BouncingCheese
Stay out of my Bidness
- Messages
- 1,704
- Reaction score
- 0
Camp tour: Phillips' Cowboys lighten up, shun heavy D
Don't know if this is a repost but I like the article.
http://www.sportsline.com/nfl/story/10287759
SAN ANTONIO -- Shortly after taking over for Bill Parcells as coach of the Dallas Cowboys, Wade Phillips was asked a somewhat important question by his strength and conditioning coach.
Hey, DeMarcus Ware, who wants to get on the field and cause some havoc? (AP) "What weight do you want these guys to be this season?" asked Joe Juraszek.
In his folksy, son-of-Bum way, Phillips gave him an answer that certainly would never come out of the mouth of the micromanage-obsessed Parcells.
"I don't know," Phillips told the coach. "I just want them light enough so they can run as fast as possible."
There were no numbers given, which means there will be no constant cracks by a biting head coach who knew how to get under a player's skin, which was the Parcells way.
Just make the weights fit so they can run and chase and tackle.
Looking at the Cowboys now, especially on the defensive side, you'd think some of those players were following Kirstie Alley as weight-loss spokesmen. Linebacker Bradie James and defensive end Marcus Spears are down 20, while safety Roy Williams is down 15. Outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware is down five pounds.
"It's a different style of defense," James said. "We have to be able to run, run, and run some more. In the defense we played last year, I had to take on 320-pound guards every play. That's why I had to weigh 265 pounds. My body wouldn't have held up at the weight I'm at now. I needed the weight to have a chance to compete. But I feel so much better now. I'm so much faster. And we all need that to be successful in this defense."
Phillips came to the Cowboys after putting together a swift, get-to-the-ball unit in San Diego as defensive coordinator of the Chargers. His 3-4 scheme featured an attacking bunch that was keyed by the play of the front seven.
The Cowboys used a 3-4 under Parcells last year, but it was a different style of defense. The front seven stayed in their spots, rarely moving around. That meant Ware, one of those explosive pass rushers that offenses hate, always lined up on the right side. He was easy to find.
It was a unit that saw the front three rarely stunt and loop. The inside linebackers also didn't come on the blitz much at all.
"Last year we lined up and people pretty much knew what we would do," James said. "There wasn't much to it."
With Phillips taking over -- he is expected to call the defense from the sideline -- the talent-filled unit could make a big leap up the rankings. After starting off strong last season, the defense fell off in the second half. Dallas finished 20th in the league in scoring, giving up 21.9 points per game.
That was a bitter disappointment since there were six first-round picks starting on that side of the ball. More was certainly expected.
Of the group, Ware is the most talented of them all.
He is a powerful speed rusher who has the ability to change a game for the defense, his off-the-edge ability as good as any in the game. During a workout Monday afternoon at the Alamodome, he blew past rookie left tackle Doug Free with a low-to-the-ground loop that made Free look as if he missed the snap count.
"I'm rushing a lot more so I dropped some weight," Ware said. "It can get tiring out there running around for four quarters with that extra five pounds. In this defense, you want to play fast."
Ware had 11½ sacks last year, but his teammates say he was held back because he didn't rush enough, a shot at the former regime.
"There is no way DeMarcus should be dropping in coverage as much as he did," James said. "He's too explosive a pass rusher for that. That didn't make sense."
Phillips will move Ware around to better utilize his ability to get to the quarterback. The common perception is that Ware will fill the role that Shawne Merriman occupied in the Chargers defense, a role that he flourished in by getting 17 sacks last season. But Ware plays the weak-side spot, whereas Merriman plays the strong side.
"You actually rush more in our defense from the weak side," Phillips said. "That's why what Shawne did was so impressive last year."
Ware won't just be on the weak side. He will move from right to left and even inside to the middle. The idea is to never let the other team get a bead on where he's coming from to get to the quarterback.
"If you line him up just on the right side, there are a lot of great left tackles," Phillips said. "If you match him up against a great player, he might win some, but the other guy will win some, too. If we flip him to the other side and let him work some, it should help him win more."
If the other players win more, too, this could be a special unit. Defensive coordinator Brian Stewart has already proclaimed that he expects his unit to be the best in the league, if everybody stays healthy.
That's high praise, and it was something that surprised even the candid Phillips. But the players have already bought into the lofty talk.
Both Ware and James say this is a talented unit that they expect to be the best.
"I do think we can get there," Ware said.
Watching them practice, they definitely look better. The speed is evident to the naked eye. The Cowboys fly to the football.
Parcells might have thought bigger was better, but the Phillips way is the right way in the modern NFL. You have to run to the football and speed is imperative.
The trimmed-down Cowboys can do that now.
"I was looking at some Colts tape the other day form last year and I looked big and slow," James said. "We all know that we needed to drop some weight to be faster. And now you're seeing why. This defense is about running to the football. I feel so much better, too. I don't have to stuff myself to keep my weight up. Now I'm eating normal. I feel better. We all do."
Forget Doomsday. This is the Jenny Craig bunch. Hey, whatever works, right? The formula is simple: Lost weight = more speed = better defense = possible division title.
Take that, Dan Marino and you other weight-loss divas.
Don't know if this is a repost but I like the article.
http://www.sportsline.com/nfl/story/10287759
SAN ANTONIO -- Shortly after taking over for Bill Parcells as coach of the Dallas Cowboys, Wade Phillips was asked a somewhat important question by his strength and conditioning coach.
In his folksy, son-of-Bum way, Phillips gave him an answer that certainly would never come out of the mouth of the micromanage-obsessed Parcells.
"I don't know," Phillips told the coach. "I just want them light enough so they can run as fast as possible."
There were no numbers given, which means there will be no constant cracks by a biting head coach who knew how to get under a player's skin, which was the Parcells way.
Just make the weights fit so they can run and chase and tackle.
Looking at the Cowboys now, especially on the defensive side, you'd think some of those players were following Kirstie Alley as weight-loss spokesmen. Linebacker Bradie James and defensive end Marcus Spears are down 20, while safety Roy Williams is down 15. Outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware is down five pounds.
"It's a different style of defense," James said. "We have to be able to run, run, and run some more. In the defense we played last year, I had to take on 320-pound guards every play. That's why I had to weigh 265 pounds. My body wouldn't have held up at the weight I'm at now. I needed the weight to have a chance to compete. But I feel so much better now. I'm so much faster. And we all need that to be successful in this defense."
Phillips came to the Cowboys after putting together a swift, get-to-the-ball unit in San Diego as defensive coordinator of the Chargers. His 3-4 scheme featured an attacking bunch that was keyed by the play of the front seven.
The Cowboys used a 3-4 under Parcells last year, but it was a different style of defense. The front seven stayed in their spots, rarely moving around. That meant Ware, one of those explosive pass rushers that offenses hate, always lined up on the right side. He was easy to find.
It was a unit that saw the front three rarely stunt and loop. The inside linebackers also didn't come on the blitz much at all.
"Last year we lined up and people pretty much knew what we would do," James said. "There wasn't much to it."
With Phillips taking over -- he is expected to call the defense from the sideline -- the talent-filled unit could make a big leap up the rankings. After starting off strong last season, the defense fell off in the second half. Dallas finished 20th in the league in scoring, giving up 21.9 points per game.
That was a bitter disappointment since there were six first-round picks starting on that side of the ball. More was certainly expected.
Of the group, Ware is the most talented of them all.
He is a powerful speed rusher who has the ability to change a game for the defense, his off-the-edge ability as good as any in the game. During a workout Monday afternoon at the Alamodome, he blew past rookie left tackle Doug Free with a low-to-the-ground loop that made Free look as if he missed the snap count.
"I'm rushing a lot more so I dropped some weight," Ware said. "It can get tiring out there running around for four quarters with that extra five pounds. In this defense, you want to play fast."
Ware had 11½ sacks last year, but his teammates say he was held back because he didn't rush enough, a shot at the former regime.
"There is no way DeMarcus should be dropping in coverage as much as he did," James said. "He's too explosive a pass rusher for that. That didn't make sense."
Phillips will move Ware around to better utilize his ability to get to the quarterback. The common perception is that Ware will fill the role that Shawne Merriman occupied in the Chargers defense, a role that he flourished in by getting 17 sacks last season. But Ware plays the weak-side spot, whereas Merriman plays the strong side.
"You actually rush more in our defense from the weak side," Phillips said. "That's why what Shawne did was so impressive last year."
Ware won't just be on the weak side. He will move from right to left and even inside to the middle. The idea is to never let the other team get a bead on where he's coming from to get to the quarterback.
"If you line him up just on the right side, there are a lot of great left tackles," Phillips said. "If you match him up against a great player, he might win some, but the other guy will win some, too. If we flip him to the other side and let him work some, it should help him win more."
If the other players win more, too, this could be a special unit. Defensive coordinator Brian Stewart has already proclaimed that he expects his unit to be the best in the league, if everybody stays healthy.
That's high praise, and it was something that surprised even the candid Phillips. But the players have already bought into the lofty talk.
Both Ware and James say this is a talented unit that they expect to be the best.
"I do think we can get there," Ware said.
Watching them practice, they definitely look better. The speed is evident to the naked eye. The Cowboys fly to the football.
Parcells might have thought bigger was better, but the Phillips way is the right way in the modern NFL. You have to run to the football and speed is imperative.
The trimmed-down Cowboys can do that now.
"I was looking at some Colts tape the other day form last year and I looked big and slow," James said. "We all know that we needed to drop some weight to be faster. And now you're seeing why. This defense is about running to the football. I feel so much better, too. I don't have to stuff myself to keep my weight up. Now I'm eating normal. I feel better. We all do."
Forget Doomsday. This is the Jenny Craig bunch. Hey, whatever works, right? The formula is simple: Lost weight = more speed = better defense = possible division title.
Take that, Dan Marino and you other weight-loss divas.