Star Mag: Canty Looks to Resume Top Plan
Strong Finish in 2006
by Ken Sins
There were times last season when Chris Canty was the invisible man of the Cowboys' defense, quite a feat for a young man who checks in at 6-7 and almost 300 pounds.
Canty didn't get as much accomplished in 2006 as he would have liked, finishing with one measly sack despite starting all 16 games in his third NFL season.
He did enjoy some late-season highlights: six tackles on Christmas Day against the Eagles, four tackles and three pressures in the regular-season finale against the Lions, and a career-best seven tackles in the Wild Card playoff game agains the Seahawks.
Defensive linemen weren't expected to compile blockbuster stats in Bill Parcells' version of the 3-4 defense. Their job was to tie up blockers and set the table for linebackers to get the tackles and sacks.
Nevertheless, Canty expected more out of himself than one sack and zero
tackles for losses, although he did contribute 44 tackles and tied for the team lead with seven quarterback pressures.
He was often discouraged, especially when Parcells publicly threatened to replace Canty in the starting lineup. That never happened, but Canty was embarrassed at the mere thought of losing his job.
"For whatever reason it didn't come together for us last year," Canty says. "But you have to be consistent. You can't just say I'm not going to work hard because it didn't come together for us last year. You've got to come back, get in the classroom and in the weight room and on the field and hope it comes together."
To that end, Canty used his offseason weight-room sessions to alter his weight distribution. He still weighs a shade under 300, but he's lighter in the arms and chest with the aim of being faster with more explosion on the snap of the ball.
Just about every member of the Cowboys' defense says he's thrilled with the 3-4 style that coach Wade Phillips and incoming coordinator Brian Stewart have implemented. There will be less reading and reacting and more attacking.
"We're going through the adjustment period," Canty says. "There's a lot to get used to. But it's exciting. This is something new for me. I haven't done anything like this since high school. I know the defensive linemen are excited about it. We get the chance to dictate to the offense rather than dictate to us. Hopefully we can be more disruptive and get into the backfield."
Entering last December, the Cowboys' defense was better than average. But down the stretch, the unit cratered, yielding an average of 33 points in the last four regular-season games.
"Last year was very frustrating because for a while there we were rolling," Canty says. "We had a good defensive performance week in and week out. We had an opportunity to do some things against some some very good ball clubs. But things kind of fell apart and people wrote us off. We tried to right the ship but it didn't come together for us for whatever reason.
"I'm not going to blame it on the scheme. You're a professional. You're supposed to do what you're supposed to do. It was basically our performance. We didn't do it." Canty entered last season with a wealth of promise.
Considered one of the steals of the 2005 draft after the Cowboys took him in the fourth round, Canty led all Cowboys' defensive linemen as a rookie with 43 tackles while he split time with veteran Greg Ellis.
Canty's draft status had taken a dive because of a season-ending knee injury during his senior year at the University of Virginia. His stock fell even further when he suffered a detached retina in his left eye during the spring prior to the draft. Once considered a good bet as a first-round pick, Canty was an innocent bystander when he was struck in the face by a flying bottle during a scuffle outside a nightclub, injuring his eye.
Following a tough rehab, Canty beat all projections and was on the field for 2005 training camp. After his promising rookie campaign, Canty moved into the starting lineup last season with Ellis switching to outside linebacker.
Canty tasted some success last season, but he had loftier goals.
He wasn't the only frustrated member of the Cowboys' defensive line last season. Canty's fellow starters, nose tackle Jason Ferguson and end Marcus Spears, also are eager for a change in scheme, and reserves Jason Hatcher and Jay Ratliff welcome the opportunity to be aggressive instead of last year's conservative philosophy. Ratliff and Hatcher would be candidates to move into the starting lineup if starting ends Canty and/or Spears falter.
Stewart is so excited about the combination of personnel and new scheme that he boldly predicted that the Cowboys could have the league's best defense.
"That kind of talk is definitely positive," Canty says. "He knows what he's talking about. But I can't think about that right now. That's too far down the road."
For now, players and coaches are concentrating on learning the nuances of this attack-minded defense.
"It's an adjustment period," Canty says. "This is a new scheme. This can allow us to be more disruptive in the backfield. Instead of letting the offensive line dictate to us what they're going to do, we can dictate what we're going to do. That's definitely a positive. You want to force someone else to react. You don't want to be the one reacting all the time. But of course there's always a doubt of the unknown."
Canty is quick to say that it's put-up-or-shut-up time for the Cowboys' defensive personnel. "The excuses are gone now," he says. "We've got to perform, we've got to produce on the field, simple as that, or we don't deserve to be here."
Dallas Cowboys Star Magazine, August 18, 2007
by Ken Sins
There were times last season when Chris Canty was the invisible man of the Cowboys' defense, quite a feat for a young man who checks in at 6-7 and almost 300 pounds.
Canty didn't get as much accomplished in 2006 as he would have liked, finishing with one measly sack despite starting all 16 games in his third NFL season.
He did enjoy some late-season highlights: six tackles on Christmas Day against the Eagles, four tackles and three pressures in the regular-season finale against the Lions, and a career-best seven tackles in the Wild Card playoff game agains the Seahawks.
Defensive linemen weren't expected to compile blockbuster stats in Bill Parcells' version of the 3-4 defense. Their job was to tie up blockers and set the table for linebackers to get the tackles and sacks.
Nevertheless, Canty expected more out of himself than one sack and zero
tackles for losses, although he did contribute 44 tackles and tied for the team lead with seven quarterback pressures.
He was often discouraged, especially when Parcells publicly threatened to replace Canty in the starting lineup. That never happened, but Canty was embarrassed at the mere thought of losing his job.
"For whatever reason it didn't come together for us last year," Canty says. "But you have to be consistent. You can't just say I'm not going to work hard because it didn't come together for us last year. You've got to come back, get in the classroom and in the weight room and on the field and hope it comes together."
To that end, Canty used his offseason weight-room sessions to alter his weight distribution. He still weighs a shade under 300, but he's lighter in the arms and chest with the aim of being faster with more explosion on the snap of the ball.
Just about every member of the Cowboys' defense says he's thrilled with the 3-4 style that coach Wade Phillips and incoming coordinator Brian Stewart have implemented. There will be less reading and reacting and more attacking.
"We're going through the adjustment period," Canty says. "There's a lot to get used to. But it's exciting. This is something new for me. I haven't done anything like this since high school. I know the defensive linemen are excited about it. We get the chance to dictate to the offense rather than dictate to us. Hopefully we can be more disruptive and get into the backfield."
Entering last December, the Cowboys' defense was better than average. But down the stretch, the unit cratered, yielding an average of 33 points in the last four regular-season games.
"Last year was very frustrating because for a while there we were rolling," Canty says. "We had a good defensive performance week in and week out. We had an opportunity to do some things against some some very good ball clubs. But things kind of fell apart and people wrote us off. We tried to right the ship but it didn't come together for us for whatever reason.
"I'm not going to blame it on the scheme. You're a professional. You're supposed to do what you're supposed to do. It was basically our performance. We didn't do it." Canty entered last season with a wealth of promise.
Considered one of the steals of the 2005 draft after the Cowboys took him in the fourth round, Canty led all Cowboys' defensive linemen as a rookie with 43 tackles while he split time with veteran Greg Ellis.
Canty's draft status had taken a dive because of a season-ending knee injury during his senior year at the University of Virginia. His stock fell even further when he suffered a detached retina in his left eye during the spring prior to the draft. Once considered a good bet as a first-round pick, Canty was an innocent bystander when he was struck in the face by a flying bottle during a scuffle outside a nightclub, injuring his eye.
Following a tough rehab, Canty beat all projections and was on the field for 2005 training camp. After his promising rookie campaign, Canty moved into the starting lineup last season with Ellis switching to outside linebacker.
Canty tasted some success last season, but he had loftier goals.
He wasn't the only frustrated member of the Cowboys' defensive line last season. Canty's fellow starters, nose tackle Jason Ferguson and end Marcus Spears, also are eager for a change in scheme, and reserves Jason Hatcher and Jay Ratliff welcome the opportunity to be aggressive instead of last year's conservative philosophy. Ratliff and Hatcher would be candidates to move into the starting lineup if starting ends Canty and/or Spears falter.
Stewart is so excited about the combination of personnel and new scheme that he boldly predicted that the Cowboys could have the league's best defense.
"That kind of talk is definitely positive," Canty says. "He knows what he's talking about. But I can't think about that right now. That's too far down the road."
For now, players and coaches are concentrating on learning the nuances of this attack-minded defense.
"It's an adjustment period," Canty says. "This is a new scheme. This can allow us to be more disruptive in the backfield. Instead of letting the offensive line dictate to us what they're going to do, we can dictate what we're going to do. That's definitely a positive. You want to force someone else to react. You don't want to be the one reacting all the time. But of course there's always a doubt of the unknown."
Canty is quick to say that it's put-up-or-shut-up time for the Cowboys' defensive personnel. "The excuses are gone now," he says. "We've got to perform, we've got to produce on the field, simple as that, or we don't deserve to be here."
Dallas Cowboys Star Magazine, August 18, 2007
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