The Landry Hat » Michael Strahan

Tony Romo Has Nothing To Prove, But He Still Has Something To Do

Artie Cappello — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 11:00:17 +0000

Nov 20, 2011; Landover, MD, USA; Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo (9) runs off the field after the Cowboys game against the Washington Redskins at FedEx Field. The Cowboys won 27-24 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-US PRESSWIRE

OK now. I wrote about this last week in my ‘T’was The Month Before..’ article. What is up with people that can’t let Tony Romo get a compliment? New example this week, former New York Giant, Amani Toomer said that ‘statistically’ (here I am qualifying too) you’d probably have to go with Dallas Cowboy’s Tony Romo over his former teammate, Eli Manning, in the NFC East. The statement was harmless enough, not knocking Manning at all and just based on statistics… (more…)

Dallas Cowboys’ DeMarcus Ware the Sixth Best Player in the NFL?

Joe Owens — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 17:23:08 +0000

Not much has been made of the NFL Network’s conclusion of an eleven part series counting down the Top 100 players of 2012 as voted on by the player’s peers and the Dallas Cowboys’ own Demarcus Ware’s placement amongst his peers. The Cowboys went through a bit of a stretch before landing a player 6^th overall. Both Tony Romo and Jason Witten had been recognized for their play on the field and were both anointed the 91^st and 75^th best players in the NFL.

DeMarcus Ware the Cowboys outside linebacker actually ascended six spots from the 12^thbest player in 2011. The assessment of Ware’s contribution to the team and the respect by fellow players was nothing short of ultimate adoration. DeMarcus Ware is likely to gain even more ground in next season’s rankings assuming the former player from Troy University were to break the single season sack record which many analysts feel he is one of few rush linebackers in the NFL with the potential to do so. To achieve such a feat DeMarcus Ware would have to average aproximately 1.5 sacks per game beginning with the Eli Manning led New York Giants on September 5th.

Dec 24, 2011; Dallas, TX, USA; Dallas Cowboys linebacker DeMarcus Ware (94) in action against the Philadelphia Eagles at Cowboys Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-US PRESSWIRE

Many knock Jerry Jones for his timely mismanagement of team assets over the years yet during the 2005 NFL draft the owner and acting general manager decided to overrule then head coach Bill Parcels, wanted to select Marcus Spears who the Cowboys later drafted at 20^th overall, in order to draft Ware with the 11th overall pick.

DeMarcus Ware enters into the 2012 season with 99.5 sacks and can become the first player in history to have multiple 20 sack seasons. Many speculate with the Cowboys recently upgrading the teams secondary via free agency and the draft that a 25 sack season is obtainable for the 8^th year player. Another player that stands to be one of the first players to ever have multiple 20 sack seasons is Jared Allen who also believes 25 sacks for DeMarcus Ware doesn’t seem out of the question.

25 sacks in 2012 would break the single season sack record held by New York Giants fromer player Michael Strahan. Ware also currently occupies the 29^th slot on the list of all-time sack leaders but can jump into the top fifteen of that list with fourteen or more sacks this season.

While Ware finished 6^th, players that achieved a higher ranking among the games own athletes were Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees, Calvin Johnson, Tom Brady and Derrelle Revis. As fellow Landry Hat writer Levi Glenn has asked, Is 6^th overall a reasonable ranking for the Cowboys all-time sack leader? We implore you to ask the same.

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Will the Dallas Cowboys Secondary help DeMarcus Ware break the sack record?

Jason Rodriguez — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 20:00:44 +0000

In recent seasons the Dallas Cowboys have had a less then superb pass defense. Not having a strong pass defense has really left the Cowboys defensive lineman open for much criticism. This has amply to do with the secondary breakdown, which leaves a quarterback with plenty of time to find an open target. Therefore, the pass rush has less time to get to the quarterback. Without a doubt this has been a growing problem in Dallas, but now it finally looks like the Cowboys may have found the solution to their problem.

The Cowboys finally got the equation right finding the correct answer in cornerbacks, first round pick Morris Claiborne and free agent acquisition Brandon Carr. Claiborne and Carr should make for a solid backfield duo that will help the defense in many areas, one of those areas being the defensive front. DeMarcus Ware and company finally have a potential solid secondary, which will help with their pass rushing struggles. Despite the lack of secondary help he has had in his time with the Cowboys, DeMarcus Ware alone has rarely ever struggled in the pass rush.

Ware has always been a solid pass rusher he has 99.5 sacks in his 8 years here with the Cowboys. DeMarcus Ware had 19.5 sacks last season, making him inevitably the best defensive player last year. Ware has continued to show up every season and perform better than most if not any other pass rusher in the league. Ware has carried this Defense on his back since he became a starter for the Cowboys. DeMarcus Ware isn’t the type of leader that will get a team to rally behind his words; he’s always been a player of action. The Dallas Cowboys defense feeds off the play of DeMarcus Ware, therefore it will only be rational if we see Ware feed off the his new secondary, something he has rarely been able to do throughout his career.

The Dallas Cowboys new secondary will help make the defense solid so don’t be surprised if we see a major increase in pass rush this year. If the secondary has a good year next season, I can see DeMarcus Ware eclipsing Michael Strahans single season sack record of 22.5 sacks. Ware came close to beating that record last year with a total of 19.5, hence it’s not farfetched to think that Ware can get over 22 next season. Consequently, I think that the much-improved secondary will help not only DeMarcus Ware but also guys like Jay Ratliff and Anthon Spencer. We should expect big things from this defensive line this coming up season and even bigger things from DeMarcus Ware.