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| Wednesday, July 5, 2006 |
It has taken three years and four drafts but, finally, the Dallas Cowboys defense has all the makings of a Bill Parcells D.
Len Pasquarelli:
Smart enough to know he didn’t have the appropriate personnel for a 3-4 defense when he took over the Dallas Cowboys in 2003, Bill Parcells didn’t force the issue with ill-fitting players, but knew that he would one day have the right pieces to allow him to switch away from a 4-3 front and to his preferred scheme.
Now entering his fourth season, Parcells has all but completed the overhaul, with square pegs filling the square defensive holes, thanks in large part to the Cowboys’ two most recent draft classes.
There are a lot of ways a team can remake a unit over time and Parcells has basically utilized all of them. The result is a defense that likely will start only two veterans, safeties Roy Williams and Keith Davis, who were on the Dallas roster before Parcells arrived. More than any other acquisition mechanism, however, Parcells has used the draft to get the right kind of players into place for the 3-4, to add youth to the defense, and to create a potentially deep unit for the long-term.
In his four drafts with the Cowboys, Parcells has exercised four first-round selections — none in 2004, one each in 2003 and 2006, and two in 2004 — and all were invested in defensive players. The fresh blood from the first round brought cornerback Terence Newman (2003), defensive end Marcus Spears (2005) and linebackers DeMarcus Ware (2005) and Bobby Carpenter (2006) to the roster. All four first-rounders are projected as starters for this season.
But the infusion of youth and talent to the Cowboys’ roster was hardly limited to the first round, and that is particularly true of the last two Dallas draft classes. Of the 16 choices the Cowboys made in the 2005 and 2006 lotteries, 10 of them were for defensive players. Those two drafts added five defensive linemen, three linebackers and a pair of safeties.
Years from now, perhaps even long after Parcells retires, the 2005 draft might be recalled not only as the one that permitted “The Tuna” to switch to the 3-4 front full-time, but that brought terrific quantity and quality to Dallas’ defensive depth chart. A pure pass-rusher, Ware struggled at times as a rookie in the transition from college end to NFL linebacker, but still managed eight sacks and looks to be a future Pro Bowl performer. Spears started 10 games in 2005 and, while not a spectacular defender, has the kind of size and selfless mentality to be a solid player for many years.
Defensive linemen Chris Canty and Jay Ratliff are also well-suited to the 3-4 defense and the former of the two, whose draft stock plummeted last year because of injuries, might eventually be regarded as one of the biggest steals in the ’05 lottery. Two players who missed much or all of their rookie campaigns because of injuries, linebacker Kevin Burnett and safety Justin Beriault, are worth watching this season.
From this year’s draft class, Carpenter, whose father once played for Parcells, figures to start. Fifth-round safety Pat Watkins might, in time, prove to be the kind of rangy centerfielder who would make the perfect complement to Roy Williams, who is most effective playing close to the line of scrimmage. And third-round defensive end Jason Hatcher possesses natural pass-rush skills.
Dallas probably will start three players acquired as unrestricted free agents — nose tackle Jason Ferguson, inside linebacker Akin Ayodele and cornerback Anthony Henry — in the past two springs. But because of savvy drafting, and a systematic and effective strategy for adding young, home-grown talent, Dallas will rely far less on free agency in coming seasons.
The Cowboys, over the past two seasons, have morphed into a much greener unit. But in so doing, the club has grown quicker and added versatility, become more athletic, and more able to play the 3-4 front.
He’s especially intrigued by DeMarcus Ware.
During a rookie season that was about as perplexing at times as it was productive, DeMarcus Ware let everyone else talk the talk because the Dallas Cowboys linebacker, the earlier of the team’s two choices in the first round of the 2005 draft, usually was too inundated trying to, well, you know. Quit crawling and get up, no matter how unsteadily, on his two feet.
The coaches talked to him about the nuances of making the switch from college defensive end to weakside linebacker as the Cowboys made the transition to the 3-4 alignment that coach Bill Parcells always has preferred. Friends talked to him about what it was like to have so much money, after a fairly challenging upbringing, and how he felt tooling around town in his new BMW 750Li after having spent so many years driving his beaten-down 1993 Mercury Grand Marquis. And the skeptics spoke of how the Cowboys might have been better off had they chosen Maryland linebacker Shawne Merriman, a prospect Dallas seriously considered, in the first round.
[...]
As a defensive end at Division I-A Troy, Ware was a fierce speed rusher, recording 25½ sacks in his final three seasons and displaying tremendous explosiveness off the edge of the defense. His rare ability to compress the pocket, his dynamic closing speed and the eye-opening auditions for scouts in the weeks that preceded the ’05 lottery catapulted him up most draft boards. “You couldn’t ignore that twitch he had coming off the ball,” said Jeff Ireland, the Cowboys’ vice president of college and pro scouting. “He’s got a suddenness to him. He just shoots out of the blocks.”
That special brand of quickness netted Ware eight sacks in 2005, and Merriman — who had 10 sacks and won defensive rookie of the year honors — was the only first-year player with more. Ware registered 65 tackles, seventh-most among all NFL rookie linebackers in 2005 and fourth-best among rookie outside linebackers. Yet his maiden season, to Ware, was a little like a doughnut, with a conspicuous hole in the middle.
Of his eight sacks, four came in his first six games, then Ware went a frustrating eight contests without a quarterback takedown. The discouraging drought ended after Ware watched a videotape of former star Kansas City sacker Derrick Thomas, and when Dallas owner Jerry Jones challenged Ware to show critics he was the equal of Merriman and he responded with a three-sack performance against Carolina on Christmas Eve. Ware added another sack in the season finale, giving him four in his final two outings.
Ware learned a lot about himself, he said, in the last two games of the season. But he learned even more, he acknowledged, during the eight-week stretch with zero sacks.
“Rushing the quarterback, putting a guy on his back, it’s what everybody wants to do, and it was a skill that I always seemed to have,” Ware said. “But at this level, you aren’t going to beat the tackles off the edge with just speed alone. I mean, don’t get me wrong, speed is a great starting point. But the good tackles are going to stone you if that’s all you’ve got in the [arsenal]. And during those eight weeks without a sack, that’s exactly what happened to me. Guys caught up to me. They knew my game. I didn’t have a lot of stuff to counter with. Basically, it told me, ‘DeMarcus, you’ve got to take it up a notch or two because doing the same stuff that got you by in college isn’t going to cut it.’ So I’ve spent a lot of time this offseason trying to refine some new moves.”
In addition to watching video of Thomas, he has devoted hours to scrutinizing the peerless countermoves of Indianapolis standout right end Dwight Freeney, a relentless pass rusher who regularly beats double- and even triple-team blocking, frequently with his trademark spin technique. Ware also has pored over tapes of star Tampa Bay rusher Simeon Rice, who arguably uses his hands better than any end in the league. Last month, in an effort to improve his hand speed and upgrade the quickness with which he takes on tackles and redirects them, before disengaging, Ware began karate classes.
He feels that, with the fresh techniques gained even with his brief introduction to the martial arts, he will be better able to slap away tackles’ hands. Ware isn’t yet into chopping wooden boards in half or dissecting cinder blocks, but he is confident his new skill set will help him break into backfields more easily. “I know it’s called football,” Ware said, “but hands are just so important to your success.”
So is handling the mental part of the game, and even Ware’s teammates suggested in recent weeks that his recognition skills have improved dramatically. Ware conceded that, a year ago, his head was spinning with all the adjustments for which he was responsible and that he had problems identifying what the opposition offenses were planning when they used motion. There were plenty of occasions, he allowed, when he was uncertain whether he was supposed to rush the passer or drop off into coverage.
The latter technique was one that was totally anathema to him because he always had played moving forward at Troy and never had to play in reverse. How difficult was it for Ware to drop into the flat zone or patrol the short hook area? He was credited with just one pass defensed in 16 games.
“You can sense he’s got a better feel for it [this spring],” veteran linebacker Al Singleton said. “DeMarcus is always going to be thought of as a pass rusher first. But he wants to be a great player, and that means being able to do everything, even the little stuff, well.”
A player who displays almost no pretense — he sports no tattoos, no earrings and very little bling — Ware is a defender poised to turn mastery of the little stuff into a big-time career. He has been able to keep his weight at 260 pounds, after battling at times to maintain bulk as a rookie, and has not sacrificed any of his quickness to the ball. So maybe, in his second season, Ware will walk the walk. Even if he isn’t quite ready yet to talk the talk.
Well-spoken, thoughtful and engaging on a variety of topics, Ware is wary of making predictions about his football future. He prefers reading offensive formations to reading tea leaves and assigns the crystal ball deciphering to teammates, many of whom are anxious to take up the task. “He’s got special skills, no doubt, and they just keep growing,” said second-year defensive end Marcus Spears, the Cowboys’ other first-round choice in 2005 and a close friend. “He’s the kind of guy who lets his play do the talking for him, and it sure looks like he’s ready for a big season.”
As a Cowboys fan, I certainly hope so.
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| Wednesday, July 5, 2006 |
Richard Lapchick hopes the NFL gives serious consideration to former Cincinnati Bengals lineman Reggie Williams to replace Paul Tagliabue as its next commissioner.
Reggie Williams is being considered for the commissioner’s position in the NFL. While I know that he is an out-of-the-box choice, I have known Reggie since the 1980s and hope that he is chosen to succeed Paul Tagliabue. I consider him to be an out-of-the-box candidate because he is not currently an NFL insider, and there has never been an African-American commissioner in any major pro sport. Reggie has been an out-of-the-box person his entire life, battling and overcoming any obstacles in his path. I have no doubt that he can tackle the challenge of taking on the top job in the NFL with the same success.
Right now, he’s battling his damaged knees. All that time as a player on the football field led him to his ninth knee surgery on July 3, and recovery from that is not the way he wanted to celebrate the Fourth of July. But nothing seems to be able to stop this man. I know he will be slower, physically, for a while, but the surgery won’t slow down his brain or his guts. If the NFL calls him for a second interview, Williams’ determination and confidence will be apparent to the people in the room, even if he’s on crutches.
For more than two decades, I have watched other people be dazzled by that determination and that confidence. Reggie Williams knows he can do the job. He has always faced skeptics. The kids in Flint, Mich., where he grew up, were tough on him. As kids often do, they teased him unmercifully for a profound loss of hearing, suffered at birth, which made communication difficult for him. He withdrew into his studies and developed his athletic gifts, while he worked on his ability to speak through therapy at The Michigan School for the Deaf in Flint. Bo Schembechler, then the football coach at Michigan, was a skeptic, too. Schembechler didn’t think he was good enough to play in Ann Arbor, and ended Reggie’s dream of playing for the Wolverines. He went on to star in the Ivy League; but near the end of his career at Dartmouth College, some NFL scouts were skeptical he could play pro ball. Chosen in the third round by Cincinnati, Williams played in Super Bowls XVI and XXIII. His 23 fumble recoveries are among the most in NFL history, and his 62.5 sacks are well up on the Bengals’ career list.
Until Williams pushed aside the next set of skeptics and became a member of the Cincinnati City Council, no athlete I know of had ever held public office while he was still an active player.
I first met Williams when we both testified before a Senate sub-committee. Sen. Bill Bradley was attempting to get colleges and universities to publish graduation rates. They do it now as a matter of routine; but in the 1980s, grad rates were a murky — and often scandalous — secret. Most athletes were afraid to speak out about social issues. Arthur Ashe and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar were among the very few famous African-American athletes willing to be heard on the subject of academics and athletics, but Williams stood tall in his push for increased academic standards for student-athletes.
It was not a fashionable position to take, but Reggie wanted all young people to be able to reach their full potential. He told the sub-committee that day that if a kid had athletic gifts, he or she needed to be a student first. You could see the admiration in which he was held by the Senators in the chamber. He was an orator, leading people. I thought that day that he could be a Senator himself. Or perhaps a minister leading his flock.
[...]
Before he stopped playing, Williams won the Byron “Whizzer” White Award for humanitarian services from the NFL in 1985 and was named the NFL Man of the Year in 1986 and Sports Illustrated’s Co-Sportsman of the Year in 1987. After his playing career, he joined the World League of American Football as the vice president and general manager of the New Jersey Knights — making him, I believe, the first African-American to serve as GM of a professional football team.
He later became part of the NFL’s executive staff and developed the first Youth Education Town (YET) in south central Los Angeles and Compton in connection with the Super Bowl, which became a prototype for future NFL contributions of educational and recreational facilities to Super Bowl host cities.
Currently, Williams is the vice president of Walt Disney Sports Attractions. (Full disclosure: ESPN is also owned by Disney.) When he took that job, Disney brass introduced him as one of only two African-Americans at the vice president level in the entire Disney company. Now, he directs more than 2,000 employees who run an incredible — and inclusive — series of events from one end of the calendar year to the other.
[...]
Imagine what he could do if he could take over an enormously successful sports business enterprise such as the NFL. Williams has the world view that could help the NFL positively affect the lives of so many children who face some form of crisis on a daily basis. At its very best, sport can deliver dreams to those children.
I don’t know much about the man but he certainly has an impressive resume. And, certainly, putting a highly qualified black man in that post would send a powerful signal.
Whomever did this certainly has balls.
BERLIN (Reuters) – World Cup pranksters in Berlin injured at least two soccer fans by inviting them to kick soccer balls that they had secretly filled with concrete, authorities said Tuesday.
At least six concrete filled soccer balls were found chained to lampposts, trees and handrails across the city next to the spray-painted message “Can you kick it?,” Berlin police said.
“Two young men kicked the balls and suffered bad bruising on their feet,” a police spokeswoman said. “We still don’t have any leads in the case.”
Hat tip- Bullwinkle Blog
From AP
DETROIT — Steve Yzerman, the Red Wings’ longtime captain who played his entire 22-year NHL career with Detroit, is retiring.
The 41-year-old Yzerman, who was 18 when he joined the Red Wings in 1983, ended months of speculation about his future when he announced his retirement at a news conference Monday.
*****
Yzerman led Detroit to three Stanley Cups and playoff appearances in each of the last 15 years of his career. Only Gordie Howe holds as many franchise records. He has been Detroit’s captain since 1986, making him the longest-serving captain in league history.
*****
A 10-time All-Star, Yzerman was a member of the NHL’s All-Rookie team in 1984, won the Lester B. Pearson Award honoring the league’s outstanding player in 1989, the Conn Smythe Trophy honoring the playoff MVP in 1998 and helped Canada win gold at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics.
His 692 goals rank eighth all-time, while he is seventh on the career list with 1,063 assists.
No question, Yzerman was a great player. He will be missed.
*- The US Women’s Golf Open ended in a tie yesterday. Pat Hurst and Annika Sorenstam both finished at 284 even par for four rounds. An 18-hole playoff will begin in a few minutes.
What can be said about this playoff? On paper, it looks like a rout. Annika is the best golfer on tour, and arguably the best player in LPGA history with over 60 career victories including 9 major championships. Pat Hurst is a grinder or journeywoman with 4 tour victories, one of which was a major championship.
These two golfers have some history together. In 1997 Annika beat Pat in a playoff at the ITT LPGA Tour Championship. In 2000 they faced one another in a team match at the Solheim Cup. Annika chipped the ball in on one hole and then was made to do it again when the American team said she played out of turn.
So what is my prediction? My personal favorite is Pat, I don’t want to see the ‘Evil One’ win this one. Pat is one of the Moms on tour, she has two small children. Other than Juli Inkster she is arguably the best playing Mother on tour.
Pat has been a consistent player. She has finished in the top 30 money winners every year from 1996-2005 except 1999 and 2002. Those were the years Pat gave birth to her son and daughter.
Unfortunately both players records make this an easy pick. Not just because Annika has over 60 wins vs Pat’s four, but for Hurst’s record of choking.
She is 0-3 in Playoffs lifetime.
The 2005 Wendy’s Championship saw Pat double bogey the 18th hole to lose after coming to the 18th tee tied for the lead.
The 2003 Longs Drugs saw Pat also double bogey 18 when a par won and a bogey tied. Hurst four putted the last hole from 60 feet.
The 2006 LPGA where if Pat had played the last 28 holes in par she would have won the tournament.
A tournament in 2001(Office Depot in CA?) where Pat blew a big Sunday lead.
That makes it an easy choice- Annika Sorenstam 71 Pat Hurst 75
*- If anyone doubted if Se Ri Pak’s return to form was genuine, the US Open should have expunged these thoughts. Se Ri finished tied for 3rd yesterday. The Queen of South Korean golf is certainly back.
*- Jeong Jang at 18 in yesterday’s 3rd round. She definitely double hit the ball. There is no way that ball turned right without the help of JJ’s golf club. The USGA made the right call.
Update- Annika 70, Pat 74. I had the margin exactly right and only one stroke off the player’s scores. It was no contest, a birdie-bogey start put Hurst in a hole she never got out of.
The playoff went very quickly, finishing in a little over three hours. The 2003 Lunke-Stanford-Robbins playoff took five hours.
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| Sunday, July 2, 2006 |
Eddie Griffin was driving under the influence of porn when he wrecked his Escalade.
On March 30, Minnesota Timberwolves center Eddie Griffin was drunk and masturbating when he crashed his luxury SUV into a parked Suburban outside a store in Minneapolis, according to a lawsuit filed Thursday by the man whose Suburban was hit in the crash.
WCCO-TV obtained copies of 911 calls and store surveillance video of the incident, along with an accident report the police submitted to the state, reports WCCO-TV’s Caroline Lowe. Several of the 911 callers that night said Griffin was drunk. One witness said Griffin told him he was watching pornography in a DVD player mounted on the dashboard of his Cadillac Escalade SUV when he struck a Chevy Suburban parked on University Avenue Southeast.
The location where Griffin crashed is located a couple miles from the Target Center where Griffin had played with his team several hours earlier. Abed Hassuneh, who is the brother of the victim, said Griffin told him, “That he was masturbating himself going down that street. That’s how the accident happened because he was not paying attention. He’s paying attention to that video and all of a sudden he’s shoveled somebody’s car on the top of the sidewalk.”
I’ve got to admit, this is a new one. It would make an excellent rap video, however.
NBC and Dan Hicks are idiots. The golf broadcast starts at 3 p.m. But first we have to hear from the NBC sports desk.
Who cares if Michael Campbell is leading the French Open? I don’t and I’m a golf fan.
Two minutes play 3 p.m. the real broadcast starts. NBC shows Annika Sorenstam and Michelle Wie making putts. Fine.
Then we get a video of the course and some of its history etc. All fluff, where’s the leaderboard and better yet where is the golf.
When that’s over, we get a highlight reel. Dan Hicks and NBC need their heads examined for this.
First they show Annika and Michelle making the EXACT same shots they did at the beginning of the broadcast.
I feel a Paul Dooley Breaking Away moment coming on me. Instead of “Refund? Refund??”
Repeat? Repeat?? Repeat??? Repeat????……..
We also got to see Lorena Ochoa make a birdie. She is four shots back! I know Lorena is the leading money winner this year.
But…….
NBC’s highlights didn’t show one shot from Se Ri Pak. Se Ri is tied for the lead.
They’ve shown Birdie Kim’s bunker shot from 2005 twice in the first twenty minutes of golf.
Repeat? Repeat?? Repeat??? Repeat????……..
You won’t believe what I’m about to say.
TGC please come back. All is forgiven.(Well almost)
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LPGA + McDonald’s + The Golf Channel= A ‘Major’ Disaster
The Milwaukee Bucks traded point guard T.J. Ford to the Toronto Raptors for all-rookie team power forward Charlie Villanueva.
Villanueva can score, as shown with his 48-point game against the Bucks in March. I saw it live. He was hot, hot, hot. But I don’t know how well the power forward plays defense. A jump shooting team needs good defense for the times when they get cold.
The Bucks must feel Mo Williams is capable physically to go an entire season at point guard. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports, “Villanueva is expected to move right into the starting lineup at power forward, which will allow Bogut to slide over to center.” That means center Jamal Magloire will probably be traded. To whom and for what is to be determined. Maybe a back-up point guard.
“Forward Progress”
[Cross-posted to The American Mind.]
From AP-
TORONTO – Blue Jays right fielder Alex Rios remained in the hospital Friday because of a serious infection in his lower left leg and could be sidelined through the All-Star break.
Rios fouled a ball off his leg during Tuesday’s 6-0 victory over the Washington Nationals and the area swelled. He sat out Wednesday’s game as a precaution but the pain got worse Thursday, causing the team to send him to the hospital.
Rios’ leg was drained Friday, and manager John Gibbons didn’t know whether the outfielder would be placed on the disabled list.
“It will probably be a few days before he can even get on it,” Gibbons said.
*****
Blue Jays trainer George Poulis described the injury as “weird,” because there was no visible break in the skin that might have allowed the troublesome bacteria to enter. Rios was given strong antibiotics.
The 25-year-old outfielder is having a breakout season, batting .330 with 15 homers and 53 RBIs. He also has 20 doubles, nine stolen bases and a .383 on-base percentage. He has also excelled on defense where he has not committed an error.
“He’s doing well. He’s in good hands. It’s not alarming,” Ricciardi said.
I know how serious a infection in the legs can be. A few years I got an infection turned into full blown cellulitis. Complicated by circulation problems, I’ll be struggling with the problem the rest of my life. It probably isn’t cellulitis in Rios’ case but I wish him well
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