Fact: Demarcus Ware is not Lawrence Taylor. He is not a dominant pass rusher who strikes fear into both the QB and the OT. He doesn't knock the QB down repeatedly during the game or get consistent pressure that forces the offense to change its practices. DWare does not beat double teams.
However, DWare is among the best LBs in the NFL, and he is clearly and absolutely the best defensive player on our team...in my opinion far better as a LB than TNew is as a corner.
Everyone, including myself, has fallen prey to wanting more from DWare. I would like for him to be Charles Haley, pressuring the QB into bad throws, into leaving the pocket, beating double-teams to still make the QB rush into another player's waiting arms, knocking the QB down several times per game. True, pure pass rushers bring consistent pressure, even when they don't get sacks.
The problem is that DWare is not the LT, passrushing OLB, that we thought we were drafting. But that can be a good thing, too. We drafted a pass-rushing, smallish DE and planned to turn him into an OLB in the 3-4, a guy what would be the next LT and turn our defense into a terror for QBs.
The problem is that DWare became more than what we drafted...even Jerry Jones could not have imagined that DWare would become the all-around LB, perhaps the best in the NFL, that he has become. Ware doesn't just line up and bring it play after play after play, but he does bring a relentless effort to the position play after play after play. And Demarcus Ware does it all at OLB.
Maybe we'd like to see him pass rush with no regard for the run play after play...maybe we'd like to see him develop 2-3 counter moves as a pass rusher, put on a few more pounds of muscle, and simply overpower OT's as often as he speeds by them on the outside. And maybe we'd be willing to accept the plays he doesn't make as RBs break outside and inside his pass rush just to see him apply more pressure throughout the game, but that doesn't seem to be DWare's game, nor does it seem to be the team's plan for him.
DWare is a great LB, and he comes up with a pass rush at opportune times, and often he gets his sack when we really need it. He doesn't embarrass OT's, run through blocking backs, or bruise and batter QB's all game long. Nope, he's not Lawrence Taylor, and he's not Charles Haley when it comes to pass rushing consistently, even in the face of double teams.
But Demarcus Ware is a great LB, the best defensive player on our team, and while our pass rush seems to disappear on more pass plays than it shows up, I don't blame DWare.....I think our team continues to expect more from the other 3-4 guys they turn loose on the QB...and sadly, those guys almost never produce.