Bill Parcells - The Turning Point and a 2-Year Defensive Makeover?
By – Bobbie Brewskie
Let me start with saying, “Bill Parcells has turned this team completely around.” In 2003 Jerry Jones grew sick of going 5-11 for 3 years straight and missing the playoffs every year since 1998 and finally brought in Bill Parcells. Parcells brought with him a completely new and different philosophy, which lead to a strong 10-6 season.
The Parcells Philosophy:
Some might say that some of the Free Agent’s that Parcells has brought into the Dallas Cowboys Organization are washed up or are not the best Free Agent that we could have acquired. Parcells philosophy, quite simply put is to surround young and talented players with older; more experienced players that know his system and coaching style. Not only does Parcells surround the younger players with experienced veterans, but he also places the veterans in leading roles (I.E. Quarterback) and allows the young players to learn and progress over the veterans shoulder.
Draft History and Free Agency:
Bill Parcells draft history in Dallas has produced 4 starters in 2003, 1 in 2004 (Peterman and Crayton as well), and a bunch of rotator players in 2005 (Ware, Spears, Canty, Ratliff, MBIII, Kevin Burnett, Rob Petitti). And now in 2006 we have a projected starter at OLB, 2ndTE, RS, FS and a rotator player in Hatcher. With drafts like this, Parcells (with Irelands support) has given us a powerful future to look forward to. Lets not forget the free agents that eased these strong draft classes into their playing molds. Keyshawn Johnson provided for Crayton to be able to sit and learn over his shoulder, Vinny Testaverda and Drew Bledsoe are keeping Drew Henson and Tony Romo (2 inexperienced QBs) off of the field, until they can step in as starters. And finally for our newest additions: Jason Fabini keeps an inexperienced Rob Petitti off of the field Ryan Hannam/Anthony Fasano have gotten rid of Lousaka Polite and Mike Vanderjagt has helped solve the K problems that we’ve had. So, by sticking to his philosophy Bill Parcells has prepared our Rookie’s for stronger future careers and surrounded them with experienced veterans.
Free Agents That Play[ed]:
2003
Mario Edwards (released after 2004)
2004
Keyshawn Johnson (acquired in trade and released after 05)
Ebenezer Ekuban (release after 2004)
Vinny Testaverda (released after 2004)
Marcellus Wiley (released after 2004)
2005
Drew Bledsoe
Marco Riviera
Jason Ferguson
Lynn Scott
Willie Pile
Aaron Glenn
Anthony Henry
Marc Colombo
2006
Kyle Kosier
Terrell Owens
Jason Fabini
Ryan Hannam
Akin Ayodele
Mike Vanderajagt
Drafts:
2003 Draft
1 Terence Newman CB Kansas State
2 Al Johnson C Wisconsin
3 Jason Witten TE Tennessee
4 Bradie James LB LSU
6 B.J. Tucker CB Wisconsin
6 Zuriel Smith WR Hampton
7 Justin Bates G Colorado
2004 Draft
2 Julius Jones RB Notre Dame
2 Jacob Rogers OT USC
3 Stephen Peterman OG LSU
4 Bruce Thornton CB Georgia
5 Sean Ryan TE Boston Col.
7 Nathan Jones CB Rutgers
7 Patrick Crayton WR NW Ok. St.
7 Jacques Reeves CB Purdue
2005 Draft
1 Demarcus Ware OLB Troy
1 Marcus Spears DE LSU
2 Kevin Burnett OLB Tennessee
4 Marion Barber HB Minnesota
4 Chris Canty DE Virginia
6 Justin Berieault S Ball. St
6 Rob Petitti OT Pittsburgh
7 Jay Ratliff DE Auburn
2006 Draft
1 Bobby Carpenter OLB Ohio St
2. Anthony Fasano TE Notre Dame
3. Jason Hatcher DE Grambling St.
4. Skyler Green WR/RS LSU
5. Pat Watkins FS Florida St.
6. Montavious Stanley NT Louisville
7. Pat Mcquistan OT Weber St.
7. EJ Whitley OL Texas Tech.
Risky Business?
We all know who Lawrence Taylor is and we all know how many problems he had, off the field. Lawrence Taylor is the type of player you want on your team and the type of person you want as far away from you as possible. For Bill Parcells LT was a gift from god, he is arguably the best Linebacker in the history of football. Bill Parcells is the only coach that has spent the time to work with LT and players with similar issues and it has paid off. He took another risk when signing Keyshawn Johnson to the Dallas Cowboys after he was suspended from the Buccaneers, and it paid off, as Keyshawn Johnson became a strong leader in the Cowboys organization and had 2 solid years of near 1000 yards. His time ended here as the Cowboys chose to part ways with Keyshawn and bring in a player with even more issues to replace him, Terrell Owens. So we call it
”Risky Business” but to Parcells it is just another playmaker, just like Bledsoe, Terry Glenn or Jason Witten. Excuse me for going off topic.
Defense Wins Championships:
His whole career, Bill Parcells, has been preaching that Defense wins championships. With every team, from the Jets to the Patriots to the Giants to the Cowboys, Bill Parcells has established a solid defensive foundation and built on it. The Cowboys roster has kept maybe 3 players from its 3 year 5-11 reign. Parcells came in with his plan set and hasn’t budged from it since, the transition to the 3-4 was a hard one to make as we all experienced 5 LB’s hitting injured reserve, young DE’s stepping in early in the season, injured DB’s and minimal amounts of talent. In the 2003 and 2004 draft the Cowboys didn’t do much for the defense as they drafted Terrence Newman and Bradie James to become starters while the rest of the guys drafted were Cornerbacks who may not be on the roster by this years TC. Finally in 2005 the Cowboys took a defensive leap and drafted 6 defensive players, who are all going to have a career here in Dallas, 4 of them started last year, 1 was injured and the other could not find his way into the starting lineup. And now in 2006 they have filled all their needs with a FS (Pat Watkins), a SOLB (Bobby Carpenter), a NT (Montavious Stanley) and another Rotator End (Jason Hatcher). They also addressed the offense with this draft with a strong TE (Fasano) and a RS (Green) and 2 late round O-lineman. So our defense went from lacking talent and being cluttered with injury to “complete” who knows if Kevin Burnett, Pat Watkins, Bobby Carpenter, Montavious Stanley, Jason Hatcher and what not are going to be the answer to all our needs? We do not know, but if you go by their potential, our defense should be set for years to come, as every position has solid players and depth with a lot of young talent. So Bill Parcells took the defense from 2002 and kept Roy Williams and Greg Ellis to turn it into a squad of over 20 players in just 4 drafts, which included 2 defensively focused drafts. Now, not only do we have depth at every defensive position, but we also have solid starters.
Let me start with saying, “Bill Parcells has turned this team completely around.” In 2003 Jerry Jones grew sick of going 5-11 for 3 years straight and missing the playoffs every year since 1998 and finally brought in Bill Parcells. Parcells brought with him a completely new and different philosophy, which lead to a strong 10-6 season.
The Parcells Philosophy:
Some might say that some of the Free Agent’s that Parcells has brought into the Dallas Cowboys Organization are washed up or are not the best Free Agent that we could have acquired. Parcells philosophy, quite simply put is to surround young and talented players with older; more experienced players that know his system and coaching style. Not only does Parcells surround the younger players with experienced veterans, but he also places the veterans in leading roles (I.E. Quarterback) and allows the young players to learn and progress over the veterans shoulder.
Draft History and Free Agency:
Bill Parcells draft history in Dallas has produced 4 starters in 2003, 1 in 2004 (Peterman and Crayton as well), and a bunch of rotator players in 2005 (Ware, Spears, Canty, Ratliff, MBIII, Kevin Burnett, Rob Petitti). And now in 2006 we have a projected starter at OLB, 2ndTE, RS, FS and a rotator player in Hatcher. With drafts like this, Parcells (with Irelands support) has given us a powerful future to look forward to. Lets not forget the free agents that eased these strong draft classes into their playing molds. Keyshawn Johnson provided for Crayton to be able to sit and learn over his shoulder, Vinny Testaverda and Drew Bledsoe are keeping Drew Henson and Tony Romo (2 inexperienced QBs) off of the field, until they can step in as starters. And finally for our newest additions: Jason Fabini keeps an inexperienced Rob Petitti off of the field Ryan Hannam/Anthony Fasano have gotten rid of Lousaka Polite and Mike Vanderjagt has helped solve the K problems that we’ve had. So, by sticking to his philosophy Bill Parcells has prepared our Rookie’s for stronger future careers and surrounded them with experienced veterans.
Free Agents That Play[ed]:
2003
Mario Edwards (released after 2004)
2004
Keyshawn Johnson (acquired in trade and released after 05)
Ebenezer Ekuban (release after 2004)
Vinny Testaverda (released after 2004)
Marcellus Wiley (released after 2004)
2005
Drew Bledsoe
Marco Riviera
Jason Ferguson
Lynn Scott
Willie Pile
Aaron Glenn
Anthony Henry
Marc Colombo
2006
Kyle Kosier
Terrell Owens
Jason Fabini
Ryan Hannam
Akin Ayodele
Mike Vanderajagt
Drafts:
2003 Draft
1 Terence Newman CB Kansas State
2 Al Johnson C Wisconsin
3 Jason Witten TE Tennessee
4 Bradie James LB LSU
6 B.J. Tucker CB Wisconsin
6 Zuriel Smith WR Hampton
7 Justin Bates G Colorado
2004 Draft
2 Julius Jones RB Notre Dame
2 Jacob Rogers OT USC
3 Stephen Peterman OG LSU
4 Bruce Thornton CB Georgia
5 Sean Ryan TE Boston Col.
7 Nathan Jones CB Rutgers
7 Patrick Crayton WR NW Ok. St.
7 Jacques Reeves CB Purdue
2005 Draft
1 Demarcus Ware OLB Troy
1 Marcus Spears DE LSU
2 Kevin Burnett OLB Tennessee
4 Marion Barber HB Minnesota
4 Chris Canty DE Virginia
6 Justin Berieault S Ball. St
6 Rob Petitti OT Pittsburgh
7 Jay Ratliff DE Auburn
2006 Draft
1 Bobby Carpenter OLB Ohio St
2. Anthony Fasano TE Notre Dame
3. Jason Hatcher DE Grambling St.
4. Skyler Green WR/RS LSU
5. Pat Watkins FS Florida St.
6. Montavious Stanley NT Louisville
7. Pat Mcquistan OT Weber St.
7. EJ Whitley OL Texas Tech.
Risky Business?
We all know who Lawrence Taylor is and we all know how many problems he had, off the field. Lawrence Taylor is the type of player you want on your team and the type of person you want as far away from you as possible. For Bill Parcells LT was a gift from god, he is arguably the best Linebacker in the history of football. Bill Parcells is the only coach that has spent the time to work with LT and players with similar issues and it has paid off. He took another risk when signing Keyshawn Johnson to the Dallas Cowboys after he was suspended from the Buccaneers, and it paid off, as Keyshawn Johnson became a strong leader in the Cowboys organization and had 2 solid years of near 1000 yards. His time ended here as the Cowboys chose to part ways with Keyshawn and bring in a player with even more issues to replace him, Terrell Owens. So we call it
”Risky Business” but to Parcells it is just another playmaker, just like Bledsoe, Terry Glenn or Jason Witten. Excuse me for going off topic.
Defense Wins Championships:
His whole career, Bill Parcells, has been preaching that Defense wins championships. With every team, from the Jets to the Patriots to the Giants to the Cowboys, Bill Parcells has established a solid defensive foundation and built on it. The Cowboys roster has kept maybe 3 players from its 3 year 5-11 reign. Parcells came in with his plan set and hasn’t budged from it since, the transition to the 3-4 was a hard one to make as we all experienced 5 LB’s hitting injured reserve, young DE’s stepping in early in the season, injured DB’s and minimal amounts of talent. In the 2003 and 2004 draft the Cowboys didn’t do much for the defense as they drafted Terrence Newman and Bradie James to become starters while the rest of the guys drafted were Cornerbacks who may not be on the roster by this years TC. Finally in 2005 the Cowboys took a defensive leap and drafted 6 defensive players, who are all going to have a career here in Dallas, 4 of them started last year, 1 was injured and the other could not find his way into the starting lineup. And now in 2006 they have filled all their needs with a FS (Pat Watkins), a SOLB (Bobby Carpenter), a NT (Montavious Stanley) and another Rotator End (Jason Hatcher). They also addressed the offense with this draft with a strong TE (Fasano) and a RS (Green) and 2 late round O-lineman. So our defense went from lacking talent and being cluttered with injury to “complete” who knows if Kevin Burnett, Pat Watkins, Bobby Carpenter, Montavious Stanley, Jason Hatcher and what not are going to be the answer to all our needs? We do not know, but if you go by their potential, our defense should be set for years to come, as every position has solid players and depth with a lot of young talent. So Bill Parcells took the defense from 2002 and kept Roy Williams and Greg Ellis to turn it into a squad of over 20 players in just 4 drafts, which included 2 defensively focused drafts. Now, not only do we have depth at every defensive position, but we also have solid starters.
posted by The Gryphon at 8:19 PM
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