Meet the Cowboys' Big D
Meet the Cowboys' Big D
By Charles Bricker
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
If there is a signature DeMarcus Ware sack, it was revealed in the final game of his rookie season. In eight frenetic seconds, he displayed both the power and speed that has made him one of the NFL's most troublesome pass rushers.
Blitzing off the left side of the Dallas Cowboys defense, he bull-rushed 6-foot-7, 315-pound tackle Alex Barron so hard they both tumbled to the turf.
Ware then sprang to his feet, chased St. Louis quarterback Jamie Martin to the right sideline and yanked him down for a 5-yard loss.
That was December 2005. On Sunday, 33 games, 191 2 sacks, eight forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and a touchdown into a career that one might cautiously predict has Hall of Fame potential, Ware brings the full weight of his game to Dolphin Stadium.
The one touchdown? Week 15 of the 2006 season against Atlanta, when this time he blitzed up the middle, leaped as quarterback Michael Vick released a pass, blocked it, snatched it out of the air and outran Vick 41 yards to the Dallas end zone. It's still very early in the season, but, along with the Dolphins' Jason Taylor, Adalius Thomas of New England, Champ Bailey of Denver and San Diego's Shawne Merriman, Ware is among those who could be defensive player of the year.
None of Ware's prodigious talents can possibly have been lost this week on the game preparations of Dolphins coach Cam Cameron, who understands that, while Ware doesn't play the same linebacking position as Merriman, they produce remarkably similar results for their teams.
Cameron is intimately familiar with Merriman's talents after spending two years with him at the San Diego Chargers and was in the Chargers draft room in 2005 when these two men went consecutively in the first round - Ware at No. 11 to the Cowboys and Merriman at No. 12 to San Diego.
What makes Ware even more dangerous than he was in his first two pro seasons is the other link in this game, Dallas coach Wade Phillips, who maximized Merriman's pass-rushing skills while serving as defensive coordinator at San Diego.
Of course, he'll now do the same for Ware at the Cowboys.
Phillips' predecessor at Dallas, Bill Parcells, was not a gadget guy.
He liked to line up his defense with a minimum of movement and challenge opponents to execute their plays, and that left Ware more or less in the same place most of the time.
Phillips will have him playing weak-side linebacker, which could be right or left, but he'll also move him around, lessening Ware's pass-coverage responsibilities and increasing his blitzing.
This 251-pound linebacker is a generally quiet man, but you could feel his excitement this year when he told a reporter from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram: 'I would get mad last year because some team would put me in the slot, and they knew I wouldn't rush. Anytime they let you rush, it's exciting, and I get to rush more than ever. There is nothing I can say about rushing enough or blitzing enough.'
Ware didn't have a sack in Dallas' opening game against the New York Giants, but was credited with twice pressuring quarterback Eli Manning into early throws.
The Dolphins will deal with him in a variety of ways. Tackles L.J. Shelton and Vernon Carey will have primary responsibility if he blitzes off the edges.
They also have tight ends David Martin and Justin Peelle who can go in motion to the weak side and double him or chip him if he rushes.
This is a Dallas team that recorded only 34 sacks last season, 11.5 by Ware.
With Phillips' well-known aggressive philosophy, the pass rush pressure is going to increase and the Dolphins understand that that begins with accounting for DeMarcus Ware.
Charles Bricker can be reached at cbricker@sun-sentinel.com .
By Charles Bricker
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
If there is a signature DeMarcus Ware sack, it was revealed in the final game of his rookie season. In eight frenetic seconds, he displayed both the power and speed that has made him one of the NFL's most troublesome pass rushers.
Blitzing off the left side of the Dallas Cowboys defense, he bull-rushed 6-foot-7, 315-pound tackle Alex Barron so hard they both tumbled to the turf.
Ware then sprang to his feet, chased St. Louis quarterback Jamie Martin to the right sideline and yanked him down for a 5-yard loss.
That was December 2005. On Sunday, 33 games, 191 2 sacks, eight forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and a touchdown into a career that one might cautiously predict has Hall of Fame potential, Ware brings the full weight of his game to Dolphin Stadium.
The one touchdown? Week 15 of the 2006 season against Atlanta, when this time he blitzed up the middle, leaped as quarterback Michael Vick released a pass, blocked it, snatched it out of the air and outran Vick 41 yards to the Dallas end zone. It's still very early in the season, but, along with the Dolphins' Jason Taylor, Adalius Thomas of New England, Champ Bailey of Denver and San Diego's Shawne Merriman, Ware is among those who could be defensive player of the year.
None of Ware's prodigious talents can possibly have been lost this week on the game preparations of Dolphins coach Cam Cameron, who understands that, while Ware doesn't play the same linebacking position as Merriman, they produce remarkably similar results for their teams.
Cameron is intimately familiar with Merriman's talents after spending two years with him at the San Diego Chargers and was in the Chargers draft room in 2005 when these two men went consecutively in the first round - Ware at No. 11 to the Cowboys and Merriman at No. 12 to San Diego.
What makes Ware even more dangerous than he was in his first two pro seasons is the other link in this game, Dallas coach Wade Phillips, who maximized Merriman's pass-rushing skills while serving as defensive coordinator at San Diego.
Of course, he'll now do the same for Ware at the Cowboys.
Phillips' predecessor at Dallas, Bill Parcells, was not a gadget guy.
He liked to line up his defense with a minimum of movement and challenge opponents to execute their plays, and that left Ware more or less in the same place most of the time.
Phillips will have him playing weak-side linebacker, which could be right or left, but he'll also move him around, lessening Ware's pass-coverage responsibilities and increasing his blitzing.
This 251-pound linebacker is a generally quiet man, but you could feel his excitement this year when he told a reporter from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram: 'I would get mad last year because some team would put me in the slot, and they knew I wouldn't rush. Anytime they let you rush, it's exciting, and I get to rush more than ever. There is nothing I can say about rushing enough or blitzing enough.'
Ware didn't have a sack in Dallas' opening game against the New York Giants, but was credited with twice pressuring quarterback Eli Manning into early throws.
The Dolphins will deal with him in a variety of ways. Tackles L.J. Shelton and Vernon Carey will have primary responsibility if he blitzes off the edges.
They also have tight ends David Martin and Justin Peelle who can go in motion to the weak side and double him or chip him if he rushes.
This is a Dallas team that recorded only 34 sacks last season, 11.5 by Ware.
With Phillips' well-known aggressive philosophy, the pass rush pressure is going to increase and the Dolphins understand that that begins with accounting for DeMarcus Ware.
Charles Bricker can be reached at cbricker@sun-sentinel.com .
posted by The Gryphon at 10:20 AM
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