Brooking looks like a good fit in the Cowboys' 3-4
Josh Ellis - Email
DallasCowboys.com Staff Writer
March 2, 2009 6:58 PM
IRVING, Texas - For four years, the Cowboys were looking for "Parcells Guys," players who met a loosely-defined criterion preferred by the team's former head coach. The talk has persisted even in Bill Parcells' absence.
His guys were big, or they were hard workers, or they came from football families. Mostly though, a Parcells Guy was someone the Tuna had been around before, a player he trusted and one who trusted him back.
Now, two years after taking over for Parcells, Wade Phillips is reuniting with one of his own guys, former Falcons linebacker Keith Brooking. The two worked together when Phillips was Atlanta's defensive coordinator and interim head coach in 2002 and 2003.
"That was one of my main reasons in choosing the Cowboys, to reunite with Wade," Brooking said Monday.
The familiarity Brooking has with Phillips wasn't the only reason for the deal, which will pay the 11-year veteran roughly $6 million over three years, $2.5 million of which is guaranteed. Brooking-to-Dallas makes sense on the field for both parties as well. Brooking said Phillips told him Saturday he would be playing the same position for the Cowboys that he had with the Falcons, the weak inside linebacker spot filled by Zach Thomas in 2008.
Like Thomas, Brooking is an experienced player with a long streak of Pro Bowl appearances on his résumé. And like Thomas, Brooking has a history as a good locker room guy, a player whose example teammates can follow.
But unlike Thomas, Brooking has the size that really helps in the middle of a 3-4. And whereas Thomas admitted after the season he was never quite comfortable as the Cowboys' "Mo" linebacker, lining up next to Bradie James, Brooking enjoyed two of his most productive seasons in Phillips' scheme. He had career highs in tackling in 2002 and 2003, making the Pro Bowl both seasons. Those were the second and third of five consecutive trips to Honolulu he earned from 2001-05.
"I'm very comfortable with (Phillips') scheme, the terminology," Brooking said. "That weak-side inside linebacker, I think that's the one position to where you're in a position to run, kind of a run-ahead linebacker. That's my strength, that position creates some opportunities for you to do that."
Thomas performed admirably in his one-year homecoming to Texas, but he was often asked to do things with which he wasn't completely comfortable, taking on guards and fullbacks, and allowing his teammates to make plays. Though it wasn't a perfect fit for Thomas, the veteran's presence helped James enjoy his best season as a pro. Brooking has many of the same qualities.
"Considering the amount of play that I've had for 11 years, I think I add professionalism. I think I add consistency, and the ability to fit in," Brooking said. "I don't want to speak for Zach, but he played one position his first 12 years of his career . . . Me being an 11-year veteran with all the experience I've had, I wouldn't come to a team if I didn't feel 100-percent comfortable in what they wanted me to do and where I was going to be playing."
Brooking is two years younger than Thomas, and has made five Pro Bowls to seven for the former Miami Dolphins great. The two-year age difference isn't enough to give Brooking an edge on Thomas - he says he hasn't missed a down since the 2000 season. His three extra inches in height do help, however. At 6-2, 242, Brooking is just four pounds lighter than James. He's an inch shorter but the same weight as Kevin Burnett, another middle linebacker the Cowboys are ready to lose through free agency. Burnett visited the Oakland Raiders Monday.
Most importantly is the comfort level the Cowboys have with plugging Brooking into Thomas' role from last season. He appears to be the likely starter, an option on first and second down, but like Thomas, he's not a great option in passing situations at this point in his career.
"I don't have unrealistic expectations. I just want the ability to go in there and compete," Brooking said. "At the end of the day, if I'm playing first and second downs I'll be extremely happy with that."
Brooking blew his coverage on Arizona's game-deciding first down pass in last season's Wild Card win for the Cardinals over the Falcons. Unless the Cowboys are able to retain Burnett, which would be a surprise, Bobby Carpenter could be on the verge of achieving a regular defensive role for the first time in his career. He could replace Burnett as the nickel and dime linebacker, but the Cowboys may also look to the draft to add depth at the position. Special teams-first linebacker Carlos Polk is an unrestricted free agent the team may still attempt to re-sign.
For Brooking, who grew up in Senoia, Ga., attended Georgia Tech and played his entire professional career with the Falcons, the move to Dallas doesn't come without some emotion.
"I've played football since I was six years old, so 27 years within a 20-mile radius," Brooking said. "It was a great run there, but when it became a reality that potentially I was going to leave Atlanta and I'd hit the market, a few days before that I put together a wish list with my agent. The Cowboys were right at the top of the list."
The Cowboys were linked to Ray Lewis in the run-up to free agency, but opted for a better fit in Brooking, at a fraction of the cost. That doesn't mean they didn't have the full-court press on for the longtime Falcons standout, though. After Brooking arrived in Dallas Saturday, team owner and general manager Jerry Jones put on his recruiting hard hat for a personal tour of the team's new stadium in Arlington.
The Cowboys apparently put a lot of effort into courting Brooking, essentially a low-level free agent if money is a good barometer. But in making him a priority over Thomas, Burnett or Lewis, the Cowboys showed their goal was to sign someone with whom they were comfortable as the starting inside linebacker in their 3-4 - and someone who was comfortable in their 3-4.
The mutual comfort comes from the familiarity between Brooking and Phillips.
"There were a lot of reasons I chose Dallas, but the main one is I think they're prime and ready to make a Super Bowl run," Brooking said. "And secondly, like I said before, to reunite with Wade. I can't think of a better way to finish my career than to do it with a man like Wade Phillips."
DallasCowboys.com Staff Writer
March 2, 2009 6:58 PM
IRVING, Texas - For four years, the Cowboys were looking for "Parcells Guys," players who met a loosely-defined criterion preferred by the team's former head coach. The talk has persisted even in Bill Parcells' absence.
His guys were big, or they were hard workers, or they came from football families. Mostly though, a Parcells Guy was someone the Tuna had been around before, a player he trusted and one who trusted him back.
Now, two years after taking over for Parcells, Wade Phillips is reuniting with one of his own guys, former Falcons linebacker Keith Brooking. The two worked together when Phillips was Atlanta's defensive coordinator and interim head coach in 2002 and 2003.
"That was one of my main reasons in choosing the Cowboys, to reunite with Wade," Brooking said Monday.
The familiarity Brooking has with Phillips wasn't the only reason for the deal, which will pay the 11-year veteran roughly $6 million over three years, $2.5 million of which is guaranteed. Brooking-to-Dallas makes sense on the field for both parties as well. Brooking said Phillips told him Saturday he would be playing the same position for the Cowboys that he had with the Falcons, the weak inside linebacker spot filled by Zach Thomas in 2008.
Like Thomas, Brooking is an experienced player with a long streak of Pro Bowl appearances on his résumé. And like Thomas, Brooking has a history as a good locker room guy, a player whose example teammates can follow.
But unlike Thomas, Brooking has the size that really helps in the middle of a 3-4. And whereas Thomas admitted after the season he was never quite comfortable as the Cowboys' "Mo" linebacker, lining up next to Bradie James, Brooking enjoyed two of his most productive seasons in Phillips' scheme. He had career highs in tackling in 2002 and 2003, making the Pro Bowl both seasons. Those were the second and third of five consecutive trips to Honolulu he earned from 2001-05.
"I'm very comfortable with (Phillips') scheme, the terminology," Brooking said. "That weak-side inside linebacker, I think that's the one position to where you're in a position to run, kind of a run-ahead linebacker. That's my strength, that position creates some opportunities for you to do that."
Thomas performed admirably in his one-year homecoming to Texas, but he was often asked to do things with which he wasn't completely comfortable, taking on guards and fullbacks, and allowing his teammates to make plays. Though it wasn't a perfect fit for Thomas, the veteran's presence helped James enjoy his best season as a pro. Brooking has many of the same qualities.
"Considering the amount of play that I've had for 11 years, I think I add professionalism. I think I add consistency, and the ability to fit in," Brooking said. "I don't want to speak for Zach, but he played one position his first 12 years of his career . . . Me being an 11-year veteran with all the experience I've had, I wouldn't come to a team if I didn't feel 100-percent comfortable in what they wanted me to do and where I was going to be playing."
Brooking is two years younger than Thomas, and has made five Pro Bowls to seven for the former Miami Dolphins great. The two-year age difference isn't enough to give Brooking an edge on Thomas - he says he hasn't missed a down since the 2000 season. His three extra inches in height do help, however. At 6-2, 242, Brooking is just four pounds lighter than James. He's an inch shorter but the same weight as Kevin Burnett, another middle linebacker the Cowboys are ready to lose through free agency. Burnett visited the Oakland Raiders Monday.
Most importantly is the comfort level the Cowboys have with plugging Brooking into Thomas' role from last season. He appears to be the likely starter, an option on first and second down, but like Thomas, he's not a great option in passing situations at this point in his career.
"I don't have unrealistic expectations. I just want the ability to go in there and compete," Brooking said. "At the end of the day, if I'm playing first and second downs I'll be extremely happy with that."
Brooking blew his coverage on Arizona's game-deciding first down pass in last season's Wild Card win for the Cardinals over the Falcons. Unless the Cowboys are able to retain Burnett, which would be a surprise, Bobby Carpenter could be on the verge of achieving a regular defensive role for the first time in his career. He could replace Burnett as the nickel and dime linebacker, but the Cowboys may also look to the draft to add depth at the position. Special teams-first linebacker Carlos Polk is an unrestricted free agent the team may still attempt to re-sign.
For Brooking, who grew up in Senoia, Ga., attended Georgia Tech and played his entire professional career with the Falcons, the move to Dallas doesn't come without some emotion.
"I've played football since I was six years old, so 27 years within a 20-mile radius," Brooking said. "It was a great run there, but when it became a reality that potentially I was going to leave Atlanta and I'd hit the market, a few days before that I put together a wish list with my agent. The Cowboys were right at the top of the list."
The Cowboys were linked to Ray Lewis in the run-up to free agency, but opted for a better fit in Brooking, at a fraction of the cost. That doesn't mean they didn't have the full-court press on for the longtime Falcons standout, though. After Brooking arrived in Dallas Saturday, team owner and general manager Jerry Jones put on his recruiting hard hat for a personal tour of the team's new stadium in Arlington.
The Cowboys apparently put a lot of effort into courting Brooking, essentially a low-level free agent if money is a good barometer. But in making him a priority over Thomas, Burnett or Lewis, the Cowboys showed their goal was to sign someone with whom they were comfortable as the starting inside linebacker in their 3-4 - and someone who was comfortable in their 3-4.
The mutual comfort comes from the familiarity between Brooking and Phillips.
"There were a lot of reasons I chose Dallas, but the main one is I think they're prime and ready to make a Super Bowl run," Brooking said. "And secondly, like I said before, to reunite with Wade. I can't think of a better way to finish my career than to do it with a man like Wade Phillips."
posted by The Gryphon at 7:28 AM
<< Home