Cowboys getting a leader in Brooking
By Tom Orsborn - Express-News
Atlanta Falcons great Tommy Nobis has mixed feelings about the team losing longtime linebacker Keith Brooking to the Dallas Cowboys.
While sad to see the fan favorite leave, Nobis is happy his friend Wade Phillips has landed such a high-character player.
“They’re getting a quality man all the way around,” Nobis said Sunday of Brooking. “He’s ‘A Number 1’ in giving back to the community ... and he’s not going to run his mouth all the damn time.”
With their locker room plagued by seemingly endless infighting, the Cowboys entered the offseason with an immediate need for players capable of restoring order and promoting team unity.
Nobis believes Dallas found one with its latest free agent signing.
Unable to reach a deal that would allow him to finish his career with the Falcons, Brooking signed a three-year contract with the Cowboys on Saturday that includes a guaranteed $2.5 million.
Drafted 12th overall in 1998, Brooking spent 11 seasons with the Falcons. Atlanta wanted to re-sign him as a reserve, but Brooking opted to move to Dallas, where he’s expected to replace free agent Zach Thomas at weakside inside linebacker.
“It is with very mixed emotions that I am leaving the Atlanta Falcons to join the Dallas Cowboys,” Brooking, 33, said in a statement released to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I am sad to be leaving the Falcons organization, my teammates, my coaches, and, of course, the great Falcons fans. However, I am excited about this new chapter in my career and rejoining my former coach, Wade Phillips.”
Phillips coordinated the Falcons’ defense in 2002-03 and was the club’s interim coach for the final three games of the ’03 season.
“Wade, I’m sure, had a lot to do with the decision to sign Keith,” Nobis said. “He’s a piece of the puzzle they needed.”
Nobis, the former Jefferson and Texas standout who starred for the Falcons from their inception in 1966 through 1976, got to know Brooking in his role as the franchise’s vice president of corporate development.
Brooking, who grew up in Senoia, Ga., and starred at Georgia Tech, was the go-to player in the Falcons organization for community work.
“He believes in giving back to the community,” Nobis said of Brooking. “He’s not ‘gimme, gimme, gimme.’”
Nobis said Brooking as a player has always reminded him of Lee Roy Jordan, a linebacker for the Cowboys from 1963-1976. Brooking, a five-time Pro Bowl selection, has led Atlanta in tackles the past eight seasons.
“He reminds me a lot of Lee Roy personality-wise,” Nobis said. “Keith’s not a talker, a rah-rah type. He’s a doer. His mouth isn’t running all the time.”
But Brooking made it clear in an interview with ESPN.com last spring he can run his mouth when needed.
“It bothers me a little when people say we don’t have leaders,” Brooking said at minicamp. “I feel like I’ve been one for a long time. I’ve always tried to lead by example, and I don’t mind being vocal.”
Nobis suspects it won’t take Brooking long to establish himself as a leader in Dallas.
“He’s just one of those guys who will be good for the team,” Nobis said. “No one will have to tell him twice it’s time to go to work. It’s a big gain for the Cowboys and a big loss for the Falcons.”
Atlanta Falcons great Tommy Nobis has mixed feelings about the team losing longtime linebacker Keith Brooking to the Dallas Cowboys.
While sad to see the fan favorite leave, Nobis is happy his friend Wade Phillips has landed such a high-character player.
“They’re getting a quality man all the way around,” Nobis said Sunday of Brooking. “He’s ‘A Number 1’ in giving back to the community ... and he’s not going to run his mouth all the damn time.”
With their locker room plagued by seemingly endless infighting, the Cowboys entered the offseason with an immediate need for players capable of restoring order and promoting team unity.
Nobis believes Dallas found one with its latest free agent signing.
Unable to reach a deal that would allow him to finish his career with the Falcons, Brooking signed a three-year contract with the Cowboys on Saturday that includes a guaranteed $2.5 million.
Drafted 12th overall in 1998, Brooking spent 11 seasons with the Falcons. Atlanta wanted to re-sign him as a reserve, but Brooking opted to move to Dallas, where he’s expected to replace free agent Zach Thomas at weakside inside linebacker.
“It is with very mixed emotions that I am leaving the Atlanta Falcons to join the Dallas Cowboys,” Brooking, 33, said in a statement released to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I am sad to be leaving the Falcons organization, my teammates, my coaches, and, of course, the great Falcons fans. However, I am excited about this new chapter in my career and rejoining my former coach, Wade Phillips.”
Phillips coordinated the Falcons’ defense in 2002-03 and was the club’s interim coach for the final three games of the ’03 season.
“Wade, I’m sure, had a lot to do with the decision to sign Keith,” Nobis said. “He’s a piece of the puzzle they needed.”
Nobis, the former Jefferson and Texas standout who starred for the Falcons from their inception in 1966 through 1976, got to know Brooking in his role as the franchise’s vice president of corporate development.
Brooking, who grew up in Senoia, Ga., and starred at Georgia Tech, was the go-to player in the Falcons organization for community work.
“He believes in giving back to the community,” Nobis said of Brooking. “He’s not ‘gimme, gimme, gimme.’”
Nobis said Brooking as a player has always reminded him of Lee Roy Jordan, a linebacker for the Cowboys from 1963-1976. Brooking, a five-time Pro Bowl selection, has led Atlanta in tackles the past eight seasons.
“He reminds me a lot of Lee Roy personality-wise,” Nobis said. “Keith’s not a talker, a rah-rah type. He’s a doer. His mouth isn’t running all the time.”
But Brooking made it clear in an interview with ESPN.com last spring he can run his mouth when needed.
“It bothers me a little when people say we don’t have leaders,” Brooking said at minicamp. “I feel like I’ve been one for a long time. I’ve always tried to lead by example, and I don’t mind being vocal.”
Nobis suspects it won’t take Brooking long to establish himself as a leader in Dallas.
“He’s just one of those guys who will be good for the team,” Nobis said. “No one will have to tell him twice it’s time to go to work. It’s a big gain for the Cowboys and a big loss for the Falcons.”
posted by The Gryphon at 5:21 PM
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