Quarterbacks B-Ware
By STEPHEN HAWKINS, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
IRVING, Texas -- Even as DeMarcus Ware's NFL record-tying streak of 10 consecutive games with a sack was ending, the Cowboys linebacker was in the face of the quarterback, forcing a victory-clinching incompletion on fourth down.
"He plays 60 or 70 plays, 16 plays in a row rushes the passer ... last play of the game, he hits the quarterback," coach Wade Phillips said.
"He's pretty amazing."
Before Ware played a game for Dallas as a rookie in 2005, former coach Bill Parcells was already comparing the first-round pick to another player he coached, Hall of Fame linebacker Lawrence Taylor.
With his unique blend of strength, agility and quickness, Ware is now making quite a name for himself.
"He's brought back that combination of a rush linebacker and a drop linebacker in the 3-4 system. I think he's the epitome of what teams that play the 3-4 look for," said Derrick Brooks, Tampa Bay's 10-time Pro Bowler. "He's one of the bright young players in our league right now."
Ware's streak of 10 consecutive games with a sack ended Sunday, the longest since Simon Fletcher of Denver set that mark 15 years ago. But the Cowboys got a much-needed 13-9 victory over Tampa Bay after former CFL star Jeff Garcia, with Ware pressing him in the closing seconds, couldn't complete a pass from the Dallas 18.
Winning the game was all that mattered to Ware, whose beastly on-field persona is far from what he is really like.
"The quarterback was hit a lot, just throw the ball to the ground and the sack is gone," Ware said. "So that's just a stat. When you're just getting pressure on the quarterback, getting turnovers and getting the offence back the ball, that's what you want."
Away from the game, Ware is constantly smiling, though soft-spoken and preferring to stay out of the spotlight - a lullaby-singing father to his adopted infant daughter.
"On the field I'm so intense, just so focused," Ware said.
Ware leads the NFC with nine sacks, 1 1/2 behind Miami's Joey Porter for the NFL lead.
IRVING, Texas -- Even as DeMarcus Ware's NFL record-tying streak of 10 consecutive games with a sack was ending, the Cowboys linebacker was in the face of the quarterback, forcing a victory-clinching incompletion on fourth down.
"He plays 60 or 70 plays, 16 plays in a row rushes the passer ... last play of the game, he hits the quarterback," coach Wade Phillips said.
"He's pretty amazing."
Before Ware played a game for Dallas as a rookie in 2005, former coach Bill Parcells was already comparing the first-round pick to another player he coached, Hall of Fame linebacker Lawrence Taylor.
With his unique blend of strength, agility and quickness, Ware is now making quite a name for himself.
"He's brought back that combination of a rush linebacker and a drop linebacker in the 3-4 system. I think he's the epitome of what teams that play the 3-4 look for," said Derrick Brooks, Tampa Bay's 10-time Pro Bowler. "He's one of the bright young players in our league right now."
Ware's streak of 10 consecutive games with a sack ended Sunday, the longest since Simon Fletcher of Denver set that mark 15 years ago. But the Cowboys got a much-needed 13-9 victory over Tampa Bay after former CFL star Jeff Garcia, with Ware pressing him in the closing seconds, couldn't complete a pass from the Dallas 18.
Winning the game was all that mattered to Ware, whose beastly on-field persona is far from what he is really like.
"The quarterback was hit a lot, just throw the ball to the ground and the sack is gone," Ware said. "So that's just a stat. When you're just getting pressure on the quarterback, getting turnovers and getting the offence back the ball, that's what you want."
Away from the game, Ware is constantly smiling, though soft-spoken and preferring to stay out of the spotlight - a lullaby-singing father to his adopted infant daughter.
"On the field I'm so intense, just so focused," Ware said.
Ware leads the NFC with nine sacks, 1 1/2 behind Miami's Joey Porter for the NFL lead.
posted by The Gryphon at 10:02 AM
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