BeWare of DeMarcus
By Stephen Hawkins
Associated Press
Sunday, December 7, 2008
IRVING -- DeMarcus Ware surely expected a running play on third-and-short. Frank Gore instead burst out of the backfield and into a deep pass pattern.
Ware, the Cowboys linebacker better known for sacking quarterbacks before they can even throw the ball, stuck with San Francisco's dual-threat running back step for step -- and broke up the pass more than 20 yards downfield.
While Ware is the NFL sacks leader, he has a unique blend of strength, agility and quickness that allows him to make plays and be a dominating force all over the field.
"He's dismantling people," teammate Marcus Spears said. "D-Ware plays the run like a down lineman, he also can get to the quarterback with a power rush or can run past them. So those facets of his game are what makes him exceptional."
Ware's three sacks in the Cowboys' last game Thanksgiving Day pushed his season total to 15. Those came in less than three quarters before Ware sustained a hyperextended left knee, an injury that kept him out some practices this week but isn't expected to keep him from playing today.
When his left leg twisted awkwardly while again rushing Seattle quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, Ware fell to the ground. An uneasy feeling settled over suddenly quiet Texas Stadium when it became apparent he was hurt.
The Cowboys (8-4), a preseason Super Bowl favorite now fighting just to earn a wild-card spot, already had struggled through three games without injured Tony Romo. The quarterback's return sparked a three-game winning streak, and now their defensive leader was down.
But Ware got up after a few minutes and walked to the sideline and locker room without any assistance, and even returned to the field for the postgame celebration. Ware expects to play today at Pittsburgh wearing a protective brace on his knee.
"Guys might try to go at it or cut me," Ware said. "That's part of the game."
Defenses have had little success stopping Ware, no matter what they do.
"Our guys are short, squatty try-hard guys," Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said this week when asked to compare his standout linebacker James Harrison to Ware. "DeMarcus is a freak of nature."
Said Spears, "Having him out there, offenses have to account and change things up. He affects the game before it starts."
Along with his career-best 15 sacks, Ware already has 76 tackles (five for losses), 16 quarterback pressures, three pass breakups and three forced fumbles.
"He's an instinctive player and he's a smart player," said Zach Thomas, a seven-time Pro Bowl linebacker who joined the Cowboys this season. "He's so talented. He really has impressed me with his consistency. You really don't see him have an off game."
In the only game this season Ware didn't have a sack, ending his NFL record-matching streak of 10 consecutive games with one, he was in the face of Tampa Bay's Jeff Garcia to force a victory-clinching incompletion on fourth down from the Cowboys' 18 with 13 seconds left.
Ware since has a modest four-game streak, and the NFL single-season record of 22 sacks set by Michael Strahan in 2001 isn't out of reach. Even though Ware knows it "is possible" he would rather not discuss that right now.
"You've got to keep it out of your mind. It's all really just being consistent," Ware said. "That's what I told myself at the beginning of the season. I've been doing really well with that philosophy, so just going to keep on rolling."
Ware's sacks streak that was the longest in the NFL in 15 years isn't even recognized as a Cowboys record. Harvey Martin had sacks in 11 consecutive games from 1976-77 before the NFL recognized sacks as an official stat, and has the single-season team record with 23 in 1977.
Still, the last Cowboy to have more sacks in a season than Ware was Hall of Fame defensive tackle Randy White with 16 in 1978. And Ware, in his fourth season, already has four of the top six single-season totals for linebackers in team history, and is only the fourth player in team history with three consecutive 10-sack seasons.
Teammates insist, however, that Ware is even better against the run than he is rushing quarterbacks and creating havoc in the passing game.
"That's telling you something," Thomas said.
"I love when guys try to run," said Ware, whose beastly on-field persona is far from the soft-spoken, often-smiling person he really is. "I can really show my aggression toward them when they try to crack-block down on me. ... You really can just overpower guys."
Ware hadn't even played a game for the Cowboys as a rookie in 2005 before former coach Bill Parcells was comparing the first-round pick to another player he coached, Hall of Fame linebacker Lawrence Taylor.
Parcells drafted Ware 11th overall, taking the defensive end from Troy instead of Shawne Merriman, who was selected by San Diego with the very next pick. Ware had to learn the nuances of the 3-4 defense and adapt to the hybrid position that is part defensive end and part linebacker.
"It's all about wanting to do it and just working hard," Ware said. "That's what I do at the end of the day. I knew I was going to be able to convert over to linebacker, but how successful can you be? It goes as sort of a goal or a steppingstone that I had to overcome. Now, I'm very comfortable with what I do."
And eventually Parcells may be comparing players to Ware instead of Taylor.
Associated Press
Sunday, December 7, 2008
IRVING -- DeMarcus Ware surely expected a running play on third-and-short. Frank Gore instead burst out of the backfield and into a deep pass pattern.
Ware, the Cowboys linebacker better known for sacking quarterbacks before they can even throw the ball, stuck with San Francisco's dual-threat running back step for step -- and broke up the pass more than 20 yards downfield.
While Ware is the NFL sacks leader, he has a unique blend of strength, agility and quickness that allows him to make plays and be a dominating force all over the field.
"He's dismantling people," teammate Marcus Spears said. "D-Ware plays the run like a down lineman, he also can get to the quarterback with a power rush or can run past them. So those facets of his game are what makes him exceptional."
Ware's three sacks in the Cowboys' last game Thanksgiving Day pushed his season total to 15. Those came in less than three quarters before Ware sustained a hyperextended left knee, an injury that kept him out some practices this week but isn't expected to keep him from playing today.
When his left leg twisted awkwardly while again rushing Seattle quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, Ware fell to the ground. An uneasy feeling settled over suddenly quiet Texas Stadium when it became apparent he was hurt.
The Cowboys (8-4), a preseason Super Bowl favorite now fighting just to earn a wild-card spot, already had struggled through three games without injured Tony Romo. The quarterback's return sparked a three-game winning streak, and now their defensive leader was down.
But Ware got up after a few minutes and walked to the sideline and locker room without any assistance, and even returned to the field for the postgame celebration. Ware expects to play today at Pittsburgh wearing a protective brace on his knee.
"Guys might try to go at it or cut me," Ware said. "That's part of the game."
Defenses have had little success stopping Ware, no matter what they do.
"Our guys are short, squatty try-hard guys," Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said this week when asked to compare his standout linebacker James Harrison to Ware. "DeMarcus is a freak of nature."
Said Spears, "Having him out there, offenses have to account and change things up. He affects the game before it starts."
Along with his career-best 15 sacks, Ware already has 76 tackles (five for losses), 16 quarterback pressures, three pass breakups and three forced fumbles.
"He's an instinctive player and he's a smart player," said Zach Thomas, a seven-time Pro Bowl linebacker who joined the Cowboys this season. "He's so talented. He really has impressed me with his consistency. You really don't see him have an off game."
In the only game this season Ware didn't have a sack, ending his NFL record-matching streak of 10 consecutive games with one, he was in the face of Tampa Bay's Jeff Garcia to force a victory-clinching incompletion on fourth down from the Cowboys' 18 with 13 seconds left.
Ware since has a modest four-game streak, and the NFL single-season record of 22 sacks set by Michael Strahan in 2001 isn't out of reach. Even though Ware knows it "is possible" he would rather not discuss that right now.
"You've got to keep it out of your mind. It's all really just being consistent," Ware said. "That's what I told myself at the beginning of the season. I've been doing really well with that philosophy, so just going to keep on rolling."
Ware's sacks streak that was the longest in the NFL in 15 years isn't even recognized as a Cowboys record. Harvey Martin had sacks in 11 consecutive games from 1976-77 before the NFL recognized sacks as an official stat, and has the single-season team record with 23 in 1977.
Still, the last Cowboy to have more sacks in a season than Ware was Hall of Fame defensive tackle Randy White with 16 in 1978. And Ware, in his fourth season, already has four of the top six single-season totals for linebackers in team history, and is only the fourth player in team history with three consecutive 10-sack seasons.
Teammates insist, however, that Ware is even better against the run than he is rushing quarterbacks and creating havoc in the passing game.
"That's telling you something," Thomas said.
"I love when guys try to run," said Ware, whose beastly on-field persona is far from the soft-spoken, often-smiling person he really is. "I can really show my aggression toward them when they try to crack-block down on me. ... You really can just overpower guys."
Ware hadn't even played a game for the Cowboys as a rookie in 2005 before former coach Bill Parcells was comparing the first-round pick to another player he coached, Hall of Fame linebacker Lawrence Taylor.
Parcells drafted Ware 11th overall, taking the defensive end from Troy instead of Shawne Merriman, who was selected by San Diego with the very next pick. Ware had to learn the nuances of the 3-4 defense and adapt to the hybrid position that is part defensive end and part linebacker.
"It's all about wanting to do it and just working hard," Ware said. "That's what I do at the end of the day. I knew I was going to be able to convert over to linebacker, but how successful can you be? It goes as sort of a goal or a steppingstone that I had to overcome. Now, I'm very comfortable with what I do."
And eventually Parcells may be comparing players to Ware instead of Taylor.
posted by The Gryphon at 9:54 AM
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