We're not sure if Ebert and Roeper will give two thumbs up to Roy Williams for his bit part in the recently released Texas high-school football flick Friday Night Lights. Even Williams would admit that such kudos are more deserving of Billy Bob Thornton for his portrayal of the ornery head coach who must push the right buttons in the quest of a highly coveted state championship.
Besides, Williams is too busy becoming a star in his own right. Only his stage is the football field, not the big screen.
Just three games into his fledgling NFL career and already the positive reviews are flooding in for the Detroit Lions wideout, who leads all rookies with four touchdowns heading into today's showdown here in Atlanta against the Falcons.
"You can tell he's a spark plug, a real playmaker for that team," Philadelphia Eagles receiver Terrell Owens said of Williams, who has 17 receptions for 277 yards.
Not since spaghetti-legged Barry Sanders bobbed and weaved his way into the hearts of the long-suffering Lions faithful has a player wearing the Honolulu blue-and-silver competed with such pizzazz, such flair, such flamboyance.
At 6-foot-3, he can dunk a basketball. He can move his 212-pound body with the speed of a sprinter. More importantly, his tissue-soft hands don't just catch footballs, they snatch misfired passes right out of the air.
No one should be surprised. Not when you trace his roots to Odessa, the town situated in the dust-bowl region of west Texas where he played his high school football.
While attending Permian High -- the same school chronicled in Friday Night Lights --Williams became an athletic legend. Not only did he thrill on the gridiron and basketball court, his accomplishments included a state record in the long jump and top-three finishes in the high jump and 100 metres.
In the film, Williams plays an assistant coach for Midland Lee High -- Permian's arch rival.
"I only had one line, but it was a good experience," he said. "The toughest thing about it was I had to wear a (Midland Lee) shirt. That's like me wearing Oklahoma stuff."
Speaking of Oklahoma, the Sooners yesterday continued their domination of the University of Texas -- Williams' alma mater -- by whitewashing the Longhorns 12-0.
Watching his beloved 'Horns go down to such a bitter defeat undoubtedly will leave Williams in a sour mood when he steps on to the Georgia Dome turf this afternoon.
In the past, an Atlanta-Detroit matchup in Week 5 would have been viewed as the perfect setting for NFL Films to capture reel after reel of bumbling football bloopers.
For decades, these two franchises were among the most hapless in the league. Credit Lions coach Steve Mariucci and Falcons rookie head man Jim Mora Jr. for bringing respectability to their two clubs
The Lions, 2-1, snapped their NFL-record 24-game road losing streak with a 20-16 victory over the Bears in Week 1. The Falcons, meanwhile, are 4-0 for just the second time in team history.
Along with his father, Jim, Mora considers Mariucci the man who has had the most influence on his career. Mora was the defensive co-ordinator under Mariucci with the San Francisco 49ers from 1997-2002.
While the winless 49ers look awful under Dennis Erickson, the Lions-Falcons tilt is just one of two games featuring teams with winning records this week. The other pits the 3-1 New York Giants against the 2-1 Dallas Cowboys.
Most eyes at the Georgia Dome this afternoon will be glued on Falcons quarterback Michael Vick, and rightly so.
Whenever he touches the football, a highlight film could be in the making.
Then again, the same could be said of Roy Williams.
