LaTunaNostra
10-23-2004, 08:17 PM
Kevin Sherrington: Ailing 'D' needs big dose of Woodson
07:16 PM CDT on Saturday, October 23, 2004
Darren Woodson still goes to practice. Hangs out in the locker room, too.
Shows up a couple of hours before the game, just like always.
Still counsels young teammates. But advice only goes so far when all you can do is coach."One thing I don't want to do," he says, "is get in the way.
"I basically just stay away."
Of all you've heard about the Cowboys' curious season so far, surely those words are the saddest.
Especially now that the Cowboys need Darren Woodson more than ever.
Do you worry why the Cowboys' defense struggles in the fourth quarter?
Perplexed about the lack of big plays?
Wonder whatever happened to Roy Williams?
Put the blame squarely on Woodson. Carefully, though. The man has a bad back.
He was supposed to be recovered by now, and he's not even close. He won't be in uniform today at Lambeau Field or anywhere else anytime soon.
And the Cowboys just aren't the same without him. His absence has created a chain reaction, and not just Brett Favre moving the chains.
Bad enough that Woodson's replacement, Tony Dixon, doesn't provide the same kind of run support.
Few safeties do, but then most didn't come to the NFL as linebackers, either.
Guarantee: Had Woodson been available last week, Duce Staley would have noticed the difference.
Not that Bill Parcells is saying as much. Not now. Not when he's trying to "balance" recent criticism by playing good cop to the media's bad cop.
Frankly, Parcells' latest role seems a little like casting Ozzy Osbourne as Peter Pan. But as Woodson's absence has taught us, everyone's making adjustments and playing against type.
Time to build up his guys, not tear down. Asked about Dixon, Parcells tried so hard to be nice that you really couldn't tell if it was a smile or a wince.
"The only thing I'll say is that he's missing a few tackles," he said. "But Dixon has improved, and he's doing a pretty good job overall."
Translation: He's all I've got, and I'm not going to bury him.
Even Dixon's shortcomings wouldn't be such a problem if it weren't for the fact that Roy Williams isn't himself, either.
Not only is he forced to help out with problems at cornerback, he's relegated to playing safety the way it's normally scripted.
Only Williams isn't a normal safety. He's the dread lurking around the next corner, the crescendo in a score, the whine in your dentist's drill.
Merely anticipating Roy Williams' arrival is enough to scare the bejabbers out of most players, let alone the actual introduction.
An interesting side effect: The hits light up his teammates almost as much as his victims.
He's a fuse waiting to be lit, all right. Unfortunately, Darren Woodson has all the matches.
With Woodson around, the Cowboys had the luxury of playing Williams up on the line of scrimmage, where his proximity makes quarterbacks nervous.
With Woodson out, Williams generally drops into coverage, where he's lost in space.
He's at his best when he's not forced to react. Parcells summed it up best in advice he gave his suddenly beleaguered cornerback, Terence Newman.
"You have to be pro-active," he told him. "Reactive cornerbacks usually get beat."
Of course, it's one thing to hear it from a coach, especially during the week when life is organized and logical and 70,000 people aren't on hand to render an immediate judgment.
Another matter entirely when it's late in a game and you're tired and you remember the coverages but not always the down and distance or the tendencies of a team depending on field position.
Woodson was always good for that on the sideline. Little things. Reminding teammates that when the other team crosses midfield, it's probably going to take a shot at the end zone.
He'd play a little psychology, depending on the teammate.
Or he'd jump in their jerseys if he had to.
He's two different people: Polite, affable, a sweetheart of a guy by nature; a captain who sacrifices himself for the good of the team, yet demands an accounting from those who benefit.
He's comfortable in the role, but only as a player. The sense of "We're in this together" is different when you're standing around in a warm-up suit.
No one takes you as seriously out of uniform. Just isn't the same, but then again, we're getting used to that by now.
E-mail ksherrington@dallasnews.com
07:16 PM CDT on Saturday, October 23, 2004
Darren Woodson still goes to practice. Hangs out in the locker room, too.
Shows up a couple of hours before the game, just like always.
Still counsels young teammates. But advice only goes so far when all you can do is coach."One thing I don't want to do," he says, "is get in the way.
"I basically just stay away."
Of all you've heard about the Cowboys' curious season so far, surely those words are the saddest.
Especially now that the Cowboys need Darren Woodson more than ever.
Do you worry why the Cowboys' defense struggles in the fourth quarter?
Perplexed about the lack of big plays?
Wonder whatever happened to Roy Williams?
Put the blame squarely on Woodson. Carefully, though. The man has a bad back.
He was supposed to be recovered by now, and he's not even close. He won't be in uniform today at Lambeau Field or anywhere else anytime soon.
And the Cowboys just aren't the same without him. His absence has created a chain reaction, and not just Brett Favre moving the chains.
Bad enough that Woodson's replacement, Tony Dixon, doesn't provide the same kind of run support.
Few safeties do, but then most didn't come to the NFL as linebackers, either.
Guarantee: Had Woodson been available last week, Duce Staley would have noticed the difference.
Not that Bill Parcells is saying as much. Not now. Not when he's trying to "balance" recent criticism by playing good cop to the media's bad cop.
Frankly, Parcells' latest role seems a little like casting Ozzy Osbourne as Peter Pan. But as Woodson's absence has taught us, everyone's making adjustments and playing against type.
Time to build up his guys, not tear down. Asked about Dixon, Parcells tried so hard to be nice that you really couldn't tell if it was a smile or a wince.
"The only thing I'll say is that he's missing a few tackles," he said. "But Dixon has improved, and he's doing a pretty good job overall."
Translation: He's all I've got, and I'm not going to bury him.
Even Dixon's shortcomings wouldn't be such a problem if it weren't for the fact that Roy Williams isn't himself, either.
Not only is he forced to help out with problems at cornerback, he's relegated to playing safety the way it's normally scripted.
Only Williams isn't a normal safety. He's the dread lurking around the next corner, the crescendo in a score, the whine in your dentist's drill.
Merely anticipating Roy Williams' arrival is enough to scare the bejabbers out of most players, let alone the actual introduction.
An interesting side effect: The hits light up his teammates almost as much as his victims.
He's a fuse waiting to be lit, all right. Unfortunately, Darren Woodson has all the matches.
With Woodson around, the Cowboys had the luxury of playing Williams up on the line of scrimmage, where his proximity makes quarterbacks nervous.
With Woodson out, Williams generally drops into coverage, where he's lost in space.
He's at his best when he's not forced to react. Parcells summed it up best in advice he gave his suddenly beleaguered cornerback, Terence Newman.
"You have to be pro-active," he told him. "Reactive cornerbacks usually get beat."
Of course, it's one thing to hear it from a coach, especially during the week when life is organized and logical and 70,000 people aren't on hand to render an immediate judgment.
Another matter entirely when it's late in a game and you're tired and you remember the coverages but not always the down and distance or the tendencies of a team depending on field position.
Woodson was always good for that on the sideline. Little things. Reminding teammates that when the other team crosses midfield, it's probably going to take a shot at the end zone.
He'd play a little psychology, depending on the teammate.
Or he'd jump in their jerseys if he had to.
He's two different people: Polite, affable, a sweetheart of a guy by nature; a captain who sacrifices himself for the good of the team, yet demands an accounting from those who benefit.
He's comfortable in the role, but only as a player. The sense of "We're in this together" is different when you're standing around in a warm-up suit.
No one takes you as seriously out of uniform. Just isn't the same, but then again, we're getting used to that by now.
E-mail ksherrington@dallasnews.com