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Ware's The Pass RushPosted by jellis at 12/2/2008 1:27 PM CST on truebluefanclub.com
The Cowboys are currently second in the league with 40 sacks, just two behind this week's opponent, the Pittsburgh Steelers.
A career-high 15 of those sacks belong to DeMarcus Ware, but already nose tackle Jay Ratliff has six sacks, and middle linebacker Bradie James has five. Both of those totals are career highs as well. It's not too far off to say that Ware's presence rushing the passer and the attention offenses must pay to him are a big part of the reason the Cowboys have been able to get so much pressure.
That's why defensive coordinator Brian Stewart, when asked whether he gasped a bit when Ware went down with a hyper-extended knee on Thanksgiving, said not only did he gasp, but so did the whole stadium. Much of what has made the Cowboys defense successful over the last five weeks can be traced directly to the way Ware has been playing, and the way he opens things up for the rest of the team's pass rushers.
Today he was nominated for the NFL's GMC Sierra Defensive Player of the Week for his three-sack effort against the Seahawks. Our Nick Eatman will explain the full scope of Ware's importance a little later, only on DallasCowboys.com.
-Josh Ellis
