover on blitizes. I see Williams having more opportunities to shine in 2006, if Dallas can get a FS that can be trusted.

You'd be wrong..

My stance has always been that the Cowboys need to get a fast, rangy, ball-hawking free safety and that would free up Roy to really be the beast that they were hoping they would get in the draft.  The cornerbacks they have on this team can cover man-to-man in stints.  With a good free safety keeping everything in front of him and getting to the ball, Roy could spend more time blitzing, providing run support and covering the middle zones.  That's where he can do extensive damage.

I want my free safety to be great in coverage, but my strong safety doesn't have to be the greatest cover guy if he can be freed to track the ball and lay the wood.  There haven't been a lot of Ronnie Lott types like Roy which makes Roy truly special if you can get a good free safety.

 

I agree, every defence is different, and Roy Williams is different than any other SS. I think that the only thing preventing him from being the best safty in the league is the fact that we don't have a good cover free safty to bail him out on coverages. Roy can cover, but he often finds himself out of position because he plays like a linebacker always up at the line making tackles. I take Roy over almost every safty in the league because the bottom line is the guy is a football player. Even with out elite cover skills, he still manages to make plays in the passing game, has several INT's in his career and not sure on number but more than one have gone back the other way. To reinerate, Roy is a football player and one of the best in the game, maybe not best SS of FS or any other position,but in fact one of the best FOOTBALL players.

I think Reed is the best. I think Polamalu is very good, but he's also had more talent around him on defense. If Roy played in Pittsburgh, I suspect his coverage skills would mysteriously appear to be better. I feel the reason for that is the pass rush. The Cowboys isn't awful, but it's not as good as the Steelers, and it still has plenty of room for improvement. I'm not sure where T\Roy rates, but he's up there. Don't let people that don't like him convince you otherwise.

Da Boys:

Palomalu has to be the best.

You don't have to be the hardest hitter in the league to play safety.

If there was an even trade, Roy for Palomalu I'ld say do it.

I will agree with you that Roy isnt the best but Polamalu is NOT EVEN IN ROY's CLASS.

Polamalu isnt a top 5 safety in this league and his name shouldnt even be in this topic.

I think it depends on which style teams play, personally, Roy "Hard hitting Monster"Williams is the Best Safety in the NFL, he is always on the look out for preys in the center field....dat's why I name him "The  Predator" .

It really depends, I see the safety as two positions coverage safety (FS) or tackling safety (SS). Roy is with out a doubt the best SS if you ask me. I have a lot of love for the U but Ed Reed has had only ONE great season. Roy is 26 and is already this intimidating, he is the face of the defense and if not the franchise. Brian Dawkins is a hell of a FS but he and Roy's jobs on the football field really aren't the same to me.

Roy is the top 5, great hitter but lacks coverage ability necessary to be considered the top dog.

At SS he's one of the best maybe 2nd to only Reed.  At 'Safety' it gets messy.  Dawkins, and Reed are better all around, but Dawk is a FS and his job is different, it's like comparing TE's and WR's

Roy is GREAT and would be greater if Watkins or someone soon (not Davis) can emerge as a true FS.

Being that Roy Williams plays Strong Safety and Ed Reed plays Free Safety it's a toss up but I like the INT's for touchdowns Ed Reed gives you.

To me there isn't the best of anything because it depends on prefrences... Do you want that safety who can blitz from anywhere and get there, or would you settle for the shutdown cover safety, or would you like the guy who just plays his part but is a leader on and off the field...
Put a healthy Darren Woodson opposite of Williams and then ask me this question again...

Palomalu definitely takes this one. We saw it last year in the playoffs that he can set the tone of the game with his amazing speed, size, hitting ability, and overall coverage ability. I swear the guy could be in the Safety position, and within 2 seconds or less he rushes from way back there and takes the Offensive Lineman, or Fullback by total surprise. His speed is like nothing I've ever seen before in an NFL Safety.